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Gerdau SA's Agreement with Antitrust Authority: Gerdau S.A. has reached an agreement with Brazil's antitrust authority CADE regarding an investigation into alleged anti-competitive practices in the steel rebar market, agreeing to pay over R$256 million without admitting wrongdoing.

Company Overview and Market Performance: Gerdau operates in the steel industry, focusing on steel and rebar production, with a current market cap of $5.92 billion and a year-to-date price performance decline of 25.33%.

Financial Performance: Gerdau reported a Q3 EPS of R$0.64, with net sales reaching R$17.38 billion, marking a 1.8% increase year-over-year, while adjusted EBITDA was R$3 billion, up 14.9% from Q2 but down 10% compared to the previous year.

Investment Focus: The company invested R$1.5 billion in total, allocating R$589 million for maintenance and R$920 million towards enhancing the competitiveness of its business divisions.

After Hours Market Activity: The NASDAQ 100 After Hours Indicator is up to 20,363.28 with a total volume of 88,960,494 shares traded. Notable stocks include VALE S.A. (+0.0099), Ford Motor Company (-0.48), and NVIDIA Corporation (-0.15), among others.

Earnings Forecasts and Reports: Several companies are scheduled to report earnings soon, including Gerdau S.A. on 11/4/2024, Apple Inc. and Amazon.com, Inc. on 10/31/2024, with consensus EPS forecasts indicating significant increases compared to the previous year for many of them.

After Hours Market Activity: The NASDAQ 100 After Hours Indicator is down to 19,990.22 with a total volume of 118,756,188 shares traded. Key active stocks include VALE S.A. and NVIDIA Corporation, both maintaining "buy" recommendations despite slight declines in their prices.

Stock Recommendations: Several companies such as Gerdau S.A., Intel Corporation, and Apple Inc. are reported to have mean recommendations in the "buy range," indicating positive investor sentiment, while some stocks are trading close to their target prices.

Investment Insights: Jim Cramer discussed various companies on CNBC's “Mad Money Lightning Round,” highlighting Federated Hermes as an unknown entity, praising Motorola Solutions for its profitability, and expressing skepticism towards Gerdau while recommending Nucor for steel investments. He also criticized Domino’s Pizza for management issues affecting its stock performance.

Market Reactions: Following recent analyst ratings, shares of Motorola Solutions and Federated Hermes saw slight increases, while Gerdau's shares rose modestly. In contrast, Domino's Pizza experienced a decline in share price due to concerns over its franchise performance.

Motorola Solutions and Investment Insights: Motorola Solutions is highlighted as a profitable company involved in two-way radios and government infrastructure, while Federated Hermes is mentioned as an unfamiliar investment management firm.

Concerns Over Domino's Pizza: Domino's Pizza faces scrutiny due to a weak franchise impacting its performance, raising concerns about the company's control over its operations and contributing to a decline in stock value.

Financial Performance: Gerdau reported Q2 revenue of R$16.62 billion, a 9% decrease year-over-year, with adjusted net income down 24.1% from the previous quarter and 55.9% from the same quarter last year. Adjusted EBITDA also fell by 6.7% compared to Q1 2024.

Operational Updates: The company maintained steel shipments at 2.7 million tonnes in Q2 2024 and has approved a new share buyback program for up to 69.8 million shares over the next 12 months.

KILROY REALTY CORP (KRC):

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• Rating changed from 54% to 69% based on fundamentals and valuation.
• Owns, develops, acquires, and manages real estate assets in the U.S.

RWE AG (ADR) (RWEOY):

• Large-cap growth stock in Electric Utilities industry.
• Rating changed from 64% to 76% based on fundamentals and valuation.
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MERCEDES-BENZ GROUP AG (MBGAF):

• Large-cap value stock in Auto & Truck Manufacturers industry.
• Rating changed from 63% to 77% based on fundamentals and valuation.
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GERDAU SA (ADR) (GGB):

• Mid-cap value stock in Iron & Steel industry.
• Rating changed from 77% to 91% based on fundamentals and valuation.
• Involved in the production and commercialization of steel products.

BROOKFIELD RENEWABLE CORP (BEPC):

• Mid-cap value stock in Electric Utilities industry.
• Rating changed from 57% to 83% based on fundamentals and valuation.
• Operates renewable power platforms globally.

• Reported a 47.9% decrease in adjusted net profit for Q1 compared to the previous year.
• Net revenue declined by 14.1% year-on-year, with an 8.6% drop in steel sales volume.
• Attributed performance decline to higher imports affecting the Brazilian market.

• Implemented import quotas for 11 steel products and increased taxes on exceeded volumes.
• Gerdau views this as a positive step in protecting the national steel industry.
• The new measures are expected to cover approximately 25% of Gerdau's sales volume in Brazil.

• Adjusted EBITDA decreased by 34.9% from the previous year to 2.81 billion reais.
• Adjusted EBITDA margin dropped by 5.5 percentage points to 17.4%.