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☆ Byron Allen sues McDonald's for allegedly lying about commitment to Black media
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Byron Allen, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Entertainment Studios and Allen Media Group, speaks at the 2021 Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., October 19, 2021. REUTERS/David SwansonMay 8 (Reuters) - The media entrepreneur Byron Allen has filed a second lawsuit against McDonald's Corp (MCD.N) over the fast-food chain's alleged refusal to advertise with Black-owned media. Allen said he would know if McDonald's were honoring that pledge because his Allen Media Group represents more than 90% of Black-owned media. The case are: Weather Group LLC et al v. McDonald's USA LLC, California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, No. 23STCV10045; and Entertainment Studios Networks Inc et al v McDonald's Corp, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, No.

☆ Carl's Jr. and Hardee's to roll out Presto's A.I. drive-thru ordering nationwide
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Amelia Lucas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Carl's Jr. and Hardee's locations will roll out automated drive-thru ordering nationwide using Presto's artificial intelligence software. Together, Carl's Jr. and Hardee's have about 2,800 restaurants across 44 U.S. states. Hardee's locations are mostly in the Midwest and South, while Carl's Jr. restaurants are found in the West. CKE tested the software last year at a handful of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's locations. CKE operates about 250 of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's restaurants, while franchisees run the rest.

May 3 (Reuters) - Carl Icahn's empire took another hit on Wednesday when his holding company's shares plunged further in the aftermath of a critical report from short seller Hindenburg Research, bringing the valuation drop since the short seller attacked it to more than $6 billion. IEP shares hit an intraday low of $31.78 - their lowest in more than a decade. The company is now worth $11.5 billion, 35% less than its value on Monday before Hindenburg published its report. The Hindenburg report has wiped $7.5 billion off Icahn's fortune, leaving him with a net worth of $10.8 billion, according to Forbes. “There is a karmic quality to this short report that reinforces the notion of a circle of life and death," he tweeted on Tuesday.

☆ Icahn's investment firm sinks further, down 40% since Hindenburg attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 3 (Reuters) - Shares of activist investor Carl Icahn's investment firm lost nearly a fifth of their value on Wednesday, adding to a 20% decline a day earlier following short seller Hindenburg Research's scathing attack on the company. Icahn Enterprises LP's (IEP.O) shares hit an intraday low of $31.78 - their lowest in more than a decade. Hindenburg accused the company of over-valuing its holdings and relying on a "Ponzi-like" structure to pay dividends. But Hindenburg has taken on several high-profile targets in recent months, including India's Adani Group and Jack Dorsey-led Block Inc (SQ.N). Since its release on Tuesday, the report has wiped $7.5 billion off Icahn's fortune, leaving him with a net worth of $10.8 billion, according to Forbes.

☆ Icahn's investment firm sinks further, down 35% since Hindenburg attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Niket Nishant | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 3 (Reuters) - Shares of activist investor Carl Icahn's investment firm lost nearly a fifth of their value on Wednesday, adding to a 20% decline a day earlier following short seller Hindenburg Research's scathing attack on the company. Icahn Enterprises LP's (IEP.O) shares hit an intraday low of $31.78 - their lowest in more than a decade. The stock has lost nearly 35% since the release of the report. Icahn owned about 85% of the investment firm, as of Feb. 22 this year. Since its release on Tuesday, the Hindenburg report has wiped $7.5 billion off Icahn's fortune, leaving him with a net worth of $10.8 billion, according to Forbes.

☆ Pizza Hut-parent Yum Brands profit sliced by promotions
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Deborah Mary Sophia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Shares of the KFC and Pizza Hut owner tumbled more than 4% after the company also warned of a $10 million to $20 million hit to current-quarter operating profit. However, along with higher food and labor costs, foreign exchange pressures and ramped up investments in automation and digital business, the aggressive promotions largely drove a 25% slump in profit. McDonald's Corp (MCD.N), Burger King parent Restaurant Brands (QSR.TO) and Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG.N) all topped quarterly sales and profit estimates on the back of price hikes and robust demand. Labor challenges were also easing, with the company seeing job application rates increase while staffing levels were either at or near 2019 levels. Excluding special items, it earned $1.06 per share, missing estimates of $1.13, according to Refinitiv data.

☆ An investment chief who manages $1 billion in assets shares 10 investments that will reduce your portfolio's volatility while this bear market lasts longer than expected.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Here are 10 ways to protect against losses and volatility in this long-lasting bear market. "It went beyond dodging a bullet," Steve Sosnick, the chief strategist at Interactive Brokers, said of first quarter earnings results in a late April interview with Insider. Weaker earnings raise valuation concernsBut some investors aren't impressed by Q1 earnings — at least not enough to get bullish. Besides weaker earnings growth and lofty valuations, another risk for stocks is that upcoming quarterly results will miss higher expectations in a shaky economy. "We're still looking at fairly high-single-digit earnings growth for the next couple of quarters overall," Sosnick said.

☆ Restaurant Brands beats quarterly estimates on higher pricing, traffic
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 2 (Reuters) - Restaurant Brands International Inc (QSR.TO) beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter revenue and profit on Tuesday, boosted by higher prices and increased traffic at its Burger King and Tim Hortons chains. Restaurant Brands' Burger King chain has been able to attract younger customers to its restaurants through a newly released viral "Whopper Whopper" jingle. Restaurant Brands in February named its chief operating officer, Joshua Kobza, as CEO in a turnaround plan for its struggling Burger King brand. According to location analytics firm Placer.ai, Burger King saw positive week-over-week visit growth for the majority of weeks since January 2023. Excluding items, Restaurant Brands earned 75 cents per share, compared with estimates of 64 cents, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

In a report published on Tuesday, Hindenburg accused IEP of overvaluing its holdings and relying on a "Ponzi-like" structure to pay dividends. The subsequent plunge in IEP shares wiped $2.9 billion off Icahn's net worth, leaving him with an estimated $14.7 billion, according to Forbes. NAV is a key gauge of a fund's performance, measuring the market value of securities held by the fund. Driving the frothiness in IEP's stock, Hindenburg argued, is its dividend yield of 15.8%, the highest of any U.S. large cap company by far. Hindenburg also offered examples it said showed IEP itself was valuing its holdings way above their market value.

☆ Sales, spins and splits — what are the differences and why do they matter for investors like us?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +20 min

Investors may get one share in the spun-out entity for every share of the parent company they owned. What's left of J & J will be focused on pharmaceuticals and medical technologies, which were responsible for over 84% of the company's total 2022 revenue of $94.94 billion. It underscores that once free of the parent company tethers a divested company can chart its own destiny. Those priorities may not have necessarily been wrong when considering J & J as the overall enterprise. We believe J & J and Danaher are poised to deliver two more examples.

☆ These 7 Club holdings are using pricing power to boost profits this earnings season
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Paulina Likos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Pricing power is what's allowing many companies — including seven of our Club holdings — to support revenue growth and enhance, or at the very least protect, profitability during an earnings season marked by a still-elevated inflationary environment. When we're talking about "pricing power," it's the ability of companies with strong brands to raise prices without seeing too much impact on demand. Here's a list of Club holdings with pricing power, starting with a closer look at P & G. PG YTD mountain Procter & Gamble's stock performance year to date. LIN YTD mountain Linde's stock performance year to date. Halliburton has exhibited strong pricing power due to massive demand from global end markets, benefitting from years of under-investment in drilling.

☆ Domino's Pizza beats quarterly sales estimates on price hikes, steady demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 27 (Reuters) - Domino's Pizza Inc (DPZ.N) beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter U.S. same-store sales on Thursday, boosted by higher prices as well as new promotional offers and menu items that helped draw more customers. Analysts have said the company's new menu item "Loaded Tots" that serves oven-baked potato tots with cheese and toppings in three varieties has helped boost sales during the January-March period. The world's largest pizza chain's U.S. same-store sales rose 3.6% in the first quarter, compared with analysts' estimate of a 1.96% increase, according to Refinitiv data. However, total revenue rose 1.3% to $1.02 billion but missed analysts' estimate of $1.04 billion hurt by a strong dollar. Reporting by Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra EluriOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

April 25 (Reuters) - Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (CMG.N) topped Wall Street expectations for first-quarter profits and sales on Tuesday, helped by higher menu prices, 41 new restaurant openings and some recovery among lower-income customers. The company said it expects second quarter and full year comparable sales growth in the mid-to-high single digits. Even with inflation squeezing household budgets, restaurant chains are expected to post higher sales growth in the first quarter. Comparable sales at California-based Chipotle jumped about 11% in the first quarter, while analysts on average expected an 8.6% rise, according to Refinitiv data. Inflation in the second half is "really a wild card," Chief Financial Officer Jack Hartung said on the earnings call.

☆ 2023 layoff tracker: The latest on which companies have announced job cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Jennifer Korn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +20 min

New York CNN —BuzzFeed, Lyft, Whole Foods and Deloitte all recently announced layoffs affecting thousands of US workers. With 11,000 job cuts announced in November and the 10,000 announced in March, Meta’s headcount will fall to around 66,000 — a total reduction of about 25%. The company announced in January that it was eliminating some 18,000 positions as part of a major cost-cutting bid at the e-commerce giant. IndeedJob listing website Indeed.com announced cuts of approximately 2,200 employees, representing almost 15% of its total workforce, the company said in March. The cuts come after the company announced several rounds of job cuts throughout the pandemic due to falling demand, followed by rapid hiring last year.

☆ Earnings playbook: Your guide to a busy week of earnings, featuring Meta and Amazon
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Fred Imbert | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +13 min

What history shows: GM has reported a better-than-expected bottom line in 29 of the last 30 quarters, per FactSet. McDonald's is set to report earnings in the premarket, with management slated to hold a call at 8:30 a.m. What history shows: History shows Google's parent company beats earnings expectations 68% of the time, with the stock averaging a gain of 1.6% on earnings day, per Bespoke. Meta Platforms is set to report earnings after market close, followed by a conference call at 5 p.m. What history shows: Bespoke data shows Intel beats earnings expectations 77% of the time.

☆ China makes major push in its ambitious digital yuan project
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Like cryptocurrency, the digital yuan incorporates some elements of blockchain technology: Every transaction is recorded and traceable in a digital ledger. Since last October, Changshu has been paying the transit subsidies for some government employees in digital yuan. It has also asked privately-owned apps to actively promote the digital yuan. Alipay began trialing digital yuan payments in 2021, and Tencent (TCEHY) announced last year that it would also start supporting the digital yuan in its WeChat Pay wallet. After all, industry leaders Alipay and WeChat Pay already have hundreds of millions of users who are familiar with their services.

☆ Big Tech earnings are on deck this week. Why that matters
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —With Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Meta Platforms all slated to report earnings this coming week, investors are turning their attention away from bank earnings to Big Tech. Another major theme for tech earnings is the race toward artificial intelligence. Earnings reports from Meta Platforms (META), Boeing (BA) and ServiceNow (NOW). Earnings reports from Amazon (AMZN), MasterCard (MA), T-Mobile (TMUS), Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) and Capital One (COF). Earnings reports from Exxon Mobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX), Colgate-Palmolive (CL) and New York Community Bancorp (NYCB).

☆ Big Tech earnings, crucial inflation call — here comes the biggest week of earnings season
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Stocks stuck to a holding pattern this week as investors brace for an incoming wave of Big Tech earnings and the Fed's favorite inflation reading. Earnings reports have generally been better than expected so far this first quarter. Humana (HUM) reports before the bell Wednesday; Meta Platforms and Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) report after the bell Wednesday. ET: Personal Spending & Income (includes PCE Price Index) Club trades this week Just one trade: We added 150 shares of Coterra Energy (CTRA) on Wednesday. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

☆ Burger King’s secret weapon against McDonald’s is the Whopper
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The plan is still in early stages: Burger King has invested $40 million as of the end of last year. At US Burger King locations open at least 13 months, sales jumped 5% in the quarter, thanks in part to the burger. “I don’t know what his place might be in the future.”The fast food war heats upFor Burger King, the Whopper is more than just a burger. But even if the Whopper isn’t all that different from other fast food burgers, it’s the one Burger King has got. For Burger King, “the challenge is you’re competing against McDonald’s, and McDonald’s is really good,” said Senatore.

☆ Final Trades: MRK, MCD, XOM & GOOGL
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Melissa Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailFinal Trades: MRK, MCD, XOM & GOOGLThe final trades of the day with CNBC's Melissa Lee and the Fast Money traders.

☆ Here are Friday's biggest analyst calls: Amazon, Tesla, CVS, Microsoft, XPO, AT&T, Spotify & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Bank of America reiterates Alphabet as buy Bank of America says it's bullish heading into Alphabet earnings next week. JPMorgan reiterates Amazon as a best idea JPMorgan says it's bullish heading into the e-commerce giant's earnings report next week. "We continue to see streaming music & audio as an attractive growth market and remain OW WMG and SPOT." Stephens initiates SentinelOne as overweight Stephens initiated the cyber security company with an overweight and says it has "best-in-class growth." JPMorgan reiterates Charles Schwab as overweight JPMorgan says Charles Schwab could be worth more if it were to "de-bank."

☆ Carlyle eyes fresh backers for McDonald's China arm - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 21 (Reuters) - Carlyle Group Inc (CG.O) is considering bringing in fresh backers for its investment in McDonald's Corp's (MCD.N) China operations, seeking a valuation of $8-$10 billion for the business, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. Carlyle, which controls McDonald's China along with Trustar Capital, could sell down part of their stakes in the fast-food giant in the deal while still retaining control, the report added, citing people familiar with the matter. In 2017, the U.S fast-food chain agreed to sell most of its China and Hong Kong business to CITIC and Carlyle for up to $2.1 billion. Trustar Capital is a private equity affiliate of CITIC Capital Holdings. Carlyle, McDonald's and Trustar did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

☆ Final Calls: AMZN & MCD
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailFinal Calls: AMZN & MCDThe final trades this week. With CNBC's Melissa Lee and the Options Action traders.

NEW YORK, April 18 (Reuters) - Burger King is banking on its viral "Whopper Whopper" jingle to lift sales as part of the flagging fast-food chain's turnaround plan, as broader economic uncertainty pushed two big franchisees into bankruptcy. "I'm optimistic about the trajectory of sales in 2023," said U.S. and Canada Burger King president Tom Curtis in an interview, adding that the jingle's fervent success was "unanticipated." Unlike other fast-food chains like Subway that are consolidating restaurant ownership among fewer franchisees, Burger King is expanding the number of owners in its system. This year, two large U.S. Burger King franchisees that run more than 200 locations across at least 10 states have filed for bankruptcy, citing poor sales atop surging costs for labor and goods. "We don't want to diminish the importance of this crisis, but we also will leverage it to bring in new operators," Curtis said.

☆ McDonald’s is upgrading its burgers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —McDonald’s, which has been focusing on upgrading its core items to boost sales, is rolling out a series of changes designed to improve its signature burgers. The Big Mac will come with more Big Mac sauce. “In an environment where our customers are looking for the simple and familiar, our core menu items have never been more relevant,” he said. McDonald's USAFocusing on promoting its core menu items, rather than introducing new products, is a way to keep processes simpler and reduce friction in the kitchen. “Throughout 2022, some of our most successful campaign platforms brought our customers closer to the core menu items,” Kempczinski said during the January call.

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