Raphael Stevens

Aeromexico, Saudia and Delta dominated the rankings for most on-time airlines last year.
On-time arrivals are flights that arrive within 15 minutes of their scheduled time.
No airline topped 90% in on-time arrivals.

Travelers view the arrival and departure boards at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., on Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021.
Elijah Nouvelage | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Air travel demand continued to surge in 2024, led by a bounce back in international trips.
From January through October alone, revenue-passenger miles worldwide, a demand metric, was up nearly 11% over last year, according to the International Air Transport Association. In 2025, IATA estimates aircraft departures of 40 million, up 4.6% from 2024.

Airlines scrambled to add flights and increase premium seating, which brings in higher revenue, especially on long-haul trips. Challenges from shortages of new aircraft to financial strife continued for some carriers, however, many passengers didn’t face the same flight disruptions as they did during acute staffing shortages coming out of the pandemic.

An Aeromexico airplane prepares to land on the airstrip at Benito Juarez international airport in Mexico City, Mexico.
Edgard Garrido | Reuters

The most on-time airlines spanned the globe, according to a ranking released Thursday by Cirium. The aviation data firm considers punctuality an arrival that occurs within 15 minutes of the scheduled time. Delta Air Lines topped the North American ranking despite its struggle to recover from the CrowdStrike outage in July that canceled thousands of flights.

Here’s how the world’s carriers fared:

(On-time rate in parenthesis)

Aeromexico (86.7%)
Saudia Airlines (86.35%)
Delta Air Lines (83.46%)
LATAM Airlines (82.89%)
Qatar Airways (82.83%)
Azul Airlines (82.42%)
Avianca (81.80%)
Iberia (81.58%)
Scandinavian Airlines (81.40%)
United Airlines (80.93%)

And here are the rankings for North American airlines:

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Restaurant chains like Wendy’s, Denny’s and Applebee’s closed locations in 2024 as consumers dined out less often.
U.S. restaurant visits fell for the first 10 months of the year, according to Black Box Intelligence.
The casual-dining sector was hit hard, leading to bankruptcy filings and hundreds of restaurant closures.

A rough year for the restaurant industry led many chains to close underperforming locations in 2024, as they try to improve their sales in the years to come.
Inflation-weary consumers pulled back their restaurant spending in 2024 and instead sought value and discounts when they did choose to dine outside their homes. Overall U.S. restaurant visits fell for the first 10 months of the year, according to data from industry tracker Black Box Intelligence.

The decline in restaurant spending led to weak sales and a surge in bankruptcies for the industry. Twenty-six restaurant companies filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2024, nearly triple the number of filings in 2020, during the height of the pandemic.
With few exceptions, casual-dining chains in particular struggled to attract customers, adding to the segment’s challenges that have mounted since the Great Recession. Since the rise of fast-casual chains, many diners have opted for the convenience and promised quality of players like Chipotle or Sweetgreen over the casual-dining chains that dominated in the prior decades.
Here are the restaurant chains that announced closures in 2024:

Wendy’s

The Wendy’s logo is seen on a sign outside the restaurant in Muncy. 
Paul Weaver | Lightrocket | Getty Images

In late October, Wendy’s announced it would shutter 140 underperforming locations by the end of the year, in addition to the roughly 80 closures it had in the first three quarters.
Executives made the decision to prune some outdated restaurants that had annual unit volumes of about $1 million each to improve the company’s overall footprint.

Despite the closures, the company expects to end 2024 with an unchanged restaurant count, thanks to its new restaurant openings, Wendy’s CEO Kirk Tanner told investors on the company’s third-quarter earnings conference call.

Applebee’s

A sign is posted in front of an Applebee’s restaurant on June 12, 2024 in Hayward, California. 
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

In May, Applebee’s parent, Dine Brands, said it planned to shutter between 25 and 35 of the brand’s U.S. locations. By late September, Applebee’s global unit count had fallen by 36 locations compared with the year-ago period.
Applebee’s same-store sales have declined for the last six straight quarters, according to company filings.
Dine Brands, which also owns IHOP, has closed more stores than it has opened every year since 2016, with the exception of 2022.

Denny’s

In an aerial view, customers enter a Denny’s restaurant on February 13, 2023 in Emeryville, California. 
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

Denny’s closed about 50 locations in 2024 and plans to shutter an additional 100 restaurants by the end of 2025. Including this year’s closures, the 24-hour diner chain still has roughly 1,300 open locations.
The restaurants marked for closure are in the lower third of the chain’s performers, with annual unit volumes of $1.9 million to $2 million, executives said at the company’s investor day in October. Once those restaurants shutter, Denny’s expects that both its same-store sales and annual unit volumes will improve. In its latest quarter, the chain’s same-store sales were roughly flat.
After 2025, Denny’s plans to open between 45 and 50 net new locations annually.

TGI Fridays

TGI Fridays logo is seen on one of their branches.
John Lamparski | Lightrocket | Getty Images

In November, TGI Fridays joined the slew of restaurant companies that filed for bankruptcy protection. But before it filed for Chapter 11, it shuttered 86 restaurants, starting with 36 closures in January and another 50 in late October.
The last round of closures took the chain’s footprint down to roughly 160 open locations worldwide. But the count could dwindle more. A bankruptcy court in Texas will determine TGI Fridays’ future, which could mean closures for the chain.

Red Lobster

The exterior of a Red Lobster restaurant on May 20, 2024 in Austin, Texas. Red Lobster has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after a failed lease-back agreement and “endless shrimp” promotion backfired against company revenue.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images

Red Lobster permanently shuttered more than 120 restaurants in 2024.
The seafood chain closed roughly 100 locations before it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May. Before it exited bankruptcy with a new owner and CEO, the company rejected the leases of another 23 restaurants.
But with 2024 now in the rearview mirror, Red Lobster is hoping that a comeback — with no more restaurant closures — is in its future.

Noodles & Co.

Michael Siluk | UCG | Universal Images Group | Getty Images

Fast-casual chain Noodles & Co. announced in August that it would close roughly 20 locations after reviewing its entire 475-restaurant footprint.
The review was part of the company’s efforts to improve its operations and finances after a rocky few years. Noodles & Co. has also been overhauling its menu, cutting items that don’t sell and adding new entrees that might appeal to more customers.
But the turnaround will take time. In its latest quarter, the company said same-store sales fell 3.3%.

Bloomin’

Customers arrive at an Outback Steakhouse restaurant on November 02, 2021 in Skokie, Illinois.
Scott Olson | Getty Images

Bloomin’ Brands, the parent company of Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill and Bonefish Grill, shuttered 41 underperforming restaurants in 2024.
The closures affected older locations with leases dating back to the 1990s and early 2000s, executives said on the company’s earnings conference call in February. To make the decision, the company weighed the locations’ sales and traffic, as well as the cost of investments to improve the locations. Most of the closures were Outback locations.
Like many other casual-dining companies, Bloomin’ has struggled to grow sales in recent quarters. Its U.S. same-store sales fell 1.5% in the third quarter.

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After decades of declining interest, horse racing could be poised for resurgence.
A boom in gambling makes for bigger purses and attracts higher quality horses.
Investments in facilities and innovations in races could entice new generations of fans.

America’s oldest horse racetrack is closing after running its last race on the final weekend of 2024. 
Freehold Raceway in New Jersey, co-owned by Penn Entertainment, tried for decades to land a casino but failed. Like many tracks around the nation, it grappled with declining attendance and revenue. It had been operating for more than 170 years.

“Unfortunately, the operations of the racetrack cannot continue under existing conditions, and we do not see a plausible way forward,” said Howard Bruno, the racetrack’s general manager, in a news release announcing the closure.
But industry insiders, investors and other enthusiasts believe horse racing in the United States could be poised for a resurgence — fueled by new investor interest, innovations in the sport and a boom in legalized online sports gambling. 

Horse race At the harness racing week on the Freehold Raceway in New Jersey: a reverse race with the sulky fixed in front of the horse – 1930.
Robert Sennecke | Ullstein Bild | Getty Images

In 2023, the sport added more than $36 billion to the U.S. economy, supporting nearly half a million jobs, according to the American Horse Council. 
Horse-racing revenue comes from a variety of sources: tickets, hospitality, merchandise purchases at the track, licensing for TV or simulcast, sponsorships and gambling.  
Reliable estimates of global horse-racing revenues are hard to come by, experts say, in part because of the private nature of ownership and in part because of the wide variety of metrics used. Revenue estimates range from $44 billion to nearly 10 times that.

Multiple sources agree the sport could see compound annual growth of roughly 9% in the years ahead.

Growth in gambling

No catalyst for the sport’s growth is more crucial at the moment than the revenue that comes from gambling. 
The handle, or the amount of money wagered on horse races, funds the purses, or the prize money, awarded to winning horses. So does the casino-style gambling at facilities associated with race tracks.
For example, Resorts World New York City, which operates video lottery terminals, is contractually obligated to turn over 12% of its net win to the New York Racing Authority, or NYRA. Patrick McKenna, NYRA’s vice president for communications, said that currently amounts to about $120 million annually. Of that total, $60 million goes toward purses, $40 million goes to capital improvements, and $20 million funds operations.
When the size of the purse grows it attracts higher quality horses, and higher quality horses attract more interest in the sport.   
In 2022, $12 billion was wagered on horse races, marking a new record, according to an analysis by the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, or NYTHA. The total purse money awarded that year also set a new record, at $1.25 billion.  

Fans place bets prior to the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, June 7, 2014.
Streeter Lecka | Getty Images

Growth in sportsbooks as well as the increased access Americans now have to legalized, online sports wagering is fueling optimism for horse racing’s resurgence. New ways to bet on horse racing means a new generation of sports enthusiasts is getting exposure to the sport. 
FanDuel, the nation’s leading sportsbook by market share, partnered with the Kentucky Derby for a second year in 2024. The company told CNBC that the volume of bets on Derby day hit the same level as Super Bowl gambling in the same year.

Crown jewel

The Kentucky Derby is the crown jewel of Churchill Downs — the most significant pure-play, publicly traded company focused on horse racing. 
The company announced a significant increase in adjusted EBITDA — earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization — during Derby Week in 2024, with critical sponsorships from companies that wanted to align themselves with the prestige event.
The company says record wagering numbers suggest the betting audience is not only growing but becoming increasingly engaged as they learn the sport, especially on the mobile platforms favored by a younger demographic.
“Our operational strategies present a model for other racing events to follow. Overall, the Kentucky Derby is not just a standalone event but a blueprint for the future of horse racing,” said CEO Bill Carstanjen.
Hall of Fame horse trainer Bob Baffert said the Kentucky Derby is special because it’s a bucket-list race: “It’s an Instagram moment for everybody. Everybody goes. They’re taking their selfies: ‘I’m here. I’m here at the biggest party.'”

But the high-profile Triple Crown races and the Breeders Cup may be outliers — a kind of World Series in the horse-racing schedule that otherwise is filled with everyday competitions that draw only a smattering of fans. 
Interest in more ordinary races has been waning for decades.
The amount of money wagered on pari-mutuel racing — where bettors gamble against other bettors and the odds constantly change ahead of the race — has declined by about 55% since 2000, when adjusted for inflation, according to the Paulick Report, a website about the horse-racing industry. 
Also, over the past two decades the number of owners, horses and trainers in the U.S. has plummeted, according to the NYTHA researchers. They concluded that in 2022 horse racing had “on most days been reduced to a niche market, albeit with a highly interested core audience.” 
Baffert told CNBC he believes horse racing needs more high-profile events with big purses to drum up buzz. And, like baseball, it needs superstars to draw in weekday audiences. 
Baffert, who is only the second trainer ever to have two Triple Crown winners, may be horse racing’s best-known character. But controversy in recent years has overshadowed his success.
Baffert was suspended for three years from competing at Churchill Downs after a horse he’d trained, Medina Spirit, won the Kentucky Derby in 2021 but tested positive for an anti-inflammatory drug that’s not allowed on race days — and was disqualified.
This summer, Churchill Downs lifted its suspension of Baffert after he publicly took responsibility for the failed drug test.  
Baffert returned to the storied racetrack the day before Thanksgiving, with a 2-year-old horse named Barnes that had never raced before but had fetched an impressive $3.2 million at an auction in Saratoga, New York, from now-owner Zedan Racing Stables.
The median price to purchase a race horse is about $30,000, according to BloodHorse, a publication for owners and breeders that tracks sales and the state of the market.
Barnes won by a nose in his debut.  

Wall Street funds

Some well-known Wall Street names have earned a reputation for spotting — or creating — opportunities in horse racing.
Danny Moses, a trader made famous in “The Big Short,” is a sport enthusiast, avid gambler and investor in race horses. And though he’s known for his short calls, he said he’s long on horses.
“I think the value of horses are going to go up,” Moses said, pointing to the bigger payouts and purses brought in by the boom in legalized online sports gambling.

Mystik Dan #3, ridden by jockey Brian J. Hernandez Jr. (R), crosses the finish line ahead of Sierra Leone #2, ridden by jockey Tyler Gaffalione and Forever Young, ridden by jockey Ryusei Sakai to win the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 04, 2024 in Louisville, Kentucky. 
Michael Reaves | Getty Images

Moses is one of 14 in an elite group of investors in Starlight Racing, which currently owns 26 race horses. It’s headed by former hedge funder Jack Wolf, and it produced 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify and 2020 Derby and Breeders Cup winner Authentic, both trained by Baffert.
Over a little more than two decades, Starlight-owned horses have finished in the money more than 50% of the time, raking in more than $64 million in total purse money. 
Wolf said his experience in hedge funds helped him to establish an innovative model to invest in horses, where all partners share in the potential upside for a group of horses. He said investors need to factor in the experience and the enjoyment of the sport into their expectations for return on investment.
“We’ve been around the world with our partnership. That’s what they’re investing in,” Wolf said. As far as concrete financial returns go, he said, “We’ve been successful some years, and some years we haven’t been. It’s a very tough business, a very tough way to make a return on your money, but it can be done.”
Wolf is now looking at the races themselves. In 2017 he was CEO of the Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park in Florida. The race set a new model: Owners paid $1 million each for a spot in the race, which they could use, sell or lease.
The race’s $12 million purse was the richest in the world. 
Though the Pegasus has reverted to a traditional race model since then, Australia has embraced the “gate race” or “slot race” structure, with some of the highest purses globally.   
And Moses is lobbying for more U.S. races to follow the unusual model, pitching racetracks such as Monmouth, Santa Anita and others.

Ramping up regulation

There remains a thorny problem for the U.S. horse-racing industry: It’s long been seen as the Wild West as far as regulations and oversight of horse welfare are concerned, according to Lisa Lazarus, CEO of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, or HISA. The organization was established by the Federal Trade Commission to oversee the integrity of horse racing across state lines and in different racing facilities. 
Investors don’t want their money attached to potential rules or ethics issues, Lazarus told CNBC.  
“By prioritizing consistent and transparent practices, HISA aims to reassure fans and the public that horse racing operates with integrity and safety at its core,” Lazarus told CNBC. “This commitment not only fosters trust but also creates an environment where innovation can thrive, attracting new owners, participants, and fans.”
But powerhouse operators Churchill Downs and the New York Racing Association, or NYRA, are suing HISA over fees.  
In a statement to CNBC, NYRA insisted it’s broadly supportive of HISA’s mission but is protesting “unlawful, excessive and disproportionate financial assessments.”
Lazarus said that in the end, HISA’s oversight and regulation will fuel more investment — similar to that of sports gambling or cryptocurrency — because the rules and legality are clearer. 
In 2020, racing horse deaths in the U.S. amounted to 1.41 per 1,000 race starts, according to HISA, which launched a track safety program in July 2022. After the agency standardized doping regulations and enforcement, horse deaths fell to an estimated 0.9 per 1,000 race starts in 2024.
It was the first time the U.S. has achieved anything below 1 in the metric and puts it on par with death rates in the United Kingdom, Japan and Australia, according to Lazarus.
Owners and trainers hope that will assuage concerns by lawmakers and regulators and discourage the kind of backlash that would hinder growth of the sport. 

New age of racing

Even if the sport can overcome the widespread perception of its treatment of horses, racetrack facilities are in desperate need of an overhaul. Outdated facilities discourage fans from attending. 
“They don’t want to go to a racing facility that’s been there since the 1960s with old infrastructure, with old bathrooms,” said Donna Brothers, NBC Sports racing analyst and commentator.
Churchill Downs is spending $300 million on improvements to its paddock and grandstand. Belmont Park is undergoing a $500 million renovation, funded by a loan from New York state. And Maryland’s legislature in April approved $400 million to overhaul Pimlico, home of the Preakness Stakes.  

The field of jockeys and horses start the 155th running of the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Race Course on June 08, 2024 in Saratoga Springs, New York. 
Al Bello | Getty Images

Brothers said the industry is going to have to embrace new technology, such as mobile apps, to go along with the physical improvements. 
Dennis Drazin, CEO and chairman of Monmouth Park Racetrack and Sports Book, said the sport’s true potential can only be realized through multiple revenue streams. 
“Racetracks will have to include gaming, entertainment, fan experience and innovation in their formula for success,” Drazin said.
NYRA, for one, is seeing a major boost from expanded national television coverage of its races. Fox Sports, a minority equity owner in NYRA Bets, airs 1,000 hours of horse racing throughout the year. NYRA said that boosted total wagers on its online platform 127%, from $306 million in 2016 to $696 million in 2023.
FanDuel bought racing broadcaster TVG and has become a leading operator in horse racing alongside NYRA and Churchill Downs’ TwinSpires, which licenses its gambling operations to other sportsbooks including FanDuel and DraftKings. 
DraftKings became a naming sponsor for the 2024 Travers Stakes in Saratoga. 
Despite the Freehold Raceway closure, Penn Entertainment said in a statement it’s looking to expand gaming tied to horse racing.
“In those states where commercial gaming is not yet approved at the racetracks, such as Texas, we continue to educate lawmakers on the success we’ve seen,” said Eric Schippers, senior vice president of public affairs for Penn. “Gaming has helped to revitalize racing, driving higher purses, enhanced breeding programs and the preservation of family farms and open space.” More

Active listings in November were 12.1% higher than they were in November 2023 and hit the highest level since 2020, according to a new report from Redfin.
More than half of those homes, however, had sat on the market for at least 60 days without going under a contract of sale.
The latest monthly price report from S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller showed prices nationally up 3.6% in October compared with the same month a year ago.

A home available for sale is shown in Austin, Texas, on May 22, 2024.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images

There’s good news in the housing market to close out 2024: there’s a lot more supply. The bad news: a lot of that supply is stale, sitting unsold for much longer than usual. 
Active listings in November were 12.1% higher than they were in November 2023 and hit the highest level since 2020, according to a new report from Redfin.

More than half of those homes (54.5%), however, had sat on the market for at least 60 days without going under a contract of sale. That is the highest share for any November since 2019 and is up nearly 50% from the year before, according to the report.
The typical home that did go under contract did so in 43 days, according to Redfin, the slowest November pace since 2019.
“A lot of listings on the market are either stale or uninhabitable. There’s a lot of inventory, but it doesn’t feel like enough,” said Redfin agent Meme Loggins, who was quoted in the report. “I explain to sellers that their house will sit on the market if it’s not fairly priced. Homes that are priced well and in good condition are flying off the market in three to five days, but homes that are overpriced can sit for over three months.”
Mortgage rates shot over 7% in October and have mostly stayed there through the end of the year, according to Mortgage News Daily. Home prices also continue to rise. The latest monthly price report from S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller, released Tuesday, showed prices nationally up 3.6% in October compared with the same month a year earlier.
“With the latest data covering the period prior to the election, our national index has shown continued improvement,” said Brian Luke, head of commodities, real and digital assets at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “Removing the political uncertainly risk has led to an equity market rally; it will be telling should the similar sentiment occur among homeowners.”

Pending home sales, which is a measure of signed contracts to purchase existing homes, rose in November both monthly and annually to the highest level in nearly two years, according to the National Association of Realtors. They were, however, coming off a very slow base. The Realtors claim interest rates are now at a new normal.
“Consumers appeared to have recalibrated expectations regarding mortgage rates and are taking advantage of more available inventory,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “Mortgage rates have averaged above 6% for the past 24 months. Buyers are no longer waiting for or expecting mortgage rates to fall substantially. Furthermore, buyers are in a better position to negotiate as the market shifts away from a seller’s market.”
The slower selling pace, however, doesn’t bode well for the new year, especially with interest rates remaining elevated. There is still demand, but renters are remaining renters longer, according to another Redfin report, due not only to higher home prices but higher prices for brokers and movers.
The seller lock-in effect, where some sellers don’t want to trade their low mortgage rates in order to move, did start to ease in 2024, according to a year-end report from CoreLogic, but that was mostly due to life events or the need to tap accumulated equity. The added inventory didn’t move the needle much on sales, as costs stood in the way.
“Buyers are struggling to keep pace with housing prices. The cost of owning a home now, when adjusted for inflation, is at its highest point in decades. This persistent increase in prices and interest rates has created a challenging environment for both first-time buyers and those looking to move up the property ladder,” wrote Selma Hepp, CoreLogic’s chief economist, in the report.

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