TOP NEWS
* PepsiCo Inc.'s stock was up about 3% in premarket trading on Nasdaq, as the company now expects to "meet or exceed" its 2019 organic revenue growth target of 4% after a better-than-expected third-quarter performance. For the 12 weeks ended Sept. 7, diluted GAAP EPS declined 15% year over year to $1.49 from $1.75, beating the S&P Global Market Intelligence GAAP EPS estimate of $1.47. Net revenue increased 4.3% year over year to $17.19 billion, exceeding analysts' estimates of $16.93 billion.
* Imperial Brands PLC said CEO Alison Cooper will step down as soon as a successor is found. The announcement of Cooper's impending departure comes a week after Imperial Brands cut its outlook for earnings and revenue for fiscal 2019 as U.S. regulators crack down on e-cigarettes and vaping.
FOOD RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
* U.K.-based Roofoods Ltd., doing business as Deliveroo, saw its revenue grow 72% to £476 million in 2018, the Financial Times (London) reported. However, for the year ended Dec. 31, 2018, the food delivery company's losses widened 16.6% year over year to £232 million from £199 million due to £349.4 million in operating expenses related to two new market launches, Taiwan and Kuwait, as well as 250 more cities, the report said.
* The Kroger Co. is considering laying off workers as the U.S. grocer seeks to improve delivery and store technologies to attract customers, Reuters reported. In a statement to the newswire, a Kroger representative said several store operating divisions are reviewing middle management roles and team structures as part of ongoing talent management, with a goal of "keeping resources close to the customer."
* Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.'s Circle K convenience store chain partnered with on-demand logistics provider Favor to expand its Circle K 21+ delivery service to its more than 600 stores across Texas. The move follows the launch of an initial delivery service in the Greater Houston area in July.
* German real estate investor Redos Real Estate GmbH has notified antitrust bodies about its plan to buy Metro AG's loss-making Real hypermarket chain, Reuters reported, citing sources. Metro reportedly declined to comment, while Redos did not immediately respond to the newswire's request for comment.
* Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. teamed up with on-demand logistics company Postmates Inc. to expand its delivery service to customers in New York City. The California-based delivery startup will deliver items such as medicines, personal care products and groceries from 174 Walgreens and Duane Reade stores in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
BEVERAGES
* Anheuser-Busch InBev SA's Asia-Pacific arm, Budweiser Brewing Co. APAC Ltd., has sold HK$5.88 billion more shares through an overallotment option following its IPO, according to a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. In the latest filing, Budweiser Brewing said its underwriters had fully exercised the overallotment option to sell an additional 217,755,000 shares, representing about 15% of the shares in the IPO, also at HK$27 apiece.
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS
* Chinese grain trade COFCO Corp. has pulled out from its bid to acquire a 25% stake in the KSK grain terminal in Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossiisk, the terminal owner Deloports Ltd. told Reuters. COFCO reportedly declined to comment.
TOBACCO & SMOKING PRODUCTS
* The Alabama Department of Public Health confirmed an adult man's death as the first in the state linked to a vaping-associated injury. As of Sept. 24, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 805 lung injury cases from the use of e-cigarette or vaping products and confirmed at least 12 deaths, not including the latest death in Alabama or another fatality reported Oct. 1 in Virginia.
PACKAGED FOODS
* The Unilever Group's listed entities, Unilever NV and Unilever PLC, completed the sale of their baking and dessert business Alsa to German food company Dr. Oetker GmbH for an undisclosed sum. The sale includes the Ludres manufacturing unit in France.
* Maker of frozen potato products Lamb Weston Holdings Inc. reaffirmed its fiscal 2020 earnings outlook as its first-quarter diluted EPS rose 8% year over year to 79 cents from 73 cents. It met the consensus analyst estimates for normalized EPS of 79 cents, compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence. For the three-month period ended Aug. 25, net sales increased 8% year over year to $989 million from $914.9 million, driven by 6% volume growth.
RESTAURANTS
* The Cheesecake Factory Inc. said it completed its purchase of restaurant operators Fox Restaurant Concepts LLC and North Italia Concept, including the Flower Child brand, for $308 million.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* The U.S. will issue a 25% tariff on agricultural and industrial goods imported from the European Union following a World Trade Organization ruling authorizing the U.S. to impose tariffs on roughly $7.5 billion worth of European goods in response to subsidies awarded to aircraft-maker Airbus SE. The tariffs are set to go into effect Oct. 18.
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The day ahead
Early morning futures indicators pointed to a higher opening for the U.S. market.
In Asia, the Hang Seng jumped 0.26% to 26,110.31, while the Nikkei 225 dropped 2.01% to 21,341.74.
In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 dropped 0.56% to 7,082.38, and the Euronext 100 was up 0.31% to 1,056.09.
On the macro front
The challenger job-cut report, the jobless claims report, PMI services index, the factory orders report, ISM non-manufacturing index, the EIA natural gas report, the Fed balance sheet and the money supply report are due out today.
Click here to read about today's financial markets, setting out the factors driving stocks, bonds and currencies around the world ahead of the New York open.
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