More dough: Why Domino's shares are soaring

7/13/23 8:00PM

More dough

‍This week, Domino’s Pizza announced a surprising new partnership with Uber Eats and Uber-owned Postmates, a move that sent the company's shares soaring more than 13% in the last 5 days. The news marks a significant shift for the pizza giant. Historically, Domino's has been a staunch opponent of third-party delivery apps, keeping tight control over its product chain, supplying franchisees with everything from dough and ingredients to equipment and services through its enormous supply chain.

Whether you slice the numbers by sales or stores, Domino’s is the world’s largest pizza company, shipping more than 1.5 million pies every single day, through its network of franchised stores. That scale has enabled the company, until now, to resist the urge to partner with the food delivery apps.

But habits are changing. The company’s CEO, Russell Weiner, says that pizza delivery orders directly from chains aren’t growing — Domino’s reported a 2% decline in US delivery same-store sales for the first quarter this year — while app-based orders are on the rise. Pie rivals Papa Johns and Pizza Hut jumped on third-party delivery apps as early as 2019, and third-party delivery apps now account for 14% of pizza sales in the US, up from 4% before the pandemic, per analytics firm Circana.

The new partnership is expected to boost annual sales by up to $1 billion. That’s good news for the individual franchise operators and the parent company itself, which makes the majority of its profit from franchise royalties and fees. Indeed, just 8% of the company’s sales — and less of its profits — in the first quarter of 2023 were from company-owned stores.

Max Knoblauch2h

Paramount reportedly offers concessions to resolve multistate antitrust investigation

Paramount has reportedly offered up some concessions in an effort to prevent an antitrust lawsuit by California and about 10 other states, according to Bloomberg reporting on Monday.

Reuters first reported on the potential suit from a group of unnamed states last week, which could throw a wrench in Paramount’s plans to buy rival Warner Bros. Discovery in a Hollywood megamerger.

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

Paramount Offers Concessions to Head Off State Antitrust Lawsuit

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

$98B ⛽

Max Knoblauch9h

The IATA released its latest financial outlook for the airline industry over the weekend, forecasting a $98 billion jump in the sector’s collective fuel bill. The world’s largest trade group representing airlines expects the oil spike to halve profits by 49% from last year to $23 billion.

The group also expects profit margins to halve year over year, falling from 2025’s 4.2% to 2%. Still, revenue is expected to climb to $1.17 trillion from $1.07 trillion.

A surge in the cost of jet fuel has rocked US and global airlines this year, leading Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, and others to raise fares and ancillary charges like bag fees. Low-cost carriers, which operate on smaller margins, have been squeezed the hardest, resulting in Spirit’s shutdown.

“It’s a tough year for all airlines, especially those whose balance sheets had not yet recovered from COVID. And, of course, for those operating in the Gulf,” said IATA Director General Willie Walsh, who added that demand is holding up and about half of passengers expect to spend more on travel this year. “That bodes well for a strong northern summer peak season. The big unknown is how long travelers and shippers can tolerate the higher costs of connectivity.”

Hollywood Exteriors And Landmarks - 2025

1 year into the Switch 2, we might’ve seen the top of the console market

The Switch 2 launched on this day in 2025. Amid a rough year for consoles, Nintendo has logged a good one.

Max Knoblauch6/5/26

Max Knoblauch6/4/26

GM has reportedly rehired more than 100 former Cruise employees, 18 months after shuttering the robotaxi unit

GM has rehired more than 100 employees it let go early last year when it shuttered Cruise, its former robotaxi business, according to reporting by The Information.

The hiring spree, which also includes employees from Nvidia and Uber, is geared toward ramping up GM’s plans for personal-use self-driving vehicles and not robotaxis. The former had been the focus of Cruise, prior to GM shuttering it in 2024.

Reporting last fall revealed that GM was attempting to rehire some former Cruise employees, but the scope of that effort wasn’t clear. More than 1,000 employees were laid off when the automaker scrapped Cruise, which it invested $10 billion into.

Google’s Waymo, Cruise’s former chief rival, is now worth $126 billion after a $16 billion funding round earlier this year. The company says it’s serving 500,000 paid robotaxi rides per week in the US.

Exclusive: With Some 100 Rehired Cruise Employees, GM Pursues Eyes-Off Autonomous Cars

Claire Yubin Oh

vsxy

6/4/26

How Victoria’s Secret finally managed to get its sexy back

After years of struggle, Victoria’s Secret shares have been hitting new highs this week.

Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2025 - Runway