TOP Sponsors Hit Hard by Pandemic

(ATR) Virtually every TOP Sponsor is being tested by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, with layoffs, revised financial outlooks and other extreme measures to shore up balance sheets.

One of the few bright spots is P&G. As people around the world are forced to stay home and with the evidence that continual disinfection is needed, people are stocking up on cleaning supplies and other P&G goods. The company said sales were up five percent for the first quarter of 2020--one of its best quarters in years.

"The strong results we delivered this quarter are a direct reflection of the integral role our products play in meeting the daily health, hygiene and cleaning needs of consumers around the world," said David Taylor, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of P&G in an April 17 press release.

Airbnb, the newest TOP Sponsor, may be one of the worst-hit as travelling has all but stopped worldwide.

Airbnb had hoped for an IPO in 2020 but that seems unlikely now. Earlier in April the company had to secure an additional $2 billion in financing including a $1 billion loan. The Wall Street Journal reported on April 28 that there were 107,402 Airbnb bookings for the week of April 19 in the U.S., down from a February peak of 577,513. Airbnb is not required to release financial figures but the WSJ also reported the company is losing hundreds of millions of dollars and hosts have missed out on $1.5 billion in bookings.

Bridgestone Americas was a glimmer of hope for the Japanese-based tire manufacturer. Eleven of Bridgestone’s 15 plants in Japan were temporarily suspending operations until May but North American plants were reopening early to manufacture essential goods.

Coca-Cola, Dow, and Toyota reported double-digit drops in sales.

"We may be at the end of the big global lockdown, but we are still a long way from the new normal," Coca-Cola Chief Executive James Quincey said on an earnings call.

General Electric, in the middle of a massive turnaround, has struggled to regain solid financial footing with a billion dollars lost due to coronavirus. GE has long relied on its aviation unit to prop up the rest of the company but worldwide air travel has declined 95 percent and furloughs are in place for half of the aviation staff.

Atos and Intel pulled their projections for 2020 as they continue to be walloped by the pandemic.

Since the Alibaba Group’s last quarter earnings report on February 13, the company’s stock price has dropped from $220.36 to $201.05 at the time of writing as markets continue their erratic performance.

Data for luxury watch brand Omega are unavailable but a March report from the Swiss watchmaker federation said overall Swiss watch exports were down 21.9 percent with "a probable deterioration in April".

Samsung forecast bleak figures for the upcoming quarter saying in a press release that sales of TVs and smartphones are "expected to decline significantly as COVID-19 affects demand and leads to store and plant closures globally".

Panasonic has not yet released any earnings reports that would show impacts from the pandemic, but in an April 21 press release it is "mobilizing its resources to the maximum degree to provide a wide range of support, including the contribution, and supporting the production, of urgently-needed medical and other supplies."

Visa has twice issued profit warnings since the payment company’s January earning report and warned investors in a March 30 filing of "a rapid deterioration" in spending.

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