Tesla (TSLA)

Tesla shares are 7% lower in pre-market trading after it reported mixed second quarter results after the bell on Tuesday.

Revenue came in at $25.05bn (£19.41bn) compared to the $24.63bn expected, per Bloomberg consensus, slightly higher than the $24.93bn a year ago.

"Plans for new vehicles, including more affordable models, remain on track for start of production in the first half of 2025. These vehicles will utilise aspects of the next generation platform as well as aspects of our current platforms and will be able to be produced on the same manufacturing lines as our current vehicle line-up," it said in its earnings report.

It delivered 443,956 vehicles globally in the period, topping the 439,302 Bloomberg consensus estimate, however, this was down nearly 5% from a year ago.

But Q2’s delivery total was a significant improvement from the 386,810 vehicles delivered in Q1, which prompted concern among some analysts that demand for Tesla vehicles was in free fall.

EasyJet (EZJ.L)

EasyJet shares are more than 5% in London as traders hail the low-cost carrier's 16% rise in third-quarter profits.

The airline said it remains on track for a record summer performance as it reported profits of £236m in the second quarter of 2024, up from £203m during the same period last year.

It carried 8% more passengers in the quarter at 25.3 million and said trading was also boosted by strong demand for easyJet holidays, with the division seeing pre-tax profits jump to £73m from £49m a year earlier.

EasyJet now expects the holidays arm to deliver annual pre-tax profits of more than £180m, up more than 48% year on year.

Outgoing chief executive Johan Lundgren said: “Our strong performance in the quarter has been driven by more customers choosing easyJet for our unrivalled network of destinations and value for money.

"This result was achieved despite Easter falling into March this year, demonstrating the continued importance of travel and this means we remain on track to deliver another record-breaking summer, taking us a step closer to our medium-term targets.”

Read more: Investors flock to tech funds amid AI race

The news comes as a stark contrast to the weaker sales expected by Irish rival Ryanair (RYA.IR), whose shares slumped 17% on Monday after it surprised investors with a steep fall in profits and expectation of falling ticket prices.

This also drove down other airlines, including a 7% drop for easyJet on the back of the news.

Aston Martin (AML.L)

Aston Martin found favour with investors on Wednesday as it revealed it is set to plough £2bn in a switch to electric cars. It said it expected to invest the amount by 2027 in its “long-term growth and transition to electrification”.

It came alongside widening losses in the first half of the year, deepening from £142.2m to £216.7m in the first half, as revenues fell 11% to £603m.

The luxury carmaker delivered 1,998 vehicles during the period, almost a third lower than the same time last year.

Lawrence Stroll, Aston Martin executive chairman and its biggest shareholder, said: “As we commence an exciting second half of 2024, Aston Martin is at a pivotal moment in its journey, with our immense product transformation supporting volume growth and sustainable positive free cash flow generation later this year, of which we have full confidence in achieving.

“In line with prior guidance, our execution in the first half of the year focused on the successful delivery of our new Vantage and upgraded DBX707 and we remain on track to deliver a strong second half performance.”

Banco Santander (BNC.L)

Half-year profits slumped by almost a third at Santander UK thanks to shrinking mortgage lending and higher savings rates.

The Spanish-owned high street lender reported a 31% drop in pre-tax profits to £804m in the first half of 2024, but is hoping for a boost from “tailwinds” over the final six months.

Mortgage loans slumped by £4.4bn over the half year, while its net interest income, the difference between the interest it generates from loans and pays out to savers, fell by 11%.

This came after it forked out more to savers in the first three months of the year following interest rate hikes.

Read more: FTSE 100 LIVE: European stocks tumble as Germany's manufacturing woes deepen

However, the group said it had since taken “pricing” action to make savings rates less attractive, which has seen customer deposits fall by £5.6bn.

This also helped profits increase by 6% quarter-on-quarter to £413m in the three months to the end of June, although the out-turn was 52% lower than a year earlier.

Mike Regnier, chief executive of Santander, said: “Our first half financial results were in line with our expectations, with a more positive trajectory reflecting improvements in the second quarter.”

Santander is the first out of the stalls this week with its half-year results, with Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest also expected to report lower profits when they report interim figures on Thursday and Friday respectively.

Shares were up 3% in London on the back of the trading update.

Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android.