Raphael Stevens

Airbus handed over its first extra-long-range 321 narrow-body aircraft to Iberia.
It can fly farther and burn less fuel than previous models.
Other customers include American Airlines and United Airlines.

An Airbus A321XLR Neo passenger aircraft performs a flying display at the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, Paris, France, on Monday, June 19, 2023. 
Nathan Laine | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Airbus said Wednesday that it has handed over its first extra-long-range narrow-body aircraft, the A321XLR, marking another step in an era of smaller and more fuel-efficient jets flying longer distances, and further expanding a delivery gap between Airbus and rival Boeing.
The first aircraft was delivered to Spanish airline Iberia, which plans to debut it between Madrid and Boston next month. American Airlines and United Airlines have also ordered the 321XLRs.

Airbus said the XLR can fly up to 11 hours nonstop, or 4,700 nautical miles, about 15% farther than the A321LR, a long-range version of the 321 aircraft, which is used for trans-Atlantic missions like JetBlue’s service between New York and Amsterdam.
The plane maker has been working on getting the aircraft certified for five years. It burns about 30% less fuel than older aircraft, the manufacturer said.

The European company has more than 500 of the A321XLRs on order. It’s a tiny part of its backlog that stood at nearly 8,600 airplanes as of the end of June, but it is debuting a new plane as its rival Boeing is struggling.
In the wake of two fatal crashes of its 737 Max, Boeing put plans on the back burner for an all-new aircraft that would sit between 737s and wide-body jetliners, and potentially replace aging 757s, which are currently between the two.
The company is now planning to slim down, shed jobs and potentially get rid of businesses it doesn’t deem core to save cash and improve quality.
“Boeing’s an airplane company, and at the right time in the future, we need to develop a new airplane but we have a lot of work to do before then,” new CEO Kelly Ortberg said on an earnings call last week. 

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Starbucks will pull its Oleato olive oil-infused drinks from U.S. menus in early November.
The company made the decision to remove the drinks from domestic menus before new CEO Brian Niccol arrived, but it aligns with his strategy to simplify the chain’s complex menu, according to a company spokesperson.
Some social media users had complained that the mix of coffee and olive oil had a laxative effect.

Starbucks’ Oleato coffee beverages.

Starbucks’ controversial line of olive oil-infused drinks will leave U.S. stores in early November.
The decision to remove the Oleato drinks from domestic menus predates newly installed CEO Brian Niccol, who arrived at Starbucks in early September, a company spokesperson said. However, it aligns with Niccol’s strategy to simplify menus as part of a broader turnaround scheme to go “back to Starbucks,” the spokesperson said.

Bloomberg first reported the news of the drinks’ departure.
Starbucks is set to report its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings after the bell on Wednesday. In a preliminary release of its results, the company said its sales fell for the third consecutive quarter as weak demand in the U.S. and China weighed on its performance.
Wall Street has high hopes for Niccol’s leadership, including ending the outsized influence of former CEO Howard Schultz, who hatched the idea for the Oleato line.
The lineup of Oleato drinks infused Partanna olive oil into Starbucks’ Caffe Latte, Iced Shaken Espresso and cold foam. Baristas steamed the olive oil with oat milk for the latte, shook it in the iced espresso drink and infused it in vanilla sweet cream foam to top cold brews.
Schultz imagined the Oleato line after a trip to Italy, where he saw Sicilians drinking olive oil as a daily ritual. He, too, began drinking olive oil alongside his daily coffee and decided that Starbucks should try to mix the two together. Ahead of the reveal, he teased the idea as “alchemy” and a “game-changer.”

Oleato means “with oil” in Italian, according to Starbucks.
Starbucks first launched the line in Italy, then brought it to stores in Southern California in spring 2023. A nationwide launch followed in January.
But it does not seem as though customers agreed with Schultz’s high opinion of the drinks. Early reviews in the U.S. press were largely negative, and some social media users complained the drinks had a laxative effect.
Cafes in China, Italy and Japan will continue to serve the Oleato drinks.

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A team of developers, including Related Group and Rok Acquisitions, is launching a $2 billion development at Fort Lauderdale’s largest marina.
The new development, at the Bahia Mar marina, will include a hotel and condo towers, along with a beach club, restaurants and retail space, according to the plans.

Renderings of plans for a new development at the Bahia Mar marina in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Courtesy: ArX Creative

A team of developers including Related Group is launching a $2 billion development at the largest marina in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, aiming to create a “mini Monaco,” according to executives.
The new development at the Bahia Mar marina will include a hotel and condo towers, along with a beach club, restaurants and retail space, according to the plans.

“Fort Lauderdale — and South Florida in general — has been waiting for a true destination that has a Monaco-like feel,” said Nick Perez, president of the condominium division for Related Group. “We have the deep water marina, we have the restaurants, but we don’t have this five-star resort that encompasses everything. So this is kind of what the market has been missing.”

Renderings of plans for a new development at the Bahia Mar marina in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Courtesy: ArX Creative

Miami-based Related Group, controlled by billionaire Jorge Perez, is teaming up with Tate Capital and Rok Acquisitions on the project. The development will span nearly 40 acres of land and water, with multiple condo towers and a St. Regis hotel with about 200 guest rooms, according to the plans. The hotel will replace the existing DoubleTree hotel on the site.
The development caps years of failed efforts to redevelop Bahia Mar, a sprawling yacht marina that has helped make Fort Lauderdale the yacht capital of the U.S. The Bahia Mar is also host to the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, the nation’s largest yacht show, which starts Wednesday.
The Bahia Mar land is owned by the city of Fort Lauderdale and leased to an entity led by developer Jimmy Tate and his family. Plans by the Tates and Rok Acquisitions to develop the property were stalled for years by Fort Lauderdale residents and local officials, who opposed the large scale of the project. The new plan called for scaled-down buildings and more public amenities.

Renderings of plans for a new development at the Bahia Mar marina in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Courtesy: ArX Creative

Along with the condo towers and hotel, the plan calls for 88,000 square feet of waterfront commercial space, with restaurants, boat docking, a public park along the Intracoastal and a 25-foot-wide pedestrian promenade. The marina will have slips for yachts up to 350 feet.

Perez said since 65% of the visitors to the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show are from overseas, mainly Europe and Latin America, the development will draw from a global clientele of yacht owners and boating enthusiasts.

Renderings of plans for a new development at the Bahia Mar marina in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Courtesy: ArX Creative

“There is no facility in South Florida where you can have a residential unit, have a hotel, amazing food and beverage and your mega yacht or regular yacht, whatever kind of boat you own, literally in your backyard,” he said.
The project is scheduled to open sometime in late 2029. Douglas Elliman will be marketing the residences, which will start at $4.4 million for the condos. More

Biogen reported third-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings that topped expectations.
The company also raised its full-year profit guidance.
Sales of its breakthrough Alzheimer’s drug, Leqembi, along with new rare disease and depression treatments, helped offset a year-over-year decline in revenue for the company’s multiple sclerosis products. 

A test tube is seen in front of displayed Biogen logo in this illustration taken on, December 1, 2021.
Dado Ruvic | Reuters

Biogen on Wednesday reported third-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings that topped expectations while raising its full-year profit guidance, as sales of its breakthrough Alzheimer’s drug, Leqembi, and other new products gain traction. 
Biogen now expects full-year adjusted earnings to come in between $16.10 and $16.60 per share, up from a previous forecast of $15.75 to $16.25 per share. The biotech company still anticipates 2024 sales to decline by a low-single-digit percentage. 

Leqembi, which Biogen shares with the Japanese drugmaker Eisai, became the second drug proven to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s to win approval in the U.S. last summer. The therapy’s launch has been gradual due to bottlenecks related to diagnostic test requirements, regular brain scans and finding neurologists, among other issues. 

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Still, uptake of Leqembi has been increasing over the last few quarters. The treatment brought in $67 million in sales for the third quarter, including $39 million from the U.S. 
Wall Street analysts had expected global sales of $50 million for Leqembi, according to estimates compiled by StreetAccount. The drug posted just $10 million in sales last year following its launch. 
It is unclear how many patients are currently taking the drug. Leqembi, along with Biogen’s new rare disease and depression treatments, helped offset a year-over-year decline in revenue for the company’s multiple sclerosis products. 
Here’s what Biogen reported for the third quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG: 

Earnings per share: $4.08 adjusted vs. $3.79 expected
Revenue: $2.47 billion vs. $2.43 billion expected

Biogen booked sales of $2.47 billion for the quarter, which is down around 3% from the year-earlier period. 
The drugmaker posted net income of $388.5 million, or $2.66 per share, for the period ended Sept. 30. That compares with a net loss of $68.1 million, or 47 cents per share, for the same period a year ago. 
Adjusting for one-time items, including certain restructuring charges and costs associated with intangible assets, the company reported earnings of $4.08 per share.

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Eli Lilly on Wednesday fell short of profit and revenue expectations for the third quarter, weighed down by disappointing sales of its blockbuster weight loss drug Zepbound and diabetes treatment Mounjaro.
The drugmaker also slashed its full-year adjusted profit guidance to a range of $13.02 to $13.52 per share.
Skyrocketing demand for injectable weight loss and diabetes drugs has forced both Eli Lilly and its main rival, Novo Nordisk, to invest billions to increase manufacturing capacity.

Lilly Biotechnology Center is shown in San Diego, California, U.S. March 1, 2023.
Mike Blake | Reuters

Eli Lilly on Wednesday fell short of profit and revenue expectations for the third quarter, weighed down by disappointing sales of its blockbuster weight loss drug Zepbound and diabetes treatment Mounjaro, and slashed its full-year adjusted profit guidance.
The company’s stock tumbled 10% in premarket trading. Shares of its main rival, Novo Nordisk, fell roughly 3%.

Eli Lilly now expects full-year adjusted earnings of between $13.02 and $13.52 per share, down from previous guidance of $16.10 to $16.60 per share. The drugmaker cited a $2.8 billion charge recorded during the third quarter and related to its acquisition of bowel disease drugmaker Morphic Holding as denting its results.
Eli Lilly also lowered the high-end of its revenue outlook for the year and now expects sales of between $45.4 billion and $46 billion. The company’s previous guidance called for revenue of as much as $46.6 billion.
Here’s what Eli Lilly reported for the period ended September 30 compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG: 

Earnings per share: $1.18 adjusted vs. $1.47 expected
Revenue: $11.44 billion vs. $12.11 billion expected

The September period was Zepbound’s third full quarter on the U.S. market after winning approval from regulators nearly a year ago. The weekly injection raked in $1.26 billion in sales for the period, below the $1.76 billion that analysts expected, according to StreetAccount.
Meanwhile, Mounjaro posted $3.11 billion in revenue for the third quarter, more than double what it booked in the same period a year ago. But analysts expected $3.77 billion in sales for the diabetes treatment, according to StreetAccount.

Demand in the U.S. has far outpaced supply for Lilly’s incretin drugs, such as Zepbound and Mounjaro, over the last year. Both treatments mimic certain gut hormones to tamp down a person’s appetite and regulate their blood sugar.
The popularity of those injectable drugs has forced both Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to invest billions to increase manufacturing capacity for the treatments.
Eli Lilly’s supply woes began to ease earlier this year. As of Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration’s drug database said all doses of Zepbound and Mounjaro are available in the U.S. after extended shortages. Still, the agency warns that patients may not always be able to immediately fill their prescription for those drugs at a particular pharmacy.

In an interview with CNBC, Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks said the third-quarter performance of Zepbound and Mounjaro “is not a function of supply.” The company said third-quarter sales of the drugs were negatively impacted by inventory decreases among wholesalers.
Ricks also said the company pushed back plans to advertise and promote Zepbound due to customer service levels. The drugmaker will begin those efforts in November, he said.
“When people go and they can’t get their medicine, they’re very frustrated. They tell us that. So we didn’t want to send more people to do that necessarily,” Ricks said.
Eli Lilly has said it expects incretin drug production in the second half of 2024 to be 50% higher than it was during the same period last year. And Ricks said Wednesday the company expects “even greater” expansions in manufacturing capacity at the end of the year and 2025.
For the third quarter, Ely Lilly recorded net income of $970.3 million, or $1.07 per share, compared with a net loss of $57.4 million, or 6 cents per share, during the third quarter of 2023.
Excluding one-time items associated with the value of intangible assets and other adjustments, Eli Lilly posted earnings of $1.18 per share for the most recent quarter.
Revenue was up 20% year over year to $11.44 billion.
The FDA’s decision to remove tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Zepbound and Mounjaro, from its shortage list has drawn fierce opposition from compounding pharmacies that make customized and sometimes cheaper alternatives to Eli Lilly’s branded drugs. Compounding pharmacies are calling for the FDA to reconsider its decision, as both Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk attempt to crack down on unapproved versions of their top-selling drugs.
Ricks told CNBC the company agrees with the FDA that Zepbound and Mounjaro are no longer in shortage, adding, “We have stock.” He added that compounded versions of Eli Lilly’s branded drugs are not regulated by the FDA, raising questions about their safety and efficacy. 
This story is developing. Please check back for updates. More

Chipotle Mexican Grill on Tuesday reported mixed quarterly results as earnings beat expectations but revenue fell short.
The burrito chain’s same-store sales rose 6%, just shy of StreetAccount estimates of 6.3%.
For the full year, Chipotle reiterated its outlook that same-store sales will grow by a mid- to high-single-digit percentage.

A customer holds a bag of food outside of a Chipotle restaurant in New York on Jan. 12, 2024.
Angus Mordant | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Chipotle Mexican Grill on Tuesday reported mixed quarterly results despite another quarter of higher traffic to its restaurants. 
Shares of the company fell 3% in extended trading.

Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

Earnings per share: 27 cents adjusted vs. 25 cents expected
Revenue: $2.79 billion vs. $2.82 billion expected

Chipotle reported third-quarter net income of $378.4 million, or 28 cents per share, up from $313.2 million, or 23 cents per share, a year earlier. 
The company’s food and beverage costs increased during the quarter, in part due to Chipotle’s decision to reemphasize generous portions after social media-fueled backlash over the size of its burrito bowls this summer.
Excluding items, the company earned 27 cents per share.
Net sales climbed 13% to $2.79 billion. 

Same-store sales rose 6%, just shy of StreetAccount estimates of 6.3%. Traffic to restaurants increased 3.3% in the quarter, continuing the chain’s streak of bucking an overall slump in foot traffic across the industry. While many consumers have opted to eat out less, Chipotle has benefited from having a wealthier customer base that is willing to pay more for its burritos and bowls. 
“We’re seeing growth from all income cohorts at present,” interim CEO Scott Boatwright said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime” on Tuesday.
While demand was weaker at the start of the third quarter, Boatwright said sales accelerated throughout the period, particularly as Chipotle reintroduced its smoked brisket. The limited-time menu item is currently the most expensive protein, topping even the chain’s steak and beef barbacoa options.
Boatwright, formerly Chipotle’s chief operating officer, stepped in to lead the company after former CEO Brian Niccol departed in late August to pilot Starbucks’ turnaround. On the company’s conference call on Tuesday, Boatwright reassured investors that the chain’s strategy is not changing despite the leadership shake-up.
“I have worked alongside our talented executive team to craft and evolve our successful strategy, and we will continue to execute against it,” he said.
Digital sales accounted for 34% of the chain’s quarterly food and beverage revenue.
The company opened 86 new locations during the quarter, 73 of which included a “Chipotlane” dedicated to online order pickup.
Chipotle is also investing in new equipment to improve its preparation and cooking. The company plans to roll out new produce slicers to all restaurants by next summer. Chipotle has also added dual-sided grills to 74 restaurants and will announce early next year its strategy to add the equipment to new and existing restaurants.
For the full year, Chipotle reiterated its outlook that same-store sales will grow by a mid- to high-single-digit percentage. The company also anticipates it will open between 285 and 315 new restaurants this year.
Looking to 2025, Chipotle plans to open between 315 and 345 new locations. More than 80% of those restaurants will include a Chipotlane.

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McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski told investors that the company views the E. coli outbreak linked to its Quarter Pounder burgers as “being behind us.”
The outbreak isn’t expected to have a material impact on the company’s business, CFO Ian Borden said.
McDonald’s is bringing Quarter Pounder burgers — sans slivered onions — back to the roughly 900 restaurants affected by the outbreak.

McDonald’s Chris Kempczinski speaks about fresh beef expansion at a McDonald’s event in Oak Brook, Illinois.
Richa Naidu | Reuters

A week after health authorities publicly linked a deadly E. coli outbreak to McDonald’s Quarter Pounder burgers, the company’s CEO, Chris Kempczinski, told investors that the situation is now behind them.
“How we’ve handled the issue, now that we’re moving … we view it as being behind us,” Kempczinski said on the company’s call Tuesday.

During his prepared remarks, he said that the “situation appears to be contained.”
On Sunday, McDonald’s said Quarter Pounder burgers would return to roughly a fifth of its U.S. footprint where the company had pulled the menu item following the outbreak. That amounts to roughly 3,000 restaurants, the company told CNBC Tuesday.
Health authorities didn’t detect any E. coli in the burger’s fresh beef patties, but the Food and Drug Administration is still investigating the slivered onions that are used in Quarter Pounders as the likely source. McDonald’s has stopped sourcing onions from the supplier indefinitely, and around 900 locations will serve the Quarter Pounder sans slivered onions.
McDonald’s saw daily sales and traffic to its U.S. restaurants turn negative in the days immediately following the outbreak announcement as consumers reacted to the news, CFO Ian Borden said. He added that the company isn’t anticipating a material impact to the business.
Now McDonald’s is focused on reassuring diners and returning to the higher sales it had been seeing earlier in October, fueled by its $5 value meal and the launch of the Chicken Big Mac.

“What I would say is we certainly believe the most significant events are behind us, and the work to do right now is focused on restoring consumer confidence, getting our U.S. business back to that strong momentum that I just talked about,” Borden said.
On Tuesday, McDonald’s reported U.S. third-quarter same-store sales that increased 0.3% over the prior-year period, reversing a decline during the second quarter but slightly weaker than the 0.5% growth projected by StreetAccount estimates.
McDonald’s beat Wall Street’s estimates for its quarterly earnings and revenue, but its overall same-store sales fell 1.5%, fueled by weaker demand in key international markets.
Shares of McDonald’s fell as much as 2.5% in premarket trading on Tuesday but recovered during the conference call. The stock was roughly flat when the markets opened.
Earlier on the call, Kempczinski apologized to customers for the situation.
“The recent spate of E. coli cases is deeply concerning, and hearing reports of how this has impacted our customers has been wrenching for us,” Kempczinski said. “On behalf of the entire system, we are sorry for what our customers have experienced. We offer our sincere and deepest sympathies, and we are committed to making this right.”
As of Friday, 75 health cases across 13 states have been tied to the outbreak, including one death of an older adult.
At least three lawsuits have already been filed against McDonald’s by victims of the outbreak.
Clarification: This story has been updated to clarify that McDonald’s is returning the Quarter Pounder to roughly 3,000 locations after pulling the menu item following an E. coli outbreak. About 900 restaurants will serve the burgers without slivered onions.

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