The Week's Top Stories: Mattel Matters, Interest Rates & EV Renaissance

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.

RATE HIKE ANXIETY 

It was a rocky week on Wall Street to say the least. Despite a slew of impressive earnings reports, the major indices careened in and out the red but ended up for the week on a strong Friday upswing. Markets initially struggled to digest Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's Wednesday speech signaling that a rate hike could be coming as soon as March, with more possibly on the horizon. This news caused jitters among investors concerned about what higher rates will mean for growth stocks, which played no small part in fueling the pandemic-era bull market.   

TESLA POSTS BIG PROFITS

Amid what's increasingly looking like an electric vehicle renaissance, Tesla turned in a strong fourth quarter earnings report showing $5.5 billion in annual profits, which is up from $720 million in 2020. But the beat didn't help Tesla's stock, which is already highly valued. Shares fell 11 percent on Thursday on the news that Tesla will not produce any new vehicle models in 2022, due to supply chain issues and chip shortages, and were down on the week.

RECORD SALES FOR APPLE

Apple posted its highest-ever quarterly earnings this week, defying Wall Street expectations that supply chain issues would cut into the iPhone maker's bottom line. Sales came in at $123.9 billion, up 11 percent from the last quarter. Every product category, except iPads, beat expectations with the 5G-capable iPhone 13 showing numbers. CEO Tim Cook also hinted that he expects supply chain woes would ease in the coming quarter. 

KOHL'S FOR SALE?

Kohl's saw its stock surge nearly 35 percent on Monday on the news that at least two buyers were interested in taking over the retailer. The two contenders, a hedge fund and a private equity firm are interested in taking the company private. One of them, the activist hedge fund Macellum Advisors, has been critical of the company's management during the pandemic and is now calling for a change of course. 

MATTEL WINS BACK DISNEY 

Shares of Mattel popped this week after the toymaker secured a deal with Walt Disney to put out a product line for the Disney princesses, including the popular Frozen franchise. The deal marks a comeback for the company, which lost the Disney license to Hasbro back in 2016. The loss back then spurred a string of leadership shake-ups, ending with current CEO Ynon Kreiz taking over. He has since tried to stabilize the company with $1 billion in cost cuts and efforts to revitalize legacy brands such as Barbie — which, if you haven't heard, is being developed as a movie starring Margot Robbie and directed by Greta Gerwig. This is on top of another of its brands, Masters of the Universe, getting a new live-action movie deal with Netflix after being stuck in development with Sony. The stock ended up almost five points for the week.

More In Business

Universal Music and AI song generator Udio partner on new AI platform

Universal Music Group and AI platform Udio have settled a copyright lawsuit and will collaborate on a new music creation and streaming platform. The companies announced on Wednesday that they reached a compensatory legal settlement and new licensing agreements. These agreements aim to provide more revenue opportunities for Universal's artists and songwriters. The rise of AI song generation tools like Udio has disrupted the music streaming industry, leading to accusations from record labels. This deal marks the first since Universal and others sued Udio and Suno last year. Financial terms of the settlement weren't disclosed.

Samsung reports 32% rise in operating profit and predicts more growth

Samsung Electronics has reported a 32.5% increase in operating profit for the third quarter.

Starbucks halts 2-year sales slide, but costly improvements hurt its profits

Starbucks halted a long sales slide in its fiscal fourth quarter as fall drinks and improved service brought customers back to its stores.

The underdiscussed pure profit enterprise of movie rereleases

With rereleases being pure profit, why aren’t studios always doing them?

Why Consumers Are Hitting “Cancel”: Inside the Subscription Fatigue Era

Bank of America economist David Tinsley explains why streaming costs have consumers hitting cancel faster than play.

Nvidia has started the $5 trillion club. A look at its rise, by the numbers

Nvidia on Wednesday became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023.

What September’s Inflation Numbers Really Mean: Insights From S&P Global

Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.

Beyond Binge-Watching: Curiosity Stream’s Vision for Intelligent Entertainment

Curiosity Stream CEO Clint Stinchcomb discusses how educational streaming and innovation are driving strong growth and audience engagement.

Using A.I. to Manage Risk on Wall Street

Patrick Palomo, Principal Solutions Architect at Smarsh, talks about working with Wall Street to deploy A.I. that helps predict and manage risk.

‘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.

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