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The flurry of executive orders issued by Donald Trump on his first day back as president showed the high priority he places on making America’s borders less porous. His efforts to “repel the disastrous invasion of our country” by migrants and drugs from Mexico and Canada may soon include stemming the passage of cars. A promise to impose sweeping tariffs on “day one”, including a 25% levy on goods from the two countries unless they do more to stop the flows of people and illegal drugs, was pushed back, but only to February 1st. Whether tariffs are imposed then or at a later date, the consequences for the car industry would be immense. More

An American Airlines regional jetliner coming from Wichita, Kansas, collided midair with a Black Hawk military helicopter near Washington D.C.’s Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, officials said.
The flight was carrying 64 people, the airline said.
The air disaster was the worst in more than 15 years.

Dozens of people were killed when an American Airlines regional jet with 64 people aboard collided with a Black Hawk military helicopter moments before the airplane was set to land at Washington D.C.’s Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night, officials said. The accident is the worst air disaster in the U.S. in more than two decades.
Hundreds of first responders have switched to a recovery operation from rescue efforts, Washington D.C.’s Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly said in a press conference on Thursday. Donnelly said 27 bodies have been recovered so far.

Sixty passengers and four crew members were on board the American flight. Three people were on board the military helicopter, an official said.

Part of the wreckage is seen as rescue boats search the waters of the Potomac River after a plane on approach to Reagan National Airport crashed into the river outside Washington, DC, on January 30, 2025.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | Afp | Getty Images

American Eagle Flight 5342, a PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jetliner, was on approach into the airport’s Runway 33 when it collided with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter at around 9 p.m. ET, the FAA said. The flight was arriving from Wichita, Kansas and flying at an altitude of about 300 feet at the time of the collision, according to FlightRadar24.
PSA Airlines is an American Airlines subsidiary and one of its regional carriers. American Eagle is how the airline brands its regional flights.

Both aircraft were in the icy waters of the Potomac River. The American aircraft was located and broken into at least three sections.
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom traveled to Washington, D.C., Wednesday night.

Rescuers on boats work as the sun rises at the site of the crash in the Potomac River after a Black Hawk helicopter and an American Eagle flight 5342 approaching Reagan Washington National Airport collided and crashed outside Washington, U.S., January 30, 2025. 
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

“Our concern is for the passengers and crew on board the aircraft,” American said in a statement. “We are in contact with authorities and assisting with emergency response efforts.”
The airline provided contact information if “you believe you may have loved ones on board Flight 5342.”
American and Russian figure skaters were on board the flight, according to the countries’ official groups.
Reagan Washington National was closed Wednesday night and was expected to open at 11 a.m. ET Thursday. Officials said airlines would communicate any schedule changes to passengers.

An information screen in Reagan National Airport’s empty baggage claim area displays emergency instructions after a plane crashed into the Potomac River outside Washington, DC, Jan. 29, 2025.
Ulysse Bellier | AFP | Getty Images

The airport says its main runway is the busiest in the country.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who was sworn in on Tuesday, in a press conference said that he thought the accident was preventable.
The U.S. has had a long stretch without fatal commercial passenger airline crashes. The last U.S. commercial passenger airline crash occurred in February 2009 when Continental Flight 3407 crashed into a house as it was arriving in Buffalo, New York, killing all 49 people aboard and one person on the ground.

A helicopter flies near the crash site of the American Airlines plane on the Potomac River after the plane crashed on approach to Reagan National Airport on January 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. 
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images

The crash of that turboprop plane prompted federal regulations requiring more rest and training for pilots.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating Wednesday’s incident.
President Donald Trump said he was briefed on the accident Wednesday.
“Thank you for the incredible work being done by our first responders,” he said in a statement.

Emergency personnel work near the site of the crash, with the U.S. Capitol in the background, after American Eagle flight 5342 collided with a Black Hawk helicopter while approaching Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and crashed in the Potomac River, U.S. January 30, 2025. 
Nathan Howard | Reuters

The Federal Aviation Administration does not have a permanent head. Former Administrator Mike Whitaker stepped down on Jan. 20, when Trump took office. Trump hasn’t yet named a nominee.
“We are shocked and saddened by the tragic accident at DCA tonight,” said the Air Line Pilots Association, a pilot union. “Our thoughts are with those affected by this tragedy and ALPA’s accident investigation team is responding to assist the National Transportation Safety Board in their investigation.”
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
Correction: A previous headline on this story has been updated to correct a typographical error. More

Comcast topped Wall Street’s fourth-quarter estimates on Thursday despite reporting larger-than-expected broadband subscriber losses and stagnating paid subscribers for its streaming service, Peacock.
Comcast’s overall revenue was up 2% to $31.92 billion thanks to an increase in segments including its mobile business, the film studio and revenue growth at streaming service Peacock.
Peacock had 36 million subscribers during the most recent quarter, up year over year but flat from the prior period.

Comcast topped Wall Street’s fourth-quarter estimates on Thursday despite reporting larger-than-expected broadband subscriber losses and stagnating paid subscribers for its streaming service, Peacock.
Wall Street has been particularly focused on cable companies’ broadband businesses, which still garner high revenue and earnings but have been in the midst of a customer growth slump due to heightened competition from wireless companies, among other factors.

At the same time, streaming has been top of mind for the Street. Although profitability is now considered the key measure of success, investors have taken note of recent subscriber additions by major players since the introduction of cheaper, ad-supported tiers.
Comcast reported Thursday that it lost 139,000 residential broadband customers during the fourth quarter, more than the 100,000 losses that Comcast Cable CEO Dave Watson had telegraphed in December during an investor conference.
The company also reported Thursday that Peacock had 36 million subscribers during the most recent quarter, up year over year but flat from the prior period. Wall Street had been looking for total paid subscribers of 37.56 million, according to estimates from StreetAccount.
Comcast shares were down as much as 5% in premarket trading.
Here is how the company performed for the quarter, compared with average analyst estimates from LSEG: 

Earnings per share: 96 cents adjusted vs 86 cents
Revenue: $31.92 billion vs. $31.64 billion

For the quarter ended Dec. 31, net income attributable to Comcast rose roughly 47% to $4.78 billion, or $1.24 per share, compared with $3.26 billion, or 81 cents per share, a year earlier. 
Adjusting for one-time items, including interest expense and the value of certain assets, Comcast reported earnings per share of 96 cents for the period. 
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization was up about 10% to $8.81 billion. 
In addition to higher broadband revenue, Comcast’s overall revenue was up 2% to $31.92 billion thanks to an increase in segments including its mobile business, the film studio and revenue growth at streaming service Peacock. During the fourth quarter of 2023, Comcast reported revenue of $31.25 billion. 
Despite the slowdown in cable industry broadband customer growth, the business is a key driver on balance sheets like Comcast’s as average revenue per user has risen. 
Broadband is part of Comcast’s Connectivity and Platforms segment, which also includes Xfinity Mobile wireless, which was launched in 2017. The company surpassed 7.8 million mobile lines and revenue from the unit helped propel overall residential connectivity revenue. 
Comcast lost 311,000 cable TV customers during the fourth quarter. 
Meanwhile, revenue for the company’s Content and Experiences business, which includes NBCUniversal’s TV networks and streaming, the film studio and theme parks, was up 5% to roughly $12.08 billion during the fourth quarter. 
Revenue for the media segment, which includes the TV Networks, was up 3.5% to about $7.22 billion, namely due to higher revenue for streamer Peacock due to an uptick in paid subscribers on the platform from the prior year. Overall domestic advertising for the media segment was flat as ad dollars for Peacock increased but the TV networks saw a smaller haul. 
The media segment reported $298 million in adjusted EBITDA, falling short of Wall Street expectations of $317.1 million for the quarter, according to StreetAccount estimates. The rest of the businesses in the content and experiences segment beat StreetAccount estimates, including overall adjusted EBITDA.
In November, Comcast announced it would spinoff its cable network channels, a portfolio that includes CNBC, MSNBC, E!, Syfy, USA, Oxygen and the Golf Channel. The separation, which will also include digital assets like Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes, is expected to take about a year. The NBC broadcast network, cable channel Bravo and Peacock will remain with Comcast.
Peacock has been moving toward profitability in recent quarters. On Thursday, Comcast reported Peacock had $1.3 billion in fourth-quarter revenue and an adjusted EBITDA loss of $372 million, compared with $1 billion in revenue and an adjusted EBITDA loss of $825 million in the same period last year. 
Peacock’s subscriber growth often rises on the back of major live sporting events on the platform. The Summer Olympics in Paris was a key driver in the third quarter, when the platform added 3 million subscribers. Exclusive NFL games have helped pad the streamer’s numbers, and the company has touted the addition of the NBA and WNBA next season.
Universal Studios’ revenue was up 6.7% to $3.27 billion and the segment’s adjusted EBITDA was up 85% to $569 million, boosted by the box office successes of films including “Kung Fu Panda 4,” “Despicable Me 4,” “The Wild Robot” and “Wicked.” 
Meanwhile, Theme Parks revenue was flat as lower attendance persisted at domestic locations. 
Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC. NBCUniversal owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the U.S. broadcast rights holder to all Summer and Winter Games through 2032. More

An Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with a regional jet flying for American Airlines carrying 64 people on Wednesday night.
The accident is the worst air disaster in the U.S. in more than 15 years.
Air accident investigations can take months and even more than a year to complete.

A screen grab captured from a video shows a regional plane collided in midair with a military helicopter and crashed into the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. United States on Jan. 29, 2025. 
Kennedy Center Cam | Anadolu | Getty Images

The midair collision of a military helicopter and an American Airlines regional jetliner on Wednesday night brings to an end a streak of commercial air travel safety that was unknown to previous generations.
It is the worst air disaster on U.S. soil in more than 15 years.

Officials said Thursday morning that they were changing from a recovery effort to a rescue effort and that there were no survivors. Washington D.C.’s Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly said 27 bodies have been recovered so far.
American Eagle Flight 5342 from Wichita, Kansas, was approaching Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport at an altitude of about 300 feet when a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter carrying three people collided with the commercial jetliner.
Sixty-four people — 60 passengers and four crew members — were on board the American flight. The flight was operated by American subsidiary carrier PSA Airlines. The plane was a Bombardier CRJ700, a regional jet used for shorter routes.
Rescuers had raced to recover passengers from the frigid waters of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., Wednesday night, but local officials said conditions were challenging due to high winds.

Rescuers on boats work as the sun rises at the site of the crash in the Potomac River after a Black Hawk helicopter and an American Eagle flight 5342 approaching Reagan Washington National Airport collided and crashed outside Washington, U.S., January 30, 2025. 
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

The U.S. has gone years without a fatal commercial airline crash. The last deadly U.S. commercial passenger airline crash occurred in February 2009 when Continental Flight 3407 crashed into a house as it was arriving in Buffalo, New York, killing all 49 people aboard and one person on the ground.

The crash of that turboprop aircraft prompted federal regulations requiring more rest and training for pilots.
The deadliest incident in recent memory was American Airlines Flight 587, an Airbus A300 that crashed in November 2001 shortly after takeoff from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport for the Dominican Republic. All 260 people on the flight were killed and five others died on the ground in Queens.
Airplane crashes have become extremely rare, which safety experts often chalk up to overlapping and redundant safety measures.
“It’s extremely safe. Even with this accident I’ll say it’s extremely safe,” said Jeff Guzzetti, a retired air safety investigator with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration. 
The National Transportation Safety Board will lead an investigation into Wednesday’s accident. It will include the Federal Aviation Administration, American Airlines, crew members’ labor unions and other parties.
The NTSB will issue a preliminary report but a final report that determines the cause or causes of an airplane crash can take months, if not more than a year.
Investigators will examine everything from air traffic control recordings, training records, cockpit voice and data recorders to black boxes if and when they are discovered, along with a host of other factors.
The accident presents a challenge to President Donald Trump days into his new term. He has not yet named a candidate to become a permanent head for the Federal Aviation Administration after Biden-appointed Mike Whitaker stepped down on Jan. 20, when Trump’s term began.
The FAA in 2023 laid out a plan designed to improve safety further and eliminate all “close calls” at airports. More

Fat Brands is spinning off sports bar chain Twin Peaks with an initial public offering.
IPO experts are expecting more companies to go public this year than last year.
Private restaurant companies like Panera Bread and Fogo de Chao will be watching the market to see if this year is the right time to go public.

Twin Peaks sports bar in Louisville, Kentucky.
Google Maps

Sports bar chain Twin Peaks starts trading Thursday on the Nasdaq using the ticker “TWNP,” making it the first restaurant initial public offering of the new year and a potential litmus test for others looking to go public.
The IPO market has been tepid for several years, particularly for consumer companies. Soaring inflation, higher interest rates, cautious consumers and the risk of lower valuations scared many companies away from going public. Market conditions meant that some companies chose to seek a sale rather than trying their luck with the public markets. Even the rare success, like Cava’s IPO, didn’t convince others to follow its path.

But many are hopeful that the IPO market will thaw this year.
“Last year was a stronger year than 2023, and we’re expecting 2025 to have more IPOs than 2024,” said Nick Einhorn, vice president of research for Renaissance Capital, a provider of pre-IPO research and IPO-focused ETFs. “That could certainly include more consumer IPOs.”
Twin Peaks won’t be the first consumer company to make the leap this year — and that debut may not inspire confidence.
Pork producer Smithfield Foods, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based WH Group, began trading on Tuesday. Shares fell 7% from its IPO price of $20 during its market debut. The company had already downsized its offering by 8.1 million shares and priced below its marketed range. Smithfield’s challenges include its ties to China, U.S. trade tensions with Mexico and proposed immigration policies that would raise its labor costs.
For its part, Twin Peaks, a Hooters rival known for its revealing uniform, is relatively small, with an estimated equity value of $1.04 billion to $1.28 billion and 115 restaurants, according to an investor presentation published by owner Fat Brands. (Fat Brands and its chair Andy Wiederhorn were criminally indicted last year for an alleged $47 million bogus loan scheme; both have denied the charges.)

Fat Brands is spinning off Twin Peaks and plans to use the cash to pay off the debt on its balance sheet.
Here are three other restaurant companies that are watching the IPO market for their chance to go public:

Panera Brands

A Panera Bread Co. restaurant in the Queens borough of New York, US, on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023.
Bing Guan | Bloomberg | Getty Images

JAB Holding, the investment arm of the Reimann family, has been looking to offload Panera Brands, the parent company of Panera Bread and Einstein Bros. Bagels, from its portfolio for several years. JAB originally took Panera Bread private in 2017 for $7.5 billion.
In 2021, Panera announced an investment from Danny Meyer’s special purpose acquisition company that would help the company go public. But the two parties called off the deal by mid-2022, citing market conditions.
A year and half later, in December 2023, Panera Brands confidentially filed to go public. Six months after the confidential filing, the company announced a CEO transition and tied the shakeup to “preparation for its eventual IPO.”
However, a public filing never followed. The restaurant industry began to see a pullback in spending, as many consumers opted to cook at home instead of dining out at eateries.
Plus, Panera’s Charged Lemonade went viral for all of the wrong reasons; the company removed the highly caffeinated drink from its menu after multiple wrongful death lawsuits tied to it. Panera settled with the first plaintiff in October.
Earlier this month, Panera’s CEO resigned, and the company tapped its chief financial officer to step in as interim chief. With its leadership in flux, it looks unlikely that Panera will try to go public again this year.

Fogo de Chao

A year and a half ago, Bain Capital announced that it is buying Fogo de Chao, a fast-growing Brazilian steakhouse chain. Like Krispy Kreme, Sweetgreen and Dutch Bros., the chain had filed to go public in 2021 — but it missed the window.  
Fogo de Chao has over 100 locations globally and 76 in the U.S. alone. The company plans to open another 15 restaurants this year.
Whenever the IPO market is ready, so will Fogo de Chao.
“If the optionality is there, then we’ll launch,” Fogo de Chao CEO Barry McGowan told CNBC at the ICR Conference in Orlando earlier in January. “My hope is, this year, we’ll see what happens to the consumer markets. I think it’s going to get started this year or in the next year.”
McGowan joked that Fogo de Chao’s longtime CFO Tony Laday has filed more S-1 filings than any other chief financial officer; the company filed three the first time it went public, and seven before Bain bought it.
Thanks to Bain’s investment, Fogo de Chao isn’t in a rush to go public.
“We’re not in a hurry to go. We don’t want to file seven more times. We want to be more certain before we file,” McGowan said.

Inspire Brands

The exterior of a Buffalo Wild Wings casual dining restaurant is seen on April 18, 2024 in Austin, Texas. 
Brandon Bell | Getty Images

Roark Capital assembled Inspire Brands by cobbling together a slew of acquisitions into a restaurant conglomerate.
Inspire’s portfolio includes Arby’s, Jimmy John’s, Sonic, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’ and Baskin Robbins. Across all of its brands, it has more than 32,600 restaurants globally and totals $30 billion in system sales.
Nearly a year ago, Bloomberg reported that Roark was in early-stage IPO discussions with potential advisers and seeking a valuation of $20 billion for Inspire. But it’s been crickets since then.
Still, Pitchbook identified Inspire Brands as one of 50 private equity-backed names that could go public in 2025.
“Obviously, private equity backers will want to exit their position eventually, and IPOs are often a way to do that,” Einhorn said.
And unlike Panera, Inspire has a stable leadership team. CEO Paul Brown co-founded the company and has held his role since 2018. CFO Kate Jaspon joined Inspire in 2021 after it acquired her employer Dunkin’. More than a decade ago, she was a vice president at Dunkin’ during its own IPO. More

Elon Musk and President Donald Trump took to social media with declarations that a pair of astronauts onboard the International Space Station must return “as soon as possible.”
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have been part of the ISS crew since Boeing’s faulty Starliner spacecraft returned to Earth without them in September.
NASA has planned to return Wilmore and Williams as part of a crew returning in late March, using SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft that has been at the ISS for months.
Neither Musk or Trump specified whether the White House would order NASA to change its plan.

Elon Musk speaks with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and guests at a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship, in Brownsville, Texas, U.S., November 19, 2024.
Brandon Bell | Via Reuters

Elon Musk and President Donald Trump took to social media this week declaring that astronauts left at the space station must return “as soon as possible,” despite NASA’s plan to bring the pair back in a couple months on a SpaceX vehicle.
Both blamed the previous presidential administration for the decision NASA made in August to return Boeing’s faulty Starliner capsule from the International Space Station without astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams onboard.

“The @POTUS has asked @SpaceX to bring home the 2 astronauts stranded on the @Space_Station as soon as possible. We will do so. Terrible that the Biden administration left them there so long,” Musk wrote on X late Tuesday.
“I have just asked Elon Musk and @SpaceX to ‘go get’ the 2 brave astronauts who have been virtually abandoned in space by the Biden Administration. They have been waiting for many months on @Space Station. Elon will soon be on his way. Hopefully, all will be safe. Good luck Elon!!!” Trump added shortly after, on Truth Social.
But it’s unclear if the statements would actually change the space agency’s timeline. Neither specified whether the White House would order NASA to change its plan.

Read more CNBC space news

During former President Joe Biden’s administration, months before Trump and Musk spoke up on the situation, NASA tasked SpaceX with returning Wilmore and Williams from the ISS.
The agency adjusted its rotation of astronauts as a result: It sent the Starliner capsule back empty and removed two astronauts from SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission to make room for a delayed return by Wilmore and Williams, originally targeted for February.

Hurricane Milton advances towards Florida in a view from Dragon Endeavor docked with the International Space Station October 9, 2024.
Matthew Dominick | NASA | Via Reuters

NASA, in a statement to CNBC on Wednesday, did not address whether it would alter mission plans after the posts from Trump and Musk.
“NASA and SpaceX are expeditiously working to safely return the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore as soon as practical, while also preparing for the launch of Crew-10 to complete a handover between expeditions,” a NASA spokesperson said.

Expedition rotations

The Expedition 72 crew poses for a group portrait on Oct. 23, 2024.

While both Musk and Trump claimed the astronauts are “stranded” and “abandoned” on the ISS, NASA has had a spacecraft at the station since September that could return the crew at any time — a Dragon capsule operated by Musk’s SpaceX.
Additionally, allegations from Musk that “the Biden administration left them there” and Trump that the astronauts “have been waiting for many months” both misstate the situation.
To understand the circumstances onboard the ISS, it’s important to note that crews rotate onboard the orbiting research laboratory.
For 25 years, the ISS has been continuously staffed by crews called Expeditions — each typically lasting about six months, with a mix of primarily U.S. and Russian crew members. Since SpaceX began regularly flying crews for NASA in 2020, the agency has been sending up four astronauts at a time. Each group works until the next arrives at the ISS, when a ceremonial “handover” occurs before the departing crew heads back down to Earth.
NASA deemed Boeing’s Starliner too risky to return Wilmore and Williams. Starliner was initially expected to be in space for about nine days, but it spent roughly three months at the ISS while Boeing investigated an issue with the capsule’s thrusters. 
Instead, it decided to remove astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson from the September launch of SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission. That meant Wilmore and Williams, who were already on the ISS, would stay on as part of Expedition 72. They would then return on SpaceX’s Dragon alongside astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.
Notably, NASA recently delayed the launch of SpaceX’s Crew-10 mission by a month, to “late March” from February. The agency said it and SpaceX required more time to “complete processing” of the newly built Dragon capsule.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore, left, and Suni Williams pose inside the hatch connecting Boeing’s Starliner to the International Space Station on

Earlier this month, NASA broadcast a discussion with the astronauts onboard the ISS, including Williams and Wilmore.
“So, what you’re telling us is you’re not channeling ‘Cast Away’ and you don’t have a volleyball with a handprint on it that you call Wilson?” then-NASA deputy chief Pam Melroy asked the crew.
“No, we’ve got a whole team up here so we’re not worried about that and there’s a lot to do as well. … We have tons of science experiments. … We’ve got space walks coming up,” Wilmore said.
“It’s just been a joy to be working up here,” Wilmore added, having just shown with her NASA counterparts how they do a synchronized flip in zero gravity. More

Levi Strauss beat Wall Street’s expectations on the top and bottom lines but expects sales to slow next year in part due to a strong U.S. dollar.
The company expects sales to slide between 1% and 2%, but stripping out currency exchange rates and one fewer selling week, it anticipates revenue will grow.
The denim maker has been making inroads with women and growing direct-to-consumer sales under the leadership of CEO Michelle Gass.

A customer shops for Levi’s clothing at a department store in Chicago on Jan. 29, 2024.
Scott Olson | Getty Images

Levi Strauss issued dismal guidance for its current fiscal year on Wednesday, as the denim maker grapples with unfavorable currency exchange rates, one fewer selling week and a loss in revenue from its Denizen and footwear businesses. 
The company said it expects sales to decline between 1% and 2%, well behind estimates of 3.7% growth, according to LSEG. 

It also anticipates adjusted earnings per share will be between $1.20 and $1.25, below estimates of $1.37, according to LSEG. 
Shares fell about 6% in extended trading.
CEO Michelle Gass told CNBC the expected drop in revenue in the current fiscal year does not reflect slower demand, but is more due to the currency trends, one fewer fiscal week and the divested businesses.
Levi ended fiscal 2024 on a high note and reported earnings and sales that both topped expectations. 
Here is how the apparel company fared during its fiscal fourth quarter compared with what Wall Street was anticipating, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

Earnings per share: 50 cents adjusted vs. 48 cents expected
Revenue: $1.84 billion vs. $1.73 billion expected

The company’s reported net income for the three-month period that ended Dec. 1 was $182.6 million, or 46 cents per share, compared with $126.8 million, or 32 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time expenses related to impairments, restructurings, acquisitions and leases, among other items, Levi reported adjusted net income of $202 million, or 50 cents per share, compared with adjusted profits of $179 million, or 44 cents per share, a year earlier. 
Sales rose to $1.84 billion, up about 12% from $1.64 billion a year earlier. Organic sales, which exclude an extra 53rd week Levi had during the quarter, along with foreign exchange effects and divested businesses, grew 8%. 
Since Gass took the helm of Levi a year ago, she has moved swiftly to cut aspects of the business that weren’t working, grow higher margin sales on its website and stores, boost profitability and bring more female customers to the brand. Under her leadership, Levi inked a high-profile marketing partnership with Beyonce in September after she released a song about the brand on her album “Cowboy Carter” earlier in the year. 
“Of course, we have to acknowledge the Beyonce effect. We are very pleased with the launch of that campaign, which we’re seeing drive demand across the business,” Gass said in an interview with CNBC.
Gass has been working to bring more women to Levi, which traditionally has drawn more men, because women tend to spend more money and shop for new clothes more often. Women’s apparel is now about 36% of Levi’s overall business, up slightly from a year ago, but Gass said it should represent about half over time.
The company has won female shoppers over not only with loose and wide-legged denim fits, but also with a wide range of new tops such as woven shirts and blouses. 
During the quarter, Levi saw strong sales increases across all of its regions, brands and channels. Sales in the Americas grew 12%, Europe increased 15% and Asia expanded 9%. Sales for its Beyond Yoga brand spiked 10%. Direct-to-consumer sales increased 19% and made up 45% of total organic net sales, which includes the extra selling week, currency fluctuations and the divested businesses. 
Wholesale revenues, which have been soft across the industry, grew 7% during the quarter. 
Since President Donald Trump was elected for a second term, all eyes have been on the retail industry to see what kind of effect his proposed tariffs could have on consumer prices and company profits. 
Levi’s finance chief Harmit Singh said the company sources its products from 25 countries and less than 1% of it comes from China, which Trump has threatened with 10% tariffs. In Canada and Mexico, where Trump has suggested duties as high as 25%, Levi’s exposure is minimal, as it only imports about 5% of products from Mexico and nothing from Canada. 
When asked if the company will raise prices if broad-based tariffs are implemented, Singh said it plans to work with its suppliers and look at its own costs so it can spare consumers as much as possible. 
The “first objective would be to minimize the impact on the consumer. So we work internally with our suppliers, we look at our cost base, we look at other pricing opportunities and if we cannot cover it, obviously we got to protect the structural economics of the business,” said Singh. “At that point, we’ll decide, you know, what should be passed on to the consumer or not, but we won’t start from that. That’s where we will end.”
During the quarter, Levi posted what it called a record gross margin of 61.3%, up from 57.8% in the year-ago period, driven by lower product costs, higher full price sales and a better mix between direct and wholesale revenue. 
Still, Levi reported $111.4 million in impairment charges related to its Beyond Yoga brand for fiscal 2024, on top of the $90.2 million it reported in fiscal 2023, bringing those costs to $201.6 million in the years since it acquired the athleisure company in 2021 for $400 million. 
The brand and yoga category overall is growing, but Singh said Levi was potentially a bit “aggressive” in its expectations “of how quickly the brand could grow.” 
The good news, he said, is Beyond Yoga is now led by Nancy Green, the former CEO of Gap’s Athleta, who is credited with scaling the athleisure brand into a billion-dollar business. 
“It’s a category that’s growing big time. I know there are other competitors, but we feel good about the management team and good about the potential growth for the business,” said Singh.

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s controversial pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, testified Wednesday before a Senate panel that is crucial to advancing his nomination.
Kennedy, 71, appeared before the Senate Committee on Finance, which will vote on whether his nomination as HHS secretary advances to the full chamber.
He faced questions about vaccine skepticism, his evolving views on abortion and grasp of sprawling federal health programs.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s controversial pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, testified Wednesday before a crucial Senate panel, where he faced questions about vaccine skepticism, his evolving views on abortion and grasp of sprawling federal health programs.
Kennedy, 71, appeared first before the Senate Committee on Finance, which will vote on whether his nomination as HHS secretary advances to the full chamber. In the Republican-controlled Senate, Kennedy can lose only three GOP votes if all Democrats oppose him.

He will also appear before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions for a courtesy hearing Thursday.
He sidestepped many of the questions as senators grilled him Wednesday. He also struggled to answer some questions about Medicare and Medicaid, and often said he would defer to Trump on policies in such areas as reproductive rights and prescription drug price negotiations.
If confirmed, Kennedy will take the reins of a $1.7 trillion agency that oversees vaccines and other medicines, scientific research, public health infrastructure, pandemic preparedness, food and tobacco products, and government-funded health care for millions of Americans. The heads of the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, among other federal health agencies, all report to the HHS secretary.

Kennedy has faced criticism from both sides of the aisle. He is a prominent vaccine skeptic, making false claims that they are linked to autism despite decades of studies that debunk that association.
Kennedy is also the founder of the nonprofit Children’s Health Defense, the most well-funded anti-vaccine organization in the U.S. In a government ethics agreement last week, he said he stopped serving as chairman or chief legal counsel for the organization as of December.

Some critics have argued that his work advocating against vaccine use has cost lives and could deter more Americans from getting recommended shots at a time when vaccination rates are declining.
A protester in the hearing room shouted when Kennedy denied he was anti-vaccine, accusing him of lying. It sparked applause, briefly interrupting his opening remarks.
Shouting again interrupted the hearing as committee ranking member Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., questioned Kennedy about his comments about vaccines. Committee Chair Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, threatened to recess the hearing if any more protesters disrupted it.
Beyond vaccines, Kennedy also previewed how he plans to pursue his broad “Make America Healthy Again” platform if confirmed as the nation’s top health official. The platform argues that a corrupt alliance of drug and food companies and the federal health agencies that regulate them are making Americans less healthy. Kennedy has long contended that the agencies that HHS oversees need reform or a sweeping overhaul.
Kennedy’s supporters say some of his stances around food, such as highlighting the risks of food additives and ultra-processed products, have hit on broad appeal among Republicans and some Democrats. But Kennedy on Wednesday said he is not “the enemy of food producers,” noting that American farms are “the bedrock of our culture and national security.”
Caroline Kennedy, the nominee’s cousin and daughter of former President John F. Kennedy, wrote a letter to senators Tuesday that referred to her cousin as a “predator” and urged them not to confirm him.
Here are some of the key takeaways from Wednesday’s hearing:

Kennedy defends vaccine stance

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. President Trump’s nominee to be secretary of Health and Human Services, testifies before a Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., Jan. 29, 2025. 
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters

Kennedy, in his opening remarks before the panel, pushed back on claims that he is anti-vaccine or anti-industry.
“I am neither; I am pro-safety,” Kennedy said. “I worked for years to raise awareness about the mercury and toxic chemicals in fish, but that didn’t make me anti-fish. All of my kids are vaccinated, and I believe vaccines have a critical role in health care.”
Kennedy engaged in heated debate with senators over his vaccine views, saying, “I support the measles vaccine, I support the polio vaccine, I will do nothing as HHS secretary that makes it difficult or discourages people taking” them.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., didn’t buy that claim, highlighting Kennedy’s previous remarks in a book about not viewing measles as a threat. 
Senators also pointed to Kennedy’s misinformation about the safety of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine that was linked to a severe measles outbreak in Samoa in 2019 that left dozens of children dead. That outbreak came just months after Kennedy visited the island nation. 
Kennedy denied having anything to do with the deadly outbreak. 
“You cannot find a single Samoan that says, ‘I didn’t get vaccinated because of Bobby Kennedy,'” he said.
When Wyden asked if measles is deadly, Kennedy did not directly answer the question. Kennedy contended again that he was not anti-vaccine.
Wyden also pressed Kennedy on his comments in a 2023 podcast in which he said, “There’s no vaccine that is safe and effective.” Kennedy said he has previously clarified those statements and that he would not dissuade Americans from getting certain vaccines.

Kennedy’s shifting abortion stance

Democrats pressed Kennedy on whether he had reversed his stance on abortion for political expediency and if he would do the same on other issues. 
“When was it that you decided to sell out the values you’ve had your whole life in order to be given power by President Trump?” Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire said, pointing to his previous public support for abortion rights. 
Kennedy, in response, said “every abortion is a tragedy” — a line he repeated at least four times throughout the hearing. 
When asked about his approach to regulations around the abortion pill mifepristone, Kennedy said Trump “wants me to look at safety issues.” He added that the president had not yet taken a position on how to regulate it.
“Whatever he does, I will implement those policies, and I will work with this committee to make those policies make sense,” Kennedy said. That’s a similar response he had when asked about other abortion policies. 
There is extensive scientific evidence showing that the pills, which are regulated and approved for use by the FDA, are safe. 

Kennedy struggles to answer Medicare, Medicaid questions

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. President Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, testifies before a Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., Jan. 29, 2025. 
Nathan Howard | Reuters

Kennedy appeared to struggle when Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., pressed him on what reforms he would propose for the state-federal Medicaid program, which provides coverage to around 80 million Americans, including many low-income people. 
Republicans could target Medicaid, which costs the federal government more than $600 billion a year, for funding reductions this year to help pay for tax cuts. At times, Kennedy appeared to confuse Medicaid with Medicare, a federal program that provides coverage to older and disabled Americans. 
Kennedy described Medicaid as “fully paid for” by the federal government. But the program is funded by states as well. 
He also claimed that many Medicaid enrollees were frustrated by high costs, saying “premiums are too high. The deductibles are too high.” 
But the majority of Medicaid enrollees do not pay any premiums or deductibles for their coverage. Federal law bars premiums for the lowest-income Medicaid enrollees. 
Kennedy only vaguely described efforts to reform Medicaid, saying he supported increasing “transparency” and “accountability.”  More