Raphael Stevens

Intuitive Machines’ stock jumped, surpassing the price shares debuted at after completing its SPAC merger in February 2023.
The company’s first moon mission, called IM-1, “continues to be in excellent health,” the company said over the holiday weekend, with the lander named “Odysseus” preparing to enter the moon’s orbit on Wednesday.
Intuitive Machines is on track to make its moon landing attempt at 5:49 p.m. ET on Thursday.

The company’s IM-1 mission lander shortly after launching on Feb. 15, 2024.
Intuitive Machines

Shares of Intuitive Machines jumped for a third consecutive trading session, surpassing their post-SPAC debut price, as the company’s first mission completed further milestones as it approached the moon.
Intuitive Machines’ stock surged as much as 65% in trading Tuesday to an intraday high of $12.05, north of the $10.03 a share price that shares traded at after the company completed its SPAC merger in February 2023.

The stock closed the day up 50% at $10.99 per share.
As recently as last month, the stock was trading near $2 a share. Since its inaugural moon mission launched last week, the company’s share price has more than doubled.
The mission, known as IM-1, launched on a SpaceX rocket and has since completed several of the 16 milestones that Intuitive Machines identified as key to the mission’s success. One of the key milestones came when the lander, named “Odysseus,” successfully fired its engine for the first time. The lander has used the engine to adjust its trajectory and remain on target.

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In a series of daily updates since Friday, the Texas-based lunar company said its cargo lander “continues to be in excellent health” and is preparing to enter the moon’s orbit on Wednesday. The company noted that entering lunar orbit, also known as “lunar orbit insertion,” will be the mission’s “largest challenge to date.”
The company is on track to make its moon landing attempt at 5:49 p.m. ET on Thursday, it said.

Intuitive Machines and NASA leaders showcase a mockup of the company’s Nova-C lunar lander during a presentation on May 31, 2019.
Aubrey Gemignani / NASA

The IM-1 lander is carrying 12 government and commercial payloads, six of which are for NASA under a $118 million contract.
Intuitive Machines’ mission represents the second under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, which aims to use low-cost private spacecraft to deliver science projects and cargo to the moon with increasing regularity in support of the agency’s Artemis crew program.
Governments and private companies alike have made more than 50 attempts to land on the moon with mixed success since the first attempts in the early 1960s, and the track record has remained shaky even in the modern era. 
Last month, U.S. company Astrobotic got its first moon mission off the ground but encountered problems shortly after launch. The flight was cut short and failed to make a lunar landing attempt.

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Arkhouse Management has launched a proxy fight at department store Macy’s, nominating nine directors to the company’s board.
Macy’s had previously rejected an unsolicited, $21-a-share bid from Arkhouse to take the retailer private.
Arkhouse at the time said it would consider bringing its bid to shareholders if management did not engage with the firm.

Customers visit the Macy’s Herald Square store in New York City on Dec. 17, 2023.
Kena Betancur | Corbis News | Getty Images

Investment firm Arkhouse Management has launched a proxy fight at Macy’s, nominating a slate of nine directors for election to the department store’s board.
The nominees include former Brookfield executive Ric Clark; restructuring expert Mo Meghji; and Isaac Zion, who was formerly co-chief investment officer at SL Green.

Macy’s on Tuesday confirmed that it had received notice of the nominations from Arkhouse, which made an unsolicited $21-a-share bid for the company in December. Macy’s board rejected that $5.8 billion offer and questioned the status of Arkhouse’s financing.
In a statement Tuesday, Arkhouse managing partners Jonathon Blackwell and Gavriel Kahane said they had provided Macy’s board with further details on financing, saying they were backed by equity partners with combined assets under management of more than $75 billion.
“We urge the Board to specifically identify any additional information they are seeking regarding our financing so that we may alleviate any of their outstanding concerns,” Blackwell and Kahane said.
Kahane previously told CNBC that Arkhouse’s financing was committed, citing a “highly confident” letter from Jefferies, but said Macy’s had not allowed due diligence to occur. Arkhouse had also intimated it would be willing to launch a proxy fight at the retailer.
In its statement Tuesday, Macy’s reiterated that it had made “a careful review” of Arkhouse’s take-private bid, but that Arkhouse had “yet to provide any financing details that would enhance the actionability” of its proposal.

Macy’s has not yet set a date for its 2024 annual shareholder meeting. Under new rules adopted in 2023, its shareholders will be able to pick and choose individual director nominees from both activist and management slates at the meeting.
Arkhouse’s other nominees are Five Below director Richard Markee, investor Mitchell Shear, former Hudson Bay CEO Jerry Storch, former Victoria’s Secret CEO Sharen Turney, Nuveen impact investing head Nadir Settles and retail executive Andrea Weiss.
“While we do not make this decision lightly, we did so to preserve our ability to protect the rights of all shareholders,” Blackwell and Kahane said.Don’t miss these stories from CNBC PRO: More

AbbVie said longtime executive Robert Michael will become the company’s new CEO, replacing Richard Gonzalez. 
Michael, who is AbbVie’s president and chief operating officer, will become the company’s second-ever CEO since it spun out from Abbott Laboratories in 2013. 
The announcement comes as AbbVie grapples with one of the pharmaceutical industry’s biggest losses of exclusivity as its blockbuster autoimmune drug Humira faces fresh biosimilar competition.

Test tubes are seen in front of a displayed AbbVie logo in this illustration taken on May 21, 2021.
Dado Ruvic | Reuters

AbbVie on Tuesday said longtime executive Robert Michael will become the company’s new CEO, replacing Richard Gonzalez. 
Michael, who is AbbVie’s president and chief operating officer, will become the company’s second-ever CEO on July 1. Gonzalez, who has led the company since it spun out from Abbott Laboratories in 2013, will retire and become AbbVie’s executive chairman. 

The announcement marks an end to Gonzalez’s successful stint as the top executive of AbbVie, which transformed into one of the largest companies in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry in less than a decade.
It also comes as AbbVie grapples with one of the pharmaceutical industry’s biggest losses of exclusivity, as its blockbuster autoimmune drug Humira faces fresh biosimilar competition. But the company is pinning its hopes on a pair of newer immunology drugs, Skyrizi and Rinvoq, to offset the losses from Humira. 
AbbVie expects those two drugs to post $16 billion in sales this year and $27 billion by 2027, executives said during an earnings call earlier this month. 
“The board and I have been planning for a seamless CEO succession for some time. Now is the opportune time to hand the CEO role over to Rob,” Gonzalez said in a release. “The business is performing very well and is in a strong position for the long term. Our pipeline contains multiple promising candidates to sustain our future strong growth.”
Michael has spent more than a decade climbing the C-suite ranks at AbbVie, playing a key role in executing recent deals such as the company’s acquisition of neuroscience drugmaker Cerevel Therapeutics and cancer drug developer ImmunoGen. 

He previously spent nearly 20 years at Abbott Laboratories, overseeing business divisions such as molecular diagnostics and nutrition supply chain.Don’t miss these stories from CNBC PRO: More

A coalition of unions is laying out its case against Starbucks ahead of a proxy fight at its annual meeting in March.
The Strategic Organizing Center argues the coffee giant has implemented a “flawed human capital management strategy” in response to a yearslong union movement.
The SOC is pushing to replace three members of the Starbucks board, claiming the reputational risk of the union fight has hurt shareholder value.

A coalition of unions is laying out its case against Starbucks ahead of a proxy fight at its annual meeting in March, arguing the coffee giant has implemented a “flawed human capital management strategy” in response to a yearslong union movement.
The Strategic Organizing Center claims the situation has put the company at reputational risk, diminishing shareholder returns and isolating customers, based on polling conducted for a shareholder presentation. The coalition is pushing to replace three current Starbucks board members with its own nominees. It plans to file the investor presentation with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday.

“The Board’s anti-union strategy has resulted in one of the most glaring and destructive examples of human capital mismanagement in modern U.S. history,” the proxy presentations reads, according to a copy viewed by CNBC. “Starbucks’ aggressive unionization response has not only failed to resolve the Company’s dispute with employees — it has made the problem worse.”
In response, Starbucks said in a statement that its board is “stocked with world-class business leaders that bring the qualifications and expertise directly relevant to drive our current operations and future success,” adding, “with partners at the heart of our business, we have continued to significantly invest in and improve their experience, including the over 20% of profits that have gone into wage increases, training, and new equipment in the last fiscal year.”
Baristas at nearly 400 Starbucks-owned cafes have voted in favor of organizing since the end of 2021, when the first location in Buffalo unionized successfully. The company has a footprint of some 16,000 cafes, between owned and licensed locations.
Howard Schultz returned as Starbucks CEO as the union battle, sparked by younger workers at the coffee chain, escalated. He stepped down last year as Laxman Narasimhan took the reins. At the end of last year, Starbucks said it wanted to resume contract talks in January, but the two sides have yet to agree to a deal. Baristas have staged high-profile strikes including during Pride weekend in June and Red Cup Day in the fall.

Former employees and supporters join unionized Starbucks employees as they carry signs in support of a strike, outside of a Starbucks store in Arlington, Virginia, on Nov. 16, 2023.
Saul Loeb | Afp | Getty Images

The SOC says in its proxy presentation, titled “Brew a Better Starbucks,” that the projected response to the unionization campaign has cost the company nearly a quarter of a billion dollars, based on its own estimates, and “damaged the value of the brand.”

Two-thirds of people polled by Nielsen who visited the coffee chain in the past 30 days said they would be less likely to visit Starbucks if the company broke federal labor laws. The poll of 2,000 customers from all 50 states was commissioned by the SOC. That’s higher even than the 54% who said they would be less likely to visit in the face of price increases.
The SOC proxy presentation claims the company’s board has backed what it calls an “unnecessarily confrontational” strategy with the union. According to the National Labor Relations Board, NLRB regional offices have issued 128 complaints covering 430 unfair labor practice charges against Starbucks Corporation and Siren Retail Corporation following an investigation.
The SOC includes the Service Employees International Union, parent of Starbucks Workers United, as well as the Communications Workers of America and United Farm Workers of America. The group says its unions represent more than 2.3 million workers and, despite a small ownership stake of just 162 Starbucks shares, its affiliated unions have millions of members with “hundreds of billions of dollars invested in pension plans with substantial Starbucks shareholdings.”
The SOC presentation argues that since unionization efforts began through November when it launched its campaign, Starbucks stock has fallen 6% compared to 10.6% median gains for its peer cohort of Chipotle, Darden Restaurants, McDonald’s, Restaurant Brands International and Yum Brands. This also compares to 5.2% gains of the S&P 500 Restaurants benchmark during the same period.
During the period cited by the SOC, Starbucks said it has also navigated several other external challenges aside from labor organizing, including macroeconomic effects and the pace of recovery in China. It argues its steady operating performance speaks for itself in the face of volatile markets.
The coalition has put forth three director candidates for the coffee giant’s board that it says have expertise it currently lacks, including working with unions successfully and experience with labor law. The candidates are former White House official Maria Echaveste; Joshua Gotbaum, a Chapter 11 trustee of Hawaiian Airlines and former White House Official; and Wilma Liebman, former chair of the NLRB.
Starbucks in January added three new directors: Daniel Servitje, CEO of Grupo Bimbo; Neal Mohan, CEO of YouTube; and Mike Sievert, CEO of T-Mobile. Starbucks said it has not only a new CEO, but with these additions, it has added five new board members in the past year. Combined with other members of its board, the company said they bring the needed diversity of talent and experience to the table.
The SOC presentation claims those three new additions do not have labor-related regulatory experience. The proxy presentation targets three current Starbucks board members: Ritch Allison, Andy Campion and Jørgen Vig Knudstorp.
Starbucks filed its own proxy presentation on Friday that said all of its current board members have labor experience and argues the SOC’s nominees “lack the breadth of knowledge and experience to oversee its global and consumer facing business.”
Allison, Campion and Knudstorp, specifically, provide “continuity and highly-valuable unique perspectives,” the Starbucks presentation said.
The company further argued that it has created $92 billion in market value over the past two decades and leads its peer group in comparable store sales growth, unit growth, revenue growth and earnings per share growth over the past year, according to the presentation.
As for stock returns, Starbucks contends it outperforms its peer group — which includes Domino’s, Restaurant Brands International, Wendy’s and others — by 5 percentage points over the past three years. Since the company announced its reinvention in May 2022, the stock is up 32%, outpacing both its peer group and the S&P, the company said. The SOC fired back in its presentation, arguing Starbucks’ peer set is “overly broad and was chosen to be flattering to the company’s recent underperformance.”
Starbucks said in November and reiterated in its SEC filing that over the past three years, it has invested nearly $9 billion to uplift the overall partner and store experience, with “more than one third of that investment going directly to the partners through wage increases, training, new innovative equipment and technology.”
In addition, the company said it has taken a “constructive” approach and maintains a goal of “reaching ratified contracts for each represented store in 2024.”
It touted plans, unveiled in December, that will unlock $3 billion in efficiencies to fund reinvestments in its workers. On the company’s most recent earnings call, Narasimhan reiterated the company’s position on the unionization movement.
“I want to be clear in my view on the matter of unionization at Starbucks. We believe in a direct relationship with our partners. And in the 4% of our stores in the U.S. where our partners have chosen to be represented by a union, we are committed to finding a constructive path forward with those unions.”

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Walmart beat holiday-quarter earnings and revenue expectations.
The retailer also said it would acquire TV maker Vizio for $2.3 billion.
Walmart has weathered high inflation better than many other retailers.

The Walmart logo is seen near its store in Williston, Vermont, June 19, 2023.
Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Walmart said Tuesday that quarterly revenue rose 6%, as shoppers turned to the big-box retailer throughout the holiday season and the company’s global e-commerce sales grew by double digits. 
The retail giant also announced Tuesday that it would acquire smart TV maker Vizio to accelerate growth of its advertising business. Walmart is acquiring the company for $2.3 billion, or $11.50 per share. 

In a CNBC interview, Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey said customers have still shown discretion with purchases. They are putting fewer items in their baskets but shopping more frequently, he said. Electronics, TVs, computers and some other expensive items have been a tougher sell, Rainey added.
Yet, he said even after the holiday rush, Walmart saw continued sales strength.
Here’s what Walmart reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv:

Earnings per share: $1.80 adjusted vs. $1.65 expected
Revenue: $173.39 billion vs. $170.71 billion expected

In the three-month period that ended Jan. 31, Walmart’s net income fell to $5.49 billion or $2.03 per share, compared with $6.28 billion, or $2.32 per share, in the year-ago period.
Revenue increased from $164.05 billion in the year-ago period.

Walmart said it expects consolidated net sales to rise 4% to 5% in its fiscal first quarter. It also anticipates adjusted earnings of $1.48 to $1.56 per share on a pre-stock split basis.
For its fiscal 2025, the retailer expects consolidated net sales will climb 3% to 4%. Walmart anticipates adjusted earnings will be $6.70 to $7.12 per share on a pre-stock split basis.
Walmart has weathered high inflation better than many other retailers. It has used its value reputation to draw in families across income levels and has leaned into new ways to make money, such as selling ads, expanding its third-party marketplace and offering a subscription-based program called Walmart+.
Comparable sales, an industry metric also known as same-store sales, rose 4% for Walmart U.S. At Sam’s Club, comparable sales increased 1.9%, including fuel. 
Global e-commerce sales jumped 23% year over year, topping $100 billion in total. In the U.S., e-commerce rose 17% as shoppers used curbside pickup and got orders delivered to their homes.
Advertising has been a fruitful business for Walmart, too. It grew about 33% globally and 22% in the U.S. year over year.
Rainey said the Vizio acquisition will be “an accelerant” for the “high-margin, fast-growing part of our business.”
In the U.S., customer transactions increased 4.3% compared with the year-ago period. However, average ticket, or the amount that a customer spent, declined slightly. 
On its fiscal third-quarter earnings call in November, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said the company could soon face a deflationary environment, where prices are not just stabilizing, but going down. He said those lower prices could help customers pay for more discretionary items.
On Tuesday, however, Rainey said Walmart sees deflation as less likely now. In some categories of general merchandise, prices are lower than a year ago.
Yet, he added, food prices still rose by low single digits year over year.
“The possibility overall [of deflation] still remains, but prices are more stable than where they were three months ago,” he said.
As many other companies have announced cost cuts, Walmart has done the opposite. It announced in late January that it would open or expand more than 150 stores in the U.S. over the next five years. That’s on top of an aggressive plan to upgrade more than 1,400 of its existing Walmart stores to have a more modern look.
Along with those store investments, Walmart said it would raise store manager wages to an average of $128,000 per year and make managers eligible for a bonus of up to 200% of their base salary.
It also announced a 3-for-1 stock split in late January, as shares hovered near an all-time high.
Shares of Walmart closed Friday at $170.36, up about 8% so far this year. The stock has outperformed the S&P 500, which rose about 5% during the same period.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates. More

American Airlines raised the prices of checked baggage.
American is also reducing fees for slightly overweight bags.
The carrier also said Tuesday it will start limiting which tickets purchased through a third party are eligible to earn AAdvantage frequent flyer miles.

An American Airlines plane sits at the gate at Cancun International Airport (CUN) on May 26, 2023.
Daniel Slim | AFP | Getty Images

American Airlines raised the price to check a bag for the first time in more than five years and said it would limit which travel agency bookings are eligible to earn frequent flyer miles.
Passengers will pay $35 to check a first bag for domestic flights if the service is booked online in advance, or $40 if they purchase the option at the airport, the carrier said Tuesday. Both options previously cost $30. A second checked bag will cost $45, up from $40, whether purchased in advance or at the airport. And, first checked bags on flights between the U.S. and Canada, the Caribbean or Mexico will be $35 whether purchased online in advance or checked at the airport.

American last raised bag fees in September 2018 along with other major airlines. Carriers are looking for ways to increase revenue as airfare has declined over the past year. The last inflation report showed airfare fell more than 6% in January from a year earlier.
Frequent flyer members with elite status and some American Airlines credit card holders will still receive a complimentary checked bag.
The Fort Worth, Texas-based airline is reducing fees for slightly overweight bags, so travelers will no longer have to frantically remove items from their suitcases at the check-in counter. For example, customers will pay a fee of $30 on checked bags that are as much as three pounds over a 50-pound limit, instead of the previous $100 fee.
The carrier also said Tuesday it will start limiting which tickets purchased through a third party are eligible to earn AAdvantage frequent flyer miles, a move that aims to drive traffic to American’s website and the latest in a series of changes to the program. It said it will provide a list in April of preferred travel agencies whose bookings will still be eligible for the rewards credits.
Customers who buy basic economy tickets will only earn frequent flyer miles if they book on American’s website. More

Home Depot beat earnings and revenue estimates even as sales fell.
The home improvement retailer expects sales will rise 1% in fiscal 2024.
Home Depot also anticipates it will open about a dozen new stores over the year. 

A Home Depot branded bucket at a Home Depot store in Hercules, California, U.S., on Monday, Feb. 22, 2021.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Home Depot on Tuesday said quarterly sales declined nearly 3% year over year, but it surpassed Wall Street’s earnings and revenue expectations despite the cooler demand.
The home improvement retailer said it expects total sales to grow about 1% in fiscal 2024, which includes an additional week. That compares with a 1.6% increase expected by Wall Street, according to StreetAccount. Home Depot also anticipates it will open about a dozen new stores over the year. 

On a call with CNBC, Chief Financial Officer Richard McPhail said demand dipped throughout the year as consumers returned to more typical spending patterns. He added that falling lumber prices and rising interest rates hurt the business.
Home Depot now sees a chance to return to growth, McPhail said.
“Our market is on its way back to normal demand conditions,” he said. “We’re not quite there yet, but the pressures we saw in 2023 are receding.”
Here’s what the company reported for the three-month period ended Jan. 28 compared with what Wall Street expected, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG, formerly Refinitiv:

Earnings per share: $2.82 vs. $2.77 expected
Revenue: $34.79 billion vs. $34.64 billion expected

Home Depot shares fell more than 3% in premarket trading.

Net income for the fiscal fourth quarter fell to $2.80 billion, or $2.82 per share, from $3.36 billion, or $3.30 per share, a year earlier. 
Net sales decreased from $35.83 billion in the year-ago period.
Home Depot has faced a tougher sales backdrop over the past year. The home improvement retailer is following a more than two-year period when Americans had more time and money to spend on painting and fixing up their homes during the Covid-19 pandemic. 
The company has also felt a pullback in consumer spending, particularly on big-ticket items, as some families postpone discretionary purchases because of inflation, put off buying a new home because of higher interest rates or choose to spend on experiences rather than goods.
Throughout the past year, McPhail and CEO Ted Decker described 2023 as “a year of moderation” after the outsize gains during the pandemic. About half of Home Depot’s business comes from home professionals and about half comes from do-it-yourself shoppers.
On Tuesday, McPhail said customers are still putting off bigger projects — especially the large-scale projects that may require a loan — because of higher borrowing costs.  
Yet, he said sales throughout the fourth quarter were pretty consistent, except for a decline in January due to colder and wetter weather. He said that temporary drop did not factor into the company’s outlook for the year ahead. 
Average ticket and customer transactions both declined in the fourth quarter compared with the year-ago period. The average ticket dropped to $88.87 from $90.05 in the year-ago quarter, reflecting a more typical pricing environment, McPhail said.
Prices of items are lower than a year ago, a time when Home Depot and its suppliers dealt with higher costs of products and transportation rates, he said. Since August, however, prices have remained steady.
“Our observation is prices will likely remain at current levels for some time,” he said.
As of Friday’s close, shares of Home Depot were up nearly 5% this year. That roughly matches the gains of the S&P 500 during the same period. The company’s shares closed at $362.35 on Friday, bringing Home Depot’s market value to about $360 billion.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates. More

Walmart is buying TV maker Vizio for $2.3 billion in cash.
The move is a bid to boost the big-box retailer’s high-margin ad business.
Walmart has long been a major seller of Vizio’s TVs.

Vizio televisions are displayed at a store in San Rafael, California, on Feb. 13, 2024.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

Walmart has agreed to buy TV maker Vizio, the companies announced Tuesday, as the largest U.S. retailer grows its high-profit ad business.
Walmart will acquire Vizio for $2.3 billion, or $11.50 per share, in cash. The big-box retailer announced the acquisition as it reported its fourth-quarter earnings.

Vizio shares, which spiked after reports of the deal first emerged last week, closed at $9.53 on Friday. They jumped 15% during premarket trading Tuesday.
Walmart and its Sam’s Club warehouse chain have long been major sellers of Vizio devices. But in buying the company, Walmart touted the potential to boost its ad business through Vizio’s SmartCast Operating System, which allows users to stream free ad-supported content on their TVs.
As it pushes for higher profits, the retail titan has tried to expand its media business Walmart Connect, which comes with bigger profit margins than selling groceries or clothing. The segment’s advertising sales grew 22% in the fourth quarter.
“We believe VIZIO’s customer-centric operating system provides great viewing experiences at attractive price points. We also believe it enables a profitable advertising business that is rapidly scaling,” said Seth Dallaire, executive vice president and chief revenue officer of Walmart U.S., in a statement.
The move comes as Walmart tries to compete with Amazon’s growing ad segment.

Walmart’s control of the Vizio platform will give companies that advertise with the retailer a greater reach. In a news release, Walmart said Vizio’s SmartCast system has 18 million active accounts.
The retailer also said it could offer “innovative television and in-home entertainment and media experiences” after it acquires the TV maker. More