From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
AMC Invests
AMC may want to think about expanding to theme parks because it's been a roller coaster ride this week for the movie theater chain. Embraced by retail investors this year, the stock has been soaring. Tuesday AMC decided to sell more than $230 million of its shares to Mudrick Capital to invest further in the company, which Mudrick immediately sold off the same day. Wednesday, it announced an investor loyalty program, complete with free popcorn. That sent the meme stock, which started the year at about $2 a pop, to more than $72 in intraday trading. And then...Thursday happened. AMC started the day announcing it would offer 11.5 million additional shares, and that sent the stock into freefall. Trading was halted shortly after the open — and still rallied later in the day to close at $51, up from a low of almost $42. With summer blockbuster season upon us, it should traditionally mean the wind is blowing the right way for AMC, but these crazy conditions have nothing to do with movies. So, we'll have to wait and see if investors give a hoot about whether tickets are actually selling. AMC ended down at $47.99 while stocks in general ended the week up.
Old Is In
Etsy got a bump on Wednesday when it announced plans to acquire Depop. The ecommerce platform popular with crafters and vintage-lovers says it will pay $1.6 billion for the app which will help tap into a young consumer base. Depop, an app for buying and selling fashions secondhand, has millions of Gen Z shoppers, which should be a boon to the seller. Rent the Runway also announced it's going to dip its toes in the resale market. Business dropped off for the clothing rental company when everyone stopped going to work, weddings, and other special events last year, so it's hoping this will jumpstart business once again.
Activists Nab Another Exxon Seat
Last week we mentioned the reckoning Big Oil is facing with climate activists making inroads for change. It's not over for ExxonMobil, as we saw this week when Engine No. 1, a hedge fund that focuses on sustainable investments, claimed another seat on its board. That makes this the third seat, one-quarter of the board, which has been nabbed by interests that want to see the company get serious about addressing climate issues caused, in part, by the fossil fuel industry.
J&J On the Hook
Johnson & Johnson took a hit on Tuesday when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the $2 billion verdict it owes to a group of women who argued they developed ovarian cancer from the company's talc products which contained asbestos. By deciding not to take up the case, it leaves the award in place and leaves the pharmaceutical company with no more options to appeal. The $2 billion figure is actually less than half of the original award, but J&J is still facing thousands of similar lawsuits. You can't buy the company's iconic talc-based baby powder in the U.S. and Canada anymore, but it is still available elsewhere in the world.
Zoom's Future
Zoom stock slunk down most of the week after its earnings report, which came out right after the holiday weekend. Revenue soared last quarter and even tripled since the same time last year during the very beginning of pandemic lockdowns. But the guidance seems to spook some investors. Although the video conference company foresees a 50 percent increase in revenue by the end of the year, return-to-work is clearly weighing on its mind. Still, shares popped back up again on Friday to close out the week strong.
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.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
U.S. sports betting is booming as NFL and college football fuel massive activity. BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt breaks down trends, growth, and what’s next.
President Donald Trump says a deal struck by Netflix last week to buy Warner Bros. Discovery “could be a problem” because of the size of the combined market share. The Republican president says he will be involved in the decision about whether federal regulators should approve the deal. Trump commented Sunday when he was asked about the deal as he walked the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Honors. The $72 billion deal would bring together two of the biggest players in television and film and potentially reshape the entertainment industry.
Disney's changes to a program for disabled visitors are facing challenges in federal court and through a shareholder proposal. The Disability Access Service program, which allows disabled visitors to skip long lines, was overhauled last year. Disney now mostly limits the program to those with developmental disabilities like autism who have difficulty waiting in lines. The changes have sparked criticism from some disability advocates. A shareholder proposal submitted by disability advocates calls for an independent review of Disney's disability policies. Disney plans to block this proposal, claiming it's misleading. It's the latest struggle by Disney to accommodate disabled visitors while stopping past abuses by some theme park guests.
