28/06/2025

BIZ & FINANCE SATURDAY | JUNE 28, 2025

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Nike to cut China output for US market to ease tariff blow BENGALURU: Nike said it would cut its reliance on production in China for the US market to mitigate the impact from US tariffs on imports, and forecast a smaller-than-expected drop in first quarter revenue, sending its shares up 11% in extended trading. US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on imports from key trading partners could add around US$1 billion (RM4.2 billion) to Nike’s costs, company executives said on a post-earnings call after the sportswear giant topped estimates for fourth-quarter results. China, subject to the biggest tariff increases imposed by Trump, accounts for about 16% of the shoes Nike imports into the US, chief financial officer Matthew Friend said. But the company aims to cut the figure to a “high single digit percentage range” by the end of May 2026 as it reallocates China production to other countries. “We will optimize our sourcing mix and allocate production differently across countries to mitigate the new cost headwind into the US,“ he said on a call with investors. Consumer goods is one of the most affected areas by the tariff dispute between the world’s two largest economies, but Nike’s executives said they were focused on cutting the financial pain. Nike will “evaluate” corporate cost reductions to deal with the tariff impact, Friend said. The company has already announced price increases for some products in the US “The tariff impact is significant. However, I expect others in the sportswear industry will also raise prices, so Nike may not lose much share in the US,“ said David Swartz, analyst at Morningstar Research. CEO Elliott Hill’s strategy to focus product innovation and marketing around sports is beginning to show some fruit with the running category returning to growth in the fourth quarter after several quarters of weakness. Having lost share in the fast-growing running market, Nike has invested heavily in running shoes such as Pegasus and Vomero, while scaling back production of sneakers such as the Air Force 1. “Running has performed especially strongly for Nike,“ said Citi analyst Monique Pollard, adding that new running shoes and sportswear products are expected to offset the declines in Nike’s classic sneaker franchises at wholesale partner stores. Marketing spending was up 15% year on-year in the quarter. On Thursday, Nike hosted an event in which its sponsored athlete Faith Kipyegon attempted to run a mile in under four minutes. Paced by other star athletes in the glitzy and live-streamed from a Paris stadium, Kipyegon fell short of the goal but set a new unofficial record. – Reuters

Top Tesla exec and Musk confidant leaves company

o Resignation comes amid sliding vehicle deliveries and mounting pressure to launch autonomous fleet

LOS ANGELES: Tesla executive and longtime Elon Musk confidant Omead Afshar has left the electric vehicle maker, three people familiar with the matter said on Thursday, another senior departure as the company grapples with slowing global demand. Afshar was part of the CEO’s office and since last year had overseen sales and manufacturing in Europe and North America. After joining Tesla in 2017, he quickly became one of Musk’s trusted lieutenants, playing a central role in major projects like the Texas Gigafactory. The sources, who declined to be identified, had no details on the circumstances of his exit or the reason behind it. Afshar posted about Tesla on X early this week, and his profiles on X and LinkedIn

investment vehicles crashed in value from 2022. Fortunes changed again when SoftBank raised some US$5 billion listing chip designer Arm in September 2023. The rise in the British firm’s share price since has boosted the group’s assets, against which SoftBank can take out debt to fund new investment. Son said SoftBank was committed to prudent investment and that, throughout the peaks and troughs, SoftBank has maintained the financial resources and user base such that it can take risks at times. Earlier in June it raised US$4.8 billion from the sale of some shares in T-Mobile. – Reuters driving taxis in Austin, Texas. Some analysts have warned that the company’s plan to expand to other cities later this year could face hurdles, due to concerns about safety and the technology. On Monday, Afshar posted on X that the Austin robotaxi debut was an “absolutely historic day for Tesla,” adding: “Thank you, Elon, for pushing us all!” In the past, Afshar posted about spending holidays and late nights with Musk, particularly when Tesla was ramping up production of the mass-market Model 3 sedan in 2018. He reflected in a March post about “living in the factory at this time, truly 24/7.” – Reuters Afshar’s departure was reported earlier by Bloomberg News, which also reported that North America HR director Jenna Ferrua had exited the company. Two of the three people who confirmed Afshar’s departure to Reuters also said Ferrua had left. One of those people said Afshar and Ferrua were close colleagues, so it was not surprising that both left around the same time. Another of the people said Ferrua has served as a direct HR adviser to Afshar. The departure caps a series of executive exits over the past 14 months, driven by company-wide restructuring as Tesla slashed thousands of jobs and shifted its focus to AI-powered self-driving technology and robotics. The departures included leaders in robots, batteries and public policy. The head of Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot team Milan Kovac, announced he was leaving this month, and top battery executive Vineet Mehta did so in May. Chief battery engineer Drew Baglino, Rebecca Tinucci, who led the supercharging division, and global public policy head Rohan Patel left in spring 2024. Musk ended his Washington stint in late May, reassuring some investors concerned about brand damage. But Tesla’s shares remain down about 19% for the year, after an initial rise on optimism that Trump’s victory would clear the regulatory path for robotaxis. On Sunday, Tesla deployed self

and analysts worried that distracted Musk from Tesla and alienated some potential buyers. Former mid-level Tesla sales manager Matthew LaBrot, who was recently fired for public criticism of Musk, said Afshar was a “supporting character” closely tied to Musk until he rose to head sales and manufacturing in North America and Europe. LaBrot said there was significant pressure internally to deal with the sales declines, which have been particularly severe in Europe.

still showed his Tesla role as current on Wednesday. Afshar departed amid slumping demand in Europe and North America for Tesla’s aging vehicle line-up while rivals have offered more affordable alternatives. Two people familiar with Tesla’s operations said Afshar was among the executives who took on bigger roles this year when Musk was focused on Washington. Musk led President Donald Trump’s government cost-cutting drive this year, and many investors

Afshar’s close ties to Musk saw him rise quickly within Tesla, but his departure comes without explanation - despite recent public praise for the company’s robotaxi launch. – PEXELS PIX

SoftBank aims to lead in ‘super AI’ platforms TOKYO: SoftBank Group CEO

US$32 billion (RM27 billion) since first investing in Autumn 2024 and that he regretted not investing earlier. He also said he expected OpenAI to eventually list publicly. “I’m all in on OpenAI,“ Son said. SoftBank had owned around 5% of Nvidia until it sold the stake in 2019, before ChatGPT generated a surge in AI interest at the end of 2022. Nvidia now dominates AI chipmaking and has become one of the world’s most valuable companies. Son’s latest spending spree follows years of retrenchment after the high-growth tech startups into which SoftBank had invested billions of dollars through its Vision Fund

Son has described artificial super intelligence as AI technology that is able to exceed human capabilities by a factor of 10,000. SoftBank has returned to making the aggressive investments that made Son’s name, such as an early bet on Alibaba, but that at times spectacularly backfired, like its massive investment in failed shared office provider WeWork. Its AI-related deals this year include acquiring US semiconductor designer Ampere for US$6.5 billion and the underwriting of up to US$40 billion of new investment in ChatGPT maker OpenAI. Son said SoftBank’s total agreed investment in OpenAI now stood at

Masayoshi Son yesterday said he wants the Japanese technology investment group to become the biggest platform provider for “artificial super intelligence” within the next 10 years. “We want to become the organiser of the industry in the artificial super intelligence era,“ Son told shareholders at the group’s annual shareholder meeting. Son likened his aim to the position of dominant technology platform providers such as Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet’s Google, which benefit from a “winner takes all” dynamic. At previous public appearances

Nike stock rises 11% as Q4 results top forecasts and running category shows renewed strength. – PEXELS PIX