Raphael Stevens

Nordstrom raised its full-year sales outlook after holiday spending came in better than expected at its website and stores.
Yet the department store operator stuck by its profit outlook.
CEO Erik Nordstrom credited the company’s “efforts to remain competitive in the promotional environment and the strength of our offering.”

Shoppers walk into a Nordstrom department store in Austin, Texas, on March 3, 2023.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images

Nordstrom on Friday raised its full-year sales outlook, after holiday shopping at its stores and on its website came in stronger than the department store’s cautious expectations.
The company stuck by its profit guidance despite the higher sales guidance.

The Seattle-based retailer said it now expects full-year revenue growth of 1.5% to 2.5%, which includes the effect of having one fewer fiscal week. That compares to its previous outlook of flat to up 1%.
Nordstrom struck a conservative note with its outlook in late November, despite topping Wall Street’s expectations for fiscal third-quarter sales. It had projected full-year revenue to range from flat to up 1%. It said adjusted earnings for the year would range between $1.75 and $2.05 per share. Its revenue includes retail sales and credit card revenue.
On an earnings call at the time, CEO Erik Nordstrom said the company had seen “a noticeable decline in sales trends towards the end of October” and factored that into its forecast.
Yet in a news release on Friday, he chalked up better-than-expected holiday sales to the company’s “efforts to remain competitive in the promotional environment and the strength of our offering.”
Nordstrom said net sales rose 4.9% and comparable sales, a metric that takes out the effect of store openings and closures, increased 5.8% for the nine-week holiday period that ended Jan. 4 compared with the year-ago quarter that ended Dec. 30.

During the holiday period, net sales at the Nordstrom banner increased 3.7% and comparable sales rose 6.5%. At Nordstrom Rack, the company’s off-price banner, net sales were up 7.4% and comparable sales increased 4.3%.
The department store operator’s results provide more insights for investors monitoring the health of U.S. consumers and the performance of retailers during the key shopping season. Retailers, including Walmart, Best Buy, Macy’s and others, will report earnings starting in late February.
So far, early holiday numbers have looked promising. Online spending in the U.S. rose nearly 9% from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31 compared to the year-ago period and totaled $241.4 billion, according to Adobe Analytics. Retail sales for the holiday season in the U.S., excluding automotive sales, rose 3.8% year over year for the period from Nov. 1 through Dec. 24, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, which measures in-store and online sales across payment types.
Nordstrom’s update comes as the founding family prepares to take the retailer private. Nordstrom announced in late December a roughly $6.25 billion buyout deal with the family and Mexican department store El Puerto de Liverpool. The transaction, which was approved by the company’s board of directors, is expected to close in the first half of 2025.
Shares of Nordstrom closed at $24.01, down roughly 4% from its 52-week high. The company is scheduled to report its full fourth-quarter and full-year results on March 4.

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American Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest, JetBlue and other carriers waived change fees and fare differences to the Los Angeles area.
The wildfires have burned more than 10,000 homes and other structures.
A Delta Air Lines executive said sales of Los Angeles flights have declined.

In this aerial view taken from a helicopter, burned homes are seen during the Palisades fire in the Malibu area of Los Angeles county, California, on Jan. 9, 2025.
Josh Edelson | Afp | Getty Images

Airlines have extended travel waivers for Los Angeles airports as wildfires continue to burn in the area.
American Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways and other carriers that serve the area have waived fees for flight changes for travelers booked to Los Angeles while the city grapples with power outages, water shortages and conservation, as well as the outright damage of more than 10,000 homes and other structures.

On Friday, the area’s airports were operating normally, according to flight-tracking platform FlightAware, but parts of the city were still in the grip of the wildfires. Power outages were reported across Los Angeles County and local residents in the decimated Pacific Palisades area were told to boil or use bottled water. Parts of the county were also still under evacuation orders as firefighters sought to contain the fires.

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American Airlines on Friday said travelers booked to or from Hollywood Burbank Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, Ontario International Airport and John Wayne Airport, which serves Orange County, can rebook without paying a change fee or fare difference if they can fly as late as Jan. 20.
Southwest said the wildfires could affect service to those airports and that customers can rebook within 14 days of their original travel dates without additional charges. It said customers could also change their trips to other California cities: Palm Springs, Santa Barbara and San Diego.
Meanwhile, a Delta Air Lines executive on Friday said sales of flights to Los Angeles, one of the carrier’s busiest hubs and a generator of high-value business and leisure travel, have declined.
“We monitor sales on a daily basis by geographic region, and we have seen a decline in sales, not a wholesale reduction or an uptick in cancellations, but a decline in sales during this period,” Delta’s president, Glen Hauenstein, said on an earnings call, in which the airline also said it had otherwise strong travel demand across its network. “As soon as the period ends, we can probably put a wrapper around how much we thought that cost us. But I don’t think it’s going to be significant to the quarter, hopefully not.”

Hauenstein said, however, that there is often an uptick in demand after natural disasters because of rebuilding.
“Our hearts go out to everybody in Los Angeles affected by this,” he said. “But from a long-term airline perspective, we faced hurricanes, we faced flooding, we faced all that. And usually, the impacts are in the beginning phases, followed by a recovery phase.”

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Airlines canceled more than 3,000 U.S. flights while more than 3,000 more were delayed.
A massive winter storm snarled travel across the Southern U.S.
A Delta flight aborted takeoff and evacuated passengers via slides at Atlanta’s airport, further disrupting operations.

Snow blankets the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport as a winter storm moves into the area on Jan. 10, 2025.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images

Airlines canceled more than 3,000 flights on Friday as a massive winter storm snarled travel across the Southern U.S., while more than 4,000 others were delayed.
Operations were further disrupted after a Delta Air Lines Boeing 757-300 halted takeoff because of an engine problem, shortly after 9 a.m. at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world’s busiest and Delta’s main hub. The 201 passengers and seven crew members aboard were evacuated on emergency slides.

Four passengers reported minor injuries, with one transported and three treated on the scene, according to an airport spokesperson.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it’s investigating the incident.
“Delta’s flight crew followed established procedures to suspend the takeoff of flight 2668 from Atlanta (ATL) to Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) after an indication of an engine issue,” Delta said. “Nothing is more important than the safety of our people and customers, and we apologize to our customers for their experience. We are working to support our customers and get them to their destinations as safely and quickly as possible.”
Some 1,100 flights to and from Atlanta, more than half of the day’s schedule, were canceled, while upward of 400 more were delayed, according to flight tracker FlightAware. The airport had a ground stop in place, which halts flights bound for that airport at their origin so the facility isn’t overwhelmed with planes.

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Two of American Airlines’ hubs of Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and Charlotte Douglas International Airport were also heavily affected by the storm, with more than 1,200 flights to and from those two airports canceled. Most of DFW’s flights were also canceled on Thursday as the storm dumped snow in the area.
Delta, Southwest, American and other carriers waived change fees and fare differences because of the storms and severe weather. More

Stellantis’ top priority for the U.S. this year is to grow its retail market share after several years of declining sales in its largest, most crucial market.
Stellantis’ U.S. sales, including retail and fleet, have declined every year since 2018.
Antonio Filosa, head of the company’s North American operations, on Friday acknowledged the company has made “many mistakes” in recent years.

Stellantis North America Chief Operating Officer and Jeep CEO Antonio Filosa speaks during the Stellantis press conference at the Automobility LA 2024 car show at Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California, on Nov. 21, 2024.
Etienne Laurent | AFP | Getty Images

DETROIT — Stellantis’ top priority for the U.S. this year is to grow its retail market share after several years of declining sales in its largest, most crucial market.
Antonio Filosa, head of the embattled automaker’s North American operations since October, said Stellantis aims to grow U.S. retail sales and market share this year with the assistance of a revamped U.S.-focused leadership team and by mending bonds with dealers, including offering additional incentives, and releasing new products.

“This is obviously what we need to do,” Filosa said Friday during a media roundtable at the Detroit Auto Show. “U.S. retail market share is our main priority.”
Stellantis’ U.S. sales, including retail and fleet, have declined every year since 2018. That includes sales by Fiat Chrysler, which merged with French automaker PSA Groupe in 2021 to form Stellantis.
The company’s overall U.S. market share fell from 12.6% in 2019 to 9.6% in 2023, according to annual public filings.
Leaders of Stellantis’ U.S. auto brands during separate interviews Friday said they’re facing a a grow or die mentality for 2025. They also expressed optimism about the company’s recent changes and direction.
“We’ve got very aggressive strategies,” Bob Broderdorf, head of Jeep in North America, told CNBC. “If you shopped us six months ago, it’s a very different story right now.”

Stellantis’ sales, as well as bottom line, have been hit hardest by declines of Jeep and its Ram Trucks brands in recent years.

Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis unveils the Charger Daytona SRT concept electric muscle car in Pontiac, Michigan, Aug. 17, 2022.
Michael Wayland / CNBC

Ram boss Tim Kuniskis, who unretired from the automaker last month, has promised to adjust the brand’s strategy, production and products to assist dealers and sales.
“We had a bad year. There’s no way to sugarcoat it,” Kuniskis said, citing a slow ramp-up of its redesigned Ram 1500 pickups. “I’m very bullish on this year … The real part is balancing between the volume and the margin.”
Ahead of the merger and under former CEO Carlos Tavares, the company focused relentlessly on profits over market share. Sources previously told CNBC that Tavares’ emphasis on cost cutting, a goal of achieving double-digit profit margins under his “Dare Forward 2030” business plan and a reluctance, if not unwillingness, to listen to U.S. executives about the American market led to the company’s current situation and, ultimately, Tavares’ departure last month.
Filosa on Friday acknowledged the company has made “many mistakes” in recent years. He said the company neglected the importance of the North American market, specifically the U.S.
Filosa said Stellantis may make additional changes to its U.S. operations, depending on potential regulations of the incoming Trump administration, which has threatened changes to all-electric vehicle incentives and tariffs on Canada and Mexico — both countries Stellantis relies on for the import of vehicles.
“We are working, obviously, on scenarios,” Filosa said, adding that could mean additional jobs in the U.S. “But yes, we need to await his decisions and after the decision of Mr. Trump and his administration, we will work accordingly,” Filosa added.

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McDonald’s plans to shutter three locations of its spinoff brand, CosMc’s, and open two more restaurants in Texas.
The company said smaller locations work better for the test, which led to the decision.
McDonald’s created CosMc’s as its entry point into the growing “afternoon beverage pick-me-up occasion.”

A sign hangs outside of a CosMc’s restaurant, a concept recently launched by McDonald’s, in Bolingbrook, Illinois, on Dec. 11, 2023.
Scott Olson | Getty Images

McDonald’s will shutter three locations of its drinks-focused spinoff brand, CosMc’s.
To test the concept, the fast-food giant opened its first CosMc’s location more than a year ago in the Chicago suburb of Bolingbrook, followed by six more in Texas. McDonald’s has converted larger namesake restaurants into CosMc’s, in addition to building smaller prototype locations.

The smaller stores work better for the test, the company said Thursday. As a result, McDonald’s will close three of its larger format CosMc’s locations and open two more small Texas restaurants. The company didn’t disclose the locations for either the openings or closures, although CosMc’s website says a store is coming soon to Allen, Texas.
McDonald’s also shared other early learnings from the pilot on Thursday. Savory hash browns are the top-selling food — at any time of day — followed by McPops, the chain’s mini filled doughnuts. Best-selling drinks include the Island Pick Me Up Punch, Churro Cold Brew Frappe and the Sour Energy Burst.
The CosMc’s test will continue for the “foreseeable future,” according to the company.
McDonald’s created CosMc’s as its entry point into the growing “afternoon beverage pick-me-up occasion.”
While CosMc’s menu features some McDonald’s classics, it also offers a host of new items playing off other beverage and snacking trends, like its iced turmeric spiced lattes, tropical spiceade and pretzel bites. Starbucks, Dutch Bros. and bubble tea chain Kung Fu Tea have found success with younger consumers by offering customizable cold drinks.

The name for the new brand comes from CosMc, a McDonaldland mascot that appeared in advertisements in the late 1980s and early 1990s. CosMc is an alien from outer space who craves McDonald’s food.
While it’s unclear just how much McDonald’s plans to grow CosMc’s, it’s still a miniscule part of the burger giant’s overall U.S. footprint. The company has more than 13,500 U.S. restaurants. Still, McDonald’s is hoping to learn more about its CosMc’s customers; last year, it rolled out a loyalty program specific to CosMc’s. More

Employers are increasingly requiring workers on GLP-1 medications to enroll in nutrition and lifestyle coaching programs.
Startup Virta Health saw 60% revenue growth last year, topping $100 million, driven by demand for its employer weight loss management program.
Rival startup Omada Health partnered with Cigna’s Evernorth division on the EncircleRx program which grew fourfold to 8 million covered lives.
The rapid growth for Virta and Omada is fueling speculation the startups could go public in 2025.

Packages of weight loss drugs Wegovy, Ozempic and Mounjaro.
Picture Alliance | Getty Images

A few years ago, when Virta Health founder and CEO Sami Inkinen approached employers about leveraging the company’s nutrition-oriented digital diabetes program for obesity-related weight loss, most companies weren’t ready to commit. 
Now, more employers are all in on nutritional counseling and coaching as they grapple with rising costs for diabetes and weight loss drugs such as Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro and Zepbound. 

“Our goal is not to drive the maximum number of GLP-1 prescriptions, but we are the telemedicine company of choice for many employers to responsibly use these drugs, and then also get members off of these drugs and sustain the weight loss nutritionally,” said Inkinen.
The company published a peer-reviewed study a year ago which found that patients on Virta’s nutrition-counseling programs maintained weight loss one year after they stopped using GLP-1s. But Inkinen says less than 10% of the company’s weight loss enrollees are using the popular drugs — most opt for nutrition counseling alone and still lose an average of 13% of their weight over the course of one year.  
“Quite frankly, despite the message that maybe the pharma companies are pushing, nobody really wants to be on these drugs forever, if you get the choice and the tools,” he said.
For Virta, the demand for such services resulted in record 60% revenue growth in 2024 to more than $100 million, according to Inkinen.
He said the 10-year-old startup is on pace to be profitable in the second half of this year.  

More employers require weight loss engagement

Companies surveyed by the Purchaser Business Group on Health said glucagon-like peptide medications, commonly known as GLP-1 drugs, are now a top driver of employer plan drug costs, with 96% of those surveyed expressing concerns about the long-term cost implications.
As a result, more employers are looking to utilization management strategies such as nutrition counseling and coaching services.
“Most employers want their plan members to have access to weight-management medication options, such as GLP-1s, however, they also want to ensure that it’s clinically appropriate and accompanied by the medical and lifestyle modification supports to ensure long-term safety and efficacy for the individual,” said Randa Deaton, vice president of purchaser engagement with Purchaser Business Group on Health.
Yet, using those programs sometimes result in new headwinds when it comes to pricing for GLP-1s in their pharmacy benefits plans, Deaton notes.
“We’ve seen that PBMs and drug manufacturers have been reducing their rebates when employers are requiring a lifestyle management intervention as part of the drug criteria, so it has been challenging for employers to put in place the right programs to support their workers and family members,” she said.
One of Virta Health’s rivals, Omada Health, is also seeing strong demand for its GLP-1 weight loss management program, after partnering with Cigna’s Evernorth pharmacy benefits division on a program called EncircleRx. Program enrollment went from 2 million covered lives in the second quarter of 2024 to 8 million in the third quarter, according to Cigna CEO David Cordani.
“The market continues to absorb the challenges of affordability” of GLP-1 drugs and is looking for a more value-based approach, Cordani told analysts on the company’s Q3 earnings call.
“Clients are observing, and physicians are observing the start-and-stop dynamic that is transpiring for some patients, which also doesn’t generate the desired or intended outcome,” he said.

2025 IPO speculation

For both Virta and Omada, the GLP-1 growth dynamic is fueling speculation that the startups, which are both over a decade old, could go public this year — if market conditions are right.
Omada Health reportedly filed a confidential registration to go public with the Securities and Exchange Commission last summer, according to Business Insider. The company has declined to comment on the report.
Virta Health was valued at $2 billion following its last round of funding in 2021. It is Inkinen’s second startup. He was one of the co-founders of online real estate firm Trulia, which went public in 2012 and was later bought by rival Zillow.
As for Virta IPO plans, Inkinen says for now he’s focused on growing the company.
“If you have a thing that’s working, it is 1,000 times easier to just scale your thing, your team, your culture,” he said. More