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Pfizer said it filed a second lawsuit against Novo Nordisk and Metsera, alleging that the Danish drugmaker’s attempt to outbid Pfizer to acquire the obesity biotech is anticompetitive. 
The new suit escalates a heated standoff between Pfizer and Novo Nordisk over Metsera, whose obesity pipeline could yield new competitors in the blockbuster weight loss drug market.
Metsera said Pfizer’s litigation arguments “are nonsense” and that it will address them in court.

A Pfizer logo is displayed at a research facility in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, U.S., Sept. 30, 2025.
Mike Blake | Reuters

Pfizer on Monday said it filed a second lawsuit against Novo Nordisk and Metsera, alleging that the Danish drugmaker’s attempt to outbid Pfizer to acquire the obesity biotech is anticompetitive. 
Pfizer alleges that Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk’s proposed acquisition of Metsera would help it maintain its dominant position in the blockbuster obesity market by eliminating a smaller potential competitor, according to the lawsuit filed Monday in the U.S. District Court in Delaware. The suit also alleges that Metsera’s controlling shareholders conspired with the obesity biotech and Novo Nordisk. 

In a statement on Monday, Ambre James Brown, Novo Nordisk’s vice president of global media, said “Pfizer’s baseless claims that Novo Nordisk intends to suppress innovation through our offer is false and without merit.”
“Instead of competing on price, Pfizer has taken the highly unusual and seemingly desperate approach in filing its antitrust lawsuit today,” Brown said. She added that Novo Nordisk’s offer, including the structure of the transaction, complies with all applicable laws and is in the “best interest” of patients and Metsera shareholders.
In a statement, Metsera said, “Pfizer is trying to litigate its way to buying Metsera for a lower price than Novo Nordisk.” The company added that Pfizer’s litigation arguments “are nonsense, and Metsera will address them in court.”
The new suit escalates a heated standoff between Pfizer and Novo Nordisk over Metsera, whose obesity pipeline could yield new competitors in the booming weight loss drug market. Pfizer in September said that it would acquire Metsera for $4.9 billion, or up to $7.3 billion with future payments – a deal that could be the company’s golden ticket to enter the space after struggling to bring its own obesity products to market. 
But Novo Nordisk on Thursday launched a takeover bid valuing the biotech at around $6 billion, triggering a deadline of four business days for Pfizer to renegotiate its offer. On Friday, Pfizer filed its first lawsuit against Novo Nordisk and Metsera seeking to block the biotech from terminating its existing merger deal with Pfizer. 

That suit, filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery, alleges that Novo Nordisk’s offer can’t qualify as a superior proposal because it’s not reasonably likely to be completed due to its significant regulatory risk.
Novo Nordisk helped establish the weight loss drug space, bringing to market highly effective GLP-1 drugs, including the diabetes injection Ozempic and obesity shot Wegovy. But the company has lost its leading position in the market to its chief rival, Eli Lilly, over the last year and has struggled to impress investors with its pipeline.  More

Kimberly-Clark announced Monday it’s struck an agreement to buy Kenvue in a deal valued at $48.7 billion.
The combined company would bring together brands like Huggies and Kleenex with the likes of Band-Aid and Tylenol. It would generate estimated 2025 annual net revenues of roughly $32 billion.
Kenvue spun out of Johnson & Johnson in May 2023. Since then, shares have fallen almost 35% from their initial public offering price.

Huggies, manufactured by Kimberly-Clark and Band-Aid, manufactured by Kenvue.
Getty Images

Kimberly-Clark announced Monday it’s struck an agreement to buy Kenvue in a deal valued at $48.7 billion that would create a consumer staples giant.
The deal is a combination of cash and stock. Shares of Kenvue surged 20% in premarket trading Monday, while shares of Kimberly-Clark plunged 14%.

The combined company would bring together brands like Huggies and Kleenex with the likes of Band-Aid and Tylenol. It would include 10 billion-dollar brands, the companies said in a news release. The acquisition would be one of the largest on Wall Street this year.
The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026.
Kimberly-Clark Chairman and CEO Mike Hsu said in a statement that the companies share a “commitment to developing science and technology to provide extraordinary care.”
“Over the last several years, Kimberly-Clark has undertaken a significant transformation to pivot our portfolio to higher-growth, higher-margin businesses while rewiring our organization to work smarter and faster,” Hsu said. “We have built the foundation and this transaction is a powerful next step in our journey.”
Kenvue, a portfolio of consumer health brands, spun out of Johnson & Johnson in May 2023. Since then, shares have fallen almost 35% from their initial public offering price. As of Friday’s close, Kenvue traded at about $14 per share for a market cap of roughly $27 billion.

Kenvue Chair Larry Merlo said in a statement that following a comprehensive strategic review, the board is “confident this combination represents the best path forward for our shareholders and all other stakeholders.”
Three Kenvue board members will join the Kimberly-Clark board upon the deal’s closing. Hsu will continue to serve as CEO.
The combined company would generate estimated 2025 annual net revenues of roughly $32 billion and adjusted EBITDA of approximately $7 billion, according to the release.
Kimberly-Clark and Kenvue expect about $1.9 billion in cost synergies from the transaction to be realized in the first three years following the deal’s close. More

The blockbuster weight loss drug market is entering a new chapter of growth.
Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk are both focused on fighting for market share, ramping up supply, testing new uses for their medicines and bringing the next wave of obesity drugs to patients.
Trailing behind them is a slate of drugmakers racing to win a slice of what some analysts expect could be a roughly $100 billion market by the end of the decade.
But questions remain about insurance coverage, drug pricing, copycat treatments and the role of pills.

A combination image shows an injection pen of Zepbound, Eli Lilly’s weight loss drug, and boxes of Wegovy, made by Novo Nordisk.
Hollie Adams | Reuters

The appetite for blockbuster weight loss and diabetes drugs is far from satisfied. 
From fresh competition to new uses, the market is quickly vaulting into a new stage of growth. But factors including insurance coverage, pricing, copycat drugs and the development of new pills will ultimately determine how far the treatments will reach.

Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk are still the dominant players, as demand for their weekly injections shows few signs of slowing. Eli Lilly has pulled ahead in the market, saying during its third-quarter earnings call on Thursday that it gained share for the fifth consecutive quarter and that its drugs account for nearly 6 out of 10 prescriptions within the injectable obesity and diabetes class.
But both firms are focused on ramping up supply, testing new uses for their medicines and bringing the next wave of obesity drugs to patients, including more convenient pills. 
Behind them is a slate of drugmakers – from biotech upstarts to pharma giants – racing to win a slice of what some analysts expect could be a roughly $100 billion market by the end of the decade. There may be plenty of room for new entrants: McKinsey projects that 25 million to 50 million U.S. patients could use GLP-1s by 2030. 
Nearly every major pharmaceutical company has bet on obesity drugs, often through deals with smaller developers, including businesses based in China. While some experimental drugs are further along than others, all are likely years away from hitting the market, and their competitive potential will depend on future data showing their effectiveness and how well patients tolerate them.
As competition heats up, many patients are still struggling to access the drugs. Some insurers, including Medicare, don’t cover GLP-1s for obesity, which can cost roughly $1,000 per month before rebates.

Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have rolled out discount programs for cash-paying patients to close the gap, and more employers are offering coverage as GLP-1s prove their added health benefits like treating obstructive sleep apnea and chronic kidney disease as well as slashing cardiovascular risks.
Still, some patients continue to use cheaper, copycat versions of branded treatments – even though those alternatives are restricted in many cases. While Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly’s drugs are no longer in shortage, both companies are cracking down on pharmacies, medspas and other suppliers that mass-produce and market cheaper compounded GLP-1s.
While new competitors and lower-cost pills could allow drugs to reach more patients, access will largely depend on how companies like Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly choose to price their drugs in the years ahead.
Here’s what to know about the state of the booming weight loss drug market. 

Novo Nordisk scrambles to catch up to Lilly

David Ricks, chief executive officer of Eli Lilly & Co., during a news conference at Generation Park in Houston, Texas, US, on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025.
Mark Felix | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Eli Lilly has taken the lead in the injectable GLP-1 market. Once the frontrunner, Novo Nordisk lost ground, particularly in the U.S., after supply chain issues, Eli Lilly’s emergence and the spread of compounded options.
Eli Lilly eclipsed its Danish rival for the first time in May, when it secured 53% of the market during the first quarter. In August, Eli Lilly said its share rose to 57% during the second quarter.  
TD Cowen analyst Michael Nedelcovych said that’s largely because Eli Lilly’s injections are superior to Novo Nordisk’s drugs in terms of safety and efficacy. Eli Lilly’s diabetes drug Mounjaro is viewed as a better treatment than Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic, he noted. Real-world data and a head-to-head clinical trial have shown that Eli Lilly’s obesity injection Zepbound leads to more weight loss than Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy.
“It’s better efficacy, and at least anecdotally in real-world practices, it’s better tolerability,” Nedelcovych said. “In our business, that’s usually all that’s required for share gains, and I think we’re seeing that play out very quickly.” 
Investors have unloaded Novo Nordisk’s stock, which has fallen almost 40% this year. Novo Nordisk cut its profit and sales forecast in July, saying compounded drugs had cut into Wegovy’s market. The company had already lowered its 2025 outlook in May.
As competition mounts, data on Novo Nordisk’s experimental medicines also underwhelmed Wall Street and raised concerns about the growth of its drug portfolio beyond Wegovy and Ozempic. 
In a note in September, BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman said the company raised expectations too high for its next-generation obesity drug CagriSema, was slow to launch direct-to-consumer sales of its popular drugs and had a “tepid initial response” to compounders selling copycat treatments. 
What’s more, Medicare is negotiating the price of Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide – the active ingredient in Ozempic, Wegovy and the company’s diabetes pill Rybelsus – effective in 2027, which could further cut into revenue. Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Mounjaro and Zepbound, likely won’t be subject to price discussions until the end of the decade. 
Novo Nordisk is betting its new CEO, Mike Doustdar, will help it regain its footing. He took the helm in late July after the board ousted former top executive Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen. 
Doustdar isn’t wasting any time to make changes: Novo Nordisk in September announced plans to cut around 9,000 roles, or roughly 11.5% of its global workforce.
There is still turbulence at the pharmaceutical giant. On Tuesday, Novo Nordisk said several board members will step down after clashing with the controlling shareholder, the Novo Nordisk Foundation, on the makeup of the board.

The compounding issue 

Novo Nordisk still faces another major challenge: the persistence of cheaper, compounded versions of semaglutide. 
The company for now “is definitely much more vulnerable” to competition from copycats than Eli Lilly is, largely because most of them contain or claim to be semaglutide, said Cowen’s Nedelcovych. He added that Novo Nordisk is “already on its back foot” in the market, so it can’t afford to lose more share.
Patients flocked to compounded GLP-1s when branded injections were in short supply over the last two years, or not covered by their insurance.
Compounding is a practice where pharmacies mix ingredients of a drug to create a specialized version tailored to a patient’s specific needs, such as those with allergies to certain ingredients. When a branded drug is in short supply, pharmacies are allowed to make larger quantities of compounded versions to help fill the gap.

A view shows a Novo Nordisk sign outside its office in Bagsvaerd, on the outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark, on July 14, 2025.
Tom Little | Reuters

But Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have both invested billions to increase manufacturing capacity for their injections, which has already started to pay off. 
The FDA declared an end to the shortages of tirzepatide and semaglutide over the last year. Those decisions legally barred compounding pharmacies from making and selling copycats of those drugs by deadlines that passed earlier this year, except in rare cases where it’s medically necessary. 
Novo Nordisk in June said some mass, so-called 503B compounding pharmacies have scaled back production, but accused others — including those tied to Hims & Hers — of continuing to sell the drugs under the “false guise” of personalization. In August, Novo Nordisk executives noted that around 1 million U.S. patients are taking compounded GLP-1s.
The issue also plagues Eli Lilly. While the FDA regulates 503B pharmacies, most 503A sites fall under state oversight. Nedelcovych likened shutting them down to “a case of whack-a-mole.” Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk’s lawsuits against telehealth companies, pharmacies and others since 2023 have consumed time and resources, with mixed legal outcomes.
The FDA also doesn’t appear to be taking an aggressive stance on compounded GLP-1s: The agency in September published a “green list” of imported GLP-1 drug ingredients deemed safe to let into the country. 

Insurance coverage is still spotty

Limited insurance coverage for GLP-1s is blocking out patients who can’t afford their roughly $1,000 monthly price tags. That access gap has become a political and corporate flashpoint, with pressure mounting on employers and the government to expand coverage.
Many health plans, including Medicare, cover GLP-1s for the treatment of diabetes but not obesity. Medicaid coverage of obesity drugs is sparse and varies by state, according to health policy research organization KFF. 
Coverage for GLP-1s for obesity has ticked up slightly: A May survey of more than 300 companies by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, or IFEBP, found that 36% provided coverage for GLP-1s for both weight loss and diabetes, up from 34% in 2024. 
Still, many employers and health plans remain hesitant due to high costs. In 2025, weight-loss GLP-1s accounted for an average of 10.5% of total annual claims among employers, up from 8.9% in 2024 and 6.9% in 2023, IFEBP found.
“If employers weren’t already on board before, they’re still waiting,” said Julie Stich, vice president of content at IFEBP. “The cost issue is still a major, major issue for them.”
Some plans are concerned that patients won’t stay on the drugs long term due to gastrointestinal side effects, such as nausea and vomiting, and could regain the weight they lost, said John Crable, senior vice president of Corporate Synergies, a national insurance and employee benefits brokerage and consultancy. Employers, which can experience high turnover, are also hesitant to cover costly drugs for workers who may leave the company within a few years, Crable added.
Crable added that new direct-to-consumer programs from Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk — which let patients pay cash for treatments at less than half their monthly list price — may also discourage employer coverage.
Stitch said employers also have questions about how oral obesity drugs, which could be available as soon as 2025, could affect demand and costs.
But she said coverage could still grow, especially as GLP-1s gain new approvals for more chronic conditions. Wegovy is cleared for reducing cardiovascular risk and fatty liver disease, while Zepbound is approved for sleep apnea.
Novo Nordisk is also testing semaglutide in Alzheimer’s, with initial late-stage trial results expected this year. If that study shows that GLP-1s reduce the risk of cognitive decline, “it would give a big boost” to Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly because it could encourage patients to stay on them longer, said Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger.
“You’re paying for the GLP-1 drug with the hope that obesity or these other conditions will improve, so that health-care costs for these individual employees will get better as you move forward,” Stich said.
Some plans have also introduced cost controls, like BMI thresholds, to manage spending.
Stich added that broader Medicare coverage could eventually drive private insurers to follow suit. The Trump administration plans to pilot coverage of weight loss drugs under Medicare and Medicaid, which could expand access to millions of older Americans, the Washington Post reported in August.

All eyes are on pills

Malerapaso | Istock | Getty Images

While Novo Nordisk already sells an oral GLP-1 for diabetes, the company and Eli Lilly could soon bring pills specifically for weight loss to patients.
Some experts and analysts believe they could fundamentally shift the market, helping more patients access treatment and alleviating the supply shortfalls of existing injections. But others raise questions about how much of a role pills will play in the space given that some appear to be less effective than injections and bring greater side effects.
Novo Nordisk’s 25-milligram oral semaglutide could win approval for obesity by the end of the year, which would make it the first needle-free alternative for weight loss on the market. The daily pill appears to be slightly more effective than a competing oral GLP-1 from Eli Lilly called orforglipron, based on data from separate phase three trials. 
Still, Eli Lilly’s pill could have a few notable advantages. Both drugs work by mimicking the GLP-1 gut hormone to suppress appetite and regulate blood sugar. But while Novo Nordisk’s pill is a peptide medication, orforglipron is a small-molecule drug.
That means Eli Lilly’s treatment is absorbed more easily in the body and doesn’t require dietary restrictions like Novo Nordisk’s does. Some analysts say orforglipron will also be easier to manufacture at scale than Novo Nordisk’s, which is crucial as demand for obesity and diabetes injections outpaces supply. In August, Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks told CNBC the company hopes to launch its pill globally “this time next year.” 
In an August note, Goldman Sachs analysts forecast daily oral pills will capture 24% share — or around $22 billion — of the 2030 global weight loss drug market, which they expect to be worth $95 billion. 
The Goldman analysts said they expect Eli Lilly’s pill to have a 60% share — or roughly $13.6 billion — of the market for daily oral treatments in 2030. They expect Novo Nordisk’s oral semaglutide to have a 21% share — or around $4 billion — of that segment. The remaining 19% slice will go to other emerging pills, the analysts said.
TD Cowen’s Nedelcovych said he has been “treading kind of cautiously” in his outlook for oral weight loss drugs. He said that’s in part because physician consultants and other experts believe injections, which are more effective and easier to tolerate than pills, will dominate the market for the foreseeable future. 
Nedelcovych said the convenience of a once-daily pill may not be enough to convince patients to switch, since some of them “really don’t mind” taking an injection once a week. Nedelcovych added that tapering off injections and switching to pills as a maintenance regimen “also doesn’t seem to make a ton of sense, when we ask physicians about it.” 
He said if pills are less effective at promoting weight loss, it raises concerns that patients who initially lose significant weight on an injection could gain some back after switching to an oral drug.  A phase three study from Eli Lilly, which is studying orforglipron’s ability to maintain weight loss, will bring more clarity on that issue. 
Companies have said that pills could reach patients who don’t take injections because they are afraid of needles. But Nedelcovych said the “fate of oral weight loss therapies could really revolve” around another category of people: patients who could benefit from weight loss treatments but don’t take injections because they believe they are meant for those with serious diseases.
“They’re really just invisible to the marketplace right now,” he said. “But they could have different views about an oral therapy, which could be considered more like a vitamin so they would be more amenable to taking that.” 
The question top of mind for health experts is how companies will price the pills. 
“If it wasn’t for the fact that they can be made more cheaply, I wouldn’t care” about pills, said Dr. Caroline Apovian, co-director of the Center for Weight Management and Wellness at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
The direct-to-consumer platforms from Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk offer Zepbound and Wegovy for roughly $500 a month. She said less effective pills with more side effects will have to be priced lower than that if companies want health-care providers to prescribe them first over injections. 

Competition is creeping up 

It’s still unclear who will be the next viable player to enter the weight loss drug space. Many experimental drugs from other companies may not reach patients until the end of the decade. 
Still, some drugmakers have made strides over the last year and a half, inking deals with obesity biotechs or releasing promising data on experimental treatments. Several companies are trying to drive innovation with new drugs that promote weight loss differently, are taken less frequently or preserve muscle mass, among other changes. 
Some investors are eager to see a drug that promotes even more weight loss than Wegovy and Zepbound, which has hit those companies’ stocks when their treatments don’t meet lofty expectations in clinical trials. But some health experts say many patients don’t need to lose more than 20% of their weight. 
“I am not even looking for greater weight loss anymore. What is wrong with 16% and 22% weight loss? Nothing, right?” said Apovian, referring to the levels of weight loss seen with some existing and experimental drugs. 
Apovian said she is looking for treatments that target new gut hormones, which could address patients who may not lose weight on GLP-1s. She pointed to drugs targeting amylin analogs – an emerging form of weight loss treatment that mimics a hormone co-secreted with insulin in the pancreas to suppress appetite and reduce food intake.
Several drugmakers, including Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, are betting on amylin analogs as part of the next wave of obesity treatments
Other experts have said that an ideal competitor would promote weight loss while being easier to tolerate than existing injections. That’s because many people discontinue those injections – and may not experience the full health benefits – due to gastrointestinal side effects such as nausea and vomiting. 
Without late-stage trial data on any of the new competitors, it’s too early to say who will be able to address that issue.

The Amgen logo is displayed outside Amgen headquarters on May 17, 2023 in Thousand Oaks, California.
Mario Tama | Getty Images

Some drugs are much closer to answering that question than others. 
For example, Amgen in March said it has started two critical late-stage trials for its experimental weight loss injection MariTide, which is designed to be taken monthly or even less frequently and promotes weight loss differently from competitors. 
In a mid-stage study, patients with obesity taking MariTide lost up to 16.2% of their weight in one year when analyzing all participants regardless of discontinuations, or up to 19.9% when only analyzing those who stayed on the treatment. But patients experienced a high rate of side effects and discontinuations in the trial. 
Those results support the company’s decision to use a slower dosing schedule over eight weeks to make the drug more tolerable in phase three studies. 
Some pharmaceutical companies have turned to China for their obesity bets. For example, Merck in December snagged the rights to an early-stage experimental GLP-1 pill from Chinese drugmaker Hansoh Pharma, in a deal worth up to $2 billion. 
That acquisition and other smaller players raised questions about the fate of public U.S.-based obesity biotechs such as Viking Therapeutics, which were once seen as hot takeover targets. Some analysts argue that their experimental drugs, most of which are still in mid-stage development, have not differentiated themselves enough from existing treatments. 
“Unless and until these molecules show that they truly are differentiated in phase three, I don’t think there’s really a reason for given pharma to lay out a large transaction to gain access to it,” said TD Cowen’s Nedelcovych. 
He said the “clearest path forward” for U.S.-based obesity biotechs is likely inking partnerships with larger firms to develop and commercialize their drugs.
But Nedelcovych noted that “there really aren’t too many large pharmas who aren’t already spoken for at this point.” More

Cannabis stocks are positioned for a potential uptick, with analysts citing hopes for new federal rules on hemp-derived products and signals that President Donald Trump may ease marijuana restrictions.
In September, Trump posted a video on Truth Social promoting Medicare coverage for CBD and unverified anti-aging claims.
There’s also been movement in Congress to regulate hemp, which experts say is a far less intoxicating variant of the marijuana plant.

Oils containing CBD (Cannabidiol).
Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt | AFP | Getty Images

Cannabis stocks could be poised for a rally after years of stagnation, fueled by investor optimism over the possibility for new federal rules for hemp-derived products and signals that President Donald Trump could take a more permissive stance on marijuana.
Publicly traded cannabis companies have seen their share of ups and downs. Verano Holdings reported earnings Wednesday that saw revenues of $203 million, up slightly from the previous quarter but down 6% year-over-year. However, Verano posted a net loss of $44 million, partly due to a $5 million impairment charge on a facility in Pennsylvania and $10 million in legal contingencies as a result of a settlement.

Next week, two U.S. cannabis giants, Curaleaf and Trulieve, are set to follow in reporting earnings. While the sector is down roughly 10% this year, based on cannabis-focused ETFs, some executives, like the CEO of Tilray Brands, remain optimistic for a turnaround. Already, in October, Tilray Brands’ stock jolted up 22% after reporting better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results.
“We could be looking at a true inflection point for cannabis. If reforms move forward, it could attract more companies to do business in the U.S.,” Tilray CEO Irwin Simon told CNBC.

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Cannabis company stocks Tilray Brands, Curaleaf and Trulieve

Three developments are driving the growth: Trump’s seeming embrace of Medicare coverage for CBD, a non-intoxicating hemp-derived cannabis compound; the president’s statements about reclassifying the drug status of marijuana; and movement in Congress to regulate hemp.
Meanwhile, cannabis is becoming more popular than ever. As of a 2024 report, daily or near-daily marijuana use surpassed daily drinking in the U.S., based on analysis of 40 years of data from Carnegie Mellon University.
The annual value of the U.S. production of cannabis grew 40% last year from the previous year, according to the Department of Agriculture, and cannabis-derived products, which include CBD and marijuana-based items, are now projected to reach a $160 billion global market by 2032, according to Grand View Research.

The ‘Trump effect’

Optimism in the cannabis market surged in September after Trump shared a video on Truth Social that promoted Medicare coverage of CBD and made unproven anti-aging claims about the substance. 
The video was produced by The Commonwealth Project — which advocates for seniors using cannabis and was founded and is funded by Palm Beach billionaire Howard Kessler — and directly appealed to the president.
Known for pioneering affinity credit cards, Kessler shifted to cannabis advocacy in 2019 but has been in Trump’s orbit since at least 2005, attending Trump’s wedding to Melania Trump and appearing at Mar-a-Lago and state dinners. Neither Kessler nor the White House responded to a request for comment on the matter.
Cannabis stocks reacted immediately to the video. On the day it was posted, shares of Tilray spiked 42%, while Aurora Cannabis stock gained 25%, shares of Canopy Growth jumped 18% and Cronos Group stock added 15.5%.
“A lot of folks in the industry saw him [Trump] posting the video as a bit of a surprise but we think he’s trying to gauge how the public feels about cannabis products,” said Adam Smith, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, which advocates for the legalization of marijuana. “Some people call it the ‘Trump effect,’ and think if he leans into CBD, it’s possible that other Republicans will support.”
There is limited data on effective doses of CBD for inflammation or chronic pain, particularly in seniors, according to the National Institutes of Health. Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, an organization opposed to marijuana, said people are overreacting to the post.
“It’s a big stretch to say a post or two is a fully throated endorsement of reform,” Sabet told CNBC. “A lot of times his posts don’t line up with formal policy positions.”
To date, the FDA has only approved one CBD-based drug, Epidiolex, to treat rare forms of epilepsy. Other uses lack scientific evidence and have “largely unknown” effects, said Meg Haney, director of the Cannabis Research Laboratory at Columbia University.

Emoji gummies by JustCBD are displayed at the Cannabis World Congress & Business Exposition trade show, Thursday, May 30, 2019 in New York. The treats contain non-psychoactive cannabidiol, CBD.
Jeremy Rehm | AP

The Farm Bill

Trump’s post also adds to momentum around regulating hemp — which is a variant of the marijuana plant that doesn’t cause a “high, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — which was legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill. Congress is weighing updates to the bill by year’s-end that could adopt long-awaited federal standards for labeling, testing and safety of hemp-derived products left unregulated under the original law.
“Regulation isn’t scary, as long as it is effective, because the clearer the lines are, the better it is to be in the business [when] you don’t have a looming axe over your head,” said Pamela Epstein, the chief legal and regulatory officer of hemp producer Terpene Belt Farms. 
The 2018 legalization triggered a $1.6 billion hemp market by 2023, according to Grand View Research. Hemp-derived CBD products containing less than 0.3% THC — the psychoactive compound responsible for a high — were legalized under the bill and spread rapidly into gummies, beverages, creams and even pet treats, and are projected to drive more than 20% growth by 2030, the data firm said.
But the vacuum of oversight left consumers exposed to mislabeled, untested and sometimes unsafe products, Smith told CNBC.
“It’s possible in the hemp sector grew a little too fast without rules,” Smith said. “Problems came up with some stuff masquerading as CBD but having high levels of THC, products marketed to kids and some products with tainted samples.”
Proposals in Congress range from an outright ban on hemp to tightening THC limits. Others in the cannabis industry are lobbying for an “alcohol-model” framework — with the FDA overseeing product safety and the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau managing taxation and distribution.
“Clear rules aren’t scary,” said Tilray CEO Simon. “They’re the best way to grow sustainably and shed the uncertainty that’s defined this space for years.”
People like Epstein caution that a complete ban could cripple the hemp economy, which supports about 320,000 jobs nationwide, according to the U.S. Hemp Roundtable and industry-related reports. But others like Michael Mayes, CEO of cannabis consulting firm Quantum 9, said any form of federal standards is essential to legitimize the market and draw institutional investors.
“Federal regulations would help some investors see cannabis as not a fringe investment with their money,” Mayes told CNBC. “By next year, it’s possible. Smart, consistent rules could be the key to unlocking billions in growth while working to ensure consumer safety.”

Marijuana rescheduling

Trump’s apparent openness to CBD has fueled speculation he may go further.
In August, he said his administration was “looking at” reclassifying marijuana from a Schedule I drug — alongside heroin and LSD — to a Schedule III drug.
The move would not legalize recreational marijuana but it would make it easier to sell, advocates said. It would also improve access to banking and financial services because it would lift certain IRS tax restrictions, which bar cannabis businesses from deducting standard expenses. Changes could also ease barriers to conducting scientific research, which experts said has been stifled under the drug’s current classification.
“To demonstrate that cannabis has medical utility, we need to do large, controlled trials, but we can’t really do those if it’s a Schedule I drug. As a result, that means you can’t do the studies needed to reschedule it,” Haney said. “It’s like the chicken and egg conundrum.”
A White House official described the rescheduling process as ongoing and said that “all policy and legal requirements and implications are being considered.”
Cannabis industry sources said investor optimism partly centers on Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, who previously worked at Ballard Partners, a Florida lobbying firm representing Trulieve, one of the largest U.S. cannabis companies. Though Wiles wasn’t registered as Trulieve’s lobbyist, she is described by multiple sources in the cannabis industry as a close friend of Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers. The people spoke anonymously to talk candidly about the matter.
According to the Florida Division of Elections, Trulieve spent more than $100 million supporting a failed ballot measure to legalize recreational cannabis for adults 21 and older. The company reportedly played a key role in securing Trump’s backing for the initiative. For the presidential race, according to Federal Election Commission filings, Trulieve donated $750,000 to Trump’s inauguration committee and another $250,000 to his MAGA Inc. super PAC.
Rivers attended two pre-inauguration events, including a dinner for Vice President JD Vance, and reportedly joined a $1 million-a-plate fundraiser at Trump’s New Jersey golf club in August, where she urged him to reclassify marijuana, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Two days after the fundraiser, Trump made his “looking at” comments about marijuana’s classification.
Wiles, Rivers and Truileve did not respond to requests for comment.

A man prepares a marijuana cigarette at Washington Square Park on April 20, 2023 in New York City. 
Leonardo Munoz | Corbis News | Getty Images

Republican roadblocks

Despite optimism from investors and advocates, many Republican lawmakers are moving to rein in hemp-derived products, citing safety concerns.
The backlash stems from hemp’s post-2018 boom, which quickly turned into a glut. Licensed acreage soared 445% over the previous year by 2019, according to advocacy and research group Vote Hemp, but the market became oversaturated with products, which forced many retailers and producers to pivot or close, experts said.
“Very quickly, there became a bloat of products and for a lot of the companies, the financial results weren’t there. There wasn’t growth. You had some really tough balance sheets, and I think the investors were unsure of the underlying fundamentals,” Cronos Group CEO Michael Gorenstein said.
Today, the market has rebounded but remains the “Wild West” without regulations, Smith said. FDA research this summer linked unregulated CBD to potential liver damage, and experts warn that THC in hemp can be chemically altered or added in quantities that make it as intoxicating as marijuana.
Lawmakers have responded to safety concerns.
Over the summer, Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., introduced a bill redefining hemp to exclude any product with “quantifiable” THC, which passed a House committee along party lines. The Senate Appropriations Committee advanced similar language unanimously in July, as Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., — who championed the 2018 legalization effort — called for restoring the law’s “original intent.” A Congressional Research Service report in August said the proposals would “effectively” ban almost all hemp-derived products.
Looking ahead, many in the industry said the future rests on what Trump does next, particularly in the next few months. Even the perception of regulatory change has spurred investor optimism.
“For many of us, it’s not a question of when but what the regulations will be and how they’ll be enforced,” Gorenstein said. “If the next administration delivers clarity, that alone could shake up this industry.” More

Real estate companies are moving beyond initial testing and exploration of AI into more targeted applications that aim to redefine value, according to a new survey from JLL. 
JLL found that 88% of investors, owners and landlords said they have started piloting AI, with most pursuing an average of five use cases simultaneously.
Just 5% of respondents said they have achieved all their program goals, while close to half said they have achieved two to three goals.

Diminishing perspective of downtown London skyscrapers
Chunyip Wong | Istock | Getty Images

A version of this article first appeared in the CNBC Property Play newsletter with Diana Olick. Property Play covers new and evolving opportunities for the real estate investor, from individuals to venture capitalists, private equity funds, family offices, institutional investors and large public companies. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.
The commercial real estate market has been historically slow to modernize, and yet it appears to be accelerating its adoption of artificial intelligence. 

Companies are moving beyond initial testing and exploration into more targeted applications that aim to redefine value, according to a new survey from JLL. 
The survey of more than 1,500 senior CRE investor and occupier decision-makers across various industries found that, while still in the early stages, organizations are making AI a priority in their technology budgets. They are also moving from using it just for efficiency to focusing on how it can grow their businesses.
JLL found that 88% of investors, owners and landlords said they have started piloting AI, with most pursuing an average of five use cases simultaneously. And more than 90% of occupiers are running corporate real estate AI pilots, according to the report. Compare that with just 5% starting AI pilots two years ago. The adoption is fast, but not entirely easy. 
Just 5% of respondents said they have achieved all their program goals, while close to half said they have achieved two to three goals. Much of the efforts are still experimental, without much growth. 
“If you think about commercial real estate, traditionally, it is not a quick technology adopter, and it’s usually skeptical,” said Yao Morin, chief technology officer at JLL. “So the high number of adoptions is actually quite surprising to me. What is not surprising on the flip side is that only 5% actually thinks that they have achieved all the goals. This is pretty aligned with a lot of other industries as well.”

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The reason they’re not hitting their goals is because the goal line has moved. Companies have gone beyond just wanting to do certain tasks faster, or so-called operational efficiencies. Now they are tying AI to their revenue goals. 
For example, some are using it to help them improve their investment risk models, making investment and portfolio decisions based on the output of AI. That will require big changes to the fundamental way they operate.
“When you really start moving towards the revenue side, the margin expansion side, then it’s going to require a lot more than just using a technology,” Morin explained. “You can’t just say, ‘Well, I’m saving you 10% to do this particular thing.’ Companies need to actually rethink their operating model, to rethink how they organize to actually achieve the savings.”
And so companies are investing heavily in AI, despite economic headwinds. More than half of investors surveyed by JLL have been able to get significant budget growth over the past two years in the space. Their No. 1 spend is on strategic advisory on technology or AI, and most report their budgets have increased solely due to AI. After that, the spending goes to upgrading both cyber- and data-security measures and infrastructure for AI integration.
Morin said what she found really surprising is that while most think companies will start using AI for simple tasks, or, low-risk, low-hanging fruit, that was not at all the case. 
“Our survey showed the opposite. We are getting to a point of sophistication, beyond this initial skeptical phase, where companies are really focusing on the competitive advantage to pressing business problems, using AI to solve instead of [just] those simple low-risk operations.” More

Chocolate prices have surged nearly 30% since last Halloween due to inflation, tariffs, and a global cocoa shortage.
Shoppers are shifting toward cheaper, trendier candies such as gummies and sour treats, with chocolate’s Halloween market share dropping from 52% to 44%, according to Circana.
Candy makers are adapting with cocoa-free options, smaller bars and expanded gummy lines to offset costs and appeal to Gen-Z tastes.

A customer shops for Halloween candy at a Walmart Supercenter on October 16, 2024 in Austin, Texas. 
Brandon Bell | Getty Images

The scariest thing haunting Halloween this year isn’t a ghost, goblin or ghoul — it’s the price of chocolate.
From Snickers to Reese’s to Twix, one of America’s favorite indulgences is getting more expensive, as tariffs, inflation and high cocoa prices squeeze profit margins and customers’ pocketbooks, possibly leading to fewer chocolate bars landing in trick-or-treat buckets this year.

Chocolate prices have surged nearly 30% since last Halloween and almost 78% in the past five years, according to data from research firm Circana and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. A 100-piece variety bag of candy now costs $16.39, up from $7.20 in 2020, FinanceBuzz found.
That spike is showing up on store shelves. Variety packs from Hershey — maker of Reese’s, KitKats and Heath bars — are up about 22%, while Mars, the company behind M&M’s and Milky Way, raised prices about 12%, according to the Century Foundation, a progressive, independent think tank, and the Groundwork Collaborative.
“The season did get off to a slow start,” Hershey CEO Kirk Tanner told investors on an earnings call Thursday, warning that holiday sales could be softer this year.
About 4 in 5 Americans buy candy for the Halloween holiday, according to YouGov. This time of year makes up about 18% of annual U.S. confectionery sales — second only to Christmas, according to the National Confectioners Association.
But chocolate’s dominance is slipping. Circana found it made up 52% of Halloween candy sales last year, compared with 44% this year, as shoppers shift toward cheaper, trendier sweets.

“Macroeconomic headwinds” are among the culprits, said Sally Wyatt, who works for Circana analyzing global consumer packaged goods and as a food-service industry advisor. “It’s the compounded impact on top of the fact that we’ve outpaced wage growth. So consumers have started to … [make] very specific choices on discretionary items.”
Sector-wide, candy prices are outpacing the national inflation rate, marking a roughly 10% increase compared with last year, according to the Century Foundation. Still, the National Retail Federation said 2025 is expected to be a record year for candy sales in the U.S., with about $3.9 billion spent on Halloween candy alone.
“Even as consumers face higher prices for food, they continue to leave room in their budgets for chocolate and candy, meaning that the category is strong, vibrant and growing,” Carly Schildhaus, a spokesperson for the National Confectioners Association, told CNBC.

Much of the chocolate filling U.S. shelves this fall was made from cocoa beans purchased at record prices last December, when futures peaked above $12,000 per ton, experts said. Prices have since cooled to around $6,000, but that’s still more than double the pre-pandemic average.
A cocktail of rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, drought and crop disease for the past three years has devastated harvests in West Africa, which produces roughly 70% of the world’s cocoa. The result: the largest global cocoa deficit in 60 years, with supply falling half a million tons short of demand.
Prices could stabilize, but not decrease, by next year as crop yields have increased, said David Branch, a sector manager at Wells Fargo Agri-Food Institute.
“It’s not just the cost of manufacturing cocoa and other ingredients,” Branch told CNBC. “It’s also a combination of labor, transportation, fuel, overhead [and] all of those factors, and, given the inflationary rate we’ve been in, those came up and haven’t really come down.”
Hershey said Thursday that tariff expenses will cost the company $160 million to $170 million this year. In July, it also announced a “low double-digit” price hike, though executives said those increases weren’t tied to tariffs or Halloween pricing.
Chocolate makers have lobbied the Trump administration for tariff exemptions on cocoa and other agricultural imports, arguing they have little ability to source those ingredients domestically.

Sweet variety

As chocolate becomes more expensive, fruity, sour and chewy candies have gotten more popular. More than half of shoppers said they planned to prioritize gummy candies for Halloween this year, NielsenIQ found.
On average, the price per pound of chocolate rose nearly 14% in the 12 weeks ending Oct. 5, while sales volumes fell 6%, Circana data show. Non-chocolate Halloween candy such as Jolly Ranchers and Skittles saw sales climb 8.3% in that same period.
Younger adults, especially Gen Z, are also fueling growth in non-chocolate categories — gravitating toward gummies, freeze-dried sweets and TikTok-friendly flavor mashups.
“It’s that experiential [aspect] because you can have it [non-chocolate items] with chewy, with sweet flavors, with hot and sweet, spicy flavors,” Wyatt told CNBC. “Some candies you get this big explosion in your mouth of flavors. We’ve seen it popular with different cohorts.”
Chocolate makers are responding in kind. Hershey has expanded its gummy lineup, including a partnership with Shaquille O’Neal, and rolled out ghost-shaped Twizzlers and mismatched “Trickies” Jolly Rancher gummies.
Mondelez International, maker of Cadbury and Toblerone, said it’s also prioritizing gummies in the U.S. market. CEO Dirk Van de Put said on an earnings call Tuesday, however, that the U.S. market in particular “is slower than we’ve seen in quite a while” and the company’s promotional strategy earlier this year “was not giving us the volume effect that we were hoping for.”
Manufacturers are also experimenting with smaller bars, new fillings and cocoa-free options such as crème or nut-based confections to offset rising ingredient costs, Branch said.
“Companies have got to be very aware of if they can keep their prices in line. They can’t just keep increasing their prices and expect sales to continue to go up,” Branch said. “But customers have not lost their appetite for chocolate. It’s going to remain an indulgence that people will always have and can’t really do without.” More

Delta Air Lines and United Airlines called on Congress to immediately pass a clean resolution to reopen the U.S. government.
U.S. air traffic controllers missed their first full paychecks on Tuesday as the government shutdown drags on.
The missed paychecks come as the controllers grapple with a longstanding staffing shortage.

A Delta Airlines plane takes off near the air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia, US, on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025.
Samuel Corum | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines called on Congress Thursday to reopen the U.S. government and pay air traffic controllers, with Delta urging senators to “immediately pass a clean continuing resolution.”
U.S. air traffic controllers missed their first full paychecks on Tuesday as the government shutdown drags on through a fourth week with no end in sight while Republican and Democratic senators remain at an impasse.

“Missed paychecks only increases the stress on these essential workers, many of whom are already working mandatory overtime to keep our skies safe and secure,” Delta said in a statement Thursday.

Read more CNBC government shutdown coverage

Delta CEO Ed Bastian had warned earlier this month that the airline could see impacts from a prolonged shutdown.
Vice President JD Vance and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy hosted a roundtable at the White House Thursday afternoon with the lobby group Airlines for America, whose members include Delta, United, American and others.
“Airlines remain focused on preserving safety and trying to mitigate the operational impacts of this shutdown,” Airlines for America said in a statement. “We are expecting a record holiday travel season; however, if the shutdown continues much longer, Americans will have to pack their patience and be prepared for more delays, unfortunately.”
United CEO Scott Kirby told reporters outside the White House that Congress should pass a clean continuing resolution, adding that the shutdown is putting stress on the economy.

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby, joined by U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, speaks to reporters outside the White House on Oct. 30, 2025 in Washington, D.C.
Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images News | Getty Images

American Airlines said it was unacceptable that the federal employees were working without pay.
“A prolonged shutdown will lead to more delays and cancellations — and the American people, especially during the busy holiday season, deserve better,” the company said in a statement.
Air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration officers are essential employees who are required to work through the shutdown even though they are not receiving regular paychecks.
The missed paychecks come as controllers grapple with a longstanding staffing shortage. There are 3,800 fewer fully certified controllers than the FAA’s target, according to Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.
“These additional distractions will compound the existing risks in an already strained system,” Daniels said in an opinion piece in The Hill on Tuesday.
“Every day the shutdown continues, the National Airspace System becomes less safe than it was the day before, as the controllers’ focus shifts from their critical safety tasks to their financial uncertainty,” he said.
The shutdown began on Oct. 1 after Senate Republicans and Democrats failed to reach an agreement to keep the government open.
Democratic senators are insisting that Republicans agree to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act health insurance subsidies before they will vote for funding to reopen the government.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated Wednesday that a four-week shutdown would cost the economy at least $7 billion by the end of 2026. A six-week shutdown would cost the economy $11 billion, and an eight-week shutdown would cost $14 billion, according to CBO estimates.
Flights have been delayed at several U.S. airports over the past month but the severe disruptions that preceded the end of the longest-ever shutdown, between late 2018 and early 2019, have not occurred.
— CNBC’s Leslie Josephs contributed to this report. More

Hurricane Melissa has likely triggered Jamaica’s $150 million catastrophe bond, structured by Aon.
The $150 million bond is designed to help the island rebuild after natural disasters by providing Jamaica parametric coverage against losses from named storms.
In order to trigger the full payment, the storm has to meet a particular strength criteria.

Drone view of damage to coastal homes after Hurricane Melissa made landfall, in Alligator Pond, Jamaica, Oct. 29, 2025.
Maria Alejandra Cardona | Reuters

Hurricane Melissa, the most powerful Atlantic hurricane of the year, made landfall this week as a Category 5 storm in Jamaica. The strength of the storm means it will likely trigger a full payout from a catastrophe bond designed to provide funds to the island in the event of catastrophic weather events.
The $150 million catastrophe bond, structured by Aon, is intended to help the island’s people rebuild after natural disasters by providing Jamaica parametric coverage against losses from named storms. The policy took effect this year and lasts through 2027.

The government of Jamaica is the first government in the Caribbean region, and the first of any small island state, to independently sponsor a cat bond, according to Aon. Its likely payout demonstrates the value of a unique type of backstop funded by the private markets.
In order to trigger the full payment, the storm has to meet a particular strength criteria. The central pressure of the storm must be at or below 900 millibars as its makes landfall and crosses the island nation.

A drone view shows an affected area after Hurricane Melissa made landfall, in Crane Road, Black River, Jamaica, October 30, 2025.
Maria Alejandra Cardona | Reuters

Early data from the National Hurricane Center shows Hurricane Melissa’s pressure stayed below 900 millibars in several areas. Those readings are in the process of being verified by an independent calculation agent.
“While the final numbers are still being verified, the early signs suggest the transaction is doing what it was designed to do: getting critical funds to the country quickly after a major disaster,” Chris Lefferdink, Aon’s head of insurance-linked securities for North America, said in a statement.  
The review process typically takes 2 to 3 weeks, and the earliest possible payout to Jamaica could come in approximately 1 month, according to a spokesperson from Aon.

Previous parametric transactions payouts have taken 3 months or more, but for this event Aon used an innovative data source to enable faster payments.
The catastrophe bond was placed using the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s “capital at risk” program, which is used to transfer the risks associated with natural catastrophes to the capital markets, allowing the country to access funds quickly after a major event.

Damaged furniture and debris after Hurricane Melissa made landfall, in Black River, Jamaica, Oct. 30, 2025.
Octavio Jones | Reuters

“What you have is a capital provider putting funds in the pool, an insurer putting the coupon for those funds in the pool [and] if the storm hits that criteria, they get the money in a much quicker fashion,” Aon CFO Edmund Reese told CNBC’s Contessa Brewer in an interview.
Catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities were created in the mid 1990s in the wake of Hurricane Andrew’s destruction. They’ve since grown in popularity, with the cat bond market growing by over 50% since the end of 2022 to nearly $55 billion.
“Public-private partnerships like Jamaica’s continue to highlight how parametric insurance can deliver rapid, transparent relief in the wake of severe storms,” Lefferdink said.
Jamaica very narrowly missed the requirements necessary to receive a payout from a separate cat bond when Hurricane Beryl battered the island in 2024, resulting in $995 million in damages to homes, crops and infrastructure, according to the National Hurricane Center. More