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    dLocal, Latin America’s answer to Stripe, wins UK license in global expansion push

    DLocal, a Latin American payments firm focused on emerging markets, has acquired an authorized payment institution license from the Financial Conduct Authority.
    The license, which adds to dLocal’s growing portfolio of authorizations globally, will allow the firm to start onboarding merchants in the U.K. for the first time.
    Pedro Arnt, dLocal’s CEO, told CNBC it’s targeting both domestic U.K. businesses as prospective clients, as well as global companies with a presence in the U.K.

    DLocal is one of Latin America’s most prominent payment players. It specializes in cross-border payments for emerging markets such as Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and its home country, Uruguay.
    Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

    LONDON — Uruguayan payments firm dLocal has secured a U.K. payment institution license, adding to the company’s growing portfolio of regulatory authorizations as it furthers global expansion.
    The emerging markets-focused fintech told CNBC it had acquired an authorized payment institution license from the Financial Conduct Authority, which is Britain’s financial services regulator. That would allow it to start onboarding new U.K. merchants.

    DLocal will onboard U.K. merchants through a local entity, dLocal Opco UK, which was previously unable to onboard new clients locally because of restrictions placed on it by the FCA. DLocal said the restrictions were the result of the U.K.’s exit from the EU.
    Pedro Arnt, dLocal’s CEO, told CNBC he expects the business to stand out from domestic payment tech rivals, such as Worldpay and Checkout.com, given its focus on emerging markets in places like Latin America, Africa and Asia.
    “The differentiating factor for us when we think of our U.K. base of merchants is that the geographies where we serve them, and those are the only geographies we work,” Arnt said in an interview. He added that dLocal is also targeting global merchants that have a U.K. presence.

    “The U.K. has become a hub for many global companies — even the American companies, some Asian companies — for their emerging market expansion, primarily in Africa, and in some cases LatAm,” Arnt told CNBC.

    UK expansion plans

    Established in 2016, dLocal is one of Latin America’s most prominent payment players. It specializes in cross-border payments for emerging markets such as Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and its home country Uruguay.

    With a payment license now under its belt, dLocal is looking to boost its U.K. footprint, with plans to increase headcount and grow business.
    Arnt said dLocal has already been expanding its U.K. footprint, with a number of its senior executives — like Chief Operating Officer Carlos Menendez and Chief Revenue Officer John O’Brien — based in London. Globally, dLocal currently has over 1,000 employees.
    Arnt said a major benefit the U.K. payment license will bring dLocal is recognition as a “licensed partner” that companies in the developed world can trust to handle payments in emerging markets with complex regulatory needs. DLocal now holds over 30 licenses and registrations worldwide.
    Still, dLocal will come up against some fierce competition. Britain already has an established fintech ecosystem with numerous well-capitalized players in the world of payments operating there, including PayPal, Stripe, Adyen, Checkout.com, Mollie and Revolut — to name a few.

    ‘Not for sale’

    DLocal went public on the Nasdaq in 2021, notching a $9 billion valuation at the time. It’s seen its market capitalization decline since then. As of Tuesday, the business was worth $3.4 billion. Still, the stock has risen about 40% in the past six months.
    Last month, Reuters reported dLocal was in the process of exploring a potential sale. When asked about buyout speculation by CNBC, Arnt said he didn’t want to comment on rumors, but clarified that dLocal isn’t currently for sale.
    All in all, Arnt said, being a public company comes with a level of transparency and oversight that he sees as “positive commercially” for it. At times, he added, “rumors will emerge that someone’s interested in the asset — but I wouldn’t assume there’s too much to that.”
    “While there would be a fiduciary duty to shareholders to entertain takeovers, Arnt said that for now, “the company is not for sale.” More

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    Online holiday spending rises nearly 9%, as deep discounts and AI-powered chatbots fuel purchases, Adobe data says

    Online spending grew 8.7% during November and December, according to Adobe Analytics, as consumers took advantage of discounts.
    Shoppers have embraced “event-ized buying,” as they hold out for key periods when they know that items they want will be on sale, said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst for Adobe Digital Insights.
    The biggest year-over-year spending growth came from groceries, which jumped nearly 13% to $21.5 billion, and cosmetics, which shot up by 12.2% to $7.7 billion, the data said.

    Alistair Berg | Digitalvision | Getty Images

    Online spending rose 8.7% during the holiday season from last year, according to data from Adobe Analytics, as deals and the use of AI-powered chatbots helped inspire purchases.
    Sales on retailers’ websites and apps totaled $241.4 billion from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31, according to Adobe. The company’s analysis includes more than 1 trillion visits to U.S. retail sites, 100 million unique items and 18 different product categories.

    More demand, not higher prices, drove higher online spending, according to Adobe. Adobe’s Digital Price Index found e-commerce prices have fallen every month for 27 months. The company’s figures are not adjusted for inflation, but if they were revised, overall consumer spending would be higher.
    The e-commerce results are a promising sign for the retail industry, which has yet to report company-specific sales. Walmart, Target, Macy’s and others will start to post their fiscal fourth-quarter results, including their sales over the key shopping season, in late February.
    Other early reads on the holiday season have looked strong, too. 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.
    Deep discounts motivated holiday shoppers to spend, according to Adobe’s data. For every 1% drop in the typical price, demand for merchandise increased by about 1% compared with the 2023 holiday season, Adobe data found. That led to an additional $2.25 billion in online spending.
    Vivek Pandya, lead analyst for Adobe Digital Insights, said as prices of groceries and housing remain elevated, consumers are waiting to buy nonessential goods at times of the year when they expect to pay less. He described that pattern as “event-ized buying.”

    For example, he said shoppers have opened their wallets during Amazon’s Prime Day event in the summer or during sales days such as President’s Day and Memorial Day.
    “There are certain moments and certain opportunities where we see them overindexing their spend, really driving forward, because they see the value,” he said. “And then outside of those periods, we start to see growth kind of draw back down.”
    Some of the best online deals during the holiday season were in the electronics category, where discounts peaked at 30.1% off listed price; toys, where price reductions topped out at 28%; TVs, where discounts maxed out at 24.2%; and apparel, where price cuts peaked at 23.2%.
    Electronics, apparel, and the furniture and home goods segment were the three top categories for the holiday season, which contributed to about 54% of the total online spending, according to Adobe. Yet the biggest year-over-year spending growth came from groceries, which jumped nearly 13% to $21.5 billion, and cosmetics, which shot up by 12.2% to $7.7 billion.

    The AI effect

    One of the newer factors nudging spending is AI-powered shopping assistants such as ChatGPT and its competitors.
    Traffic to retail sites that came from generative AI-powered chatbots shot up by 1,300% compared with the year-ago holiday season, as more shoppers turned to the technology to look for gift ideas and direct them to cheaper items, according to Adobe. That data included only external chatbots, not those that retailers offer on their own apps or websites.
    Pandya said while the technology is young and the base of users still modest, those chatbots are becoming more meaningful drivers of clicks and purchases on retailers’ websites.
    “You have a consumer that’s very strategic and thinking a lot about their strategy around where they’re buying, when they’re buying, what’s offering the best deal,” Pandya said, “and that’s where the generative AI sources, the assistants were helping the consumer and kind of co-piloting that journey.”
    For many shoppers, smartphones played a central role. Most of the season’s e-commerce purchases — nearly 55% — took place through a smartphone rather than a laptop or other device. That’s up from about 51% in the year-ago holiday season, Adobe found.
    The use of buy now, pay later, a credit option that allows shoppers to split their purchase into multiple payments, rose 9.6% year over year and contributed to $18.2 billion in online spending during the holiday period. That marked an all-time high for the holiday season, according to Adobe. Cyber Monday was the biggest day on record for buy now, pay later with $991.2 million in spending. More

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    Stellantis reveals redesigned Ram heavy-duty trucks

    Stellantis has redesigned its large Ram heavy-duty trucks after the brand has seen three consecutive years of sales declines.
    The new Ram 2500 and 3500 pickups are expected to arrive in U.S. dealers during the first quarter of this year and will start at $47,560.
    Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis said rollouts of its redesigned trucks have “been super delayed,” which has hurt the automaker.

    2025 Ram 2500 Heavy Duty

    DETROIT — Stellantis has redesigned its large Ram heavy-duty trucks — and it’s betting those updates will help reverse three consecutive years of sales declines for the brand.
    The new Ram 2500 and 3500 pickups and chassis cab trucks feature updated interior and exterior designs, as well as a new 6.7-liter Cummins turbo diesel engine that produces 430 horsepower and a best-in-class 1,075 foot-pounds of torque, according to the automaker.

    The heavy-duty trucks are expected to arrive in U.S. dealers during the first quarter of this year and will sell for roughly $2,300 more than current models, starting at $47,560.
    They follow the delayed rollout of their redesigned smaller sibling Ram 1500 pickup, which was released last year.

    2025 Ram 3500 Heavy Duty

    Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis, who returned to the automaker in December after retiring in May, said the rollout of the Ram 1500 is improving.
    “It’s been super delayed, let’s be honest. We should have been fully launched up on that [1500] truck this summer. We should have had [the heavy-duty trucks] already,” Kuniskis said during a media event. “It’s getting better every day.”
    Pickup trucks are crucial products for American brands such as Ram, which reported a 19% year-over-year decline in sales in 2024. That included a 16% drop in sales for its Ram pickup trucks. That compares with competitors such as Ford and GM’s Chevrolet, which reported level sales in 2024 for their pickups.

    2025 Ram 5500 Chassis Cab

    “We’ve been getting our ass kicked,” Kuniskis said, noting the 1500 model rollout is largely to blame for the brand’s sales decline.
    The diesel engine is an important option for heavy-duty truck customers, many of whom use the vehicles for hauling, towing and other work-related jobs. The other engine option is a 6.4-liter Hemi V-8 that delivers 405 horsepower and 429 foot-pounds of torque.
    For 2025, the Ram Heavy Duty lineup includes Tradesman, Big Horn/Lone Star, Laramie, Rebel, Power Wagon, Limited Longhorn and Limited models. The trucks are built in Saltillo, Mexico.

    2025 Ram 3500 Heavy Duty More

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    While Apple negotiates Indonesia sales ban, another Chinese smartphone maker is entering the country

    Huawei spinoff Honor announced Tuesday it is entering Indonesia and plans to launch its smartphones there by the end of March.
    The populous Southeast Asian country has banned Apple’s iPhone 16 over domestic production requirements.
    As of November, Oppo, Xiaomi and Transsion — all China-based — held the top three spots in Indonesia by smartphone shipments, according to Canalys.

    Pictured here is the Grand Indonesia shopping mall in Jakarta on Friday, Jan. 5, 2024.
    Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    BEIJING — Huawei spinoff Honor announced Tuesday it plans to launch smartphone sales in Indonesia by the end of March, becoming the latest Chinese company to enter a market that has banned Apple’s iPhone 16 over domestic production requirements.
    Indonesia requires that for smartphones sold in the country, 40% of their components must be domestically sourced. That rule has prevented Apple from selling its newest phone in the market, where it is reportedly negotiating a $1 billion investment.

    Honor has an office in Indonesia and is working with one local manufacturing partner, Justin Li, the Chinese company’s president of South Pacific operations, told reporters last week. He said a folding phone will be among Honor’s first set of locally sold products — 10 items in the medium to high-end segment.
    The company aims to offer around 30 products from phones to tablets in Indonesia by the end of the year. The Southeast Asian country is home to the world’s fourth-largest country by population, just behind the United States.
    “Although 80% of the market is dominated by devices priced under $200, as Southeast Asia’s largest and fastest-growing economy, Indonesia presents immense potential for long-term growth,” Canalys analyst Chiew Le Xuan said in an email.

    “Indonesia is emerging as a key market in Southeast Asia, driven by rapid economic growth and an expanding middle class,” Chiew said, noting the country accounts for 35% of smartphone shipments in the region and can serve as a strategic regional hub.
    As of November, Oppo, Xiaomi and Transsion — all China-based — held the top three spots in Indonesia by smartphone shipments, according to Canalys. Shenzhen-based Oppo in November held its global launch for its flagship Find X8 phone in Indonesia, where the company also has a factory.

    Samsung ranked fourth in Indonesia with a 16% share, tied with Vivo, another Chinese brand, the Canalys data showed.
    Excluding China and Japan, just under 8% of Apple’s sales come from Asia-Pacific.
    Li claimed the decision to enter Indonesia was independent of Apple’s presence in the country, and was confident in Honor’s ability to compete. He said Honor had observed the Indonesian market for years, before doubling down on expansion efforts in the last half year.
    While he declined to share a current breakdown of Indonesian to Chinese staff, Li said Honor is still hiring in the country and aims to have a predominately local staff in the future.
    Honor plans to open at least 10 of its own stores in Indonesia this year, in addition to selling through a local retailer, Li said.
    Outside of China, Honor primarily sells in Europe and parts of Southeast Asia. Its phones are not directly sold in the U.S. The company claimed that in December, more than half of its sales came from outside China for the first time.
    Honor, which is planning to go public, was spun off from Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei in November 2020 after the parent company was hit by U.S. sanctions. Huawei said it does not hold any shares in Honor or have involvement in business decisions. More

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    Toyota is ‘exploring rockets’ with nearly $45 million investment in Japanese launch startup, chairman says

    Toyota Motor is exploring the development and production of orbital rockets, Chairman Akio Toyoda said Monday.
    The automaker is investing 7 billion Japanese yen ($44.4 million) into Interstellar Technologies, a startup developing orbital launch vehicles.
    “We are exploring rockets too, because the future of mobility shouldn’t be limited to just earth or just one car company, for that matter,” Toyoda said during a press conference for CES.

    After Akio Toyoda, CEO and President of Toyota, announced he was stepping down on Thursday, he shared his advice to his successor and his business philosophy.
    Photo by Yoshikazu Tsuno | Gamma-rapho | Getty Images

    LAS VEGAS — Toyota Motor is exploring the development and production of orbital rockets, Chairman Akio Toyoda said Monday.
    The automaker, through its “Woven by Toyota” mobility company, is investing 7 billion Japanese yen ($44.4 million) into Interstellar Technologies Inc., a Japanese private spaceflight company developing launch vehicles for satellites.

    Toyoda, former CEO and scion of the automaker, said there shouldn’t only be “one car company” — referring to Tesla, whose CEO Elon Musk also leads SpaceX — working on the development of such technologies.
    “We are exploring rockets too, because the future of mobility shouldn’t be limited to just earth or just one car company, for that matter,” Toyoda said during a press conference for the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

    Read more CNBC space news

    Founded in 2013, Interstellar Technologies has performed seven launches of its small suborbital MOMO rockets, which reached space for the first time in 2019. The startup has yet to deploy a satellite in orbit, with plans to develop the larger ZERO and DECA line of rockets for delivering spacecraft.
    Toyota said the company expects to leverage its experience with the mass production of vehicles for the production of rockets with Interstellar Technologies. 
    In the Japanese launch market, Toyota is taking on Mitsubishi, whose subsidiary Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has developed and launched the H3 series of rockets for JAXA, the country’s space agency. Mitsubishi’s H3 rocket, which debuted several years behind schedule, was intended to be priced competitively with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets, which dominate the current global launch market.

    Woven City

    Toyota on Monday also announced completion of the first phase of Woven City, including housing for residents and inventors whom the automaker is inviting to come to the location.
    Woven by Toyota was announced five years ago by Toyoda at CES as a “prototype city of the future,” located on a 175-acre site at the base of Mt. Fuji in Japan to test and develop new emerging technologies such as autonomous vehicles.
    The chairman said the mission of Woven City isn’t necessarily to make money, but to be a test course and experimental proving ground for future technologies. More

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    Winter storm disrupts thousands of U.S. flights

    Nearly 7,000 U.S. flights were delayed and more than 2,600 were canceled as a winter storm moved eastward.
    The winter storm was set to dump about a foot of snow on areas around Washington, D.C.
    The worst of the disruptions were centered in and around Washington, D.C., but flights were delayed around as far west as Dallas.

    Airplanes on the tarmac during a snow storm at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, US, on Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. 
    Ting Shen | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    Thousands of flights were disrupted Monday as a winter storm moved eastward, snarling air travel in the eastern U.S.
    By 5:45 p.m. ET, more than 6,900 U.S. flights were delayed while more 2,130 were canceled, according to flight tracker FlightAware.

    The storm, which was moving from the Ohio Valley to the mid-Atlantic, was set to dump as much as a foot of snow in the Washington, D.C., area, though cold weather stretched through the southern U.S., according to federal forecasters.
    More than 300 flights, or 80% of the day’s schedule, were canceled at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, while about a third of the scheduled flights were canceled at each Washington Dulles International Airport and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.

    Read more CNBC airline news

    Each of the major New York-area airports had about 200 flight delays, FlightAware tallies showed, and there were significant slowdowns at other major airports like Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
    United, Southwest, American and other airlines waived change fees and fare differences for travelers affected by the storm.

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    UK visitors from dozens of countries will have to pay a new entry fee starting this week

    Travelers visiting or traveling to the U.K. from the U.S. and dozens of other countries will have to pay for an electronic travel authorization before flying.
    The application costs £10 (about $12.50) to apply.
    Babies and children also need to have the authorization to enter.

    Pedestrians shelter from the rain under umbrellas as they pass the Elizabeth Tower, commonly known by the name of the clock’s bell, Big Ben, at the Palace of Westminster, home to the Houses of Parliament, in London on Feb. 22, 2024.
    Henry Nicholls | AFP | Getty Images

    If you’re traveling to the U.K. as early as this week, you might need to apply online for a travel authorization before you go.
    Starting Wednesday, the U.K. will require U.S. citizens, Canadian citizens and nationals from more than three dozen other countries to have a so-called electronic travel authorization, or ETA.

    Here’s what travelers need to know:

    What is an electronic travel authorization?

    The ETA is a pre-authorization for travelers from countries where the U.K. doesn’t require visas.
    The U.K. launched the program in 2024 for visiting citizens from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. On Wednesday, it takes effect for a host of additional countries.
    Travelers will still need to clear immigration upon arrival. The U.S. has similar digital authorization requirements for nationals from European Union countries, the U.K., and other countries whose citizens aren’t required to have a visa to enter. Later in 2025, EU countries will require them of U.S. citizens and nationals from other countries with similar criteria.
    You do not need an ETA if you have a visa and are authorized to live, work or study in the U.K.

    How do I get one?

    You can apply online using the U.K.’s ETA app for Android and iPhone. It costs £10 (about $12.50) to apply, and it’s good for two years and for visits of up to six months. The fee is paid by credit card.
    Travelers will have to upload photos of their passport and of themselves to apply.

    Read more CNBC airline news

    How long does it take?

    Applicants could wait about three days for a decision, sent via email.

    What about children?

    Each person eligible for the ETA will need one, including babies and children.

    What if I’m connecting in the U.K.?

    You’ll need an ETA even if you’re traveling to a U.K. airport for a connecting flight to another country. More

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    Ulta Beauty names new CEO, raises outlook for holiday quarter

    Ulta Beauty CEO Dave Kimbell is retiring and will be replaced by Kecia Steelman, the company’s chief operating officer.
    Ulta also raised its fourth-quarter guidance, saying it expects modest growth of comparable sales.
    In a news release, the beauty retailer said the leadership changes are effective as of Monday.

    People walk past an Ulta Beauty store in the Manhattan borough of New York City on March 8, 2022.
    Carlo Allegri | Reuters

    Ulta Beauty CEO Dave Kimbell is retiring and will be replaced by the retailer’s Chief Operating Officer Kecia Steelman, the company announced Monday.
    Ulta said in a news release that the leadership changes take effect on Monday. Steelman will also replace Kimbell on the company’s board of directors.

    Along with announcing the executive shakeup, Ulta raised its fiscal fourth-quarter outlook because of “stronger-than-expected performance during the holiday season.” The company said it now anticipates comparable sales will increase modestly and operating margin will be above the high end of the company’s previous expected range of 11.6% to 12.4% of sales. In early December, Ulta said it expected comparable sales would range between a decline of 1% and flat.
    Shares of the company rose more than 2% in extended trading.
    Ulta Beauty has faced a more challenging landscape, as a wide range of retailers, including Macy’s and Kohl’s, chase a bigger piece of beauty sales and as customers watch their discretionary spending. At an investor conference in the spring, Kimbell warned of a slowdown in the category.
    In recent quarters, Ulta has fought to maintain its spot as a top beauty retailer by carrying new brands, throwing more in-store events and adding more digital tools.

    Kecia Steelman named President and CEO of Ulta Beauty.
    Courtesy: Business Wire

    Steelman will now lead those efforts. The company’s incoming CEO has been with Ulta for more than a decade and became its chief operating officer in 2023.

    In the release, Kimbell described Steelman as “a strategic leader with a proven record of driving operational excellence and creating exceptional guest experiences while fostering a caring and inclusive culture.”
    Kimbell, who has been with the company since 2014, became its CEO in 2021. In a news release, Ulta said he will serve as an advisor to the company through June 28.
    Shares of Ulta closed on Monday at $431.30, about 25% less than its 52-week high.
    Ulta Beauty is expected to report its fiscal fourth-quarter results on March 13.
    Across the business world, there has been a jump in CEO changes. Last year, U.S. public companies had more chief executive changes than any other year since at least 2010, when outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas first started tracking the turnover. Companies with leadership changes included Starbucks, Kohl’s, Nike and Boeing. More