Raphael Stevens

Michelob Ultra is now the top-selling beer in the U.S., beating out Modelo Especial.
Two years ago, Modelo unseated Bud Light after the Anheuser-Busch beer held the top spot for more than two decades.
Modelo brewer Constellation has reported weaker demand from Hispanic consumers, a key segment of its customer base.

Packages of Michelob Ultra are displayed at a BevMo store on December 16, 2024 in Larkspur, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

Michelob Ultra has overtaken Constellation Brands’ Modelo Especial as the best-selling beer in the United States.
Michelob Ultra claimed the top spot as the best-selling beer in retail channels in the 52 weeks ended Sept. 14, parent company Anheuser-Busch announced Monday, citing data from Circana. The light lager is also the top seller in bars and restaurants, according to Nielsen IQ data for the 52 weeks ended July 12.

For brewer AB InBev, Michelob Ultra’s triumph reverses the company’s struggles from two years ago. Modelo Especial unseated Bud Light in the wake of conservative backlash over the flagship beer’s partnership with transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Bud Light had previously held the title as the top-selling beer in the U.S. for more than two decades.
Modelo’s declining popularity comes as Constellation faces key challenges to its business, including tariffs on aluminum and Mexican imports and weaker demand from Hispanic consumers.
Historically, Hispanic beer drinkers have accounted for roughly half of Constellation’s customer base, although growing demand from non-Hispanic consumers helped fuel Modelo’s rise. Executives have said that President Donald Trump’s immigration policies and related job losses have weighed on Hispanic consumers’ spending.
Earlier this month, Constellation cut its forecast for the fiscal year, citing a “challenging” economy. The company expects net beer sales will fall 2% to 4% due to lower volumes and additional tariff impacts. It previously anticipated sales would range from flat to up 3%.
So far this year, AB InBev’s stock has climbed more than 16%, while shares of Constellation have tumbled 39%. More

Spirit Airlines is planning to furlough about 1,800 flight attendants, about a third of the work group, to cut costs in its second bankruptcy in a year.
Spirit’s CEO last week warned staff about upcoming job cuts as the airline shrinks its schedule to reduce costs.
The airline is also seeking $100 million in savings from its pilots.

A Spirit Airlines aircraft undergoes operations in preparation for departure at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Austin, Texas, on Feb. 12, 2024.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images

Spirit Airlines is planning to furlough about 1,800 flight attendants, roughly a third of its cabin crew members, to cut costs as the budget airline struggles in its second bankruptcy in less than a year.
“As we work to return Spirit to profitability, we face difficult decisions about our network, our fleet, and ultimately our workforce,” John Bendoraitis, Spirit’s chief operating officer, wrote in a memo sent to flight attendants on Monday, which was reviewed by CNBC.

CNBC reported last week that CEO Dave Davis had warned staff about job cuts as Spirit looks to shrink its fleet in an effort to stabilize its business.

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Some 800 Spirit flight attendants have already been out on voluntary leaves of absence, which has helped the airline avoid involuntary furloughs, Bendoraitis said.
“However, there is a limit to how many people can volunteer for these types of leave, and we have reached that mark,” he said.
The airline will first offer voluntary furloughs, so the final number of cabin crew members who will be affected wasn’t immediately clear. Flight attendants can apply for voluntary furlough leaves of six or 12 months and will retain medical benefits, their union, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, said in a note to members on Monaday that was also reviewed by CNBC.
AFA said it is working with union chapters at other airlines to help affected flight attendants get “preferential interviews” with other carriers. Involuntary furloughs will take effect on Dec. 1, AFA said.

Spirit didn’t immediately comment on the furloughs.
Spirit has also furloughed hundreds of pilots, and executives told the airline’s pilots’ union that it is seeking $100 million in cost cuts from its aviators.
Bendoraitis told the union, the Air Line Pilots Association, last week that that management is “available to continue to negotiate every day thereafter to reach a consensual agreement” by Oct. 1. Under the bankruptcy process, however, the airline could find relief outside of the pilots’ labor contract. More

Pfizer said it would acquire weight loss biotech Metsera in a deal valued at up to $7.3 billion, including future payments, as it scrambles to win a slice in the booming obesity drug market. 
The move comes after a string of setbacks for Pfizer on the obesity front, including a decision to scrap its own lead obesity pill in April due to safety concerns.
Metsera, founded in 2022, brings a pipeline of both oral and injectable treatments with different targets that the company had picked up through its own licensing and acquisition deals.

Thomas Fuller | SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Pfizer on Monday said it would buy weight loss drugmaker Metsera in an up to $7.3 billion deal, including future payments, as it scrambles to win a slice in the booming obesity drug market. 
Pfizer said it will pay an initial $47.50 a share in cash for Metsera, a nearly 43% premium to the biotech company’s Friday’s closing price of $33.32. That gives the deal an enterprise value of $4.9 billion. 

The pact also includes a contingent value right worth up to $22.50 a share based on potential clinical and regulatory achievements for Metsera’s medicines, which could bring the total value to $70 a share. 
The deal is expected to close at the end of the year. Shares of Metsera rose more than 60% in premarket trading on Monday, while Pfizer’s stock rose more than 1%. 
The move comes after a string of setbacks for Pfizer in the obseity space. The pharmaceutical giant struggled to develop its own lead obesity drug candidate, danuglipron, before deciding to scrap it entirely in April due to safety concerns. Pfizer also discontinued a different once-daily pill in June 2023 due to elevated liver enzymes in patients who received it. 
Pfizer has earlier-stage obesity drugs in its pipeline that work in different ways, but the company has faced mounting investor pressure to accelerate its push into the market.
The opportunity could be huge. Some analysts expect the weight loss drug space could be worth roughly $100 billion by the 2030s, with room for new rivals to compete with popular injections from Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk.

Metsera, founded in 2022, brings a pipeline of both oral and injectable treatments with different targets that the company had picked up through its own licensing and acquisition deals. That includes a GLP-1 drug called MET-233i, which helped patients lose up to 8.4% of their weight in 36 days in a small, early-stage trial. Metsera is developing that treatment as a potential once-monthly injectable, meaning that patients can take it less frequently than existing weekly injections.
Metsera’s pipeline also includes a monthly drug targeting a hormone called amylin, along with two oral GLP-1 candidates “expected to begin trials imminently,” Pfizer said in a release. 
“The proposed acquisition of Metsera aligns with our focus on directing our investments to the most impactful opportunities and propels Pfizer into this key therapeutic area,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement. “We are excited to apply our deep cardiometabolic experience and manufacturing and commercial infrastructure to accelerate a portfolio that includes potential best-in-class injectables.”
In a note on Monday, Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger said the firm estimates Metsera’s obesity candidates have the potential to generate more than $5 billion in combined peak annual sales. In a separate note on Monday, JPMorgan analyst Chris Schott said Metsera’s experimental drugs “should accelerate” Pfizer’s entry into the market. 
The New York-based Metsera went public this year in one of the biggest biotech listings of 2025. It is among several companies racing to develop next-generation obesity treatments following the success of weekly injections such as Eli Lilly’s obesity drug Zepbound and Novo Nordisk’s rival Wegovy.  More

Build-A-Bear Workshop has reported record revenue and growth in the past year, even amid economic uncertainty from tariffs and recession fears.
CEO Sharon Price John told CNBC she attributes the company’s success to its ability to effectively plan for all scenarios.
Experts said the brand’s nostalgia and diversification strategies also play a part in its growth.

A Build-A-Bear Workshop in Herald Square, New York on Sept. 16, 2025.
Laya Neelakandan | CNBC

For 26-year-old Cammie Craycroft’s friends, the perfect birthday activity this summer was a group trip to Build-A-Bear Workshop.
Craycroft said she and her friends grew up going to the retailer, which is known for its experiential shopping product where customers can choose their stuffed animal and then pick its outfits, accessories and more.

“Build-A-Bear means a lot to me. I had so many birthday parties at Build-A-Bear,” Craycroft told CNBC. “It really is a nostalgic place, and I have so many happy memories there.”
The company has recently been targeting adults like Craycroft as it diversifies its portfolio and leans into the nostalgia of the brand. Despite macroeconomic headwinds, the company posted record-breaking revenue in the first half of fiscal 2025, reaching $252.6 million, an increase of nearly 12% from the year-ago period.
And in its second-quarter earnings report at the end of August, the retailer raised its outlook after the success of its tariff mitigation strategies — namely, increasing its inventory in the first quarter while operating under the assumption that tariffs would raise prices.
Build-A-Bear’s stock is up roughly 60% year-to-date and is fast approaching a $1 billion market cap, even as other retailers struggle to recover losses from tariffs.

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Build-A-Bear Workshop stock

Founded in 1997, the company has been focused on scenario-planning and ensuring its brand stays true to its nostalgic roots while also adapting to the ever-changing macroenvironment, according to CEO Sharon Price John, who took over the company in 2013.

Though the “retail apocalypse” means retailers have seen less foot traffic in malls over the past decade, John said Build-A-Bear has evolved to be “so much more” than just a storefront. The company has diversified its positions beyond malls into cruise ships, amusement parks, hospitality and more.
“It’s a really emotional, memorable experience that creates a tremendous amount of of equity,” John told CNBC. “Those strong feelings that consumers have for brands are very stretchable beyond just that one experience.”
With more than 600 stores across 32 countries, the company has been exploring new options to offer its signature experience in different ways, including expanding with a host of international stores and creating a line of “Mini Beans,” which are smaller, pre-stuffed toys.

Stuffed animals are seen at a Build-A-Bear Workshop in Herald Square, New York on Sept. 16, 2025.
Laya Neelakandan | CNBC

John attributed the company’s success to its forward-looking strategies. Though Build-A-Bear imports a “vast majority” of its products from China and Vietnam, John said the tariff impacts were not as drastic as they could have been because the company planned ahead.
“Success isn’t an accident, and it often takes years of planning to be able to weather difficult situations,” John said.
But the company’s core brand success goes beyond just the keeping the balance sheet clean, she added.
“The other piece is that I think that we’re in the right place at the right time,” John said. “There’s a lot of planning, but sometimes you just happen to be in the right zeitgeist. Gifting is in the zeitgeist, ‘kidulting’ is a part of the zeitgeist, personalization is a part of the zeitgeist, returning to comfort things is a part of the zeitgeist, stuffed animals is in the zeitgeist right now.”
D. A. Davidson analyst Keegan Cox said there are a multitude of reasons that Build-A-Bear has seen growth even as the macroenvironment shows signs of a potential economic slowdown.
One of the factors that’s helping the company, Cox said, is its ability to “discreetly” raise prices of certain items without customers noticing because it’s constantly creating new products to stick with current trends that are priced differently.
“No consumer is really going to be able to tell, because there’s no direct comparable product,” he told CNBC. “I think that’s a good little tariff mitigation strategy that’s kind of just built into their model.”
Cox said the company’s diverse revenue stream, between new products and new demographics, has been significantly helping it to stay afloat and successful. The analyst said he’s seeing “momentum” in the company, especially as it ramps up inventory ahead of the holiday season.

Stuffed animals are seen at a Build-A-Bear Workshop in Herald Square, New York on Sept. 16, 2025.
Laya Neelakandan | CNBC

Its expansion into international stores has been a particularly effective tool, he added.
“In my opinion, those stores just are a super high return on capital, and there’s a large runway for growth there that I think is finally starting to show up in the share price,” Cox said.

Embracing the nostalgia

Craycroft and her friends are a prime example of one of the company’s most effective strategies: marketing to adults who grew up with the iconic brand.
At her best friend’s 26th birthday party, Craycroft said she and her friends all felt like children again – except this time, she came prepared with Pinterest research into the specific aesthetic of teddy bear that would match her room and her lifestyle.
Her golden brown bear, named Bearett, is styled with grey checkered pajamas and bunny-ear slippers.

Build-A-Bear teddy bear
Photo: Cammie Craycroft

“It all just really reminded me of how sweet this is and how it can be something that you can connect with people on,” she said. “But it’s also just fun and silly.”
Craycroft and her friends aren’t the only ones leaning into the brand. After making a TikTok about her adult relationship with the toy company, she said she saw most of her views on the video came from people searching for “Build-A-Bear” on the app.
According to a recent survey conducted by Build-A-Bear, 92% of adults still own their childhood teddy bears, and nearly 100% of the respondents said stuffed animals are for all ages, not just kids.
The nostalgia of Build-A-Bear for its older customers, and those who want to carry it on for the next generation, is a huge factor in continuously driving sales, according to University of Pennsylvania marketing professor Americus Reed.
“If we learn anything from the Cracker Barrel saga,” Reed said, referring to the internet turmoil over the restaurant chain’s attempt at a rebrand, “it is that nostalgia matters, and I think it’s a big part of it.”
In what’s become an “attention deficit” economy, with a plethora of options available to consumers at all times, Reed said Build-A-Bear’s ability to build upon its existing footprint while also innovating its digital and social media presence has helped it to retain its attention among consumers of all ages.
Because of the “ritualistic” experience of buying a stuffed animal at Build-A-Bear, Reed said, the identity of the brand becomes closely intertwined with the customers.
“As you toil with putting something together and personalizing it, you’re essentially creating this extension of yourself, and that’s incredibly powerful,” Reed said. “And then you go home with it, and you can think about it and look at it. That’s really hard to replicate.”
Reed added that Build-A-Bear has become a good case example of how to effectively build a brand that creates deeper relationships with its consumers than others, creating a sense of loyalty.
“The pressure to create something that’s special enough to break through the sort of attention deficit economy is going to be the pressure test of who’s going to be able to be successful in the future,” he said. “They’re going to have the most traction.” More