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ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith told CNBC Sport that he is not interested in campaigning but would be interested in being president.
The “First Take” host said he thinks he would do well in a presidential debate.
In a recent poll, 2% of voters said they would vote for Smith.

Outspoken ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith is not ruling out a presidential run in his future.
In an interview with CNBC Sport, Smith said, “I wouldn’t mind being in office.”

Yet, the popular television host said it is the campaigning and being a politician that turns him off.
“I’m not one of those dudes that’s great at shaking hands and kissing babies, per se, and currying favor with politicians and donors. I’m not a beggar. That’s not who I am,” Smith told CNBC Sport.
However, the 57-year-old Bronx native said he believes if he could bypass the campaigning, he would excel on television in a presidential debate.
“If you tell me that I could catapult to the White House, and I could be in a position to affect millions upon millions of lives, not just in America, but the world over, yeah, that’s something that I would entertain,” he said.
The “First Take” host has said that he voted for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, telling Bill Maher he feels like a “damn fool” now for doing so.
In a recent poll by McLaughlin & Associates, 2% of voters said they would vote for Smith in the 2028 presidential election. More

CVS Health CEO David Joyner defended controversial pharmacy middlemen, who are widely accused of inflating prescription medication prices, and instead accused manufacturers of “monopolistic” practices that keep drug costs high in the U.S. 
Joyner, who stepped into the role in October, spent much of his opening remarks on the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call discussing so-called pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs. 
It comes at a time when lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and President Donald Trump have signaled interest in cracking down on PBMs. 

David Joyner, a longtime CVS executive, speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on May 10, 2023.
Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images

CVS Health CEO David Joyner on Wednesday defended controversial pharmacy middlemen like his company’s Caremark unit, which are widely accused of inflating prescription medication prices, and instead accused manufacturers of “monopolistic tendencies” that keep drug costs high in the U.S. 
Joyner, who stepped into the role in October, spent much of his opening remarks on the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call discussing so-called pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs. It was atypical for CVS’ quarterly call to begin that way, but comes at a time when lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and President Donald Trump have signaled interest in cracking down on PBMs. 

CVS owns Caremark, one of the nation’s three largest PBMs that collectively administer roughly 80% of prescriptions in the U.S.
Those middlemen negotiate rebates with drug manufacturers on behalf of insurers, create lists of medications known as formularies that are covered by insurance and reimburse pharmacies for prescriptions. But lawmakers and drugmakers alike argue that PBMs overcharge the plans they negotiate rebates for, underpay pharmacies and fail to pass on savings from those discounts to patients.
Joyner acknowledged that rising health-care costs in the U.S. are pressuring patients, employers and the federal government. He blamed factors such as increased patient utilization of services, rising health-care provider costs, labor shortages and “dramatic price hikes” for branded drugs. 
But he said PBMs like Caremark are “one of the most powerful forces helping to offset rising health care costs,” claiming that they are the only part of the drug supply chain solely focused on lowering costs. 
“Our work is a critical counterbalance to the monopolistic tendencies of drug manufacturers,” Joyner said. “This is why PBMs are needed and why manufacturers fight so hard to limit our capabilities.” 

He alleged that branded manufacturers added $21 billion in annual gross drug spending in the first three weeks of January through their price hikes, but did not cite where the figure is from. 
Joyner added that multiple economists have estimated that PBMs generate net value for the U.S. health-care system, more than $100 billion a year.
“No one has demonstrated more success than the PBMs of driving down drug prices,” he said.
However, the pharmaceutical industry and lawmakers argue that PBMs and insurers pocket those savings from negotiated rebates and discounts rather than passing them to patients.
In a statement on Wednesday, PhRMA, the nation’s largest lobbying group for the pharmaceutical industry said PBMs are “under intense, well-deserved scrutiny.” 
“Bipartisan state attorneys general, policymakers in both Congress and state legislatures and the FTC are all investigating these health care conglomerates,” a PhRMA spokesperson said. “They’ve all come to the same conclusion: PBMs are driving up costs and reducing access at the expense of patients, employers, and our health care system.” More

Biogen posted fourth-quarter revenue and profit that topped expectations as its cost cuts showed progress and new products, including its breakthrough Alzheimer’s treatment Leqembi, saw growth. 
The biotech company issued a full-year 2025 adjusted earnings outlook of $15.25 to $16.25 per share, which fell short of the $16.34 per share that Wall Street was expecting.
Biogen expects to generate $1 billion in gross savings, or $800 million net savings, by the end of 2025. 

A test tube is seen in front of displayed Biogen logo in this illustration taken on, December 1, 2021.
Dado Ruvic | Reuters

Biogen on Wednesday posted fourth-quarter revenue and profit that topped expectations as its cost cuts showed progress and new products, including its breakthrough Alzheimer’s treatment Leqembi, saw growth. 
But the biotech company’s guidance for the current year missed Wall Street’s expectations. Biogen issued a full-year 2025 adjusted earnings outlook of $15.25 to $16.25 per share, which fell short of the $16.34 per share that analysts were anticipating, according to LSEG. That reflects a foreign exchange headwind of 35 cents per share, Biogen said.  

Biogen expects revenue to decline by a “mid-single digit” percentage in 2025 compared with 2024, as sales of its multiple sclerosis products fall. That portion of the business has declined for several quarters as some of those therapies face generic competition. 

More CNBC health coverage

But Biogen expects Leqembi, along with its new rare disease and depression treatments, to help offset that sliding revenue this year. 
Leqembi generated $87 million in revenue for the fourth quarter, including $50 million in the U.S. Analysts had expected the drug to book $67 million in sales, according to estimates from StreetAccount. 
Leqembi, which Biogen shares with the Japanese drugmaker Eisai, became the second drug proven to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s to win approval in the U.S. in 2023. The therapy’s launch has been gradual due to bottlenecks related to diagnostic test requirements, the need for regular brain scans and the difficulty of finding neurologists, among other issues. 
Here’s what Biogen reported for the fourth quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG: 

Earnings per share: $3.44 adjusted vs. $3.35 per share expected
Revenue: $2.46 billion vs. $2.40 billion expected

Biogen booked sales of $2.46 billion for the quarter, which is up around 3% from the year-earlier period. 
The drugmaker posted net income of $266.8 million, or $1.83 per share, for the quarter. That compares with net income of $249.7 million, or $1.71 per share, for the same period a year ago. 
Adjusting for one-time items, including certain restructuring charges and costs associated with intangible assets, the company reported earnings of $3.44 per share.
Biogen first initiated a cost-cutting program in 2023. The company expects to generate $1 billion in gross savings, or $800 million net savings, by the end of 2025. 
Also on Wednesday, Royalty Pharma announced an agreement to provide $250 million in research and development funding to Biogen for litifilimab, a key drug in its pipeline that is being studied to treat lupus. Royalty Pharma, a leading funder of the biotech and pharmaceutical industry, will be eligible for regulatory milestones and certain royalties.

Other new drugs

Another new drug, Skyclarys, booked $102 million in sales for the fourth quarter, almost double what it reported in the year-earlier period.
Analysts had expected sales of around $112 million for the quarter, according to StreetAccount. 
Skyclarys came from Biogen’s acquisition of Reata Pharmaceuticals in July 2023. The Food and Drug Administration greenlit Skyclarys in 2023, making it the first approved treatment for Friedreich’s ataxia, a rare inherited degenerative disease that can impair walking and coordination in children as young as 5. 
Zurzuvae, the first pill for postpartum depression, generated fourth-quarter sales of $22.9 million. Analysts had expected it to post $26 million in sales, StreetAccount estimates said.
Meanwhile, Biogen’s fourth-quarter sales from multiple sclerosis treatments fell 8% to $1.07 billion.
Correction: Biogen’s fourth-quarter sales from multiple sclerosis treatments fell to $1.07 billion. An earlier version misstated the period.

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CVS Health reported fourth-quarter revenue and profit that topped estimates, even as its troubled insurance business saw higher medical costs. 
The company also issued a full-year 2025 adjusted profit outlook of $5.75 to $6.00 per share, which was in line with Wall Street’s expectations.
It caps off the first full quarter with David Joyner, a longtime CVS executive, as CEO of the troubled retail drugstore chain.

CVS Health on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter revenue and profit that topped estimates, even as its troubled insurance business continued to see higher medical costs. 
The company also issued a full-year 2025 adjusted earnings outlook of $5.75 to $6 per share, which was in line with Wall Street’s expectations. But CVS did not provide a revenue forecast for the year. 

It caps off the first full quarter with David Joyner, a longtime CVS executive, as CEO of the troubled retail drugstore chain. Joyner succeeded Karen Lynch in mid-October, as CVS struggled to drive higher profits and improve its stock performance.
The company underwent a management reshuffle as part of a broader turnaround plan that includes $2 billion in cost cuts over the next several years. CVS has grappled with rising costs in its insurance unit, Aetna, and a retail pharmacy business pressured by softer consumer spending and lower reimbursements for prescription drugs. 
Here’s what CVS reported for the fourth quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG: 

Earnings per share: $1.19 per share adjusted vs. 93 cents per share expected
Revenue: $97.71 billion vs. $97.19 billion expected

The company’s shares rose 10% in premarket trading.
CVS and other insurers such as UnitedHealth Group and Humana have seen medical costs spike over the last year as more Medicare Advantage patients return to hospitals for procedures they delayed during the pandemic. 

Medicare Advantage, a privately run health insurance plan contracted by Medicare, has long been a driver of growth and profits for insurers. But investors have become concerned about the runaway costs tied to those plans, which cover more than half of all Medicare beneficiaries. 
CVS booked sales of $97.71 billion for the fourth quarter, up 4.2% from the same period a year ago due to growth in its pharmacy business and insurance unit. 
The company posted net income of $1.64 billion, or $1.30 per share, for the fourth quarter. That compares with net income of $2.05 billion, or $1.58 per share, for the year-earlier period. 
Excluding certain items, such as amortization of intangible assets, restructuring charges and capital losses, adjusted earnings were $1.19 per share for the quarter.
CVS said its fourth-quarter earnings reflect higher medical costs in its insurance business and lower Medicare Advantage star ratings for the 2024 payment year, both of which weighed on the segment’s operating results for the quarter. Those star ratings help Medicare patients compare the quality of Medicare health and drug plans. 

Pressure on insurance unit

All three of CVS’ business segments beat Wall Street’s expectations for the fourth quarter.
CVS’ insurance business booked $32.96 billion in revenue during the quarter, up more than 23% from the fourth quarter of 2023. Analysts expected the unit to take in $32.89 billion for the period, according to estimates from StreetAccount.
But the business reported an adjusted operating loss of $439 million for the fourth quarter, compared with adjusted operating income of $676 million in the year-earlier period. That change was driven by higher medical costs and the company’s Medicare Advantage star ratings, among other factors.

More CNBC health coverage

The insurance unit’s medical benefit ratio — a measure of total medical expenses paid relative to premiums collected — increased to 94.8% from 88.5% a year earlier. A lower ratio typically indicates that a company collected more in premiums than it paid out in benefits, resulting in higher profitability.
The fourth-quarter ratio was lower than the 95.9% that analysts were expecting, StreetAccount estimates said.
CVS’ health services segment generated $47.02 billion in revenue for the quarter, down more than 4% compared with the same quarter in 2023. Analysts expected the unit to post $44.06 billion in sales for the period, according to StreetAccount.
That unit includes Caremark, one of the nation’s largest pharmacy benefit managers. Caremark negotiates drug discounts with manufacturers on behalf of insurance plans and creates lists of medications, or formularies, that are covered by insurance and reimburses pharmacies for prescriptions.
CVS’ health services division processed 499.4 million pharmacy claims during the quarter, down from 600.8 million during the year-ago period due to the loss of an unnamed large client. Tyson Foods told CNBC in January 2024 that it dropped CVS as the pharmacy benefit manager for its roughly 140,000 employees, but it is unclear if any other companies stopped working with CVS during the year, as well.
CVS’ pharmacy and consumer wellness division booked $33.51 billion in sales for the fourth quarter, up more than 7% from the same period a year earlier. Analysts expected sales of $33.03 billion for the quarter, StreetAccount said.
That unit dispenses prescriptions in CVS’ more than 9,000 retail pharmacies and provides other pharmacy services, such as vaccinations and diagnostic testing.
The increase was partly driven by higher prescription volume, CVS said. Pharmacy reimbursement pressure, the launch of new generic drugs and lower volume from front-of-store items like pantry food and toiletries, including from decreased store count, weighed on the unit’s sales.

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

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

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

CardVault retail store in Boston

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

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

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

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

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

Here’s what the company reported:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Top five spirits categories by revenue in 2024:

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

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

The Mexico tariff threat

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

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