Business

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Ford and GM stocks

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

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Globalstar, a satellite and communications services provider, debuted on the Nasdaq on Tuesday morning after delisting from the New York Stock Exchange.
CEO Paul Jacobs joined CNBC’s “Squawk Box” to discuss the company’s latest investments in satellite connectivity.

Satellite communications company Globalstar listed on the Nasdaq on Tuesday after delisting from the New York Stock Exchange.
“We did a reverse split — we’re a multibillion-dollar company but our stock price was down in the dollar-ish range,” CEO Paul Jacobs told CNBC’s Becky Quick on “Squawk Box.” “And people thought of us as a penny stock, and some investors couldn’t invest in us, so we’re here sort of in conjunction with that,” Jacobs added.

Jacobs and Globalstar also rang the opening bell at the Nasdaq on Tuesday morning. The stock rose more than 10% in midday trading.
“Most of the companies that I’ve been involved with are tech innovators, and they’re on the Nasdaq,” Jacobs said.
Globalstar signed a $1.5 billion deal in November with Apple to fund the expansion of iPhone services. In 2022, Globalstar rolled out a feature with iPhones that enabled emergency satellite texting.
The satellite provider also signed a $1.1 billion deal with MDA Space on Monday, making the latter company the prime contractor for Globalstar’s next-generation low Earth orbit constellation.
The company is working on enabling satellite features that would allow customers to use their phones in areas with no cell service, a move that Elon Musk’s Starlink has also pursued in conjunction with T-Mobile.

“We’ve already been working on the satellites,” Jacobs said. “We’ve been in it for a while already.”
The pricing of the venture for customers remains an “unproven business model,” Jacobs added, as the companies continue to optimize customers’ needs.

NBA

Jacobs, who is also the vice chairman of the National Basketball Association’s Sacramento Kings, said he sees a lot of investment going into the NBA as valuations continue to rise.
“The product is extremely good,” Jacobs said. “And we’ve opened it up to more investors as well — funds can invest now.”
Jacobs said the Sacramento Kings also had a chance at getting basketball star Luka Doncic earlier but ultimately passed over the player, whose trade to the Los Angeles Lakers caused waves across the sports industry.
“I think the NBA is in a good position,” he said. “You never know how it’s going to go. I’m obviously not going to sit here and say I can predict the future perfectly, but the NBA is in a great position,” Jacobs added. More

Coca-Cola will shift to using more plastic bottles instead of aluminum if the latest wave of tariffs from President Donald Trump take effect.
Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey said the company imports some aluminum from Canada, but the tariff will not have a huge effect on its multibillion-dollar U.S. business.
Aluminum is generally more expensive than plastic, but it is also infinitely recyclable and one of the most commonly recycled materials.

Coca-Cola bottles are seen at a shop in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, on Jan. 28, 2025.
Firdous Nazir | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Coca-Cola will shift more of its packaging from aluminum to plastic bottles if President Donald Trump implements his latest wave of tariffs, CEO James Quincey said Tuesday.
“As it relates to our strategies around ensuring affordability and ensuring consumer demand, if one package suffers some increase in input costs, we continue to have other packaging offerings that will allow us to compete in the affordability space,” Quincey said on the company’s earnings conference call. “For example, if aluminum cans become more expensive, we can put more emphasis on PET [plastic] bottles, etc.,” Quincey added.

Trump on Monday raised tariffs on all aluminum and steel imports to 25% from 10%, starting next month. The action is widely seen as taking aim at China, although the U.S. imports little steel directly from the country.

Quincey downplayed the financial hit for Coca-Cola from the tariffs, although he said on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” that the company buys some aluminum from Canada.
“I think we’re in danger of exaggerating the impact of the 25% increase in the aluminum price relative to the total system,” Quincey said on the conference call. “It’s not insignificant, but it’s not going to radically change a multibillion-dollar U.S. business, and packaging is only a small component of the total cost structure,” the CEO added.
In addition to shifting to more plastic packaging, Coca-Cola can also blunt the effects of duties on its business by finding domestic aluminum sources and increasing the price for customers, Quincey added.
Aluminum is generally more expensive than plastic, but it is also infinitely recyclable and one of the most commonly recycled materials. In recent years, the company has shifted to adding more aluminum packaging options, such as canned Dasani and Smartwater.

PET, or polyethylene terephthalate, is a lightweight plastic that can be easily recycled but is recycled at a lower rate than aluminum. The recycling rate of PET bottles and jars was 29.1% in 2018, compared with the recycling rate of aluminum beer and soft drink cans at 50.4% in the same year, according to data from the Environmental Protection Agency.
Even as Coca-Cola has tried to use more aluminum, the company has been named the world’s worst polluter by Greenpeace for six straight years for its single-use plastic usage.
Just two months ago, Coca-Cola slashed its sustainability goals. The beverage giant now aims to use 35% to 40% recycled material in packaging by 2035, down from its prior target of 50% recycled material by 2030. The company also said it wants to “ensure the collection” of 70% to 75% of the equivalent number of bottles and cans it introduces annually, rather than recycling the plastic equivalent of every bottle it uses by 2030.

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ScorePlay, a company that provides AI-generated clips to sports teams, has raised $13 million in series A funding.
Investors in the company include several current and former athletes.
The service helps teams and leagues gather and distribute clips faster.

ScorePlay video clipping tool

ScorePlay, an artificial intelligence service for sports clips, has raised $13 million in series A funding, the company announced Tuesday.
The sports storytelling platform’s investors include 20VC venture capital fund founder Harry Stebbings, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six VC firm, NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo, former Formula 1 champion Nico Rosberg, and soccer star and former captain of the U.S. women’s national team Alex Morgan.

ScorePlay’s technology is used by more than 200 sports organizations around the world and helps teams streamline their highlights and clips using AI. The company’s clients include NBA and NHL franchises and leagues such as Major League Soccer and the National Women’s Soccer League.
Ohanian told CNBC that he’s not just an investor, but that he uses the technology through his ownership of NWSL soccer and TGL golf teams, in addition to his new track league, Athlos.
“So many people ask how we’ve been able to have so much success in emerging sports across so many different leagues and ScorePlay is the heart of one of the reasons why,” Ohanian said. “The last two years, they’ve just continued to execute above expectations and ScorePlay has just done such a heck of a job growing here in the States.
“I’ve been very happy to keep putting now millions of dollars at work every single round since,” he added.
Venture capitalist Stebbings said as teams and players move toward producing more of their own media and storytelling content, this tool will allow them to engage fans in new ways.

“Speed is crucial in sports media, with the ability to share highlights within an hour and keep up with [the] fast-paced news cycle,” he said.
ScorePlay’s service, created in 2021 by Victorien Tixier and Xavier Green, automatically tags and organizes content, allowing teams to speed up the delivery to everyone from broadcasters and sponsors to the athletes themselves.
“The idea is to maximize the distribution, both on your own social channel, but also distributing the content to your athletes, who are your best storytellers,” Tixier said.
He added that with so many different channels from social to broadcast and digital, it’s important that users are distributing the best content for each platform.
ScorePlay touts threefold year-over-year growth, and the company said it is profitable, with total funding at $20 million.
Previous investors include Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman’s 35V family office and Eli Manning.

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Coca-Cola topped Wall Street’s estimates for its fourth-quarter earnings and revenue.
The beverage giant reported net sales growth of 6% for the quarter, fueled by rising demand for its drinks.

Coca-Cola on Tuesday reported quarterly earnings and revenue that topped analysts’ expectations, as global demand for its drinks rose.
Shares of the company climbed more than 3% in premarket trading.

Here’s what Coca-Cola reported for the quarter ended Dec. 31 compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

Earnings per share: 55 cents adjusted vs. 52 cents expected
Revenue: $11.54 billion vs. $10.68 billion expected

The beverage giant reported fourth-quarter net income attributable to shareholders of $2.20 billion, or 51 cents per share, up from $1.97 billion, or 46 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding restructuring charges, refranchising gains and other items, Coke earned 55 cents per share.
Net sales rose 6% to $11.54 billion.
Organic revenue, which strips out acquisitions, divestitures and foreign currency, climbed 14% in the quarter, largely fueled by higher prices. Coke’s pricing rose 9% in the quarter, 4% of which came from markets dealing with hyperinflation. The rest came from price hikes and “favorable mix,” meaning that customers bought products that were more expensive.

While most of Coke’s organic revenue growth came from pricing, the company did see higher demand, unlike many consumer companies including rival PepsiCo.
Coke’s unit case volume grew 2%, reversing last quarter’s decline. The metric strips out the impact of pricing and foreign currency to reflect demand. The company attributed its increasing volume to growing demand in China, Brazil and the U.S.
The company’s sparkling soft drinks segment, which includes its namesake soda, saw volume rise 2% in the quarter. Coke Zero Sugar’s volume climbed 13% during the period.
Coke’s water, sports, coffee and tea division reported 2% volume growth. Both water, which includes its Smartwater brand, and tea reported increasing demand, but sports drinks and coffee volume both declined in the quarter.
Coke’s juice, value-added dairy and plant-based beverages division saw volume shrink 1%. The company said declines in Europe, the Middle East and Africa offset growth in North America.
Looking to 2025, Coke projects organic revenue will grow 5% to 6%. The company also expects comparable earnings per share will rise 2% to 3%, which includes a 6% to 7% headwind from currency exchange and a slight headwind from acquisitions, divestitures and structural changes.

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Other automakers skipped Super Bowl advertising this year, but CMO Olivier Francois said it was critical for Jeep and Ram parent company Stellantis to air ads during the game.
Stellantis, formerly Fiat Chrysler, has become well known under Francois for symbolic, nontraditional ads that feature iconic celebrities or tell a story beyond just attempting to sell new cars and trucks.
The automaker, which had two spots, was aiming to show its dedication to the U.S. market.

Actor Harrison Ford touts Jeep and Americana while taking a dig at another Detroit automaker during Stellantis
Stellantis

DETROIT — A CEO’s exit, electric vehicles making the industry run around like “headless chickens” and a company’s U.S. revival all came together to make Ram and Jeep parent Stellantis the only automaker with a Super Bowl 59 commercial.
That’s according to Stellantis Chief Marketing Officer Olivier Francois, who said while other automakers abandoned this year’s big game amid industry uncertainty and cost cutting, it was critical for the embattled trans-Atlantic carmaker to return to the Super Bowl.

Francois said Stellantis Chairman John Elkann, a scion of Italy’s Fiat carmaker, called him after CEO Carlos Tavares’ abrupt departure in December and told him to advertise during the big game as a recommitment to the automaker’s business in the U.S.
“We were not set to make a commercial. John Elkann called me in December, saying, you know, ‘I want something. I want to make a comeback. We want to show, to express, that comeback story. We want to show America how much it is important to the Stellantis group,'” Francois told CNBC.
Stellantis, formerly known as Fiat Chrysler, has become well known under Francois for symbolic, nontraditional ads that feature iconic celebrities that tell a story beyond just attempting to sell new cars and trucks.

Chairman of Ferrari and Stellantis John Elkann attends an event to inaugurate Ferrari’s new ‘e-building’ facility where the luxury sportscar maker is testing lines before an expected start of car production in early 2025, in Maranello, Italy, June 21, 2024.
Daniele Mascolo | Reuters

It started when the automaker was attempting to make a comeback from its 2009 bankruptcy. It aired a surprise two-minute Super Bowl ad in 2011 featuring rapper Eminem and the city of Detroit — tying the company’s revival to the Motor City’s grit and rebirth. The ad also featured a now discontinued Chrysler sedan called the 200.
Francois said Elkann, who’s leading the search for a new CEO, told him to recapture that kind of “comeback” spirit for the automaker, following years of cost cutting and lackluster sales in the U.S.

Elkann, Francois said, also told him to think of the late Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne when creating the automaker’s ads this year. Marchionne, who died in 2018, was a supporter of Francois and past Super Bowl ads.
“There is a kind of philosophy attached to Sergio, which is that he believed in playing like you have nothing left to lose. He used to say, ‘Mediocrity is not worth the trip,'” Francois said. “So this year’s Super Bowl creative execution and investment are very much the essence of the spirit.”

Bruce Springsteen (left) with Olivier Francois, chief marketing officer of Stellantis, during filming of the company’s Super Bowl LV ad for Jeep.
Rob DeMartin for Jeep

Since Eminem, the company’s Super Bowl ads have featured actors such as Clint Eastwood, Bill Murray and singer Bob Dylan, among others. Those spots haven’t necessarily prominently featured any specific vehicle, but they’ve discussed culturally relevant topics such as political divides and patriotism.
Stellantis’ Ram Trucks ad this year was a more traditional, comedic Super Bowl commercial. It starred “Twisters” and “Top Gun: Maverick” actor Glen Powell reimagining “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” with trucks.
But the automaker’s two-minute Jeep ad starring featuring “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” actor Harrison Ford was a true return to form for Francois.

Jeep Super Bowl ad

Francois said Ford turned down an initial pitch for a different ad. That’s when Francois said he and friend Edward Razek, a former marketing executive for Victoria’s Secret owner L Brands who resigned amid controversy in 2019, wrote the first version of the ad that aired.
CMOs don’t typically write scripts. It’s more common for those executives to approve a script from an agency, with guidance. Francois said agencies did assist ahead of the final ad, but the script and ideas started inside the automaker.

In the ad, Ford discusses freedom, heroes and people writing their own stories in life because there is no “Owner’s Manual,” which is the title of the commercial.
As Ford opined, several Jeep models can be seen driving and off-roading, including one that passes a Ford Bronco SUV — a newer competitor to the Jeep Wrangler SUV — while the actor talks about inspiring others.
“I said ‘yes’ to doing this commercial because of the script. It’s a very straightforward communication about life and ends with getting in a Jeep vehicle, that’s the hook. It didn’t require me to reintroduce myself, point to the fact that in my life I’ve been many things and known for specific projects or roles,” Ford said in a statement. “It’s just a quiet talk from somebody sharing an idea. I love the way it developed.”

Stellantis Chief Marketing Officer Olivier Francois (right) with “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” actor Harrison Ford, who starred in a Super Bowl 59 ad for the automaker’s Jeep brand. 
Stellantis

The Wrangler passing the Bronco is one of two references to the Jeep rival. The other comes from the actor at the end of the ad: “Choose what makes you happy. My friends, my family, my work make me happy. This Jeep makes me happy — even though my name is Ford. That’s my owner’s manual. Get out there, write your own.”
The Jeep ad was shot over two days with Ford in Santa Clarita, California, in early December, according to Stellantis. 

‘Headless chickens’

Automotive has historically been one of the top segments for Super Bowl advertising. Even during the Great Recession in 2008 and 2009 when the industry was hit hard, several companies such as Toyota Motor, Hyundai Motor and Audi aired ads.
Francois believes other automakers likely didn’t participate in the Super Bowl this year because of a lack of payoff in prior years, when many automakers, including Stellantis, touted all-electric vehicles that weren’t on sale.
“In the last years, there was plenty of automakers, all of them [touting] EVs, EVs that didn’t even exist,” Francois said. “These guys are obviously running like headless chickens: EVs, EVs, EVs. I mean, that’s where we all were.”

Automakers regularly advertised during the NFL regular season and playoffs, including with sponsorships such as Toyota being the “Official Automotive Partner of the NFL.” But none, other than Stellantis, advertised during Sunday’s game.
Both of Stellantis’ Super Bowl ads this year featured electric vehicles, but they also included traditional vehicles with internal combustion engines as well as plug-in hybrid models such as the Jeep Wrangler.
Francois said it may have been a blessing that Elkann called him in early December instead of months earlier because it allowed him to be more relevant in the messaging, rather than just touting EVs.
“The moment had changed, and I was lucky enough to have the possibility to rewrite the scripts. To rewrite history, to say, to not run like a headless chicken,” Francois said. “I was able to improvise in the moment.”
Stellantis declined to disclose how much money it spent on the production or broadcast of the ads, which were selling for up to $8 million for 30 seconds of air time during Super Bowl 59.
But Francois said Elkann has told advertising and marketing leaders at Stellantis that “Marketing is no longer a cost. It is an investment.”
Correction: Jeep’s Super Bowl ad was filmed in Santa Clarita, California. An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified the city.

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McDonald’s quarterly earnings met expectations, but its revenue fell short of Wall Street’s estimates.
The burger chain’s U.S. same-store sales declined as customers spent less at its restaurants.
Both of McDonald’s international divisions reported same-store sales growth.

McDonald’s on Monday reported disappointing quarterly revenue, dragged down by weaker-than-expected sales at its U.S. restaurants following an E. coli outbreak just weeks into the quarter.
Shares of the company fell less than 1% in premarket trading.

Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

Earnings per share: $2.83 adjusted, meeting expectations
Revenue: $6.39 billion vs. $6.44 billion expected

The fast-food giant reported fourth-quarter net income of $2.02 billion, or $2.80 per share, down from $2.04 billion, or $2.80 per share, a year earlier.
Excluding gains tied to the sale of its South Korean business, transaction costs for buying its Israeli franchise and other items, McDonald’s earned $2.83 per share.
Net sales of $6.39 billion were roughly flat compared with the year-ago period.
The company’s overall same-store sales growth of 0.4% outperformed Wall Street’s expectations of same-store sales declines of 1%, according to StreetAccount estimates.

But McDonald’s U.S. business reported a steeper-than-expected drop in its same-store sales. Same-store sales at the company’s domestic restaurants fell 1.4% in the quarter; Wall Street was projecting same-store sales declines of 0.6%.
McDonald’s said traffic was slightly positive, but customers spent less than usual during the quarter. Over the summer, the chain rolled out a $5 combo meal to bring back price-conscious diners and reverse sluggish sales. The strategy worked, helping McDonald’s U.S. same-store sales tick up in the third quarter. However, analysts have warned that value meals only work if customers also add menu items that aren’t discounted to their orders.
The biggest hit to McDonald’s U.S. sales came in late October, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention linked a fatal E. coli outbreak to its Quarter Pounder burgers. McDonald’s switched suppliers for its slivered onions, the ingredient fingered as the likely culprit for the outbreak. In early December, the CDC declared the outbreak officially over.
However, in the days following the news of the outbreak, traffic at McDonald’s U.S. restaurants fell steeply, particularly in the states affected.
Outside the U.S., sales were stronger. Both of McDonald’s international divisions reported same-store sales increases, bolstering the company’s overall performance.
The company’s international developmental licensed markets segment, which includes the Middle East and Japan, reported same-store sales growth of 4.1%.
McDonald’s international operated markets division, which includes some of its biggest markets, reported same-store sales growth of 0.1%. The company said most markets reported same-store sales increases, but the United Kingdom and some other markets saw same-store sales shrink in the quarter.

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