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    in Business

    Dollar Tree shares plunge after company misses on earnings, slashes full-year profit outlook

    Dollar Tree missed Wall Street’s earnings per share estimates but beat on revenue.
    Shares of the company plunged in early trading.

    Erin Scott | Reuters

    Shares of Dollar Tree plunged more than 16% in intraday trading Thursday after the company fell short of Wall Street’s earnings expectations for the most recent quarter and slashed its profit outlook for the full year.
    The stock closed about 12% lower at $136.66 a share.

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    Here’s how the discounter did in its fiscal first quarter compared with what Wall Street was anticipating, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:

    Earnings per share: $1.47, adjusted, vs. $1.52 expected 
    Revenue: $7.32 billion vs. $7.28 billion expected 

    The company’s reported net income for the three-month period that ended April 29 was $299 million, or $1.35 a share, compared with $536.4 million, or $2.37 a share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, the company reported earnings of $1.47 per share, falling below Wall Street projections.
    Sales rose to $7.32 billion, up from $6.9 billion a year earlier. 
    Same store sales were up 4.8% compared to an expected uptick of 3.6%, according to Street Account estimates. 
    Following the disappointing quarter, Dollar Tree lowered its profit outlook for the full year to a range of $5.73 to $6.13 per share, down from a prior range of $6.30 to $6.80 per share. Analysts polled by Refinitiv had been expecting full-year earnings of $6.68 per share.

    The lower outlook was attributed to elevated shrink, or items that were damaged, lost or stolen, and a shift in product mix to consumables, which carry lower margins, Dollar Tree’s CEO Rick Dreiling said in a news release. 
    “While we are seeing early results from our initiatives, we are not immune to the external pressures affecting all of retail,” said Dreiling.
    “We are adjusting our EPS outlook as we expect the elevated shrink and unfavorable sales mix to persist through the balance of the year. We still expect earnings to be more back-end loaded this year as the benefits of lower ocean freight rates flow through.” 
    The company largely maintained its full-year sales forecast, however, projecting net sales in the tightened range of $30 billion to $30.5 billion. Its forecasting low- to mid-single-digit comparable store sales.
    For the second quarter, the company expects earnings per share of 79 cents to 89 cents in its second quarter versus Refinitiv consensus estimates of $1.22. 
    Dollar Tree, which runs its namesake banner and Family Dollar, has been in the midst of a turnaround after shuffling up its executive leadership and raising prices. In January, Dreiling, a former executive with rival Dollar General, took over as CEO. Prior to that, it named Jeffrey Davis as its new chief financial officer in August.
    Family Dollar has been in the midst of a reset, and it’s made progress, many stores remain “sub-par and very down-at-heel,” said analyst Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData.
    “With competition in the value space increasing from the expansion of other dollar store rivals and the growth of players like Aldi, it is imperative that Family Dollar offers a reasonable experience,” said Saunders. “The reward should be increased shopper share which is already starting to come through as consumers respond to the improvements being made.”
    The company said it is also lapping outsized growth that came from its decision to increase prices from $1 to $1.25 on most products. 
    Gross margins in the quarter declined 3.4 percentage points to 30.5% compared to the year ago period. The company attributed that to an “outsized margin benefit” that came when the company was first transitioning to its raised price. 
    While other value-oriented retailers, such as TJ Maxx, have seen promising results this retail earnings season, Dollar Tree has fallen short. Even with the companies low prices, Dollar Tree shoppers have been focusing their spending on essential items, which carry lower margins, over discretionary purchases. More

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    Here are ways retirees can protect nest eggs during a stock market rout

    The market may contract along with the economy in a possible recession, but there are two ways retirees can protect the invested savings they’re living off of, says Christine Benz, director of personal finance and retirement planning at Morningstar.
    One of those defenses is changing the source of withdrawals — for example, pulling from cash or bonds instead of stocks.
    The second defense is to reduce the overall dollar amount retirees withdraw from their investments.

    Getty | mihailomilovanovic

    The federal debt-ceiling standoff and the specter of a possible recession on the horizon may mean turbulent times ahead for the stock market — and that’s especially worrisome for retirees who rely on their investment portfolios for income.
    Retirees are generally advised to hold some stocks as part of their nest egg. Stocks serve as a long-term growth engine, helping to beat inflation’s negative impact over decades of retirement in a way that cash and bonds generally can’t.

    But pulling too much money from stocks during periods of sustained losses can be dangerous for retirees. The risk is particularly acute for people who’ve recently retired.
    More from Personal Finance:Credit card debt nears $1 trillionHow to get started with investing, budgetingHow much emergency savings you really need
    Fortunately, there are ways retirees can cut that risk.
    “You really have two defenses if you’re retired and are pulling from your portfolio for your living expenses,” said Christine Benz, director of personal finance and retirement planning at Morningstar.
    One of those defenses is changing the source of withdrawals — for example, pulling from cash or bonds instead of stocks. Ideally, retirees would pull from an asset type that hasn’t been declining in value, Benz said.

    That’s sometimes a tough proposition: 2022 was a rare case when stocks and bonds both suffered steep losses.
    The second defense is to reduce the overall dollar amount retirees withdraw from their investments, Benz said.

    Why retirees need to be careful

    Here’s the crux of the issue: When the stock market pulls back, investors must sell more of their stocks to generate the same level of income. When the market eventually stabilizes and swings positive, the portfolio has less of a runway for growth.
    If retirees aren’t careful, this dynamic may cause them to run out of money sooner than expected in their later years.

    Here’s one way to think about it: Retirees often peg the amount of their annual withdrawal to a percentage of their portfolio, perhaps somewhere in the range of 3% to 5%.
    If a retiree continues to pull the same dollar amount from that portfolio after stocks suffer a prolonged decline, that share could jump to 7% or 8%, for example — a perhaps-unsustainable amount that inadvertently hobbles the portfolio, said David Blanchett, head of retirement research at PGIM, the investment management arm of Prudential Financial.
    The key is flexibility, to the extent retirees have wiggle room, he said.

    Economy, market pullbacks aren’t a sure thing

    There are many caveats here.
    For one, a stock-market pullback isn’t guaranteed in the near term. U.S. lawmakers may reach a debt-ceiling deal by early June and avert likely financial chaos.
    And while Federal Reserve economists expect the U.S. to tilt into a mild recession later this year, it’s not guaranteed. Neither is a stock-market pullback if an economic downturn does materialize; while stocks frequently contract during recessions, there are instances (like in the early 1980s and 1990s) when that didn’t happen, according to a Morningstar analysis.
    Further, adjusting withdrawal behavior is more important for younger retirees — especially healthier ones expecting to tap their nest egg for decades.  

    You really have two defenses if you’re retired and are pulling from your portfolio for your living expenses.

    Christine Benz
    director of personal finance and retirement planning at Morningstar

    Consider this illustration of risk from Charles Schwab, which examines two newly retired individuals with $1 million portfolios and $50,000 annual withdrawals (adjusted for inflation).
    The only difference between them is when each experiences a 15% portfolio loss. One suffers a 15% decline in the first two years of retirement, and a 6% gain each year thereafter. The other has a 6% annual gain for the first nine years, a negative 15% return in years 10 and 11, and a 6% annual gain thereafter.
    Here’s the kicker: The first investor would run out of money after 18 years, while the second would have about $400,000 left.
    It may also be easier for certain retirees to be flexible than others.
    For example, some may cover all or the majority of their necessities (like food and housing costs) from guaranteed income sources like Social Security, a pension or an annuity. They may more easily be able to throttle back spending from stocks or a broader investment portfolio, if it’s largely being tapped just for discretionary purchases like vacations and entertainment.

    How to be flexible

    Marko Geber | Digitalvision | Getty Images

    There are several approaches retirees can take to be flexible with withdrawals, such as a “guardrail” strategy or forgoing inflation adjustments in down years.
    Here’s one easy rule of thumb: Using your personal life expectancy to determine if you’re withdrawing a safe amount of money from year to year, Blanchett said.
    (There are many online calculators that estimate how long you’ll live — and therefore how long you must make your retirement savings last. Blanchett recommends the Actuaries Longevity Illustrator from the American Academy of Actuaries and Society of Actuaries.)
    The calculation is simple: Divide 1 by your life expectancy, which will yield a reasonable starting point (in percentage terms) for a safe portfolio withdrawal.  
    For example, if a retiree determines their longevity to be 20 years, they’d use this calculation: 1/20 X 100. That yields a 5% withdrawal rate.
    “It’s really important to take the temperature of the withdrawal rate on an ongoing basis,” Blanchett said. More

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    DirecTV reaches deal to provide NFL ‘Sunday Ticket’ to bars and restaurants

    DirecTV has struck a multiyear deal with EverPass Media to commercially provide the NFL’s “Sunday Ticket” package.
    The agreement allows continuity for bars and restaurants, which have used DirecTV to bring out-of-market games to crowds on Sundays in previous years.
    The NFL signed a seven-year deal with Google’s YouTube TV for the residential “Sunday Ticket” broadcast rights in December.

    Football fans watch the NFL Super Bowl XLVIII game between the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks on at a sports bar in New Jersey on February 2, 2014.
    Cem Ozdel | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

    DirecTV has struck a multiyear deal to continue broadcasting the National Football League’s “Sunday Ticket” package to commercial establishments, including bars and restaurants.
    Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. The NFL sold the “Sunday Ticket” commercial rights to EverPass Media, a joint venture owned by private equity firm RedBird Capital Partners and the NFL, earlier this year. The companies confirmed the “Sunday Ticket” deal on Thursday afternoon.

    The agreement, which kicks in for the 2023 season, gives DirecTV the ability to use its network of satellite TV installations to connect sports bars, casinos, restaurants and hotels throughout the U.S. with “Sunday Ticket,” just as it has in previous years, said the people.
    While this is the first deal EverPass has struck to distribute commercial rights, the contract doesn’t guarantee exclusivity, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. The joint venture can negotiate a separate agreement with other cable or streaming companies that may want a commercial hookup outside of satellite TV, said the people. EverPass can also build its own commercial connection in future years and bypass third party licensing, one of the people said.
    DirecTV has been the sole provider of “Sunday Ticket,” the NFL’s out-of-market Sunday afternoon package of games, since 1994. Bars and restaurants, such as Buffalo Wild Wings and Hooters, rely on “Sunday Ticket” to bring in big crowds on Sundays during the NFL season.
    The NFL signed a seven-year deal with Google’s YouTube TV for the residential “Sunday Ticket” broadcast rights in December. The agreement begins at the start of the 2023-24 season.
    YouTube TV paid $2 billion per year to win the residential rights for “Sunday Ticket,” a price DirecTV was unwilling to pay.

    DirecTV is co-owned by private equity firm TPG and AT&T, with AT&T owning 70% of the company.
    The satellite TV provider has focused on its commercial sports rights business in recent months as a companion to streaming services, which don’t have the commercial rights. DirecTV announced in March it will air Major League Baseball’s “Friday Night Baseball” and Major League Soccer’s “Season Pass” games for its network of more than 300,000 restaurants, bars, hotel lounges, retail shops and other commercial venues. Both packages stream on Apple TV+ residentially.
    DirecTV also has the rights to broadcast NFL’s “Thursday Night Football” commercially. Those games air on Amazon Prime Video for households.
    WATCH: NFL’s “Sunday Ticket” package agreement with YouTube is “a good deal,” says Bruin Capital founder More

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    Illumina shareholders oust board chair, CEO survives Carl Icahn proxy battle

    Illumina shareholders ousted board chairman John Thompson.
    Carl Icahn had urged shareholders to oust both Thompson and CEO Francis deSouza. DeSouza survived the fight.
    An Illumina spokesperson said a new board chair will be chosen in the next few weeks.
    Shareholders also installed Andrew Teno, a portfolio manager at Icahn Capital LP.
    Icahn has accused Illumina’s executive management and board of poor oversight.

    Rafael Henrique | Lightrocket | Getty Images

    Activist investor Carl Icahn on Thursday won enough support from Illumina shareholders to oust the biotech company’s board chair.
    Shareholders booted Chairman John Thompson. An Illumina spokesperson said a new chair will be chosen in the next few weeks.

    Icahn had urged shareholders to vote off the company’s CEO, Francis deSouza, and Thompson from the nine-member board. DeSouza survived the proxy fight.
    Shareholders also voted to install one of Icahn’s three board nominees, Andrew Teno, a portfolio manager at Icahn Capital LP, an entity where Icahn manages investment funds.
    The vote was announced after Illumina’s annual meeting, marking a decisive end to a two-month proxy fight between Icahn and the company over a controversial acquisition. 
    Illumina, in a statement, thanked Thompson for his service over the years, saying his executive and business experience was deeply valued.
    Earlier this month, proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services recommended that Illumina shareholders back Teno.

    Icahn, who owns a 1.4% stake in San Diego-based Illumina, had proposed two other director candidates who are his current or former employees.
    The vote is a blow to Illumina, which has claimed Icahn’s three nominees lack “relevant skills and experience” and would “threaten the progress” of the biotech company’s core DNA sequencing business.

    Battle over Grail acquisition

    Icahn has accused Illumina’s executive management and board of poor oversight, particularly with regard to the company’s $7.1 billion acquisition of cancer test maker Grail in 2021.
    He has called on the company to unwind the “absurd and questionable” deal and oust deSouza “immediately.”
    Icahn has slammed the executive for receiving a massive pay bump despite a steep drop in the company’s market value. 
    Illumina’s market cap has plunged to roughly $33 billion from about $75 billion in August 2021, the month it closed the Grail acquisition. 
    Much of Icahn’s resistance to the deal stems from Illumina’s decision to close it without approval from antitrust regulators in the U.S. and Europe.
    The Federal Trade Commission in April ordered Illumina to divest itself of the acquisition over concerns that it would stifle competition and innovation. 
    The FTC’s decision reverses an administrative judge’s September ruling, which dismissed the agency’s initial challenge to the deal.
    The European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, also blocked the deal last year over similar concerns.   
    Illumina is appealing both orders and expects final decisions in late 2023 or early 2024.
    The company has repeatedly defended its acquisition of Grail. 

    CNBC Health & Science

    Read CNBC’s latest global health coverage:

    DeSouza told CNBC last month that the deal “makes sense” because Illumina can significantly expand the market for Grail’s early screening test, which can detect more than 50 types of cancers through a single blood draw. 
    The CEO also touted Grail’s 100% revenue growth during the first quarter compared with the same period a year ago. 
    In 2022, Grail generated around $55 million in revenue. Illumina expects it to make up to $110 million this year. 
    Icahn encountered his own criticism during the proxy battle.
    Notable short seller Hindenburg Research accused Icahn Enterprises of being overvalued and likened it to “Ponzi-like economic structures.”
    Icahn Enterprises has called those claims “misleading and self-serving.”
    — CNBC’s Spencer Kimball contributed to this report. More

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    NRO director says commercial space industry helps fuel the spy satellite agency’s ambitious goals

    The U.S. National Reconnaissance Office plans to quadruple the number of satellites on orbit over the next decade.
    The spy agency is increasingly partnering with commercial space companies to do it.
    NRO Director Chris Scolese said the agency is also looking to advance new technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning, even quantum sensing and communications.

    Dr. Christopher J. Scolese, right, nominee to be director of the National Reconnaissance Office, is introduced by Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on nominations in Dirksen Building on Tuesday, June 4, 2019.
    Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images

    The U.S. National Reconnaissance Office plans to quadruple the number of satellites on orbit over the next decade. It will need commercial space companies to help do it.
    The spy agency’s success toward that goal will involve “a combination of our partnerships with industry, the advancement of technology, and the coincident reduction in cost of all of those [launch and satellite] systems,” said NRO Director Chris Scolese, in a rare interview for CNBC’s “Manifest Space” podcast.

    “It’s helped us improve our reliability so that we can achieve more with more capability at a lower cost,” he said.
    The ambitious game plan speaks to the growing role of commercial space companies in national security work.
    As startups multiply and spearhead technological advancements, government agencies are attempting to reduce some of the red tape around government contracting and are getting more creative in the ways they partner with industry. The NRO is no exception.

    Follow and listen to CNBC’s “Manifest Space” podcast, hosted by Morgan Brennan, wherever you get your podcasts.

    “It’s much, much less expensive to get into space, and it’s resulted in more commodity spacecraft, if you will, that we can buy off of a production line, which has really reduced the cost,” Scolese said. “Then if you marry those with the sensors that are needed to acquire the information, you can really then go off and expand your architecture in a very affordable way.”
    The secretive agency provides the U.S.’ space-based intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, collecting intel to be provided to policymakers, analysts, warfighters and even individuals responding to nature disasters.

    It’s a classified office with a classified budget within the Department of Defense. It’s partially staffed by CIA agents and is one of the country’s 18 intelligence agencies. 
    In layman’s terms, the NRO operates America’s extensive network of spy satellites. 
    Scolese said for specialized or unique capabilities, the traditional method of issuing a request for proposal and launching a competitive bidding and development process is still best.
    But if there’s a relevant spacecraft or a sensor already under development or in production commercially, it may make more sense to simply purchase that off-the-shelf hardware.
    Similarly, with some companies already taking images or operating radar programs, the NRO can “buy the data from them … so that we don’t have to … go off and duplicate activities that we can reliably get from industry,” he said.
    An example: the Strategic Commercial Enhancement’s Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Framework, a program that enables the assessment and acquisition of new and emerging sensor technologies. The BAA has been used to procure electro-optical imagery, synthetic aperture radar and radio frequency sensing data, with various awards going to startups including Planet, BlackSky, Spire Global and others over the past few years.
    From satellite images of Russia building up forces on the Ukraine border ahead of the 2022 invasion, to the data amassed and released publicly by companies like Planet regarding the Chinese balloon that traversed the continental U.S. in February, commercial players increasingly demonstrate their mettle.
    “[It’s] the marriage of the two sets of capabilities,” said Scolese. “Then if you throw in our international partners as well, you really get a multiplication factor there that allows you to do more, and to do it more efficiently, as we do it with our partners.”
    Beginning Wednesday, the agency will host a tech forum to engage further with executives from more than 100 companies that are expected to attend. The hope is that new ideas emerging within the private sector or academia could be applied to the NRO’s evolving operations.
    Scolese said the agency is also looking to advance new technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning, even quantum sensing and communications.
    As space becomes a more contested domain, the NRO, much like the U.S. Space Force, is focused on securing assets, including implementing a “more proliferated architecture” of more satellites in more orbits, making it more difficult for adversaries or bad actors to do harm to critical space infrastructure.
    NRO partners closely with both the U.S. Space Command and the Space Force. The agency and the Space Force, for example, are collaborating on the development of a highly classified new space situational awareness constellation called SilentBarker, for which the first satellite is expected to launch this summer.

    “Manifest Space,” hosted by CNBC’s Morgan Brennan, focuses on the billionaires and brains behind the ever-expanding opportunities beyond our atmosphere. Brennan holds conversations with the mega moguls, industry leaders and startups in today’s satellite, space and defense industries. In “Manifest Space,” sit back, relax and prepare for liftoff. More

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    in Finance

    Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Nvidia, Monolithic Power Systems, Ralph Lauren and more

    Nvidia has found success in China by selling automotive chips to the country’s electric car companies, but the U.S. semiconductor giant has been restricted from sending some products to China.
    Budrul Chukrut | Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

    Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.
    Nvidia — Nvidia surged 25% during midday trading the day after it issued a blockbuster earnings report. The rally brought the chipmaker’s market cap to just below the $1 trillion milestone, last around $942 million, according to FactSet.

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    Monolithic Power Systems — Artificial intelligence beneficiaries such as Monolithic Power Systems got a boost from Nvidia’s strong results. Monolithic Power Systems is an under-the-radar AI pick expected to provide power management solutions for Nvidia’s H100 graphics processing units, according to Needham. Shares surged 15%. Other AI beneficiaries that also got a boost include Marvell Technology and Broadcom, which rose more than 3% each. Adobe shares jumped 6%.
    Dish Network — Shares jumped 7% on news the company is in discussions with Amazon to sell wireless phone plan services on the e-commerce platform, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
    Advanced Micro Devices — Semiconductor and semiconductor equipment makers took off after Nvidia’s strong results. Advanced Micro Devices and Synopsys jumped 10%, each. Shares of Applied Materials advanced 5%.
    Dollar Tree — Dollar Tree reported shrinking margins in its fiscal first quarter, sending its shares down 10% during midday trading. Competitor Dollar General also fell, down 2.6%.
    Snowflake — The cloud computing stock tumbled nearly 17%. Late Wednesday, Snowflake reported second-quarter product revenue guidance below expectations, according to StreetAccount. It did, however, beat on the top and bottom lines in its first-quarter results.

    American Eagle Outfitters — American Eagle Outfitters dropped 13% during midday trading. The apparel retailer lowered its outlook late Wednesday. The clothing retailer reported a mixed quarter, with revenue slightly beating estimates and earnings meeting expectations, per Refinitiv.
    Ralph Lauren — The luxury apparel retailer saw its shares jump 6% after the company beat earnings estimates and reported a surprise rise in revenue for its fiscal fourth quarter, according to Refinitiv. Ralph Lauren also said its sales in China jumped 30% as demand for luxury items rebounded amid the reopening.
    Best Buy — Shares of the electronics retailer gained 1% after the company issued its fiscal first-quarter results. While the company posted slightly better-than-expected earnings, according to Refinitiv, sales missed estimates. Best Buy also reiterated expectations for weaker spending on consumer electronics this year.
    Carnival — The cruise line added 2% on the back of an upgrade to buy from neutral by Citi. The firm said Carnival is at a turning point in regard to its balance sheet, and the broader cruise industry is getting more attention from investors.
    — CNBC’s Alex Harring, Hakyung Kim, Yun Li and Tanaya Macheel contributed reporting. More

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    Ford CEO Jim Farley says Chinese automakers such as BYD are its greatest EV rivals

    Ford Motor’s largest competition in electric vehicles isn’t U.S. leader Tesla or crosstown rival General Motors — it’s Chinese automakers, CEO Jim Farley said Thursday.
    Farley used Warren Buffett-backed BYD as the prime example of a Chinese automaker that has successfully developed and sold EVs.
    BYD has grown its sales in China from 445,000 units in 2015 to nearly two million last year, making it one of the top five automakers by sales in China, according to LMC Automotive.

    Ford CEO Jim Farley at a battery lab for the automaker in suburban Detroit, announcing a new $3.5 billion EV battery plant in the state to produce lithium iron phosphate batteries, Feb. 13, 2023.
    Michael Wayland/CNBC

    DETROIT — Ford Motor’s largest competition in electric vehicles isn’t U.S. leader Tesla or crosstown rival General Motors — it’s Chinese automakers, CEO Jim Farley said Thursday.
    Farley said Chinese companies such as Warren Buffett-backed BYD are ahead of the large U.S. automakers and startups on electric vehicles, specifically battery chemistry and other emerging technologies.

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    “We see the Chinese as the main competitor, not GM or Toyota,” Farley said during the Morgan Stanley Sustainable Finance Summit.
    He used BYD as the prime example of a Chinese automaker that has successfully developed and sold EVs, first in China, and now Europe.
    “I like BYD. Totally vertically integrated, aggressive … very, very impressive company. And they were always committed to electric,” Farley said when asked which company is doing EVs right.

    BYD’s new luxury brand Yangwang is selling its first model, the U8, for more than 1 million yuan (US$160,000).
    CNBC | Evelyn Cheng

    BYD has grown its sales in China from 445,000 units in 2015 to nearly two million last year, making it one of the top five automakers by sales in China, according to LMC Automotive.
    Farley’s comments echo those of industry experts and investors regarding the growth of BYD and other Chinese automakers, which have government backing in China.

    “BYD has a huge place, both from the electric vehicle perspective and also through the battery production side,” Philip Ripman, portfolio manager at Storebrand Asset Management, told CNBC Pro Talks last week.
    Ripman, who manages the $1 billion Storebrand Global Solutions sustainable fund, highlighted BYD’s developments in cheaper, sodium-ion battery technology, which could potentially replace lithium batteries. He noted these could become prevalent in BYD’s more affordable EVs and help increase profit margins for the automaker.
    Farley also noted BYD’s battery advantages compared to the current U.S. industry standard of lithium-ion batteries.

    The Ford Mustang Mach-E is presented at the New York International Auto Show, Manhattan, New York, April 5, 2023.
    David Dee Delgado | Reuters

    Ford earlier this year announced a new collaboration with China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., or CATL, for a new $3.5 billion plant to build cheaper batteries in Michigan.
    The facility will produce new lithium iron phosphate batteries, or LFP, as opposed to pricier nickel cobalt manganese batteries with lithium, which the company is currently using. It is expected to open in 2026 and employ about 2,500 people, according to the Detroit automaker.
    Farley touted BYD’s role in building out that technology.
    “BYD’s scale is way bigger than Tesla now, and they developed the LFP technology, which is a better battery,” Farley said.
    The Ford-CATL deal has been criticized amid tensions between the U.S. and China. Specifically, Marco Rubio asked the Biden administration to review the deal, which includes Ford licensing CATL’s technologies. The Detroit automaker will own the new facility through a wholly-owned subsidiary instead of operating it as a joint venture with CATL.
    Farley said if politics get in the way of allowing cheaper EV technologies in the U.S., the consumer is going to be “screwed” with higher prices.
    “We have to work through that in our country. And I think they’re really interesting companies,” Farley said. More

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    Sandra Douglass Morgan helped shape sports betting around the country. Now she’s leading the NFL’s Raiders

    Sandra Douglass Morgan became a gaming regulator the same year the Supreme Court cleared the path for legalized sports betting.
    She found herself in an advisory role, helping to shape how other states adopted sports betting just as the gambling gold rush was beginning.
    Now, she is president of the Las Vegas Raiders, making history as the NFL’s first woman of color to lead a team.

    Sandra Douglass Morgan has seen a lot of changes in the five years since she was named to the Nevada Gaming Commission.
    The same year she became a gaming regulator, the Supreme Court cleared the path for legalized sports betting. Since then, 32 other states and Washington, D.C., have launched sports betting.

    During that time, Douglass Morgan went from gaming regulator to chair of the Nevada Gaming Control Board to the corporate board of directors for casino giant Caesars Entertainment. Now, she is president of the Las Vegas Raiders, making history as the NFL’s first woman of color to lead a team.
    Douglass Morgan said her Black and Korean heritage may have helped put her in the spotlight, but she pointed to her work outside the world of sports as being key to bringing diversity to the Raiders’ front office.
    “It’s been exhilarating. I’m incredibly blessed that I’ve been given these opportunities, you know, based on my skill set and my experience,” Douglass Morgan told CNBC. “It’s been an amazing journey.”
    In 2018, when the Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, or PASPA , Douglass Morgan found herself in an advisory role, helping to shape how other states adopted sports betting just as the gambling gold rush was beginning.
    “You had states and different jurisdictions … coming to Nevada and asking our team, ‘How do you regulate sports betting? And what are your relationships with your licensees and sportsbooks?'” Douglass Morgan said.

    Courtesy of the Las Vegas Raiders

    As the teams and leagues try to navigate headline-making scandals and potential pitfalls with sports betting, Douglass Morgan has brought vast knowledge and experience with responsible gaming and integrity.
    She said sports betting is still in its infancy and education about gambling and all its rules is paramount for everyone in sports.
    “Making sure that everyone — and it’s not just players, every single employee that’s with a club, whether it be on the football team side, or the business organization side — is aware of the rules, is aware of some of the pitfalls,” she said.
    While sports and gambling mesh and evolve around the nation, the country’s gambling capital has become a preeminent sports destination of its own.
    For the first time, Las Vegas will host the Super Bowl in 2024 at Allegiant Stadium, the home of the Raiders, the city’s first NFL franchise. Vegas also is eagerly awaiting its first Formula One race this fall, and is wooing an MLB team, the Oakland As. It has already embraced its WNBA Aces and NHL Golden Knights.

    Courtesy of the Las Vegas Raiders

    The success of sports in Las Vegas feels personal to Douglass Morgan, who hails from the city and is raising her children there. At the helm of the Raiders she said she can help influence philanthropic and educational opportunities that improve the quality of life for her community.
    And the history she’s making as president of the Raiders?
    “I do feel a sense of responsibility to make sure that I’m not taking this position for granted. I know that just being named the president can hopefully inspire, you know, whether it be women and girls and people from a variety of different backgrounds to know that there are opportunities for them to be in sports management,” she said. More