Raphael Stevens

United Airlines grew its second-quarter profit thanks to strong travel demand, especially in international markets.
United and Delta have been standouts in an airline industry awash in U.S. domestic capacity.

United Airlines planes at Denver International Airport.
Leslie Josephs | CNBC

United Airlines’ second-quarter profit rose more than 20% from last year as strong demand for international travel boosted the carrier’s results, but its third-quarter forecast came in shy of estimates as an oversupply of flights weighs on fares.
United said Wednesday that it expects to earn between $2.75 and $3.25 a share on an adjusted basis in the current quarter, lower than the $3.44 a share analysts polled by LSEG estimated.

Here’s what United reported for the second quarter compared with what Wall Street expected, based on average estimates compiled by LSEG:

Earnings per share: $4.14 adjusted vs. $3.93 expected
Revenue: $14.99 billion vs. $15.06 billion expected

United earned $1.32 billion, or $3.96 per share, in the three months ended June 30, up from $1.08 billion, or $3.24 per share, a year earlier. Adjusting for one-time items, it reported earnings of $4.14 a share, compared with $3.93 that analysts expected.
Revenue of $14.99 billion jumped 5.7% from the year-earlier period, though it was just shy of estimates.
United reiterated its full-year forecast for adjusted earnings of $9 to $11 a share.
United and Delta Air Lines, which also disappointed with its third-quarter guidance, have still been standouts in the U.S. airline industry. Most carriers have been struggling with an increase in domestic capacity that has weighed on airfares, despite record demand.

Both carriers have added international flights, which have been in high demand after the pandemic, and premium offerings, like bigger lounges and more spacious seats, capitalizing on travelers willing to pay more for a ticket.
United said on Wednesday that premium revenue grew more than 8% from last year, while sales from the most restrictive basic economy tickets rose 38%, as it works to cater to both ends of the market.
The company expanded domestic flying by more than 5% in the second quarter over last year, and unit revenues fell more than 1% over last year. Yields on flights to and from Europe, which is a smaller slice of United’s sales, rose more than 5%, compared with the second quarter of 2023.
United CEO Scott Kirby said airlines have been trimming their schedules and that there will be an inflection point to moderate the supply in mid-August.
“Looking forward, we see multiple airlines have begun to cancel loss-making capacity, and we expect leading unit revenue performance among our largest peers in the second half of the third quarter,” he said.
On Tuesday, Spirit Airlines cut its second-quarter forecast, citing weaker-than-expected revenue for fees like seating or luggage. Southwest Airlines and American Airlines, which report results on July 25, previously reduced their second-quarter estimates.

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Darden agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of Chuy’s at $37.50 per share, according to a press release.
The Tex-Mex restaurant chain joins Darden’s portfolio that includes restaurants such as Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse and Ruth’s Chris Steak House.

Igor Golovniov | Getty Images

Darden Restaurants will acquire Chuy’s Holdings for approximately $605 million in cash, the companies announced jointly on Wednesday.
Darden agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of Chuy’s at $37.50 per share, according to a press release. The Tex-Mex restaurant chain joins Darden’s portfolio that includes restaurants such as Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse and Ruth’s Chris Steak House.

“Based on our criteria for adding a brand to the Darden portfolio, we believe Chuy’s is an excellent fit that supports our winning strategy,” Darden CEO Rick Cardenas said in a statement. “I am excited to welcome their 7,400 team members to Darden and diversify the Darden portfolio into a new dining category.”
Chuy’s generated total revenues of over $450 million in its latest 12 months ended March 31, according to the release. The company, founded in Austin, Texas, in 1982, has 101 restaurants in 15 states.
Cardenas said in the press release that Chuy’s has strong performance and growth potential. “Together we will accelerate our business goals and bring our authentic, made-from-scratch Tex-Mex to more guests and communities,” Chuy’s CEO Steven Hislop said in a statement.
Darden expects the transaction to be completed in their fiscal second quarter, according to the release.

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International buyers bought 54,300 existing homes from April 2023 to March 2024 — a 36% drop from the year before, according to the National Association of Realtors.
That’s the lowest level of international investment since the NAR began tracking it in 2009.
Foreign buyers are facing high prices and tight supply in the housing market, and they’re also up against a strong U.S. dollar.

International buyers of U.S. residential real estate are running into the same hurdles as domestic buyers — namely high prices and tight supply — but they’re also up against a strong U.S. dollar, which makes the properties even more expensive for them. As a result, international buyers are pulling out.
They purchased 54,300 existing homes from April of last year to March of this year, a 36% drop from the year before, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors. This is the lowest level of international investment since the NAR began tracking it in 2009.

The dollar volume, $42 billion, was also down 21% from the year before.
This comes as both the average ($780,300) and median ($475,000) purchase prices were the highest the NAR ever recorded for foreign buyers.
The top buyers by volume were from Canada, China, Mexico and India. Those buyers purchased the most properties in Florida, Texas, California and Arizona. Chinese buyers spent the most money, purchasing higher priced homes, according to the NAR.
The report only counts sales of existing homes, and foreign buyers are big in the new development space, which is not reflected in the data.
“The strong U.S. dollar makes international travel cheaper for Americans but makes U.S. homes much more expensive for foreigners,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the NAR. “Therefore, it’s not surprising to see a pullback in U.S. home sales from foreign buyers.”

But foreign buyers also face additional hurdles.
“We don’t have a credit score, we have a weird name, we have a different passport,” said Yuval Golan, CEO of Waltz, a new company that aims to facilitate foreign purchases of U.S. residential real estate. “Then we need to wire money across two countries, that takes time. There’s additional foreign currency exchange that we need to deal with, a bunch of titles are things we don’t know, like a title company, and a mortgage broker and a lender that might not understand our history of credit and income.”
Golan said Waltz provides foreign investors with a simpler, remote experience to buy U.S. real estate in 30 days.
“We underwrite them in their home country, we help them to set up an LLC. Within seconds, we open for them a U.S. FDIC-insured bank account, we collect their money locally, and we’re able to do foreign currency exchanges within seconds,” Golan added.
Waltz is also acting as a mortgage lender, albeit at higher than market rates.
As it stands, international buyers make up just 1.3% of all U.S. home sales annually, according to the NAR, and half of international buyer sales were all-cash, compared with 28% of total existing-home sales.
More supply is coming onto the U.S. market, but it is still historically low, and prices remain stubbornly high.
And then there’s the upcoming presidential election. International buyers tend to pull back during times of political uncertainty. It is unlikely sales from foreign buyers will improve in the coming year unless several factors, both economic and political, improve. More

The Copa America soccer final between Argentina and Colombia on Sunday saw chaotic scenes at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
It’s raising questions about the United States’ preparedness to co-host the 2026 World Cup.
The U.S. is set to host 78 out of the 104 World Cup matches as a co-host of the tournament in 2026, alongside Canada and Mexico.

Fans of Colombia and Argentina the CONMEBOL Copa America 2024 Final match between Argentina and Colombia at Hard Rock Stadium on July 14, 2024 in Miami Gardens, Florida. 
Maddie Meyer | Getty Images

The Copa America soccer final between Argentina and Colombia on Sunday saw chaotic scenes at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami — and is raising questions about the United States’ preparedness to co-host the 2026 World Cup.
The stadium, home field of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins with a capacity of more than 65,000 spectators, was overwhelmed when non-ticketed fans rushed the gates, climbing through security railings and air vents to get in.

Facilities and barriers were damaged, ticketed fans were boxed out from their seats by non-paying crowds, and the game was ultimately delayed more than 80 minutes, ending after midnight with an Argentinian victory over Colombia. (A halftime show was also added this year in a first for the league, further extending the event.)
“It was, without a question, not just an embarrassment, it was absurd,” said Anjali Bal, Babson College associate professor of entertainment and sports marketing.
Miami-Dade Commissioner Oliver Gilbert said at a press conference Monday that law enforcement is working with promoters and the stadium to make sure the incident doesn’t happen again.
“We host big events. Well, I’ve never seen anything like I saw last night, and we’re not going to see that again,” Gilbert said.
A total of 27 arrests were made, including that of Colombia’s soccer federation president Ramón Jesurún and his son, who were accused of attacking three security guards who stopped them from accessing the field, according to the arrest form.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said it responded to a total of 120 incidents at the stadium and the surrounding area, 116 of which were for medical calls. 

Large crowds of fans try to enter the stadium amid disturbances prior the CONMEBOL Copa America 2024 Final match between Argentina and Colombia at Hard Rock Stadium on July 14, 2024 in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Megan Briggs | Getty Images

“The only thing that is fortunate here is that nobody died, but a lot of people look to be in very difficult shape, and it was perfectly avoidable,” Lee Berke, CEO of LHB Sports, Entertainment & Media, told CNBC. 
The debacle quickly drew questions about the United States’ preparedness for major soccer events, just two years ahead of a global showcase.
The U.S. is set to host 78 out of the 104 World Cup matches as a co-host of the tournament in 2026, alongside Canada and Mexico. The tournament final is slated for MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, and Hard Rock Stadium, where the Copa final turned chaotic, will host seven games, including the third-place match.
Chief among the criticisms is what some say was a lack of security checkpoints and an outer perimeter to stop the flow of traffic into the stadium.
“I think the organizers of the tournament didn’t prepare properly for handling large-scale crowds to be funneled into the stadium,” Berke said.
The South American Football Confederation, CONMEBOL, blasted Hard Rock Stadium in a press release on Monday, saying stadium officials had failed to account for the safety recommendations the confederation made.
Hard Rock, for its part, said it “implemented, and in many cases exceeded, CONMEBOL’s security recommendations.” 

World Cup warm-up

Although this isn’t the first Copa that the United States has hosted — the U.S. first took on hosting duties back in 2016 — for many, this championship was seen as a warm-up for the 2026 World Cup.
“Some of the fears are unfairly being placed on an event that will happen in two years, but that’s really the only nice thing I can say,” Bal said. “When you have this many problems at the dress rehearsal, that doesn’t bode well for the production.”
An estimated 5 million fans are expected to travel to the 16 host cities across the U.S., Canada and Mexico for the 38 days of the tournament, according to Sports Business Journal.
Berke said he thinks the United States is well equipped to handle that volume, and that FIFA will run the show well.
“This country has tremendous experience in event running; there’s probably no more skilled country on Earth, with the people in place, the organizations in place that know how to run games and keep fans safe,” Berke said. “If that expertise is tapped into, then I’m certain that the World Cup is going to be tremendously successful.”
Bal noted the mishaps in the Copa tournament could provide a road map to making the 2026 World Cup a success.
In addition to the final match security concerns, several American stadiums also came under fire for issues with the turf, which was installed in the American football stadiums that hosted the games ahead of the tournament. The coach of the Argentinian national team, Lionel Scaloni, told reporters at a post-match press conference last month that the fields were not in good condition and not apt for players.
“If we look at it as, we saw all of the problems and now we have teams who are going to deal with the turf and teams who are going to deal with the security … then I think you’re going to be able to fix that,” Bal said. More

The Mirage is closing its doors after 35 years to make way for Hard Rock’s new Guitar hotel. 
Resorts are leaning into luxury touch points, access to high-end dining, boast-worthy entertainment and high-priced sports packages. 
While Hard Rock’s entry to the Las Vegas Strip may provide stiff new competition when it reopens, its closure in the meantime could give its neighbors a boost. 

It’s the end of an era. The Mirage is closing its doors after 35 years to make way for Hard Rock’s new Guitar hotel. 
The latest turnover in Las Vegas marks a new chapter for the destination city, where sports and entertainment are a bigger draw than the gambling for tourists.

Hard Rock International Chairman Jim Allen told CNBC he’s humbled and feels fortunate to be remaking the legendary integrated resort. 
“When Steve and Elaine Wynn opened the Mirage in December of 1989, it changed not just Las Vegas, but it changed the way people look at gaming. It became a true destination,” Allen said.

The volcano attraction in front of The Mirage Hotel & Casino erupts on July 16, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hard Rock International (HRI) will close the resort on July 17, 2024, to begin a construction project to transform the property into the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Guitar Hotel Las Vegas by 2027. 
Ethan Miller | Getty Images

The Mirage was the Wynns’ first megaresort, the largest hotel in the world at that point. This week, Steve Wynn wrote a tribute to the ground-breaking property, as reported in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
“In the prior 16 years, no completely new hotel had been built in Las Vegas,” Wynn wrote. “However, in the next decade following the 1989 arrival of Mirage, we rushed into a virtual doubling of the town’s capacity and became the fastest growing city in America. To call The Mirage a catalyst would be an understatement.”
The themed resorts that followed hearken to another place and time. Excalibur, Luxor and New York-New York largely now cater to budget-minded visitors and families. 

Paris Las Vegas offers views of a replica Eiffel Tower. The Venetian attracts tourists with replica canals and gondolas. Caesars Palace with its replica of Michelangelo’s David set the early standard for themed resorts when it opened in 1966. 

A sign at The Mirage Hotel & Casino displays a message thanking their workers and the local community on July 16, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hard Rock International (HRI) will close the resort on July 17, 2024, to begin a construction project to transform the property into the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Guitar Hotel Las Vegas by 2027.
Ethan Miller | Getty Images

But the future is in luxury touch points, access to high-end dining, boast-worthy entertainment and high-priced sports packages. 
And Hard Rock International has lots of experience providing it, in Florida; Atlantic City, New Jersey; New York; – and in 70 countries around the world. 
The gambling and entertainment company, owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, bought The Mirage from MGM Resorts in December 2022.
VICI Properties, a gaming real estate investment trust and the largest property owner on the Las Vegas Strip, owns The Mirage buildings and land, and says it will partner with Hard Rock to bring the new resort to life.

Rendering of proposed future Guitar-shaped hotel tower at the Hard Rock Hotel &Casino Las Vegas.
Credit: Renderings courtesy of Hard Rock International

Hard Rock will model its Las Vegas renovation on its highly successful Guitar Hotel at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood in South Florida. Throughout the Sunshine State, Hard Rock enjoys a near monopoly on gambling. 
But in Las Vegas, competition is fierce. Staying relevant on the Strip requires frequent room renovations, facilities upgrades, and new amenities to attract not only bachelor parties and girls’ weekends, but also the midweek bread-and-butter convention crowd.   
On Monday Susquehanna gaming analyst Joe Stauff wrote, “It seems to us that MGM is stepping up its investment in Las Vegas to maximize the benefits of its portfolio positioning that surrounds all the sports venues.”    
In the same note, Stauff criticized Caesars for being stingy with its investments in Strip properties and downgraded Caesars stock from a neutral rating to negative.
Caesars is scheduled to post second-quarter earnings on July 30. MGM Resorts International reports a day later.
When the Mirage ceases operations Wednesday, 3,000 employees will lose their jobs.
Allen told CNBC he hopes to rehire many of them when the new resort launches. The company is scheduling a spring 2027 reopening.
“I think the world is going to be shocked at some of the artists that we’re already talking to for long-term residency,” Allen said.

Rendering of proposed future Guitar-shaped hotel tower at the Hard Rock Hotel &Casino Las Vegas.
Credit: Renderings courtesy of Hard Rock International

While Hard Rock’s entry to the Las Vegas Strip may provide stiff new competition when it reopens, its closure in the meantime could give its neighbors a boost. 
CBRE analyst John DeCree estimates the Mirage closure will take nearly a million room nights out of circulation annually.
The Strip lost another 400,000 room nights annually when the Tropicana closed in April and is slated for demolition to make way for a new integrated resort and baseball stadium to host the A’s of Major League Baseball.
In total, 4.9% of the available rooms temporarily disappear at a time when room rates and visitation continue to set records.

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General Motors is updating its flagship Cadillac Escalade with new looks and enhanced technologies for the 2025 model year.
The automaker also will increase production of a V-Series performance model, which currently tops out at more than $152,000, to better meet demand.
The Escalade is a crucial vehicle for Cadillac — as well as brand parent GM — as the highly profitable flagship of the company’s full-size SUV lineup.

2025 Cadillac Escalade V-Series SUV

DETROIT — General Motors will increase production of its Cadillac Escalade V-Series performance model as part of updates to the flagship SUV for the 2025 model year.
The new SUV features a standard 55-inch diagonal display across the dash, including a passenger-only screen; an “executive package” for the second row; power doors; large 24-inch wheels; and other enhancements.

“The Escalade has always been about bold American craftsmanship, technology and performance, and has continuously raised the standard of full-size SUV luxury since it was introduced 25 years ago,” said John Roth, vice president of Cadillac, in a release.
The Escalade is a crucial vehicle for Cadillac — as well as brand parent GM — as the highly profitable flagship of the company’s large SUV lineup. GM has led in U.S. market share of full-size SUVs for decades.

2025 Cadillac Escalade

Many of the design tweaks for the 2025 model year, including sleeker front lighting and larger interior screen, better align the gas-powered model with an upcoming all-electric version of the vehicle. It continues to feature a massive front grille and commanding on-road presence.
The gas-powered 2025 Escalade will continue to be powered by two 6.2-liter V-8 engines, including a supercharged V-Series performance model capable of 682 horsepower and 653 foot-pounds of torque.
Cadillac said it will increase production of the 2025 Escalade V-Series, which was introduced two years ago, after not being able to meet demand for the current model year. Officials declined to specify how much production will increase.

“We are increasing production to help meet customer demand for the pinnacle of Escalade performance, luxury and craftsmanship, while maintaining exclusivity,” a Cadillac spokeswoman told CNBC.

2025 Cadillac Escalade V-Series SUV

GM said pricing for the 2025 models will be available closer to the vehicle’s launch. Current pricing ranges from about $81,000 for an entry-level model to more than $152,000 for the V-Series. The all-electric Escalade IQ is expected to start around $130,000 when it goes on sale later this year.
The Detroit automaker revealed enhancements to the gas-powered 2025 Escalade online Wednesday ahead of production and sales beginning late this year.
The Escalade will continue to be produced at GM’s Arlington Assembly in Texas along with full-size SUVs from Chevrolet and GMC that share a vehicle platform and other components with the Cadillac model.

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