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Margin care: Consumer giant Procter & Gamble is navigating inflation with ease

Margin care: Consumer giant Procter & Gamble is navigating inflation with ease

Margin care

Consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble reported strong quarterly earnings and revenue growth on Friday, beating Wall Street expectations and raising its outlook for the rest of 2023, sending shares up 3% in Friday's trading.

From a PR perspective, the company behind leading brands like Tide, Pampers, Febreeze, Tampax and Crest, has almost had too good a quarter — leading to accusations of “greedflation”. Sales volume for the quarter fell, but hiking prices 10% on average helped the company's overall sales still rise 4%.

Master of all

Since its humble beginnings in 1837, Procter & Gamble has grown into a consumer giant. The company now owns more than 65 brands, meaning that if you’ve washed your hands, cleaned the dishes, done the laundry, or brushed your teeth today, there’s a decent chance that you’ve used at least one P&G product.

While some product lines have come and gone over the years — the company’s successful entry into the food & drinks market is now all but over — P&G’s core divisions are still in good shape. Across every single division, P&G boasts healthy profit margins. Its Fabric & Home Care division is its largest by sales, hauling in ~$21 billion in the 9 months to the end of March, while Grooming and Beauty make the highest margins, nearing 30% each.

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Delta to increase bag fees by $10 on domestic flights this week, following JetBlue and United, as jet fuel surges

As the price of jet fuel surges amid the war in Iran, Delta Air Lines on Tuesday announced that it will hike its checked bag fees by $10 beginning this week.

Checking one bag on a domestic Delta flight will now cost $45, up from $35. A second bag will cost $55, up from $45, and a third will cost $200, up from $150. In a statement to Sherwood News, Delta issued the following announcement:

“For tickets purchased on or after April 8, Delta will increase fees for first and second checked bags by $10 and for a third checked bag by $50 on domestic and select short-haul international routes. These updates are part of Delta’s ongoing review of pricing across its business and reflect the impact of evolving global conditions and industry dynamics. Delta SkyMiles Medallion Members; customers traveling in First Class, Delta Premium Select and Delta One; active-duty military customers; and those with eligible co-branded Delta SkyMiles American Express Cards will continue to receive their allotment of complimentary checked bags.”

The move follows similar hikes by JetBlue and United Airlines last week. More are likely to come: when one major airline adjusts its fees, others tend to follow quickly behind. Delta last raised its bag fees in 2024, along with other major airlines.

Jet fuel prices were $4.69 a gallon on Monday, per the Argus US Jet Fuel Index. That’s up from the low $2 range for much of January.

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Paramount reportedly receives $24 billion from Gulf funds to back its Warner Bros. takeover

Three Middle East sovereign wealth funds have agreed to back Paramount’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery to the tune of roughly $24 billion, according to Wall Street Journal reporting.

The company’s triumph over Netflix in the bidding war came thanks in part to financial backing from Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison, billionaire father of Paramount CEO David Ellison.

Saudi Arabia’s PIF, which last year led the $55 billion deal to take Electronic Arts private, will provide about $10 billion in the deal. The Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi’s L’imad Holding Co. is also involved.

According to the WSJ, the funds will not receive voting rights in the combined Paramount-Warner company. Those working on the deal don’t expect the Gulf funds’ involvement to spark any additional regulatory reviews.

The company’s triumph over Netflix in the bidding war came thanks in part to financial backing from Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison, billionaire father of Paramount CEO David Ellison.

Saudi Arabia’s PIF, which last year led the $55 billion deal to take Electronic Arts private, will provide about $10 billion in the deal. The Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi’s L’imad Holding Co. is also involved.

According to the WSJ, the funds will not receive voting rights in the combined Paramount-Warner company. Those working on the deal don’t expect the Gulf funds’ involvement to spark any additional regulatory reviews.

The entrance of Allbirds seen from Hayes St. in San Francisco, Calif.

Allbirds, the once buzzy multibillion-dollar sneaker startup, is selling up for $39 million

That’s less than 1% of its peak market cap about four years ago.

Tom Jones3/31/26

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