Christmas gifts on New Year's… This holiday season is poised to be another record year of gift-giving, but it hasn’t been so merry for FedEx, which reports Thursday. Last quarter, FedEx’s profits cooled as wage hikes (see: labor shortage) and higher transportation costs added $450M in expenses. Plus, competition is hot: Amazon’s on pace to become the largest US delivery service by early next year. FedEx has already cut its earnings outlook for the year, and it's still TBD how Omicron could affect the rest of the holiday shopping season.
Unlimited breadsticks are back… Olive Garden owner Darden Restaurants has majorly rebounded from its pandemic plunge, as hangry Eggplant Parm-pounders hit dining rooms. Carbo-loaded quarterly sales jumped 51% from last year, even topping pre-pandemic levels. Darden’s profit more than 6X’d, as it cut back on marketing and kept its menu simple (no 146-ingredient linguini). Despite a national labor shortage, Darden added 34 new restaurants and is almost back to its pre-Covid staffing levels. Next, Darden serves up earnings on Friday.