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.
Nvidia on Wednesday became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
