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.
MARKET SLIPS
Stocks overall had a rough week despite a boost on Friday. The S&P managed to end up for the fifth straight week. While there were plenty of earnings beats and the weekly unemployment claims dropped to a new pandemic low, investors seemed to be wary of ongoing COVID-19 news and President Biden's announcement that his administration would pursue a capital gains tax hike to help pay for increased government spending on economic recovery.
CHIPOTLE EARNS
The fast casual Mexican cuisine franchise shook up Wall Street this week, meeting revenue expectations of $1.74 billion but also beating estimates on adjusted earnings per share with $5.36 versus the expected $4.89. Despite the sizzle coming from sales and digital growth, there still seemed to be a lack of heat for the restaurant's stock as it fell for the week.
STREAMING WARS
One would think revenue growth year-over-year of 24 percent would be a cause for some celebration, but in the high stakes streaming wars, the feat couldn't overcome the massive miss on new subscriptions. Instead of the six million customers that were expected to sign up to Netflix, the streaming giant saw just four million new accounts, a miss bad enough to hammer the stock in what was practically a straight line plunge on Wednesday. Meanwhile, streaming rival HBO Max's parent company AT&T had an entirely opposite experience on Thursday with its stock rocketing upwards on strong earnings, revenue, and growing subscription base.
APPLE EVENT
House of Mac unveiled quite a lot during its Spring Loaded event on Tuesday, including new iPad and iMac models that will feature its homegrown M1 processors, the AirTag item trackers that will allow you to use your iPhone to find lost objects you've tagged, and even a new season of Ted Lasso on Apple TV+. Investors certainly didn't hate what they see as the stock kept chugging along, up 0.55% for the week.
AIRLINES TAKE OFF
American and Southwest Airlines both announced that leisure bookings were up and that the carriers are planning on increasing the number of flights this summer in anticipation of air travelers returning as more people get vaccinated. American saw a smaller loss in the past quarter than in the previous four and saw its stock price get a bump on Friday. Southwest saw the first profit for a major airline during the pandemic and got a stock price jump on Friday to boot. Still, both carriers were down for the week overall.
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Spain's government has fined Airbnb 64 million euros or $75 million for advertising unlicensed tourist rentals. The consumer rights ministry announced the fine on Monday. The ministry stated that many listings lacked proper license numbers or included incorrect information. The move is part of Spain's ongoing efforts to regulate short-term rental companies amid a housing affordability crisis especially in popular urban areas. The ministry ordered Airbnb in May to remove around 65,000 listings for similar violations. The government's consumer rights minister emphasized the impact on families struggling with housing. Airbnb said it plans to challenge the fine in court.
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.
