Big Business This Week is a guided tour through the biggest market stories of the week, from winning stocks to brutal dips to the facts and forecasts generating buzz on Wall Street.
STARBUCKS' VENTI EARNINGS
The granddaddy of coffee chains reported record sales last quarter thanks to its annual launch of beloved Pumpkin Spice Lattes in August (really). Fun fact: PSL has been a seasonal stable at Starbucks for 20 years. The chain says it has seen young customers, especially, spending extra on things like gourmet coffee, rather than durable goods. While the company is keeping an eye on possible headwinds if there is a broader economic turndown, it says it is in a better position to weather the storm than in the past thanks to investments in its rewards program. The stock ended the week up 10 percent.
MAERSK TROUBLED WATERS
Shipping giant Maersk announced Friday that it will be slashing 10,000 jobs as the demand for cargo shipping drops off and, with it, the lowering of prices back to pre-pandemic norms. This time last year, the world's largest shipping company was reporting over $9 billion in profits; this year it was $691 million. With the news went the stock price, which dove by 15 percent on Friday alone.
PARAMOUNT POUNCES
Paramount announced in its earnings report that strength in streaming helped the media company balance hits from the writers and actors strikes. It recently combined Paramount+ and Showtime streaming options, which boosted and streamlined its subscriber base. Still, the platform isn't profitable yet. Investors rallied on the news with two days of double-digit growth. It closed the week up 28 percent.
UBER & LYFT PICK-UPS
Two of the main names in ridesharing saw their stocks soar on Thursday after they agreed to pay $328 million in a dispute over taxes and fees they improperly forced drivers to pay. Now that the drawn-out legal battle is over, investors have begun pouring in; Uber stock even got an upgrade from KeyBanc. Uber and Lyft stock both ended the week up 13 percent.
BEYOND MEAT LAYOFFS
Plant-based meat purveyor Beyond Meat is cutting 19 percent of its workforce - about 65 employees - on lagging demand. The company is also considering cutting some products, changing prices and adjusting manufacturing overseas. Despite the gloomy news, investors were impressed by the plan - the stock rose 13 percent by the end of the week.
Roomba maker iRobot has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but says that it doesn’t expect any disruptions to devices as the more than 30-year-old company is taken private under a restructuring process. iRobot said that it is being acquired by Picea through a court-supervised process. Picea is the company's primary contract manufacturer. The Bedford, Massachusetts-based anticipates completing the prepackaged chapter 11 process by February.
Serbia’s prosecutor for organized crime has charged a government minister and three others with abuse of position and falsifying of documents related to a luxury real estate project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The charges came on Monday. The investigation centers on a controversy over a a bombed-out military complex in central Belgrade that was a protected cultural heritage zone but that is facing redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to Kushner. The $500 million proposal to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops at the site has met fierce opposition from experts at home and abroad. Selakovic and others allegedly illegally lifted the protection status for the site by falsifying documentation.
Wealthfront’s CFO Alan Iberman talks the $2.05B IPO and the major moment for robo banking as the company bets on AI, automation, and “self-driving money."
A rare magnum of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 champagne that was specially produced for the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana has failed to sell during an auction. Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen handled the bidding Thursday. The auction's house website lists the bottle as not sold. It was expected to fetch up to around $93,000. It is one of 12 bottles made to celebrate the royal wedding. Little was revealed about the seller. The auction house says the bids did not receive the desired minimum price.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
