Build-A-Bear Workshop Store At Mall of America

(Adam Bettcher/Getty Images)

Build-A-Bear stitches up its fourth straight year of record sales as fans cash in on cuddly creatures

The DIY toy biz plans to open at least 50 new locations this year.

3/13/25 3:17PM

Build-A-Bear shares surged as much as 11% on Thursday before paring back gains after the DIY stuffed-toy company topped Q4 expectations, delivering its fourth consecutive year of record revenue.

Build-A-Bear net earnings per share for the quarter hit $1.62, beating FactSet estimates of $1.51. Revenue inched up to $150.4 million, topping Wall Street’s forecast of $147.7 million. Excluding an extra week of operations, revenue climbed 5.7%, while net income landed at $21.7 million — also above expectations. Annual revenue came in at a record-breaking $496 million.

Build-A-Bear isn’t just for kids anymore. The brand has expanded beyond its younger audience, luring millennials and Gen Z with collaborations ranging from Swarovski to Harry Potter — not to mention its 18-plus After Dark collection. Today, about 40% of its customers are teens and adults. The company is also in expansion mode. Last year, it added 64 net new retail units and grew its footprint to over 25 countries.

This year, Build-A-Bear plans to open at least 50 new experience-based locations globally. Despite an expected $10 million hit from tariffs, the company is still aiming for a fifth consecutive year of record revenue. The stock is up 41% over the past year.

Max Knoblauch

Rivian turns red on the year, squeezed by a recall and the looming end of the EV tax credit

Shares of EV maker Rivian are down more than 5% on Friday following the company’s recall of 24,214 vehicles due to a software issue. The stock move erases Rivian’s year-to-date gain and turns the company negative on the year.

Rivian’s 2025 model year R1S and R1T are affected by the defect, which was identified after a vehicle’s hands-free highway assist software failed to identify another vehicle on the road, causing a low-speed collision. Rivian said it’s released an over-the-air update to fix the issue.

The recall marks Rivian’s fifth this year, affecting nearly 70,000 of its vehicles.

Rivian’s shares are down more than 20% from their 2025 high, which came prior to the passage of President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” Through the legislation, the $7,500 EV tax credit is set to expire at the end of the month.

J. Edward Moreno

17m

Moderna, Pfizer dip after WaPo reports Trump officials’ plan to link Covid vaccines to child deaths

Vaccine makers are falling after The Washington Post reported that the Trump administration plans to link the coronavirus vaccine to 25 child deaths.

Moderna and Pfizer, the two companies who sell the vaccine in the US, fell by more than 5% and 2%, respectively. The coronavirus vaccine is virtually the only revenue driver for Moderna, while Pfizer has a larger and more diverse portfolio.

Trump officials to link child deaths to covid shots, alarming career scientists

Hyunsoo Rim

DEVELOPING PROBLEMS

Concerns about rising government debt are not strictly an American problem

Global government debt piles are swelling to record levels. That’s an issue for many nations, but developing countries may be most at risk.

Closeup rolled of variety banknote and multi currency around the world. Exchange rate and Forex investment concept.-Image.

Nia Warfield

RH slips after missing Q2 estimates and trimming its outlook amid cost pressure

Restoration Hardware shares dropped Friday morning after the luxury furniture brand missed Q2 estimates and tightened its full-year outlook.

Adjusted earnings per share came in at $2.93, below the Street’s estimate of $3.21. Revenue was $899.2 million, also missing analysts’ forecast of $905 million.

RH now expects full-year revenue growth of 9% to 11%, down from prior guidance of 10% to 13%, as margins get squeezed by tariffs and weakness in the housing market. Wall Street had been looking for about 10% growth this year.

The retailer is taking steps to blunt cost pressures, including shifting sourcing away from China. RH expects receipts to fall from 16% in Q1 to 2% in Q4, with vendors absorbing a meaningful portion of the tariff impact. RH is also boosting US manufacturing capacity in North Carolina and pushing back a new concept launch to next spring.

RH shares are down about 43% year to date.

Hyunsoo Rim

Super Micro rises as the company begins shipments of Nvidia Blackwell chips

Super Micro Computer jumped over 6% in premarket trading on Friday after the company announced it has started shipping “Plug-and-Play (PnP)-ready” racks powered by Nvidia’s new Blackwell Ultra chips, giving data center customers a ready-made option to scale up their AI infrastructure.

The rollout enables what SMCI calls “turn-key day-one” operations, with the entire racks preassembled and tested to work out of the box.

“Data center customers face many AI infrastructure challenges: complex network topology and cabling, power delivery, and thermal management,” CEO Charles Liang said. “Through Supermicro Data Center Building Block Solutions with our expertise in on-site deployment, we enable turn-key delivery of the highest-performance AI platform — critical for customers seeking to invest in cutting-edge technology.”

The company says the new system’s performance jumps up to 7.5x over Nvidia’s previous-generation chips. It’s also designed to run more efficiently, using less power and water while taking up less floor space, cutting the overall operating costs by 20%, according to the statement.

The launch comes after a rocky August, when SMCI’s shares plunged on weaker-than-expected quarterly results and management trimmed its annual revenue target.

Investors in Super Micro have endured much volatility this year, as the company has failed to deliver on multiple occasions. Even so, the shares are up nearly 50% year to date.