Escalating costs send JetBlue shares deep in the red

Low-cost carrier JetBlue is tumbling in the premarket after failing to live up to the low-cost part of the equation.

Fourth-quarter losses were narrower than analysts expected, with revenues coming in above forecasts. But the airline expects that for 2025, its operating expenses per available seat mile (excluding fuel and other abnormal costs) will rise between 5% and 7%. The midpoint of that range is above what the Street had penciled in for cost growth.

I guess accepting Venmo isn’t expected to move the needle that much in making the airline more efficient going forward.

The stock had managed to close at its highest level since July 2023 on Monday despite the drubbing in major indexes.

More Markets

See all Markets

Claire Yubin Oh42m

Moderna jumps after settling Covid vaccine patent dispute

Moderna is up 4.8% at 5 a.m. ET in premarket trading after the pharma giant said on Tuesday that it had reached a deal to resolve a patent dispute related to the technology behind key Covid vaccine models.

Moderna will pay $950 million upfront, and a further $1.3 billion down the line, depending on the result of a separate appeal, to Arbutus Biopharma and Genevant Sciences to resolve all related disputes across its Spikevax^® and mRESVIA^® models. The settlement comes with no further royalties, which the company said in a press release would provide “certainty going forward for Moderna's full infectious disease portfolio.” That said, if Moderna’s appeal, based on its government-contractor immunity defense limits, ultimately prevails, the two biotech companies will refund the payment in full, including interest.

The $950 million charge is expected to be recorded in Q1 2026, per the company’s press release, leading Moderna to adjust its cash and cash equivalents expectations in the current calendar year to fall between $4.5 and $5 billion. Still, as analysts at William Blair observed late Tuesday, the total settlement amount is “worse than feared” — a take investors seem to be getting onboard with.

Noting that Moderna is driving towards its goal to break even in 2028, CEO Stéphane Bancel commented: “resolving this legacy matter from our pandemic response removes uncertainty and allows us to turn our full focus to Moderna's exciting near-term future.”

Luke Kawa, Tasha Matsumoto

14h

Stocks fall in another volatile trading session as the war in Iran continues into its fourth day

Stocks pared steeper losses after President Trump said in a Truth Social post that the US Navy would escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.

Luke Kawa14h

Oil to lows and stocks to highs of day after President Trump says US will insure and escort oil tankers through the Gulf

West Texas Intermediate futures dipped to their lowest level of the day while the SPDR S&P 500 ETF continued to pare losses after US President Donald Trump ordered immediate action to improve the flow of oil to global markets, as the US-Iran conflict caused shipments through the Strait of Hormuz to slow to a crawl.

In a Truth Social post, the president said the US International Development Finance Corp. would provide “political risk insurance and guarantees for the Financial Security of ALL Maritime Trade, especially Energy, traveling through the Gulf,” adding that the US Navy would escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz as soon as possible, if necessary.

Bloomberg’s Javier Blas explained that having oil-producing countries in the region able to reload crude on tankers is critical to avoiding production shut-ins.

Of course, there is a risk of unintended consequences from a heightened US presence in the region’s most strategically important area, from the perspective of global markets, during a time of kinetic military action. US naval escorts through the strait could dramatically increase the risk of an incident that massively escalates the conflict.

Luke Kawa

18h

War has pushed global markets into the danger zone

Correlations within the US stock market and between asset classes are rising.

Max Knoblauch19h

Versant climbs in its first quarter after spin-off, announces dividend and $1 billion stock buyback

Versant Media, the owner of cable TV assets including CNBC, MS Now, and Golf Channel, reported its first earnings since spinning off from Comcast earlier this year. The stock climbed 3% after markets opened.

Investors appear to like Versant’s $1 billion stock buyback plan and its newly announced quarterly dividend of $0.375 per share.

Versant reported Q4 revenue of $1.55 billion, shy of the $1.56 billion expected by analysts polled by FactSet. The company posted earnings of $0.72 per share in the quarter, below estimates of $0.96 per share.

MS Now, formerly MSNBC, was the most watched news channel on election night in November, Versant said. The network will launch a direct-to-consumer platform later this year.

Latest Stories

Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate, including Robinhood Markets, Inc., Robinhood Financial LLC, Robinhood Securities, LLC, Robinhood Crypto, LLC, or Robinhood Money, LLC.