The Week's Top Stories: Capital Gains Tax, Streaming Ups and Downs, Chipotle

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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‘Chainsaw Man’ anime film topples Springsteen biopic at the box office

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.

Flights to LAX halted due to air traffic controller shortage

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.

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