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Luke Kawa

Archer-Daniels-Midland drops as Trump claims Coca-Cola will use “REAL Cane Sugar”

Archer-Daniels-Midland is slumping and Coca-Cola is modestly higher after President Donald Trump touted his alleged progress in changing a key ingredient in one of America’s most iconic beverages.

“I have been speaking to Coca-Cola about using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so,” the president wrote in a Truth Social post. “I’d like to thank all of those in authority at Coca-Cola. This will be a very good move by them — You’ll see. It’s just better!”

Coca-Cola did not confirm this news, but rather said that it appreciated the president’s enthusiasm and would offer “more details on new innovative offerings” soon.

Archer-Daniels-Midland produces, among other things, high-fructose corn syrup, which is right behind “carbonated water” in the list of Coca-Cola Original ingredients. Its starches and sweeteners business booked $207 million in operating profit in Q1, down 21% from a year earlier, and accounted for about 28% of total operating profits in the first three months of 2025.

The president did not say that Coke would no longer be using any corn syrup in its American formulation of Coca-Cola.

High-fructose corn syrup, which is cheaper than cane sugar in the US thanks in large part to government subsidies, has been a target of health advocates, who contend that its low price point leads to a wider array of inexpensive, unhealthy processed foods on the market. Some consumers, including many in the so-called “Make American Healthy Again” coalition, contend that high-fructose corn syrup is inextricably less healthy than cane sugar, despite the two ingredients being chemically nearly identical.

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POET Technologies surges above $10 for first time in 4 years amid explosion in call volumes

POET Technologies is up nearly 40% this week as options market activity goes haywire in a faint echo of what got the stock on retail traders’ radars in October.

As of 11:12 a.m. ET, more than 10 calls have changed hands for every put traded. This bullish impulse has propelled the stock above the $10 threshold for the first time since March 2022.

Shares of the optical communications firm briefly dipped last week after Wolfpack Research said it was short the company because its investors would be exposed to an “IRS tax nightmare.”

The company responded that day saying it was taking measures for US shareholders that “should mitigate certain potential adverse US federal income tax consequences to it that could otherwise result from the Company’s status as a passive foreign investment company.”

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GE Aerospace falls after leaving earnings guidance unchanged

Jet engine maker GE Aerospace slid in early trading Tuesday, as its better-than-expected Q1 results were overshadowed by uninspiring guidance.

It reported:

  • Q1 adjusted revenue of $11.61 billion vs. the $10.71 billion consensus expectation.

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $1.86 vs. the $1.60 consensus estimate.

But management left full-year 2026 adjusted EPS guidance where it was at between $7.10 and $7.40, compared to a consensus expectation of $7.49 from analysts.

“Were holding our full-year guidance across the board, given the macro uncertainty, though, with our strong start to the year, we are trending toward the high end of that range,” CEO Larry Culp said on the conference call.

GE Aerospace hit an air pocket in March as the start of the US war against Iran sent energy prices soaring and hurt expectations for the profitability of commercial carriers. A rally in April had pushed the stock close to positive territory for the year, but it’s solidly in the red after the results today.

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Trump says he doesn’t like potential United-American merger but would “love somebody to buy Spirit”

President Trump on Tuesday told CNBC that he doesn’t like the idea of a United Airlines-American Airlines merger, but would “love somebody to buy Spirit.”

“Maybe the federal government should help that one,” Trump said on Tuesday, referring to Spirit’s attempts to emerge from bankruptcy.

Trump’s thoughts on United-American are an update from last week, when White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the potential megamerger was “not something the president or the White House have an ​opinion on or are weighing in on.”

American and United shares dipped following Trump’s comments, as did Spirit rival Frontier Airlines.

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BYND rises on elevated volumes, has now doubled in the last 10 days after product revamps

Beyond Meat soared as much as 18% in overnight trading, extending a winning streak that has seen the stock nearly double since April 10, after gaining over 41% in yesterdays session alone.

Thats a significant turnaround for the meat alternative company, which just three weeks ago was tanking after issuing weak sales guidance... with the company’s management laying blame on American society for its business struggles.

Beyond repair?

BYND has had two distinct moments in the sun: one as a bona fide startup stud promising to transform the food industry forever in 2020 and 2021, and the other as a meme stock, when the company suddenly found itself at the center of a retail trading frenzy last October after a tumultuous few years.

Sparking this latest tick higher appears to be a new product release from last Thursday, when the company revealed that Beyond Immerse, the companys first functional beverage line, had signed a distribution agreement with Big Geyser — one of the countrys largest nonalcoholic distributors. That followed an update to its breakfast sausage range just three days earlier.

Its a big ask for a new sausage or protein-packed drinks with fruity flavors — both highly competitive categories — to fully save a company that’s seen sales sink, losses balloon, and its share price crater through the years. But the product news, combined with Beyond appeasing Nasdaq regulators by finally filing its delayed 2025 annual report, seems to have been enough to reinvigorate investor interest, shaking off some concerns about a delisting.

Perhaps most importantly, however, is that retail traders are once again fishing in the higher-risk, higher-reward end of the stock market pond. Risk-on assets have ripped higher in the last few weeks as geopolitical risks calmed, bringing indexes to an all-time high and seeing meme-like stocks soar on speculative excitement rather than business fundamentals. Just from last week, we’ve seen Allbirds and Myseum skyrocket on surprise AI pivot news. Retail favorites like quantum name IonQ have also caught a bid.

But, where Beyond’s concerned, this aint 2021 yet. And its still nowhere near last October, either:

Per Bloomberg data, there’s still plenty of interest in betting against the company — short interest as a percent of the equity float is at 35% — but it still pales compared to the 83% level from its October high.

In simple volume terms, BYND traded only some $224 million as of yesterday — a tiny fraction of October’s busiest day, when $11 billion changed hands.

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