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Tom Brady will acquire a 50% stake in CardVault.
The company will change its name to “CardVault by Tom Brady.”
Card collecting has surged since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady is entering the sports collectibles space.
Brady will acquire a 50% stake in CardVault, a sports card and memorabilia retailer, the company announced on Wednesday.

As part of the deal, CardVault will change its name to “CardVault by Tom Brady,” and is planning to rapidly scale its footprint. Card collecting has experienced a resurgence since the Covid-19 pandemic, leading to record sale prices.
The sports collectibles retailer currently has locations at TD Garden in Boston; Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts; and Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut. The company will open a new flagship location this spring at American Dream mall, next to MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, and said it is actively identifying new locations in other sports hubs.

CardVault retail store in Boston

“This isn’t just about buying and selling cards; it’s about curating history, building community, turning fans into collectors, and giving them access to own great moments in sports,” Brady said in a statement.
CardVault was founded in 2020 as a way for collectors to buy, sell, grade and trade cards. The store also sells memorabilia.
The company is planning to expand its digital content as it looks to reach new collectors and investors.

This isn’t Brady’s first foray in the collectibles space. In December, he put his valuable watch collection up for sale at Sotheby’s.
The former quarterback was also seen buying up cards at Fanatics Fest in August.
“Sports collectibles and cards have been part of my DNA since childhood, and CardVault has set the gold standard for what a modern fan experience should be,” Brady said. More

Restaurant Brands International reported quarterly adjusted earnings per share of 81 cents and revenue of $2.3 billion.
Burger King’s and Popeyes’ U.S. restaurants outperformed Wall Street’s expectations.

The Burger King logo is displayed at a Burger King fast food restaurant on January 17, 2024 in Burbank, California.
Mario Tama | Getty Images

Restaurant Brands International on Wednesday reported same-store sales growth of 2.5%, fueled by the better-than-expected performance from Burger King’s and Popeyes’ restaurants.
Shares of the company rose roughly 3% in premarket trading.

Here’s what the company reported:

Earnings per share: 81 cents adjusted. That may not compare with the 79 cents expected by LSEG.
Revenue: $2.3 billion. That may not compare with the $2.27 billion expected by LSEG.

The restaurant company reported fourth-quarter net income of $361 million, or 79 cents per share, down from $726 million, or $1.60 per share, a year earlier.
Excluding corporate restructuring fees and other items, Restaurant Brands earned 81 cents per share.
Net sales climbed 26% to $2.3 billion, fueled largely by its acquisitions of its largest U.S. Burger King franchisee and Popeyes China, both which occurred last year.
Still, the company saw better-than-expected sales across all of its segments during the quarter.

Burger King reported U.S. same-store sales growth of 1.5%, beating StreetAccount estimates of 0.8%. The burger chain has been in turnaround mode for more than a year.
Popeyes’ U.S. same-store sales ticked up 0.1%, reversing last quarter’s declines.
And Tim Hortons reported domestic same-store sales growth of 2.5%. The Canadian coffee chain accounts for more than 40% of Restaurant Brands’ quarterly revenue.
Restaurant Brands’ international restaurants saw same-store sales growth of 4.7%, beating StreetAccount estimates of 2.7%. The company credited its Burger King and Popeyes locations for fueling higher sales.
The company also increased its footprint by 3.4%, adding 1,055 new restaurants from the same period a year ago.
Looking to 2025, Restaurant Brands plans to spend between $400 million and $450 million on consolidated capital expenditures, tenant inducements and other incentives. More

U.S. spirits revenue slipped in 2024, but the category maintained its market share lead ahead of beer and wine.
Consumer demand remained strong for spirits-based ready-to-drink cocktails, along with high-end tequila and mezcal.
Tariffs would be a “catastrophic blow” to U.S. distillers in 2025, said Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. CEO Chris Swonger.

A seller holds up a bottle of Casamigos, tequila from Diageo, the world’s leading spirits maker, at a liquor store in Monterrey, Mexico, on Dec. 10, 2024.
Daniel Becerril | Reuters

The U.S. spirits industry maintained its market share leadership over beer and wine for a third straight year in 2024, even as revenues slid, according to new data released Tuesday.
Spirits supplier sales in the U.S. fell 1.1% last year to a total of $37.2 billion, while volumes rose 1.1%, according to the annual U.S. economic report from the Distilled Spirits Council, a leading trade organization.

That is the first time revenue for the spirits category has fallen in more than two decades. Despite a return to more typical buying patterns after a pandemic boom, spirits revenues have grown an average 5.1% annually since 2019. Between 2003 and 2019, the average annual growth rate was 4.4%.
“While the spirits industry has proven to be resilient during tough times, it is certainly not immune to disruptive economic forces and marketplace challenges, and that was definitely the case in 2024,” said DISCUS President and CEO Chris Swonger.

Tequila and mezcal remained a bright spot for the year as the only spirits category showing sales growth, as revenue climbed 2.9% to $6.7 billion.

Top five spirits categories by revenue in 2024:

Vodka: $7.2 billion (flat from prior year)
Tequila/mezcal: $6.7 billion (up 2.9%)
American whiskey: $5.2 billion (down 1.8%)
Cordials: $2.8 billion (down 3.6%)
Premixed cocktails including spirits RTDs: $3.3 billion (up 16.5%)

Premixed ready-to-drink cocktails grew double digits, but the category includes various types of mixed spirits including vodka, rum, whiskey and cordials.

The Mexico tariff threat

Mexican spirits and beer have grown more popular with consumers for over two decades, and tequila and mezcal sales outpaced American whiskey for the first time in 2023.
The road ahead for the Mexico-based products remains uncertain. The Trump administration earlier this month delayed imposing tariffs on imports from Mexico — which would include distinctive products such as mezcal and tequila — by one month while tariff negotiations continue.
“These tariffs have wreaked havoc on our craft distilling community,” said Sonat Birnecker Hart, president and founder of KOVAL Distillery in Chicago. “Many craft distillers have expended great time, effort and resources to expand into international markets only to see their dreams shattered by tariffs that have absolutely nothing to do with our industry,” Hart added.
Swonger also noted that tariffs would be a “catastrophic blow” to distillers and only add to the pressure higher interest rates have put on the industry’s supply chain, as wholesalers and retailers continue to deplete inventory buildups and cautiously restock products.
“Consumers were contending with some of the highest prices and interest rates in decades, which put a strain on their wallets and forced many to reduce spending on little luxuries like distilled spirits,” said Swonger. 
“Our sales dipped slightly but consumers continued to choose spirits and enjoy a cocktail with family and friends,” he said.

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Super Bowl 59 attracted a record audience of 127.7 million people, according to ratings agency Nielsen.
The NFL’s big game this year was aired on Fox Corporation’s broadcast network. The company also made it available on its free, ad-supported streamer Tubi.
Advertisers shelled out up to $8 million in hopes of getting in front of the biggest live audience on TV.

Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni and quarterback Jalen Hurts celebrate with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after winning Super Bowl 59.
Mike Segar | Reuters

The Philadelphia Eagles weren’t the only ones that scored big at the Super Bowl.
The National Football League’s championship game attracted a record 127.7 million viewers on Sunday, according to Nielsen Media Research.

The supersized live audience was of most importance to the advertisers that shelled out big bucks to have their brands featured during the Super Bowl. It is rare that programming on live TV attracts such a big audience in one sitting, making the hefty price tag worth it, advertising industry executives recently told CNBC.
The cost of advertising during the Super Bowl rises each year, especially as the cable bundle loses more and more customers and must-watch programming revolves around sports and other live events. This year, some brands spent up to $8 million for a spot during the game.
Sunday’s Super Bowl aired on Fox Corporation’s broadcast network, as well as its Spanish-language cable network Fox Deportes and NBCUniversal’s Telemundo. Fox also offered the Super Bowl on its free, ad-supported streamer Tubi, and it was also available on the NFL’s digital properties.
Last year, the Super Bowl had locked down another record at the time, when more than 123 million tuned into Paramount Global’s CBS broadcast network, TelevisaUnivision network and other streaming options such as Paramount+.
Fox also reported that the Super Bowl broke another record when it came to streaming. The game on Tubi, Telemundo and the NFL’s digital offerings garnered 14.5 million viewers, while Tubi alone had 13.6 million viewers, according to Tubi first-party data and Adobe Analytics. This was the first time the Super Bowl was available on the app.

The Super Bowl’s viewership peaked at an audience of 137.7 million from 8 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. ET, during the second quarter, according to Nielsen.
Anticipation for the game helped boost viewership, too. Fox’s pregame coverage averaged 23.4 million viewers between 1 p.m. and kickoff.
The Eagles ran away with the game against the Kansas City Chiefs, with a final score of 40-22. While viewership tends to drop off in games with a large gap in the score, viewers clearly stuck around through the game.
The halftime show, headlined by rapper Kendrick Lamar and also featuring R&B artist SZA, had an average 133.5 million viewers across TV and digital platforms between 8:30 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. ET, up 3% from last year’s viewership of the music spectacle, Nielsen reported.
The Spanish language networks Fox Deportes and Telemundo had an average audience of 1.87 million combined viewers, according to Fox. This was the first time the Super Bowl was offered on both a cable network and broadcaster in Spanish. The league has been pushing to expand its audience, with a key part of its strategy being Hispanic viewership.
Disclosure: Comcast owns CNBC parent company NBCUniversal. 
Correction: The headline on this story has been updated to correct that it was Super Bowl 59.

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Ever since John Browne vowed to turn BP green some 25 years ago, the British oil giant has experienced a series of embarrassing mishaps. That includes major safety lapses, such as a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and the departure of several bosses. Yet its biggest blunder has been the bungled attempts to profitably decarbonise its business, which were made all the worse by its premature promise to go “beyond petroleum”. More

General Motors believes it can mitigate up to 50% of potential North American tariffs threatened by President Donald Trump on imports from Canada and Mexico, CEO Mary Barra said Tuesday.
That includes GM potentially avoiding short-term impacts of between 30% and 50% of the additional costs “without deploying any capital.”
Earlier in the day, Ford CEO Jim Farley said Trump’s tariffs and threats are causing “chaos” for the U.S. automotive industry.

President Donald Trump greets General Motors CEO Mary Barra (R) prior to a meeting with automobile industry leaders in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC, January 24, 2017.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images

DETROIT — General Motors believes it can mitigate up to 50% of potential tariffs President Donald Trump is threatening to impose on imports from Canada and Mexico, CEO Mary Barra said Tuesday.
The chief executive said the Detroit automaker has contingency plans ready for if tariffs are levied on auto parts and vehicles coming into the U.S. from the two neighboring countries. That includes potentially avoiding short-term impacts of between 30% and 50% of the additional costs “without deploying any capital.”

“We are prepared,” Barra said Tuesday during a Wolfe Research investment conference. “When we know exactly what’s going to happen and/or even have an indication of what’s going to happen, we know the steps we could take.”
GM CFO Paul Jacobson, who appeared with Barra, added that if tariffs were prolonged, the company could take additional measures such as shifting production or parts or vehicles.
The comments are the most detailed yet of how GM believes it could reduce the impact of tariffs after investor concerns about the issue weren’t addressed during the automaker’s quarterly earnings call two weeks ago, sending the company’s stock down by 8%.
GM has some operations in Canada, with more substantial production in Mexico. That includes many of its lower-priced electric vehicles as well as its highly profitable full-size pickup trucks.
Barra’s comments followed crosstown rival Ford Motor CEO Jim Farley saying Trump’s tariffs, whether implemented or threatened, are causing “chaos” for the U.S. automotive industry.

Ford CEO Jim Farley at the company’s Dearborn, Michigan, plant where it’s building the electric F-150 Lightning on April 26, 2022.
CNBC | Michael Wayland

Farley described this week’s 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum, as well as threatened levies of the same amount on Mexico and Canada, as currently adding “a lot of cost, and a lot of chaos” to the industry.
“President Trump has talked a lot about making our U.S. auto industry stronger, bringing more production here, more innovation in the U.S., and if his administration can achieve that, it would be one of … the most signature accomplishments,” Farley said separately during the Wolfe conference. “So far what we’re seeing is a lot of cost, and a lot of chaos.”
Farley and incoming Ford CFO Sherry House said a majority of the company’s steel and aluminum are domestically sourced; however, there are suppliers to the automaker that source such materials from outside of the country, which could have an impact on costs.
Barra noted GM is “evaluating” the impact of the steel and aluminum tariffs on its business, but said the company sources a “significant” amount of both from the U.S. In the short term, she said GM also has fixed pricing on such purchases.
Both GM and Ford contributed $1 million each, along with vehicles, to Trump’s inauguration. Executives with both also have confirmed they’ve talked with Trump about the auto industry.
House on Tuesday said the biggest concern for Ford is all of these actions that appear relatively minimal, including on suppliers, combining to negatively impact the automaker’s business.
“We’ll have to deal with it. That’s what I’m talking about cost of chaos. A little here, a little there. … This is what we’re dealing with right now,” Farley said.

Stock chart icon

Ford and GM stocks

Farley seemed most concerned about potential duties on goods from Mexico and Canada, saying a long-term 25% tariff that could go into effect as soon as March 1 would be “devastating” and “blow a hole in the U.S. industry that we’ve never seen.”
The White House did not immediately respond for comment about Farley’s remarks.
Farley said he is traveling Wednesday to Washington, D.C., for the second time in three weeks to meet with government officials, including members of Congress, to stress how the policy uncertainty is impacting the industry.
Last week Farley also said if the Trump administration is going to implement tariffs affecting the automotive industry, it should take a “comprehensive” look at all countries.
Farley singled out Toyota Motor and Hyundai Motor for importing hundreds of thousands of vehicles annually from Japan and South Korea, respectively, that have little to no duties compared with the 25% tariff Trump plans to impose on Canada and Mexico.
Ford regularly touts its American business, including in ad campaigns. The company is the No. 1 auto producer in the U.S., with the most vehicles domestically assembled as well as exported to other countries.
Correction: Farley seemed most concerned about potential duties on goods from Mexico and Canada. An earlier version misstated one of the countries.

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