Business

Directors who have made their mark with theatrical releases — like Greta Gerwig, Rian Johnson, Martin Scorsese and Alfonso Cuarón — are also making content exclusively for Netflix.
The streamer offers lucrative contracts, creative freedom and an audience pool of more than 300 million subscribers, Hollywood insiders told CNBC.
Success of a Netflix film is based on viewership, a metric that is not comparable to box-office dollars, but the company has had at least one best picture contender at the Academy Awards since 2019.

Film directors Rian Johnson (L), Greta Gerwig (C), and Guillermo Del Toro (R)
Getty Images

Netflix isn’t interested in bringing movies to theaters.
The company’s leaders have said they see theatrical movie releases as an “outdated” model. Yet for more than a decade, the streamer has lured in some of Hollywood’s biggest directors to make content exclusively for its platform.

Martin Scorsese, Alfonso Cuarón, Bong Joon-ho, Spike Lee and Guillermo del Toro, darlings of the big screen, have all directed films for the streaming service without the promise of a wide theatrical release.
More recently, Netflix has wooed Greta Gerwig into the director’s seat after acquiring the rights to C.S. Lewis’ “The Chronicles of Narnia” book series, signed Rian Johnson to make two sequels to 2019’s “Knives Out” and made itself the home of Kathryn Bigelow’s first film release in nearly a decade.
Many of these creatives have touted the importance of the theatrical experience, but few of the Netflix projects are expected to garner a wide release or a long run in cinemas. Most of the time, Netflix’s films are launched in a limited number of theaters for a week, just long enough to be eligible for Academy Award contention.
In fact, Gerwig’s “Narnia” film is getting an exclusive two-week global debut in IMAX starting Thanksgiving Day 2026, something that has never been done before.

Daniel Craig returns as Benoit Blanc in “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Story.”

Netflix has been able to bring Hollywood talent away from the traditional theatrical model by offering lucrative contracts, creative freedom and an audience pool of more than 300 million subscribers, Hollywood insiders, who requested anonymity to discuss industry moves, told CNBC. It’s also become a haven for auteurs whose films might not otherwise get made, either because of pricey budgets or risky genres.

“What Netflix offers filmmakers is an irresistible combination of deep financial pockets and wide creative latitude,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. “This is enough to draw some of the biggest names in filmmaking today both behind and in front of the camera, and it’s striking since most of these notable names have built their careers on the canvas of the big screen in the movie theater.”

Why not theatrical?

For as long as Netflix has been disrupting the traditional Hollywood model, analysts and box-office proponents have argued for why the streamer should embrace a more conventional theatrical approach. Every year or so, a study appears from a box-office analytics company or on behalf of one of Hollywood’s theatrical trade groups concluding that audiences are more likely to stream a movie that’s been released in theaters.
“It seems like for most of the other traditional media companies the pendulum has flown back to the idea that, yes, theatrical does enhance the value of a movie,” said Robert Fishman, analyst at MoffettNathanson.
Hollywood insiders told CNBC that Netflix’s leaders have long admitted that money is being left on the table by not employing a typical theatrical model. But Netflix’s co-CEO, Ted Sarandos, has said he has no plans to change the company’s box-office strategy.

“It would be complicated for Netflix, a distraction from what they’re trying to do,” said industry analyst David Poland. “And it would be potentially money-losing.”
Sarandos has repeatedly said that Netflix’s purpose is to provide content for its streaming subscribers, noting that the audience that pays for its service should get it as soon as possible, not wait for an extended theatrical window to elapse.
Netflix has benefited from its partnership with Sony, which gives the streamer exclusive U.S. streaming rights to the studio’s theatrical releases after they wrap up in theaters. With the deal, Netflix gets fresh content without the box-office risk.
Of course, keeping subscribers happy is only part of the strategy. Netflix saves millions in marketing costs by skipping theaters, industry experts said. Typically, a film’s marketing budget is half of what it spent on production.
So a film like the Russo Brothers’ “The Electric State,” which reportedly cost $320 million to make, could have had up to a $160 million marketing budget if it went to theaters. That’s a nearly $500 million investment before a theatrical opening, and a studio would then split ticket sales with cinemas.

Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt star in Netflix’s “The Electric State.”

Notably, the film was originally slated to be produced under Universal Studios but was transferred to Netflix after executives at Universal balked at its steep budget, people familiar with the matter told CNBC.
Success of a Netflix film is based on viewership, a metric that is not comparable to box-office dollars. “The Electric State” was streamed by 25.2 million subscribers in its first three days on the platform, according to Netflix’s Tudum site at the time of its release. That is about one-third of what Netflix’s “Red Notice” generated during its three-day launch in 2021. “Red Notice” is Netflix’s best-performing film to date with more than 230.9 million views.

What Netflix offers

It’s hard for directors and other creatives to dismiss the kind of viewership Netflix brings, Hollywood insiders told CNBC. It’s one of the reasons that Netflix has been able to draw in big-name directors, writers and producers over the last decade.
Netflix has also been more flexible with its purse strings. “The Electric State” is just one example. Scorsese’s “The Irishman” also saw studios pass on the film because of its ballooning budget, but Netflix stepped in and acquired the rights. The film went on to garner 10 Oscar nominations, although it ultimately went home empty-handed during the 2020 ceremony.

Al Pacino, Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro attend “The Irishman” International Premiere and Closing Gala during the 63rd BFI London Film Festival
Mike Marsland/WireImage

“Netflix, because they have interest in getting awards and nominations and all that stuff, have funded and purchased and been involved with directors who are really high-quality filmmakers worldwide,” Poland said. “It’s a tribute to Netflix that those movies exist.”
The streamer has had at least one best picture contender at the Academy Awards since 2019.
The company has not been shy about spending money to secure top talent either. It’s signed dozens of lucrative first-look deals with creators, which give it the exclusive right to review and potentially purchase or distribute a new project before it is offered to other buyers. Past deals have run the gamut between television and film and included creators like Tyler Perry, Antoine Fuqua, Shonda Rhimes and Jennifer Lopez.
Netflix has even been more targeted in its contracts, as was seen when it penned a two-picture deal with Johnson for sequels to his 2019 film “Knives Out,” which reportedly was for more than $400 million.
“It would be tough for any creative to turn down the offer of the financial resources to realize their creative vision. And despite wanting their movies to be seen on the biggest screen possible, [they] have made the calculus that getting their works realized on film and presented on a major streaming platform is a bargain worth making,” Dergarabedian said.
Wall Street doesn’t seem to mind Netflix’s movie strategy. The company’s stock is valued at nearly $1,300 a share and has soared 45% since January and more than 90% in the past year.
Netflix is expected to spend around $18 billion on content this year, according to the company. It does not disclose what percentage of that funding goes to its movies versus its television productions. The company currently projects that its full-year 2025 revenue will be between $43.5 billion and $44.5 billion.
Insiders said that with those kinds of investments, consumers might need to watch out for more price hikes. MoffettNathanson’s Fishman noted that Netflix will continue to weigh its value proposition to determine if it needs to increase the cost of its services.
If Netflix keeps creating content from top-tier creators, then the analyst firm expects prices to increase.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. More

Fast casual restaurants are seeing a boost in customers using loyalty programs through shifting economic behaviors.
Flexibility, personalization, and surprise rewards are becoming central to how brands design loyalty programs.
Brands are expanding beyond simple perks into strategic tools for engagement to see long-term growth in the future.

A customer exits a Cava restaurant in New York City on June 22, 2023.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters

As some consumers pull back on spending amid economic uncertainty, fast-casual restaurant chains are leaning on rewards programs to pull them back in.
Loyalty programs, which offer discounts or added perks for returning customers, have transitioned from being a nice bonus for restaurants to a must-have. As cost-cautious diners prioritize value, brands like Chipotle, Starbucks, Cava and others are utilizing rewards to keep customers coming back and building habits that go beyond the occasional coupon.

“In tough times, loyalty programs become more essential,” said Peter Fader, a marketing professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. “They become a required ingredient to building and maintaining relationships.”
In the 12 months ended in May, the restaurant industry only saw monthly traffic increase once, in November, according to Black Box Intelligence data. As diners visit restaurants less frequently, sales struggle. Only 43% of restaurant brands tracked by Black Box reported same-store sales growth in May.
Consumers who join loyalty programs visit restaurants more frequently, making 22% more visits per year to eateries, according to Circana data. They also frequent the brands that they belong to at twice the rate of nonmembers, the market research firm found.
Coffee giant Starbucks reported 34.2 million active rewards members in its second quarter and said more than 59% of its U.S. company-owned transactions came from those members. Potbelly has seen similar success: In the first quarter of 2025, over 42% of its total shop sales came from digital business, which includes the loyalty program users.
Chipotle has over 20 million active rewards members. It’s loyalty program makes up approximately 30% of sales on average each day and helped the burrito chain to avoid major price hikes, according to the company.

“We have really strong brand loyalty among our members,” Nicole West, Chipotle’s vice president of digital experiences, told CNBC. “We’re really focused on engaging with our members and doing that in a way that really resonates with them.”
Driving loyalty is critical for the likes of Chipotle and Starbucks. In the first quarter, Chipotle posted a same-store sales decline for the first time since 2020 and said it saw a “slowdown” in consumer spending. Meanwhile, Starbucks’ same-store sales have fallen for five straight quarters.
Cava is bucking industry trends with strong sales growth, but faces Wall Street pressure to maintain its rapid expansion.

Getting creative

As rewards programs pick up steam, more brands are getting creative and moving beyond the value meal.
Cava revamped its rewards program in October 2024 to give customers more flexibility in how they earn and use points. Members can earn points each visit and redeem them for specific items like pita chips or full entrees. The program also includes limited-time offers and in-app challenges. In late March, the company celebrated National Pita Day by rolling out a mascot named “Peter Chip” and offering members complimentary pita chips.
“Guests like to see periodic surprises and delight moments where we can reward them with pita chips or other brand offerings,” Andrew Rebhun, Cava’s chief marketing officer, said
The Cava Rewards program now has more than 7 million members. A new tiered system is expected to launch soon, according to Rebhun.

Customers order food at a Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant on April 26, 2023 in Austin, Texas.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Chipotle this year launched a seasonal campaign called “Summer of Extras.” The campaign is giving away over $1 million in free burritos, encouraging customers to rack up visits and compete to become the top Chipotle visitor in their state.
“We continue to see activations in this program build and excitement and positive reaction across social media from our fans,” West said. “We just continue to focus on delivering value to them in ways through programs where customers are given opportunities to ‘plus up’ their points or earn specific offers by exhibiting specific behaviors.”
Salad chain Sweetgreen also retooled its loyalty program this spring, moving away from its tiered subscription program that many consumers found confusing.
“In a challenging industry environment where consumers are making more intentional choices with every dollar, SG Rewards is designed to meet the moment by delivering a meaningful value,” Sweetgreen co-founder and CEO Jonathan Neman said on the company’s quarterly conference call in May.
Even Starbucks, an established leader in rewards programs, has made changes. In June, the coffee chain ended its 25-star reusable cup bonus and replaced it with double stars across the full purchase. While the change was controversial among loyalists, who claimed the earning potential was reduced, the coffee chain said participation has remained steady.
Of course, giving free rewards comes with tradeoffs. Promotions cut into profits in an industry that faces tight margins in the best of times. Restaurant chains hope those freebies drive longer-term loyalty and spending on full-price items.
Long-term wins
Brands navigating economic pressure are seeing that loyalty programs are helping to drive visits.
Potbelly revamped its loyalty system in early 2024, moving to a coin-based structure that allows customers to redeem rewards faster and across more items. Customers now have access to over 14 menu items through the rewards program. This flexibility has led to more frequent visits, Potbelly’s chief marketing officer, David Daniels, said.
“We saw a lift almost immediately in terms of engagement,” Daniels said. “The response has been incredibly positive.”
Chicago-style eatery Portillo’s joined the loyalty game in March with “Portillo’s Perks.” Instead of using a traditional app, the program utilizes a digital wallet system and focuses on frequency. It tracks how often a customer visits and awards badges as they go.
“It gives flexibility to change how the program is deployed,” Garrett Kern, Portillo’s vice president of strategy and culinary, said to CNBC. “It doesn’t require a redesign and relaunch to an application. It was a great way for us to get the program out there in a branded and easy-to-use way.”
The company is aiming for 1.5 million to 1.7 million sign-ups by mid-summer.
— CNBC’s Amelia Lucas and Jacob Pramuk contributed to this report. More

The Summer Fancy Foods Show, hosted by the Specialty Foods Association, returned to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York.
More than 2,000 exhibitors showed off a range of specialty food and drinks, offering attendees a glimpse at the products headed for grocery aisles and restaurants in the near future.
The trade show has also traditionally been a springboard for new brands seeking to expand their reach.

Condiments are getting an upgrade. Chefs are taking their signature sauces and dips outside the kitchen. And “swicy” still reigns.
Those food trends were all on display at the Specialty Food Association’s Summer Fancy Food Show, which returned to the Javits Center in New York this week.

From Sunday to Tuesday, more than 2,000 exhibitors showed off a range of specialty food and drinks, offering attendees a glimpse at the products headed for grocery aisles and restaurants in the near future.
“It’s always been the show where people go to see the trends,” said Christine Couvelier, a culinary trend spotter and founder of the Culinary Concierge.
Couvelier, a seasoned show attendee, guided CNBC through three floors of booths, highlighting the trends — and winners — on her radar.
Past show trends that are now making their way to mainstream consumers’ palettes include new uses for vinegar, oil-based hot sauce and lavender as a flavor. But not all trends have that kind of staying power.
“I think I’ve seen six booths that have Dubai chocolate. We won’t see Dubai chocolate next year,” Couvelier said, referring to the chocolate bars filled with kadayif and pistachio that have taken over TikTok, grocery stores and even Shake Shacks nationwide.

The trade show has also traditionally been a springboard for new brands seeking to expand their reach. Honest Tea, Ben & Jerry’s and Tate’s Bake Shop are among the companies that attended the show in their early days on their way to becoming well-known consumer brands.
Here are some highlights from this year’s Summer Fancy Food Show:

New takes on olive oil

Castillo de Canena shows off its olive oils at the Summer Fancy Food Show
CNBC | Amelia Lucas

Home cooks in the U.S. have been using olive oil for several decades. In recent years, olive oil has branched out, with more focus on the flavor that it offers, whether it’s drizzled on top of ice cream or used in cakes.
But the cooking staple is now getting an upgrade, thanks to infusions of trendy flavors. For example, Castillo de Canena, a family-owned Spanish company, has been making olive oil for centuries, but its booth highlighted two newer additions to its line: harissa olive oil and olive oil finished in sherry casks.

Mustard’s moment

Caplansky’s Delicatessen shows off its small-batch mustard line.
CNBC | Amelia Lucas

Olive oil isn’t the only pantry staple getting a makeover. The mustard category could be heading for a shakeup, thanks to a few new entrants hoping to enliven the tired condiment.
Pop Mustards pitches itself as the “caviar of mustards” because it uses whole mustard seeds, giving the condiment a new texture. The company also uses fermentation, smoking, brining and other methods to bring more flavor out of the seeds.
Caplansky’s Delicatessen showed off a more traditional take on the condiment at its booth, inspired by classic deli mustards. But its product lineup offers more flavor than the classic yellow mustard or dijon found in fridges today.

Plant-based 2.0

Umyum displayed its cashew-based cheese and vegan butter.
CNBC | Amelia Lucas

Since Beyond Meat’s meteoric rise, plant-based purveyors have displayed their vegetarian substitutes at the Summer Fancy Food Show. But as the category struggles, the number of booths hawking plant-based products dwindled this year.
Still, the category hasn’t disappeared altogether. Instead, exhibitors presented their products by leading with their taste, rather than their vegan or vegetarian bona fides.
For example, Umyum displayed its cashew-based cheese and butter substitutes, with packaging that reads, “Our craft just happens to be plantbased.”

Chef-led brands

Chef Michael Solomonov is selling his hummus through his brand Zahav Foods.
CNBC | Amelia Lucas

During the pandemic, many restaurant chefs pivoted to selling at-home versions of their beloved sauces, condiments and other foods that can be easily canned or packaged. Even after eateries reopened their dining rooms, some chefs have stuck with it.
“This is a longer lasting trend, and it’s the passion around making the best version of that food that there is, and now the chef wants you to have it at home,” Couvelier said.
At this year’s show, exhibitors included Zahav Foods, the packaged food brand of chef Michael Solomonov, known for his restaurants Zahav in Philadelphia and Laser Wolf in New York. The mustard brand Caplansky’s Delicatessen is also the brainchild of chef Zane Caplansky.

The age of swicy

Slawsa’s display of its sweet and spicy cabbage-based relishes
CNBC | Amelia Lucas

“Swicy” food and drinks have already taken over grocery aisles and restaurant menus, but exhibitors were promoting the next evolution of the flavor trend, a portmanteau of sweet and spicy.
Mike’s Hot Honey, which helped bring back the “sweet heat” trend, showed off its collaboration with Heluva Good for a swicy dip. Smash Kitchen displayed its Hot Honey Ketchup, adding a little heat to the sweetness of the classic condiment. And Slawsa — a portmanteau of coleslaw and salsa — exhibited its sweet and spicy cabbage-based relishes.

Beef tallow

Beefy’s Own cooks its potato chips in beef tallow.
CNBC | Amelia Lucas

Over the last year, beef tallow has been having a moment, thanks to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda. Kennedy has touted the rendered fat as a healthier alternative to “seed oils,” although nutrition experts broadly disagree.
Two newcomers displayed their beef tallow products at the Summer Fancy Food Show: Butcher Ben’s Beef Tallow and Beefy’s Own, which cooks its potato chips in beef tallow. More

Expanding Opportunity

Bookings for queer-friendly housing accommodations in the U.S. on the LGBTQ+ travel platform misterb&b saw a 66% decline among Canadian users and a 32% decline among European users from February to April compared with the same period in 2024.
The majority of users said they use their travel budget as a form of activism — supporting inclusive destinations and economies.
Despite some pullbacks in corporate sponsorships, pride organizations across the U.S. said attendance is still strong.

Participants march in the Reclaim Pride Coalition’s seventh annual Queer Liberation March in New York, June 29, 2025.
Erik McGregor | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Canadian citizen Robert Sharp was planning to visit Provincetown, Massachusetts — one of the most LGBTQ+-friendly places in America — for his friend’s milestone birthday in July.
But against a backdrop of ongoing trade tensions sparked by President Donald Trump’s tariff policies and increasing anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and policies in the U.S., he said his plans changed.

“Do we want to have that stress before going on vacation? Or do we want to support our own country?” Sharp said.
The group he was planning to travel with decided to cancel the trip and will instead visit Montreal, he said.
Sharp and his partner were also planning to visit Chicago or Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for a separate trip this year, but they shifted their plans to a Canadian road trip between Calgary and Vancouver.
“We’ve been hit hard in Canada with tariffs and there’s been a real sense of patriotism up here. So, we ultimately decided to explore our own country, and do a road trip to the Rockies and spend money within Canada to help our economy,” Sharp said.
Sharp’s change in plans reflects a larger trend of international travelers rethinking where they are spending their travel budgets and pulling back on visits to the U.S.

The number of foreign visitors to the U.S. by air dropped 10% in March from a year prior, according to the International Trade Administration, part of the Commerce Department. Including land border crossings, inbound visitors to the U.S. fell 14% in March from the same period last year, according to the industry group.
Oxford Economics estimates spending among international visitors to the U.S. will fall $8.5 billion this year, as negative perceptions of the U.S. tied to trade and immigration policy lead travelers to other destinations.
Among the LGBTQ+ population, bookings for queer-friendly housing accommodations in the U.S. on the LGBTQ+ travel platform misterb&b saw a 66% decline among Canadian users and a 32% decline among European users from February to April, compared with the same period last year.
The company said it had a 22% increase in bookings in blue states and a 9% decline in red states during that time period. It also saw declines in cities within red states including Salt Lake City, Phoenix, and Austin, Texas.
Misterb&b CEO Matthieu Jost said overall bookings on the platform are not down globally but are increasing. Jost said LGBTQ+ individuals appear to be continuing to spend on vacations, but they’re changing their destinations.
The company said the majority of misterb&b users it surveyed this year said they use their travel budget as a form of activism — supporting inclusive destinations and economies.

Participants including GLIDE President Gina Fromer, center, ride in the 2025 San Francisco Pride Parade in San Francisco, June 29, 2025.
Arun Nevader | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images

The rainbow dollar

Sharp, who owns LGBTQ-friendly travel company Out Adventures, is not alone in changing his travel plans.
In February, the LGBTQ+ advocacy group Egale Canada issued a statement saying its members would not participate in person at conferences or events happening in the U.S. this year, including WorldPride, which took place at the beginning of June in Washington, D.C.
The decision was made primarily to protect individuals’ safety, said Helen Kennedy, executive director of Egale Canada.
In his second term, Trump has signed several executive orders targeting transgender people, including preventing them from serving openly in the military and trying to keep transgender athletes out of girls’ and women’s sports.
Another executive order, which says the federal government recognizes only two sexes, male and female, prompted several countries, including Denmark, Finland and Germany, to issue official cautions for LGBTQ+ travelers visiting the U.S., particularly transgender travelers. Canada has also updated its travel guidance with specific advisories for people with an “X” gender listed on their passports.
Kennedy said another reason for the decision not to travel to the U.S. was to push back on what she views as “economic warfare” from the U.S. toward Canada.
“People talk about Canada and the U.S. having a long history of being incredible neighbors. And yes, we do, but that’s based on economic interests a lot of the time,” Kennedy said. “When you put that human element with the economic element, then you think, well, OK, why would I go there?”
Kennedy said members of Egale Canada who are involved in nongovernmental organizations would normally spend anywhere from $3,000 to $5,000 per person during a trip to attend a conference or event. Corporate travelers usually spend at least $5,000, she estimated.
“We do spend a fair chunk of change in hotels,” she said. “We do excursions, we rent bikes, we do all of the things that everybody else does.”
The LGBTQ+ travel market is significant. The purchasing power of LGBTQ+ consumers overall is estimated to be $1.4 trillion, according to a 2022 study by the market research firm Pride Co-Op.
In 2023, the global LGBTQ+ tourism market size was $296.8 billion, and it’s expected to more than double in 10 years, reaching $634.9 billion in 2033, according to Market.US.
Research from Arival Travel shows that LGBTQ+ travelers are more likely to be affluent, with a household income of over $150,000, compared with other travelers.
When traveling, LGBTQ individuals book more activities and tours and spend more on these experiences than other populations, the Arival research found.
John Tanzella, CEO of the International LGBTQ+ Travel Association, said his organization is already sensing a pullback in international LGBTQ+ travel to the U.S. He said he has heard hesitations from international members about attending the organization’s global convention in October in Palm Springs, California.
“They don’t feel welcome here, so why come and spend their money here?” Tanzella said.
“On the surface, it affects airlines and hotels. But if you dig a little deeper it does affect other businesses, whether it’s barber shops or restaurants, bars, spas. A lot of communities rely on tourists to come in and spend their money,” he added.

Pride flags are seen at the Pride on the Pier boat parade, part of the World Pride festival, at the DC Wharf in Washington, June 6, 2025.
Kayla Bartkowski | Getty Images

Pride celebrations carry on

Despite concerns of waning visits from international LGBTQ+ travelers, as well as some pullbacks in corporate sponsorships for Pride celebrations, Pride organizations across the U.S. said attendance was strong at Pride Month events, many of which take place on the last weekend of June.
But many organizations said it’s still too soon to get official attendance numbers or difficult to estimate, given that many Pride celebrations are non-ticketed and open to the public.
Matt Şenız-Cheng, associate director of partnerships for NYC Pride, said attendance for its Pride events last weekend is expected to total 2.5 million — in line with its typical numbers.
He said NYC Pride lost approximately 25% of its corporate sponsorships initially this year, due to the economy, tariffs and pullback surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion. But he estimated the number of people and contingents participating in the Pride march this year will be bigger than in previous years.
Ryan Bos, executive director for the Capital Pride Alliance, which ran WorldPride this year, said organizers were “pleasantly surprised” that people still showed up amid concerns about the Trump administration’s policies.
Bos said he had heard calls to cancel the event this year due to political tensions in Washington, he said.
“If we were to retreat, what message would that have sent to all the other Prides who are also experiencing similar challenges?” Bos said.
While WorldPride doesn’t have official attendance numbers yet, Bos said he believes attendance was strong. However, Tanzella, of the International LGBTQ+ Travel Association, said he heard numbers for WorldPride were down this year.
Cities in red states have also continued on with their pride celebrations.
Attendance rose from about 28,000 last year to 33,000 this year at Phoenix Pride’s annual Rainbows Festival in April, Executive Director Michael Fornelli told CNBC in a statement. Its pride parade will be celebrated in October due to the summer heat.
In Salt Lake City, SLC Pride estimated its celebration last weekend brought in 17,000 attendees, more than the 10,000 it saw last year, according to Bonnie O’Brien, festival director.
“We are in a little bit of a blue bubble here in Salt Lake,” O’Brien said. “We’re not expecting people to come from big, big cities or foreign countries. But will we get people from Wyoming? Yes. Will we get people from rural Utah or rural Idaho? Yes.”
“It’s not about travel. It’s not about red or blue,” she said. “It’s about the closest place that they can find community. And that they know that they’re safe, if just for a weekend.” More

Taxpayers earning $1 million or more are expected to see a boost in after-tax income of about 3% under President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill.”
The existing $10,000 cap on SALT deductions will rise to $40,000 for those making less than $500,000, with the income threshold rising 1% a year.
The Senate version of the bill raises the threshold to qualify as a “small business” from $50 million to $75 million.
There are also changes to the estate and gift tax, itemized deductions and charitable deductions.

A view of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on June 30, 2025.
Jim Watson | Afp | Getty Images

The wealthy will likely see a host of new tax breaks in President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill,” along with permanent extensions of many of the 2017 tax cuts, according to tax experts.
Taxpayers earning $1 million or more are expected to see a boost in after-tax income of about 3% in the Senate version of Trump’s bill, according to the Tax Policy Center. That compares with the nationwide average of about 2.5%. In dollar terms, millionaire earners will see an average after-tax income increase of $75,000 in 2026, according to the Tax Policy Center.  

Virtually all the core provisions of the 2017 tax cut are expected to be extended in the final bill, which was passed in the House on Thursday and now heads to Trump’s desk, with some provisions becoming permanent. There are also several new tax breaks or benefits added in the bill that further lower tax bills for those at the top — especially for investors in small businesses.
Here are the five most important changes in the bill that affect high earners and the wealthy.

SALT

Surprisingly, the Senate bill largely follows the House’s version of the state and local tax, or SALT, cap increase. The existing $10,000 cap on SALT deductions will rise to $40,000 for those making less than $500,000, with the income threshold rising 1% a year. Initially the Senate was opposed to a change that largely benefits blue-state top earners. Yet after threats from the House, the Senate agreed to the $40,000 level.
Unlike the original House version of SALT, however, the Senate bill preserves a popular loophole to get around the cap. Dozens of states allow a workaround, called the pass-through entity tax, or PTET, that encourages pass-through owners and partners to avoid the cap at the state level. It benefits everyone from car dealers and dentists to accounting and law partners, but not employees of those firms.

Get Inside Wealth directly to your inbox

The initial House version of the bill eliminated the loophole benefit for service industries and most white-collar firms, such as accountants, lawyers and doctors, according to Kyle Pomerleau at the American Enterprise Institute. Yet the Senate didn’t follow the House change.

“The Senate version has no limitation on the workarounds,” Pomerleau said, “effectively allowing these taxpayers to utilize an unlimited SALT deduction.”

Qualified small business stock benefit

Entrepreneurs and investors in small businesses will cheer a change in qualified small business stock, or QSBS. Created during the Clinton administration and expanded under President Barack Obama, the program is designed to encourage investments and creation of small companies. Under current law, investors or owners of a qualifying C Corp for more than five years get reductions in capital gains taxes when they sell. A qualifying company is defined as a “small business” if its total assets are $50 million or less. When a business is sold, owners or investors are exempt from capital gains taxes up to $10 million, or 10 times the original basis of the investment, whichever is greater.
The Senate bill raises the threshold to qualify as a “small business” from $50 million to $75 million. It also increases the exclusion from $10 million to $15 million, and it creates a new, tiered system for allowing tax breaks for those who want to sell before five years.
Justin Miller, partner and national director of wealth planning at Evercore, said the new rules would allow an investor to put $74.9 million into a small business and have up to $749 million exempt from capital gains if it sold for more than 10 times the original basis.
“It’s encouraging wealthy investors in qualified small businesses with enormous potential,” Miller said.

Estate and gift tax

Like the version the House put forward, the Senate bill makes the estate tax permanent, which in Washington means it won’t have a built-in expiration date. The exemption would increase to $15 million per estate or $30 million for couples, and the exemption will be indexed for inflation.
For the ultra-wealthy, the estate tax is the most important of all the major tax code provisions. So having some stability, at least until the next election, will make for calmer estate planning and gifts.

Itemized deductions

The Senate bill includes a limit on the value of itemized deductions that was also included in the original House bill. Only about 10% of Americans — mostly the wealthy — still itemize their taxes, since the standard deduction is now $15,000 for single filers and $30,000 for joint filers. Under both the House and Senate versions, taxpayers in the top bracket will have to subtract 2/37th from the value of each dollar deducted over the threshold. The net effect is that top taxpayers will only get a deduction benefit of 35 cents for every dollar, rather than 37 cents.

Philanthropy

There’s good news and bad news for charitable giving, depending on your income level. For lower- and middle-income earners, the Senate bill includes a provision to encourage more charitable giving by the 90% of Americans who no longer itemize. The 2017 tax cuts doubled the standard deduction, eliminating the incentive for the vast majority of taxpayers to itemize and claim the charitable deduction. The Senate bill allows taxpayers to take the standard deduction and still claim a charitable deduction of up to $1,000 for single filers and $2,000 for married joint filers.
Yet for wealthy donors, who now account for the majority of charitable giving, the Senate bill is decidedly uncharitable. It decreases the value of the charitable deduction for high-income taxpayers by capping itemized deductions and sets a new floor of 0.5% of adjusted gross income for the itemized charitable deduction.
So someone with $1 million in adjusted gross income wouldn’t get a tax break on the first $5,000 of donations. More

Some in the retail industry are relieved that tariffs on Vietnamese imports could be 20% instead of a previously proposed 46%, but the duties are expected to lead to higher prices, which could chill consumer spending.
Vietnam was the retail industry’s backup plan after Trump hiked tariffs on China during his first term, and it’s now the second largest supplier for footwear, apparel and accessories sold into the U.S., according to the American Apparel & Footwear Association.
Trump’s proposed deal with Vietnam is a positive sign that similar frameworks could be announced for other Asian countries facing reciprocal tariffs like Malaysia, Cambodia and Bangladesh.

A worker seals a box containing packed items of clothing inside a warehouse at a Thai Son S.P. Co. garment factory in Binh Thuan province, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on Thursday, Apr. 10, 2025.
Linh Pham | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The retail industry is breathing a sigh of relief after it appeared to avoid the worst case scenario on Vietnam tariffs.
But some executives believe the tentative trade deal President Donald Trump announced Wednesday is still bad for business and could have a chilling effect on consumer spending. 

“It’s a lot better news than where we were on Liberation Day,” one CEO of a popular consumer brand told CNBC after Trump said tariffs on Vietnamese imports would be 20%, down from the 46% levy he proposed on April 2, then later suspended. The new rate would be double the 10% duty currently in place.
Another executive called the news “bad” but agreed that a 20% tariff was better than the 46% duty Trump originally imposed, however unrealistic the proposed rate was.
“I guess Trump needs ‘positive’ news,” a third executive said. “I think things are going to evolve. Let’s see if this is definitive.” 
Trump’s announcement on Wednesday came only days before the 90-day suspension of the steep tariffs he proposed in April expires next week, and as his administration scrambles to strike agreements with dozens of trading partners. Even so, he did not say when the deal with Vietnam would take effect, or whether both sides have agreed to the tariff rates.
In the months between Trump’s April 2 tariff rollout and his announcement on Wednesday, retail executives in the apparel and footwear industries fretted over the potential that Vietnam imports could face tariffs nearly as high as the cumulative 55% duties for Chinese imports. 

Over the last decade, some of America’s top retailers, including Gap, American Eagle and Nike, have all reduced their reliance on China to shield themselves from both high tariffs and the region’s geopolitical turbulence. 
Many sought refuge in Vietnam, where the factories, some owned by Chinese businesses, are known to produce products at a similar quality and price as China. They also started manufacturing in other countries in southeast Asia, such as Cambodia, Bangladesh and Malaysia. Those countries were facing tariffs of 49%, 37% and 24%, respectively, under Trump’s April plan, but are subject to a 10% duty for now.
Vietnam is now the second largest supplier for footwear, apparel and accessories sold into the U.S. market, according to the industry trade group the American Apparel & Footwear Association. It has become an essential part of the footwear supply chain, on pace to become the largest supplier of shoes to the U.S. in 2025, according to the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, another industry trade group.
If Trump’s proposed 46% tariff on Vietnam had taken effect, it would mean much of the industry’s work to leave China would have been for naught. Some companies are relieved the tentative deal would set the levy at 20% and the announcement agreement is also a sign that Cambodia, Malaysia and Bangladesh could reach similar frameworks. 
“Twenty percent is a sigh of relief,” said Sonia Lapinsky, a partner and managing director at AlixPartners who advises fashion brands. “There’s some positivity and some optimism that this is manageable. So at least there’s that. This isn’t business destroying, which is great. However, this does have real implications, right?”
Most companies have plenty of tools to offset the impact of tariffs, such as working with their suppliers to share costs. But to avoid major hits to their profit margins, many including Nike are planning to raise prices. It’s still unclear how those hikes will affect consumer spending because it will take time for the increases to trickle down in the supply chain. 
AlixPartners previously created pricing models for CNBC that examined how the price of Vietnamese-made sweaters and shoes could rise under Trump’s proposed tariffs — if retailers do not pass any of the cost on to suppliers or shoppers. At a 10% levy, the cost of a $95 pair of men’s shoes could rise by $7.42 to $102.42. With a 20% duty in place, the cost increase would be even larger.
Many executives worry any tariff hike of this magnitude will be bad for businesses and consumers. Paul Cosaro, the CEO of Picnic Time, a supplier to top retailers like Target, Kohl’s and Macy’s, said if the clocks were wound back to April and Trump said there’d be a 20% tariff on Vietnamese imports, “no one would’ve been happy.” 
“There could be threats of a 46% tariff and you come back with 20 and it’s going to sound better but… it’s just more money coming out of the consumers’ pockets at the end of the day and they have less money to spend on picnic baskets and coolers and things like that,” said Cosaro, who raised his prices between 11% and 14% earlier this year to offset the cost of China tariffs.
“It’s not good for the consumer. Ultimately, it’s just increasing the prices … I don’t think that’s good news.” More

Expanding Opportunity

Essence Fest kicks off on Friday, with roughly 500,000 people attending the event in New Orleans. It generates around $1 billion in economic activity, according to organizers.
“Essence Fest is like my Black Friday,” said Rochelle Ivory, owner of beauty brand On the Edge Baby Hair. “It is my biggest sales weekend of the year. It’s where I make all the capital I reinvest in my business.”
Many Black Americans are concerned about the political, cultural and economic shifts that have taken place since President Donald Trump’s election.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks on stage with Essence CEO Caroline Wanga at the Global Black Economic Forum during the 30th annual Essence Festival of Culture at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on July 6, 2024 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Michael Democker | Getty Images News | Getty Images

In a year when the U.S. consumer has been weighed down by economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and inflation, Black entrepreneurs are eager to get to the Essence Festival of Culture to connect with their core customers.
“Essence Fest is like my Black Friday,” said Rochelle Ivory, owner of beauty brand On the Edge Baby Hair. “It is my biggest sales weekend of the year. It’s where I make all the capital I reinvest in my business.”

Essence Fest kicks off on Friday, with roughly 500,000 people attending the event in New Orleans. It generates around $1 billion in economic activity, according to organizers.
“It’s the cannot-miss event for us,” said Brittney Adams, owner of eyewear brand Focus and Frame. She said this year Essence Fest is even more important because she’s seen Black consumers pulling back on spending.
“I would say the uncertainty of just the economic and political climate — that’s giving people a little bit of hesitancy. Should they save the money? Should they buy the things they want?” Adams said.
Ivory said her sales are down roughly 30% year over year, but she’s hopeful people come to New Orleans looking to spend their time and money in the festival marketplace.
“This could make or break some of us,” she said. “It’s one of the few places where Black women, Black founders can really come together and be seen.”

The Global Black Economic Forum aims to bring visibility and create solutions for Black business owners at Essence Fest. This year speakers include Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown-Jackson and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore. Last year, then-Vice President Kamala Harris spoke.
“We intentionally curate a space that allows leaders to preserve, build and reimagine how we can collectively increase economic opportunity to thrive,” said Alphonso David, CEO of the GBEF.

Second half shift

While many Black Americans express economic anxiety, the data is less clear.
In the first quarter of this year, according to Federal Reserve data, the median weekly salary for Black workers was $1,192 a 5% increase year over year. Black unemployment stood at 6% in the most recent jobs report, a historically low number, but still higher than the national average of 4.2%.
However, the data doesn’t appear to fully reflect the sentiment for many Black Americans who are concerned about the political, cultural and economic shifts that have taken place since President Donald Trump’s election.
“Never let a good crisis go to waste,” said John Hope Bryant, founder and CEO of Operation Hope, one of the nation’s largest non-profits focused on financial education and empowerment.  
Bryant said he sees the concerns of Black Americans as an opportunity in the second half of 2025.

John Hope Bryant is the founder and CEO of Operation Hope.
Paras Griffin | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images

“This president has done something that hasn’t been done since the 1960s, which is unify Black America. Wealth was created in the early 20th century because Blacks were forced to work together. But instead of Black Lives Matter, let’s make Black capitalist matter,” he said.
Pastor Jamal Bryant of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church has galvanized Black consumers with an organized boycott of Target that began in February in response to the retailer’s decision to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
Bryant said he is in discussions with Target but is ready to organize a longer-term boycott if the retailer does not fulfill the promises it made to the Black community after the killing of George Floyd. He is urging Black Americans to use the estimated $2.1 trillion dollars in spending power forecast by 2026 to drive economic and political change.
“I would dare say that ‘pocketbook protests’ are a revolutionary activity,” said Bryant.
“I think we have to be very selective in light of the ‘Big Ugly Bill’ that just passed and how it will adversely affect our community,” he said, referencing Trump’s megabill that passed through Congress this week.

Celebrate and educate

Invest Fest, an event that blends commerce and culture created by financially focused media company Earn Your Leisure kicks off in Atlanta in August.
Co-CEOs Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings said the event will remain focused on financial literacy, but this year they are emphasizing the urgent need for education and entrepreneurship in technology.
“It’s definitely now or never, the time is now,” said Bilal.
“The important thing this year is the way technology is going to disrupt a lot of career paths and the businesses, and we have to prepare for that, which is why AI is at the forefront of the conversation, crypto is at the forefront of the conversations, real estate as always and entrepreneurship,” said Millings.
New this year is a partnership with venture capital firm Open Opportunity and a pitch competition where an entrepreneur can win $125,000 in funding to scale their business.
“We need more businesses that can reach $100 million valuation to a $1 billion valuation, get on the stock market. The pathway to that 9 times out of 10 is technology,” Bilal said.

Festival attendees sign an exhibit wall during Day 1 of the Essence Festival of Culture on July 05, 2024 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Aaron J. Thornton | Wireimage | Getty Images

The National Black MBA Association Conference in Houston in September will have a similar tone. The event is known for its career fair where the nation’s largest companies recruit as well as for networking and vibrant social activities.
This year, interim CEO Orlando Ashford is working to establish artificial intelligence education and financial literacy as pillars of the event.
“Doing business as usual is not an option,” Ashford told CNBC. “AI is something I literally refer to as a tsunami of change that’s on its way. All of us will be forced to pivot in some ways as it relates to AI. Those of us that are out in front, that embrace it and leverage it actually can turn it into a tremendous and powerful opportunity. Those that wait and ignore it will be overtaken by the wave.” More

Delta Air Lines is set to kick off U.S. airlines’ quarterly reports on July 10.
Record travelers are taking to the skies, but fares have dropped.
Airlines have pulled 2025 forecasts, blaming economic uncertainty.

People move through Newark Liberty International Airport following a news conference by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy at the airport, where he announced the reopening of a major runway at the airport, nearly two weeks ahead of schedule on June 2, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images

Millions of travelers are expected to fly over the July 4 holiday period, but the outlook for the rest of the year still looks murky as airlines wrestle with too many flights and not enough demand.
“The summer is on sale, which certainly implies lower fares,” Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan said in an interview late last month.

Domestic airfare this summer is averaging $265 for a round-trip flight, down 3% over last year and the cheapest since 2021, according to fare-tracker Hopper. Airfare in the May U.S. inflation report was down more than 7% from a year ago.
Southwest and a host of other airlines — Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and Alaska Airlines — pulled their forecasts for 2025 earlier this year, blaming an uncertain economic backdrop with the Trump administration’s on-again-off-again tariffs and a host of other new challenges, like fewer overseas visitors to the United States.
Things might not be much clearer now as Delta kicks off airline earnings next Thursday, with other carriers set to report later this month.
“We’re stable where we are, but we have not seen an inflection back,” Jordan said.
In response, airlines have outlined plans to cut unprofitable flights, particularly on off-peak days after the major summer travel season. Airlines make the bulk of their profits in the second and third quarters of the year.

From last Tuesday through next Monday, the Transportation Security Administration said it expects to screen more than 18.5 million travelers at U.S. airports, though no single day is expected to top the nearly 3.1 million travelers that went through checkpoints on June 22, an agency record.
While a sharp economic downturn hasn’t materialized, air travel demand hasn’t been as strong as some industry members expected last year or in early 2025. On Thursday, U.S. jobs data came in stronger than expected despite some signs of a slowdown in the labor market a day earlier.
“While the broader macro environment has been more resilient than feared, overall airline industry demand has been tepid,” TD Cowen analyst Tom Fitzgerald said in a Wednesday note.

Read more CNBC airline news

Debit and credit card spending tracked by Bank of America showed an 11.8% decline on air travel spending last month from a year earlier in June, after five months of year-on-year declines.
“Debit and credit card data for spend on airlines has been down slightly more in June than April/May, so we are not expecting a meaningful sequential improvement in revenue trends,” Bank of America analyst Andrew Didora said in a Tuesday note. “We believe investors will be looking for commentary on any green shoots in demand, and any further commentary on 2H25 capacity cuts could be viewed positively.”
International trips originating from the U.S. have been a strong corner of air travel and a boon for big global carriers like Delta, American and United Airlines.
But fares have eased for trips abroad, too. International flights from U.S. airports are up 4.3% from last summer, according to Hopper. Fares from the U.S. to Europe are averaging $817, down almost $100 from last year, and on par with 2019, Hopper said. Flights to Asia were going for $1,328 on average in June, July or August, down 13% from last year, Hopper data show. More