Altria on Thursday wrote down the investment it made last December in Juul Labs by more than a third, an implicit recognition that the stake the cigarette giant took in the embattled vape company was among the most ill-timed in recent corporate history.
The $4.5 billion writedown gives Juul a new valuation of about $24 billion. Late last year, Altria paid nearly $13 billion for a 35 percent stake in Juul, just before Juul became the target of regulators, politicians, and health officials who blamed it for stoking a major spike in youth vaping.
In its earnings call, Altria said it would continue to support the leadership changes at Juul, which is now run by a former Altria executive, and planned layoffs that could reduce headcount by as much as 15 percent.
Earlier this week, Fidelity also cut the value of its Juul stake by nearly 50 percent. Juul had been part of Fidelity's Blue Chip Growth Fund. The fund reported that its Juul investment fell a whopping $352 million in September alone as the government's crackdown on flavored vape products ramped up and more reports surfaced of people dying from a mysterious vaping-related illness. None of those deaths ー 34 have been confirmed as of last week ー have been directly tied to Juul products. BuzzFeed also reported this week on an explosive lawsuit by a former Juul executive who alleges that the company shipped more than a million contaminated pods to customers. Juul has called that suit baseless.
Altria's major investment in Juul was the clearest indication that the big cigarette makers, facing a worldwide decline in smoking, saw their future in vaporized nicotine. Nearly a year later, that bet is anything but clear.
Nvidia reported a 56% increase in second-quarter revenue and a 59% rise in net income compared to a year ago.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos claims audiences don't want to watch Netflix movies in theaters, but that seems not to be the case recently.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
Cracker Barrel is sticking with its new logo. For now. But the chain is also apologizing to fans who were angered when the change was announced last week.
Elon Musk on Monday targeted Apple and OpenAI in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the iPhone maker and the ChatGPT maker are teaming up to thwart competition in artificial intelligence.
