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.
KOHL'S UNDER PRESSURE
Shares of Kohl's plunged earlier this week, but then bounced back on the news that no less than 20 potential suitors were interested in buying the struggling department store chain. Wall Street has put heavy pressure on the retailer to either sell off its online business or take the company private, as well as elect new members to its board. CEO Michelle Gass, however, maintained that the company is making strides on its own terms as it executes a multi-year turnaround plan, which includes growing its Sephora business to more than $2 billion in annual sales
AMAZON SPLITS STOCK
Amazon's stock is about to get a lot less expensive, and shares are rallying on the news. The stock — currently priced at an eye-watering $2,910 per share — jumped 5 percent on Thursday in what's looking like the company's second-best day of the year. The pop came just days after Amazon announced a 20-to-1 stock split that will reduce the price of shares by 95 percent. While the split doesn't change the company's fundamentals, it does open the door to new investors, and it could make Amazon eligible for inclusion in the Dow Jones Industrial index.
BED, BATH & BEYOND BUMP
Bed, Bath & Beyond got some of that meme-stock shine this week after GameStop Chairman Ryan Cohen revealed holding nearly a 10 percent stake in the company. Cohen, who founded online pet retailer Chewy, has a reputation as a turnaround artist for his work in revitalizing GameStop. Now he's making the leap from video games to home goods. In a letter to the board, Cohen outlined a plan for Bed, Bath & Beyond to narrow its focus and potentially sell off its Buybuy Baby brand. He also said the company would be better off owned by a private equity firm.
RIVIAN HITS THE SKIDS
Rivian Automotive's stock sunk 7.5 percent on Friday after the release of a fourth quarter earnings report that showed a net loss of $2.5 billion and a dimmer outlook for 2022 due to supply chain issues and material costs. The electric truck-maker is stacking up massive cost overruns as it readies to make its first orders this year. Investors also weren't happy with the fact that Rivian earlier this month said it was raising prices 20 percent, including for customers who had already put down deposits on pre-orders. The company later reversed the price increase for pre-orders and issued an apology, but the market remained uneasy about the automaker.
GOOGLE ACQUISITION
You've probably never heard of cybersecurity firm Mandiant, but Google parent company Alphabet sure has. Shares of Mandiant shot up 16 percent on Monday after Alphabet announced plans to acquire the company in a bid to expand its cloud computing business. Alphabet currently trails behind Microsoft and Amazon Web Services in the rapidly-growing cloud computing business. The hope is that bolstering its cybersecurity cred will help Alphabet gain ground on its rivals and provide a more complete suite of services to cloud customers.
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.
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