MORNING NEWS

Netflix is splitting its stock. The company said its board of directors authorized a 10-for-1 stock split of its shares. “The purpose of the stock split is to reset the market price of the Company’s common stock to a range that will be more accessible to employees who participate in the Company’s stock option program,” Netflix said in the release. Netflix shares rose by 2.9% following the news.

Google’s parent company reported a 16% surge in third-quarter revenue, with growth in its digital-advertising and cloud-computing units helping to finance robust artificial-intelligence spending. Sales reached a record $102.3 billion for Google-parent Alphabet, ahead of analyst expectations, and net income was about $35 billion, a 33% increase over the same period a year ago.

UBS Group reported a jump in third-quarter net profit, boosted by fees from wealthy clients and corporate dealmaking and the release of litigation provisions. The Swiss banking giant said net profit for the third quarter was $2.48 billion, up from $1.425 billion in the year-earlier period.

Novartis is acquiring Avidity Biosciences in a $12 billion deal that the Swiss drugmaker said would further boost its long-term focus on treating neuromuscular disorders. The company on Sunday said it had entered into an agreement to buy Avidity, a San Diego-based biotech.

Intel’s turnaround effort gathered momentum as it reported sales growth in its core product line of PC processors and shrinking costs across the company, the result of layoffs and other cuts that have accelerated this year. The beleaguered chipmaker, which has fallen badly behind rivals like Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices in the race to develop powerful AI chips, reported on Thursday net income of $4.1 billion for the third quarter compared with a year-earlier loss of $16.6 billion.

Netflix reported higher revenue and profit for the third quarter, driven by membership growth, increased ad revenue and price hikes. Netflix’s revenue rose 17% to $11.5 billion in the third quarter from the same period a year earlier, just below its own forecast for the period.

BHP Group, the world's top miner by market value, said it produced more copper but less iron ore in the first quarter of its fiscal year, while striking a positive note on demand for the commodities it mines. The Australia-based miner didn't address market concerns about a dispute with China's state-run iron-ore buyer, although said it sells the steel ingredient in several ways and will continue to seek the best avenues for sales of its ore.

Holcim is acquiring German building materials group Xella from private equity firm Lone Star. The transaction is valued at €1.85 billion. The acquisition is expected to have a positive impact on Holcim's earnings per share and free cash flow in the first year and to contribute positively to return on capital from the third year onwards.

Ray-Ban glasses maker EssilorLuxottica said it entered the final three months of the year with strong momentum after posting record-breaking quarterly revenue that beat analysts’ expectations. The Franco-Italian eyewear group booked revenue of 6.87 billion euros ($8 billion) for the third quarter, a 12% increase at constant exchange rates compared with the same period a year earlier.

Nestle said it plans to reduce headcount by 16,000 as it increases cost-savings targets over the next two years, in its first earnings update since new CEO Philipp Navratil took the helm.