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Times are bleak in Toyland. So bleak that Bratz dolls’ flowing locks are at risk. “There is no American factory anywhere that can make hair for dolls,” fumes Isaac Larian, boss of MGA Entertainment, the Los Angeles company that makes the fashion figurines. “What am I supposed to do? Sell bald dolls?” More

AND THEY’RE off! Well, some of them. One weak-kneed participant collapsed before the starting line. Another did so a few steps later. A third quickly ran into a railing. Still, the remaining 18 humanoid robots taking part in a Beijing half-marathon on April 19th leapt, skipped or trundled glitchlessly onto a special track in a technology park on the outskirts of the Chinese capital—and into the future. The winner crossed the finishing line in a stately two hours and 40 minutes; five more completed the 21.1km course. Some of the 12,000 human runners (the best of whom covered the distance in just over an hour) looked on, bemusedly. More

Bristol Myers Squibb beat first-quarter estimates and hiked its revenue and profit guidance for the year, as the drugmaker cuts costs.
The company said its guidance revisions include the estimated impact of current tariffs on U.S. products shipped to China, but not President Donald Trump’s planned duties on pharmaceuticals imported into the U.S.
Bristol Myers said the guidance hike reflects strength in the company’s portfolio of drug brands expected to deliver growth, and better-than-expected first-quarter sales from its portfolio of older medications.

FILE PHOTO: The Bristol Myers Squibb research and development center at Cambridge Crossing in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Dec. 27, 2023.
Adam Glanzman | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Bristol Myers Squibb on Thursday beat first-quarter estimates and hiked its revenue and profit guidance for the year, as the drugmaker cuts costs.
The company now expects 2025 revenue to come in between $45.8 billion and $46.8 billion, up from a previous outlook of around $45.5 billion. Bristol Myers also projects full-year adjusted earnings of $6.70 to $7 per share, which compares with its prior forecast of $6.55 to $6.85 per share. 

Notably, the company said its guidance revisions include the estimated impact of current tariffs on U.S. products shipped to China. China is a critical market for Bristol Myers. The company has previously outlined its “China 2030 Strategy,” which is a plan to bring more of its medicines to the nation to address unmet medical needs in areas like gastric cancer and include more Chinese patients in clinical trials.
But the new outlooks do not account for any of President Donald Trump’s planned tariffs on pharmaceuticals imported into the U.S., Bristol Myers said. 
In an earnings call Thursday, Bristol Myers Squibb CEO Christopher Boerner said the company appreciated the Trump administration’s efforts to increase U.S. manufacturing, but noted that it “needs to be done in a very thoughtful and deliberate way” in the pharmaceutical sector.
He added that it is “simply too early to provide a lot more” on the company’s expectations for pharmaceutical-specific tariffs. Still, Bristol Myers is continuing “mitigation efforts” to reduce risks of any disruption to the supply chain and shortages, Boerner said.
“We have a tremendous amount of flexibility to be able to move our manufacturing around should any potential tariffs come up,” said the company’s CFO David Elkins on the call. He added that Bristol Myers has a broad global manufacturing network, which includes a significant presence in the U.S.

Bristol Myers said the outlook hike reflects strength in its portfolio of newer drug brands, and better-than-anticipated first-quarter sales from its legacy portfolio of older medications. 
The results come as Bristol Myers moves to slash $2 billion in expenses by the end of 2027, which is on top of $1.5 billion in planned cost cuts by the end of this year. 
It also comes just days after Bristol Myers’ recently approved schizophrenia drug, Cobenfy, disappointed in a large clinical trial, leading some Wall Street analysts to substantially lower their multibillion-dollar sales forecasts for the treatment.  
The company is banking on Cobenfy and other so-called growth portfolio drugs to offset the loss in revenue from top-selling treatments slated to lose exclusivity on the market, including its blockbuster blood thinner Eliquis and cancer immunotherapy Opdivo. 
Boerner said “there’s a lot of uncertainty, whether related to tariffs, a potential economic downturn or restructuring at the FDA and HHS.” He is referring to the Trump administration’s efforts to overhaul the Food and Drug Administration and other federal health agencies under the Department of Health and Human Services.
But the company remains confident in its ability “to deliver for our patients, employees and shareholders,” he said.
Here is what Bristol Myers reported for the first quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG: 

Earnings per share: $1.80 adjusted vs. $1.49 expected
Revenue: $11.2 billion vs. $10.7 billion expected 

Bristol Myers posted net income of $2.5 billion, or $1.20 per share, for the first quarter. That compares with a net loss of $11.9 billion, or a loss of $5.89 per share, for the year-earlier period. 
Excluding certain items, it reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.80 for the quarter. 
The pharmaceutical giant’s revenue fell 6% from the same period a year ago to $11.2 billion. 
Eliquis booked $3.57 billion in sales for the quarter, down 4% from the year-ago period. That is above the $3.34 billion that analysts were expecting, according to estimates compiled by StreetAccount.

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The blood thinner, which Bristol Myers shares with Pfizer, is expected to lose market exclusivity by 2028. 
Sales of Eliquis could also take a hit in 2026, when a new negotiated price for the drug goes into effect for certain Medicare patients following negotiations with the federal government. Those price talks are a key provision of the Inflation Reduction Act.
The second round of negotiations targets 15 additional drugs and will set new prices that will go into effect in 2028. That includes the Bristol Myers medication Pomalyst, which is used to treat a blood cancer called multiple myeloma and a different cancer that develops in people with HIV.
Pomalyst brought in $658 million for the period, down 24% from a year earlier. Revlimid, a drug used to treat adults with multiple myeloma, took in $936 million in sales for the first quarter, down 44% from the same period a year ago.  
Revenue from the company’s so-called growth portfolio was $5.56 billion for the first quarter, up 16% from the year-earlier period. 
Opdivo brought in $2.27 billion in revenue for the first quarter, rising 9% from the year-earlier period. That is above analysts’ estimate of $2.16 billion for the quarter, StreetAccount said.
Meanwhile, Cobenfy booked $27 million in sales for the first quarter.

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PepsiCo’s first-quarter earnings missed Wall Street’s estimates, but its quarterly revenue topped projections.
The food and beverage giant also cut its forecast for its core constant currency earnings per share, citing new tariffs, economic volatility and a more cautious consumer.
CEO Ramon Laguarta said Pepsi is expecting more uncertainty.

Bottles of Pepsi soda are displayed in a store on March 17, 2025 in New York City. 
Spencer Platt | Getty Images

PepsiCo on Thursday reported mixed quarterly results as its international sales offset weaker demand in North America.
The food and beverage giant also cut its forecast for core constant currency earnings per share, citing new tariffs, economic volatility and a more cautious consumer.

“As we look ahead, we expect more volatility and uncertainty, particularly related to global trade developments, which we expect will increase our supply chain costs,” CEO Ramon Laguarta said in a statement. “At the same time, consumer conditions in many markets remain subdued and similarly have an uncertain outlook.”
Shares of the company fell 2% in premarket trading.
Here’s what PepsiCo reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

Earnings per share: $1.48 adjusted vs. $1.49 expected
Revenue: $17.92 billion vs. $17.77 billion expected

Pepsi posted first-quarter net income attributable to the company of $1.83 billion, or $1.33 per share, down from $2.04 billion, or $1.48 per share, a year earlier.
Excluding restructuring charges, acquisition costs and other items, the company earned $1.48 per share.

Net sales dropped 1.8% to $17.92 billion. Organic revenue, which strips out acquisitions, divestitures and foreign currency, rose 1.2% in the quarter.
Pepsi’s worldwide volume fell 3% for its convenient foods unit and was flat for its drinks. The metric strips out pricing and foreign exchange changes.
Laguarta said the company is “taking actions” to improve its North American performance. Volume for its domestic food business fell 1%, while its North American beverage unit saw volume decline 3%.
“Consumers have remained value‐conscious across brands and channels as the cumulative impacts of inflationary pressures have strained budgets and altered food shopping patterns,” Laguarta and CFO Jamie Caulfield said in prepared remarks.
Plans to turn around its North America business include expanding further into multicultural and functional products, like its Simply, Sabra and Siete brands. The company also recently bought Poppi, a prebiotic soda brand. Pepsi is also working on engaging with consumers and ensuring better in-store availability and placement of its products.
But the company’s North American businesses saw some bright spots. Pepsi Zero Sugar helped the company gain market share, and Miss Vickie’s chips and Quaker’s rice cakes were among the snacks that delivered net revenue growth.
For the full year, Pepsi now expects its core constant currency earnings per share to be roughly unchanged from the prior year, down from its previous forecast projecting mid-single-digit growth.
The company reiterated its outlook for a low-single-digit increase in organic revenue.

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Procter & Gamble’s quarterly earnings topped estimates, but its revenue fell short of expectations.
The company also cut its forecast for its full-year core earnings per share and revenue, President Donald Trump’s tariffs and consumer uncertainty.
P&G CEO Jon Moeller said the company will “likely” increase prices in the next fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble on Thursday reported mixed quarterly results as demand for its products fell, gave a dimmer outlook for the current quarter and said price hikes could be coming.
The company, which owns Tide and Charmin, slashed its forecast for core earnings per share and revenue for the full fiscal year, which is in its final quarter. Executives cited a consumer slowdown, new tariffs and the company’s plans to invest back into its brands during a period of uncertainty as the reasons for its slashed outlook.

P&G already makes many of the products sold domestically in the U.S., but President Donald Trump’s tariffs will likely raise some of its costs.
“There will likely be pricing — tariffs are inherently inflationary — but we’re also looking at sourcing options,” Moeller said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Thursday.
He added that price hikes tied to the tariffs would occur in the next fiscal year, which starts in July, coincidentally when the Trump administration’s “reciprocal” tariffs are expected to rise after a temporary abatement.
Shares of the company fell more than 1% in premarket trading.
Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

Earnings per share: $1.54 vs. $1.53 expected
Revenue: $19.78 billion vs. $20.11 billion expected

Net sales dropped 2% to $19.78 billion. The company’s organic sales, which strip out acquisitions, divestitures and foreign currency, rose 1%.
P&G’s volume fell 1% in the quarter. Volume excludes pricing, which makes it a more accurate reflection of demand than sales.
Uncertainty around tariffs, the political environment and other factors resulted in “a more nervous consumer” pulling back in the last two months of the quarter, CFO Andre Schulten said on the company’s call with media.
“It’s not illogical to see the consumer adopt the ‘wait and see’ attitude, and we saw traffic down at retailers,” Schulten said. “We saw consumers basically looking for value, migrating into online, bigger box retail, into club [retailers].”
P&G’s baby, feminine and family care division reported a 2% decline in the volume, the steepest decrease of its segments. All three parts of the business, which include Pampers diapers and Bounty paper towels, saw volume shrink during the quarter.
Both P&G’s health care and fabric and home care divisions saw volume fall 1%. Demand for its oral care products, like Oral-B toothbrushes and Crest toothpaste, shrank during the quarter. So did demand for its home care products, which include Cascade detergent and Swiffer mops.
The company’s beauty segment, which includes Olay and SK-II, reported flat volume for the quarter. P&G said volume declined in Greater China, its second-largest market. The U.S. and China are locked in a tit-for-tat trade conflict with triple-digit duties on imports.
P&G’s grooming business, which includes Gillette and Venus razors, was the only segment to report volume growth. Its volume ticked up 1%.
With one quarter left in its fiscal year, P&G is now expecting flat sales growth for fiscal 2025, down from its prior forecast of revenue growth of 2% to 4%. The company also cut its core earnings per share outlook to $6.72 to $6.82, down from its previous outlook of $6.91 to $7.05.
P&G reported third-quarter net income attributable to the company of $3.77 billion, or $1.54 per share, up from $3.75 billion, or $1.52 per share, a year earlier.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates. More

American Airlines joined Delta and Southwest in pulling its 2025 financial guidance citing economic uncertainty.
American expects second-quarter, adjusted earnings of between 50 cents and $1, compared with estimates for 99 cents a share.
The carrier estimated second-quarter revenue in the range of -2% to up 1%.

American Airlines withdrew its 2025 financial guidance on Thursday, joining other carriers that are grappling with an uncertain outlook on the U.S. economy and weaker-than-expected leisure travel bookings this year.
“We came off a strong fourth quarter, saw decent business in January and really domestic leisure travel fell off considerably as we went into the February time frame,” CEO Robert Isom told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Thursday.

American said that the 0.7% increase in unit revenue in the first quarter was driven by strength in international bookings and premium cabins, echoing other airlines like Delta and United, which said more price-sensitive leisure customers have been the ones holding back on trips.
The airline forecast second-quarter revenue down as much as 2% from last year to up as much as 1%, below the 2.2% Wall Street analysts expected, with its capacity expected to rise as much as 4% in the current quarter. American said adjusted per-share earnings would likely come in between 50 cents and $1, while analysts expected 99 cents per share.
It said capacity will rise between 2% and 4% over last year in the second quarter.
Here is how American performed in the first quarter compared with Wall Street estimates compiled by LSEG:

Loss per share: 59 cents adjusted vs. an expected loss of 65 cents
Revenue: $12.55 billion vs. $12.6 billion expected

American posted a $473 million loss for the first quarter, wider than the $312 million loss it posted a year earlier, with revenue of $12.55 billion, nearly unchanged from last year. Adjusting for one-time items, American reported 59 cents a share.

Capacity was down 0.8%.
American said its efforts to rebuild its corporate travel business after a failed business strategy are making progress but were offset by “economic uncertainty that pressured domestic leisure demand and the tragic accident of American Eagle Flight 5342,” referring to the January accident when an Army helicopter collided with an American regional jet that was landing in Washington D.C., killing all 67 people on the two aircraft. More

U.S. government data show a roughly 10% decline in visitors arriving by air in March from the year before.
Delta Air Lines and United Airlines CEOs say international and premium-travel demand is growing, making up for the shortfall in inbound tourism and weakness in domestic main cabin bookings.

Tourists look at the Bridge of Sighs in Venice, Italy, on Aug. 25, 2021.
Andrea Merola | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Caroline Smith, an accounting director from Verona, New Jersey, and her husband took their two children to Italy for Easter break this month. On the Spanish Steps in Rome, they ran into another family from their town. Two other families from the same area were also independently visiting Italy at the same time, she said.
The families are part of an emerging trend in the $11 trillion global travel industry: Americans are traveling abroad in droves, while the number of visitors to the United States is falling.

Foreign visitors to the United States by air fell nearly 10% in March from the same month a year earlier and nearly 13% from before the pandemic to 4.54 million people, according to data from the International Trade Administration, part of the Commerce Department.
Easter week last year was in March, causing some vacations to shift this year. However, U.S. citizens flying abroad increased 1.6% from last March and are up 22% from 2019 to 6.56 million travelers.
The imbalance could further deepen the more than $50 billion gap between what the U.S. generates through travel and tourism services and what Americans spend abroad. It’s a concern for the U.S. travel industry, which brings in about $1 trillion a year. The U.S. Travel Association on Jan. 9 said it expected a more than 12% increase in spending from international tourism in the United States this year.

An on-again, off-again trade war, high-profile detentions of visitors as well as visa holders and permanent residents, along with President Donald Trump’s rhetoric about taking over countries like Canada, and a strong U.S. dollar for much of this year and travel warnings haven’t helped drum up demand from international travelers.
“President Trump’s agenda to make America wealthy, safe, and beautiful again benefits Americans and international visitors alike,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in an e-mailed statement. She said the administration is “spearheading the effort to show all that makes America great by bringing global sporting events, including the World Cup and Olympics, to the USA..”

JPMorgan warned that the decline in foreigners’ travel spend in the U.S. could subtract around 0.1% from gross domestic product this year.
“This points to potentially another channel to consider in assessing the effect of tariffs on economic activity,” it said. “Concerns around detentions of foreign visitors, sometimes by accident, are only compounding this effect.”

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Samuel Engel, senior vice president at consulting firm ICF, said that while “there’s no question that foreigners are finding the U.S. less welcoming” another question is if the hesitance to travel to the U.S. from abroad is now showing up in international business travel.
“Business people don’t ink deals in the face of uncertainty,” he said.
United Airlines last week said bookings from international passengers originating in Europe are down 6%, while those originating in Canada are down 9% year over year. Delta Air Lines said it was seeing a similar phenomenon.
But American consumers’ appetite for international trips is helping to soften the blow of fewer international tourists and weaker-than-expected demand in domestic U.S. travel for some companies, like United and Delta, which are cutting back flights within the United States later this year.
“I traveled around Europe a lot pre-kids so I’ve been trying to do the same with the family now that the kids are older,” said Smith, 44, who has a 7-year-old and an 11-year-old. “We went to Spain in 2023 and Portugal in 2024, chosen in part because the flights are short, in comparison to Greece, which is on the list.”

Grace Cular Yee, a travel adviser who owns Pineapple7 agency in Lansdowne, Virginia, said a lot of her clients are considering international travel more than domestic in part because they’re wanting to splash out on college graduation trips since their kids largely missed out on high school commencement celebrations during Covid.
“This is a major milestone for the whole family,” she said, adding that while many travelers get ideas from social media, more Americans are also getting inspired by television shows, like the latest season of “The White Lotus,” which was set in Thailand. She said she recently planned a trip to France for a mother-daughter high school graduation trip because the daughter loves the show “Emily in Paris.”
United said that advanced bookings earlier this month are stable and premium-cabin sales are up 17%, while international demand has risen 5%.
Delta’s president, Glen Hauenstein, is optimistic that the trend will continue and said cash sales for international travel are coming in ahead of the same point last year.
“Sales that are coming in the door as of yesterday that we’re recording today as cash are very strong for international through the summer all the way out to September, October,” he said on an April 9 earnings call, adding that international sales were up on the year.
Many working Americans and retirees are on edge with recent market tumult, but wealthy and aging travelers, particularly in the pricey front of the plane, are helping to offset that.
“Being a baby boomer, I can say this without fear of retribution: There’s only so much time to go to Europe or almost so much time to go see Australia or Japan,” Hauenstein said on the earnings call. “So you’ve got this wealth effect where this cohort of retirees is wealthier than any other cohort even with the most recent rundown, and they want to go do things.”
It isn’t clear whether a pullback in consumer spending in the back of the plane or even some softness in corporate travel growth is a sign that high-end, international leisure travel bookings will weaken, too. For now, the labor market remains strong.
“Everybody’s life is not fully disrupted but everybody’s life is on more tenuous footing right now,” said ICF’s Engel. “The way people manage uncertainty is they hold back on decisions.”
Correction: Hauenstein spoke on an April 9 earnings call. An earlier version misstated the date.

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President Donald Trump is considering exemptions for automakers from some tariffs announced by his administration, the White House confirmed Wednesday to CNBC’s Eamon Javers.
The confirmation follows a Financial Times report that Trump is planning to exempt auto parts from tariffs on imports from China.
This week six of the top policy groups representing the U.S. automotive industry uncharacteristically joined forces to lobby the Trump administration against implementing the upcoming tariffs on auto parts.

People work on the production line of auto parts at a carmaker in Qingdao in east China’s Shandong province Saturday, March 1, 2025.
Yu Fangping | Feature China | Future Publishing | Getty Images

President Donald Trump is considering exemptions for automakers from some tariffs announced by his administration, the White House confirmed Wednesday to CNBC’s Eamon Javers.
The confirmation follows a Financial Times report that Trump is planning to exempt auto parts from tariffs on imports from China that Trump imposed to counter fentanyl production as well as levies on steel and aluminum.

The exemption would be separate from 25% tariffs on imported vehicles as well as 25% tariffs on imported auto parts that is scheduled to take effect by May 3, the FT reported.
Shares of many automakers and suppliers were marginally higher Wednesday in after-hours trading.
Separately on Wednesday, Trump reportedly said a 25% tariff imposed on cars imported from Canada to the U.S. could go up.
“When I put tariffs on Canada — they’re paying 25% — but that could go up, in terms of cars,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “All we’re doing is we’re saying, ‘We don’t want your cars, in all due respect. We want, really, to make our own cars.'”
Automakers and auto policy groups have been lobbying Trump for some relief on tariffs, which have been stacking up on the automotive industry.

Trump exempted autos from his so-called “reciprocal” geographical tariffs that would put steep duties on imports from dozens of countries. But the auto industry is still facing 25% levies on steel and aluminum as well as a 25% tariff on all imported vehicles into the U.S.

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The tariff on auto parts set for May 3 would be in addition to those other duties.
Any exemptions or “de-stacking” of those various rates would be welcomed by automotive executives. In particular, the upcoming tariffs on auto parts have industry officials worried about the compounding costs.
This week six of the top policy groups representing the U.S. automotive industry uncharacteristically joined forces to lobby the Trump administration against implementing the upcoming tariffs on auto parts.
“President Trump has indicated an openness to reconsidering the administration’s 25 percent tariffs on imported automotive parts – similar to the tariff relief recently approved for consumer electronics and semiconductors. That would be a positive development and welcome relief,” the groups set in a letter to Trump officials.
The groups – representing franchised dealers, suppliers and nearly all major automakers – said the upcoming levies could jeopardize U.S. automotive production and noted many auto suppliers are already “in distress” and wouldn’t be able to afford the additional cost increases, leading to broader industry problems.
General Motors CEO Mary Barra, echoing concerns of other executives, said Wednesday that the automaker needs clarity and consistent regulations to better compete.
“First of all, I need clarity, and then I need consistency,” Barra said during Semafor’s World Economy Summit. “To make those investments and to be good stewards of our owner’s capital, I need to understand what the policy is.”
Barra said GM has made some shifts in response to evolving trade policy, but doesn’t plan on making any “significant changes” until there’s clarity on U.S. regulations. More