*By Amanda Weston*
Nike's ($NKE) viral ad featuring ex-quarterback Colin Kaepernick may have debuted after the most recent earnings quarter closed, but the company is already seeing results.
[CEO Mark Parker said](https://www.wsj.com/articles/nikes-sales-rise-10-on-higher-spending-on-sneakers-and-apparel-1537910370) on the earnings call that the [controversial ad](https://twitter.com/Kaepernick7/status/1037387722107830272) is "driving a real uptake, I think, in traffic and engagement, both socially, as well as commercially."
It may be no surprise the company took a chance on the spot.
"They always innovate," Adam Sarhan, CEO of 50 Park Investments, said Wednesday in an interview on Cheddar. "They want to stay relevant with millennials and the younger generation because that's their bread and butter. Think of the long-term value of acquiring a customer in their teenage years and staying loyal to the brand for their entire adult life."
So far, investors don't seem to be bearing that long-term value in mind. Shares of Nike dropped as much as 3 percent early Wednesday, despite the company [reporting](https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/nike-inc-reports-fiscal-2019-first-quarter-results-20180925-01213) better-than-expected earnings of $0.67 per share, up 18 percent from a year ago. Revenue increased 10 percent, to $9.9 billion. But Sarhan isn't worried.
"If you step back and look at the bigger picture, the stock was literally trading at an all-time high just yesterday, the day before," Sarhan said.
Jharonne Martis, director of consumer research at Thomson Reuters, told Cheddar Wednesday that Nike's financial success is partly driven by its smart pricing strategy.
"The product pricing is very, very intelligent," Martis said. "After they got all of the negative press, instead of offering more discounting, what they did is actually they offered less discounting and were able to sell full-price merchandise."
The Kaepernick ad may have been initially targeted to millennial consumers in the U.S., but it seemed to resonate even abroad, something Martis pointed out even took Nike by surprise.
"Even though it was U.S.-focused, and they used an NFL player here in the United States, the international crowd of millennials still resonated here with what's happening in the United States," she said.
As Sarhan explained, "The U.S. culture is exported abroad, so the whole world knows what's going on in the U.S., and when the U.S. catches a trend or does something, the rest of the world follows."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/nike-reports-earnings-post-kaepernick-ad-campaign).
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.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
Starbucks’ AI barista aims to speed service and improve experience. Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune Business Editor, explains its impact on workers and customers.
