Raphael Stevens

The chief executive officer of Gap’s Old Navy division, Nancy Green, is set to depart her post this week.
As Gap searches for Green’s successor, the company’s CEO, Sonia Syngal, will be working closely with the Old Navy team, the retailer said Thursday.
Gap also slashed its fiscal first-quarter sales guidance, citing “execution challenges” within the Old Navy business.

An employee hands a customer a shopping bag at an Old Navy Inc. store in San Francisco.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Gap Inc. announced Thursday that the CEO of its Old Navy division, Nancy Green, is leaving her post this week.
Gap Chief Executive Sonia Syngal will work closely with the Old Navy team as it searches externally for Green’s successor, the company said.

In light of what it called “execution challenges” within its Old Navy business, Gap also slashed its outlook for net sales in the first quarter of fiscal 2022. It’s now projecting low- to mid-teens declines compared with the prior year, adjusted from an earlier forecast that called for mid- to high-single-digit declines.

News of Green’s abrupt departure comes as Gap struggles to weather continued logistics disruptions and rising inflation that threatens to curtail consumer spending.
A snarled supply chain has been particularly hard on its Old Navy division, which targets a lower-income consumer, the company said when it reported quarterly results in early March. Delayed shipments have meant the retailer hasn’t had enough merchandise on hand to meet shopper demand in some instances.
In its fiscal fourth quarter, same-store sales at Old Navy were flat compared with 2019 levels.
Gap said Thursday that it has also taken a “more aggressive approach” to balancing its merchandise assortment at Old Navy, which has resulted in higher promotional levels. It didn’t further clarify the issue, but more markdowns are likely weighing on the retailer’s profits.

Gap said it will provide an updated fiscal 2022 outlook when it reports quarterly results on May 26.
“As we look to seize Old Navy’s potential, particularly amidst the macroeconomic dynamics facing our industry, we believe now is the right time to bring in a new leader,” Syngal said, regarding Green’s departure.
She added that the company is looking for someone with the “operational rigor and creative vision” to execute on the retailer’s plan.
Gap shares fell nearly 11% in extended trading on the news. The stock is down about 19% year to date as of Thursday’s close.
Find the full press release from Gap here.

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Monday – Friday, 6:00 – 7:00 PM ET

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday gave investors a list of eight software stocks to keep on their shopping lists for the future.
“Eventually, even these heinous stocks, formerly high-flying tech stocks, will get so cheap that they’re going to find a bottom,” the “Mad Money” host said. 

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday gave investors a list of eight software stocks to keep on their shopping lists for the future.
“I’m adamant that it’s still way early to buy some of these stocks. …  But eventually, even these heinous stocks, formerly high-flying tech stocks, will get so cheap that they’re going to find a bottom,” the “Mad Money” host said. 

“While I don’t see that happening until the [Federal Reserve] is further along in its tightening cycle – and it just started – these things tend to sneak up on you. They happen when you’d least expect it,” he added, referring to the Fed’s plan to implement a series of rate hikes and tighten its balance sheet to offset inflation.
Cramer’s comments come after the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.07% on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 1.05% while the S&P 500 decreased 1.48%.
To come up with the list of investable software stocks, Cramer looked for companies that fit the following two criteria:

Have more than 20% revenue growth
Have more than 20% operating margins

This method helps weed out the profitable companies from the unprofitable ones, which is crucial in the current market, Cramer said.
“The market … has zero patience for companies that aren’t making money. Doesn’t matter how fast you’re growing, unprofitable businesses have become untouchable,” he said.

Here is Cramer’s list of eight tech buys for the future:

ServiceNow
Salesforce
ZoomInfo
Paycom
Paylocity
PubMatic
Definitive Healthcare
Clearwater Analytics

Cramer caveated the last two recommendations on the list with a warning that he’s not as familiar with them as he wants to be.
“Unlike the other names I’ve mentioned, these two are only profitable on an adjusted basis. When you use the GAAP numbers, Clearwater’s only breaking even and Definitive Healthcare is losing money. So, I want to take a closer look before I pound the table on either one, but I think I’ve got to do some homework on it now,” he said.
Disclosure: Cramer’s Charitable Trust owns shares of Salesforce.
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CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday named 12 American manufacturers investors should keep an eye on to take advantage of what he calls the country’s “industrial renaissance.”
“If you want companies that make things and sell them at a profit while returning capital to shareholders, look no further than our great American manufacturers,” the “Mad Money” host said.

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday named 12 American manufacturers investors should keep an eye on to take advantage of what he calls the country’s “industrial renaissance.”
“The United States has been reclaiming its industrial preeminence in sector after sector after sector. It just was obscured by Wall Street’s now-defunct love affair with high-growth tech stocks. Now that we’ve fallen out of love with tech, the industrial renaissance has become the key to picking winners in this market,” the “Mad Money” host said.

“If you want leadership, if you want companies that make things and sell them at a profit while returning capital to shareholders, look no further than our great American manufacturers. Their stocks are fantastic places to be,” he added.
Cramer’s comments come after a tumultuous day in the market — the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 1.05% on Thursday, while the S&P 500 dropped 1.48%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite tumbled 2.07%.
Here is Cramer’s list of American manufacturers investors should have on their radar:

Tesla
Nucor
Dow 
Chevron
Exxon
GE
Raytheon
Caterpillar 
Deere
Johnson & Johnson
Procter & Gamble
Lam Research

Cramer acquiesced that the semiconductor sector in the U.S could be better.
“I don’t want to slight software, the crown jewel of American economy, but tech companies … they don’t make it here, with the exception of some semiconductor capital equipment plays like Lam Research,” he said. “Otherwise, it’s best to go to Taiwan Semi, where the actual chips are made.”

Disclosure: Cramer’s Charitable Trust owns shares of Chevron and Procter & Gamble.

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Carl Icahn released his letter to McDonald’s shareholders on Thursday, calling out compensation among the company’s top ranks and Wall Street firms for their ESG investing policies.
Icahn is engaged in animal-welfare battles with McDonald’s and Kroger to push them to require U.S. suppliers to move to “crate-free” pork.
In a regulatory filing, McDonald’s said it expected to spend about $16 million in the proxy fight against Icahn.

Carl Icahn speaking at Delivering Alpha in New York on Sept. 13, 2016.
David A. Grogan | CNBC

Carl Icahn released his letter to McDonald’s shareholders on Thursday, calling out compensation among the company’s top ranks and Wall Street firms for their ESG investing policies.
It’s the latest development in Icahn’s animal-welfare battle with the fast-food chain over the treatment of pregnant pigs. The billionaire corporate raider is pushing to add two board seats with nominees who share his belief that McDonald’s should require all its U.S. suppliers move to “crate-free” pork. Icahn is waging a similar battle with Kroger, as well.

Icahn began his letter by challenging asset management firms for what he called “the biggest hypocrisy of our time.” He said large Wall Street firms, banks and lawyers are capitalizing on environment, social and corporate governance investing for the profits without supporting “tangible societal progress.”
“The reality is that if the ESG movement is to be more than a marketing concept and fundraising tool, the massive asset managers who are among McDonald’s’ largest owners must back up their words with actions,” he wrote.
McDonald’s top three shareholders are The Vanguard Group, the asset management arm of State Street, and BlackRock, according to FactSet.
Icahn also called compensation for McDonald’s management “unconscionable” and said the board was condoning multiple forms of injustice.
“Perhaps if the Company’s executives applied the same effort to getting their suppliers to become completely gestation crate-free as they do to obtaining rich compensation packages, we would not be having this election contest,” Icahn wrote.

McDonald’s later Thursday responded to Ichan’s letter citing what it called “hypocrisy” in his own campaign and saying it “only sources approximately 1% of U.S. pork production.”
“Despite McDonald’s progress on our commitment to source from producers who do not use gestational crates for pregnant sows, Mr. Icahn has asked for new commitments,” the company said in a written response. “What Mr. Icahn is demanding from McDonald’s and other companies is completely unfeasible.”
McDonald’s says its U.S. pork supply will be “crate free” by the end of 2024, marking a two-year delay to a 2022 deadline it set a decade ago. The company has blamed the Covid-19 pandemic and African Swine Fever outbreak for the postponement.
Icahn said in his letter that McDonald’s should have prioritized the issue earlier so it could stick to its initial pledge.
The burger chain expects that by the end of this year, 85% to 90% of its pork will come from sows not housed in gestation crates during pregnancy.
McDonald’s said in a regulatory filing that it expected to spend about $16 million in the proxy fight. Icahn questioned even the company’s decision to spend that much money.
“How many pigs would be spared the torture of gestation crates if the $16 million were spent on that, instead of on third parties retained by McDonald’s to solicit your votes ‘for’ re-electing two of 12 Board nominees who have presided over a multi-year failure to achieve the Company’s stated goals in promoting animal welfare in McDonald’s’ supply chain?” he wrote.
McDonald’s shareholders will vote on whether to elect Icahn’s nominees, Leslie Samuelrich and Maisie Ganzler, during the company’s annual meeting on May 26.
Shares of McDonald’s are up 10% over the last 12 months, giving the company a market value of roughly $190 billion.

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Warner Bros. Discovery has decided to shut down CNN+ just weeks after it launched.
CNBC reported last week fewer than 10,000 people were watching CNN+ each day.
CNN+ head Andrew Morse is leaving the company.
Warner Bros. Discovery leaders spoke to hundreds of CNN+ staffers Thursday to explain the decision to shut down the service.

Warner Bros. Discovery is shutting down CNN+ on April 30, just weeks after the stand-alone streaming service launched.
“This is not a decision about quality; we appreciate all of the work, ambition and creativity that went into building CNN+, an organization with terrific talent and compelling programming,” Chris Licht, chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide, said in a statement Thursday. “But our customers and CNN will be best served with a simpler streaming choice.”

The company also announced CNN+ head Andrew Morse is leaving Warner Bros. Discovery after a transition period. Alex MacCallum, currently CNN+’s general manager and head of product, will lead CNN Digital after Morse departs.

A Jeep Wrangler Rubicon sits on an outdoor track during the press preview of the International Auto Show at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City on April 13, 2022.
Timothy A. Clary | AFP | Getty Images

WarnerMedia launched the stand-alone news service less than a month ago on March 29. It garnered fewer than 10,000 daily active viewers in the two weeks after its launch, CNBC reported last week. The company said customers will receive prorated refunds on subscription fees.
New CNN head Licht has been working behind the scenes with other executives at Warner Bros. Discovery for several weeks to analyze a streaming strategy for CNN, according to a person familiar with the matter. The decision to shut down CNN+ is based on his recommendation, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the discussions were private. Licht’s official start date isn’t until May 1.
Warner Bros. Discovery hasn’t officially outlined its streaming plans and ambitions, but as CNBC has previously reported, the goal is to combine HBO Max and Discovery+ with other programming from WarnerMedia — including potentially live news and sports — and offer all of the content together as a Netflix-competitor.
If the goal is to maximize the number of subscribers for the big bundle, dedicating resources to CNN+, rather than folding that programming into the larger bundle, could be antithetical to the company’s strategy.

Thursday’s all-hands meeting

Licht and Warner Bros. Discovery’s head of global streaming JB Perrette, were among the executives who addressed CNN staffers during an all-hands meeting Thursday, according to people familiar with the meeting.
Licht spoke first, empathizing with staffers that shutting down CNN+ so quickly was “a uniquely s—ty situation,” the people said.
Perrette told employees that once new leadership made the decision that CNN+ didn’t fit strategically into the company’s plans, the most logical move was to shut it down as soon as possible “and not a second longer,” two of the people said.
He also cited previous Discovery launches of niche streaming networks, such as Food Network Kitchen and GolfTV, and said the company has arrived at the conclusion consumers don’t want to pay more money for small services. While Warner Bros. Discovery will take streaming risks, it won’t undertake efforts where it already knows the end result, he said, according to the people familiar with the meeting.
Perrette fielded several questions from staffers about who should be held accountable for the botched launch, they said. Perrette blamed the prior WarnerMedia leadership, who continued to push forward on the product even while knowing Discovery leadership was suspicious of the product’s viability.
The mood among staffers was largely anger and disbelief, two of the people said. CNN+ has more than 600 employees working on shows, the people said. Many of those employees will receive a formal severance notice Friday and will have a chance to reapply for jobs within CNN, according to the people.
In an internal memo, Licht told CNN+ employees they will “continue to be paid and receive benefits for the next 90 days to explore opportunities at CNN, CNN Digital and elsewhere in the Warner Bros. Discovery family. At the end of that period, any departing CNN+ employee will receive a minimum of six-month severance (depending on length of service at CNN).”

The future of CNN+ programming

CNN has already invested hundreds of millions of dollars on new talent and programming for CNN+. Some of that programming will move to HBO Max and other series may live on CNN.com and the free CNN app, according to one person familiar with the changes. Some new talent may assume roles on CNN’s linear station, they said, but Licht will make those determinations in the coming weeks.
On March 29, outgoing WarnerMedia Chief Executive Officer Jason Kilar said in a series of tweets that CNN+ was “as important to the mission of CNN as the linear channel service has been these past 42 years. It would be hard to overstate how important this moment is for CNN.”
One month later, nearly to the day, CNN+ will cease to exist.

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