Business

Southwest said it would cut about 15% of its corporate workforce, or 1,750 jobs.
The airline has been under pressure to cut costs.
CEO Bob Jordan said it was the company’s first large-scale layoff.

A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 passenger plane taxis along the tarmac at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia on December 13, 2024.
Daniel Slim | Afp | Getty Images

Southwest Airlines said Monday that it is cutting about 15% of corporate jobs, or about 1,750 people, a move its CEO called “unprecedented” as the company scrambles to cut costs.
The company said it expects savings from the cuts of $210 million this year and about $300 million in 2026. The layoffs will be mostly done by the end of the second quarter and include some senior leadership roles, CEO Bob Jordan said in a staff note, which was seen by CNBC.

“This decision is unprecedented in our 53-year history, and change requires that we make difficult decisions,” Jordan said in a news release. “We are at a pivotal moment as we transform Southwest Airlines into a leaner, faster, and more agile organization.”
Southwest’s decision to slash jobs comes several months after a settlement with activist investor Elliott Investment Management, which won five Southwest board seats, short of control. The firm had also pushed for Jordan to be replaced as CEO, though it was not successful.
Other recent cost-cutting measures at Southwest included a hiring freeze, a pause to the internship program and an end to team-building “rallies,” a company tradition that dated back to 1985, CNBC previously reported. It has also aggressively cut unprofitable routes.
Last year, Southwest outlined a plan to increase profits that included ditching its more than 50-year-old open seating model in favor of assigned seats and creating a section with extra legroom. It also recently launched overnight flights for the first time.
“We must ensure we fund the right work, reduce duplicative efforts, and have a lean organizational structure that drives clarity, pace, and urgency,” Jordan said in his memo on Monday.
The layoffs take effect in late April, Jordan said, adding that most affected employees will not work but will still receive salary, benefits and bonus until then. More

China’s Communist Party has a history of purging then welcoming back senior officials. Deng Xiaoping was purged three times before leading the country out of Maoism in the late 1970s. Some cadres are welcomed back years after their death. Jack Ma, Alibaba’s founder, received the modern version of a purge in 2020. The initial public offering (ipo) of his fintech company, Ant Group, was cancelled. Alibaba was probed and handed a record fine. Mr Ma withdrew from public life. More

China’s Communist Party has a history of purging then welcoming back senior officials. Deng Xiaoping was purged three times before leading the country out of Maoism in the late 1970s. Some cadres are welcomed back years after their death. Jack Ma, Alibaba’s founder, received the modern version of a purge in 2020. The initial public offering (ipo) of his fintech company, Ant Group, was cancelled. Alibaba was probed and handed a record fine. Mr Ma withdrew from public life. More

Keytruda, a cancer-immunotherapy medicine, ranks among the most lucrative drugs ever sold. Since its launch in 2014 it has raked in over $130bn in sales for Merck, its American maker, including $29.5bn last year. In September last year an experimental drug did what none had done before. In late-stage trials for non-small-cell lung cancer, it nearly doubled the time patients lived without the disease worsening—to 11.1 months, compared with 5.8 months for Keytruda. More

Movie theaters have embraced commemorative popcorn buckets, using these specialty items to drive concession purchases, create a sense of urgency to see big movies on opening weekend and add value to the theatrical experience.
Cinemas started adopting specialty popcorn buckets in 2019, but the “Dune: Part Two” popcorn bucket fueled a new age.
Exhibitors have found that popcorn buckets not only help the bottom line, but add value to the overall moviegoing experience.

Popcorn buckets are pictured during the “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” concert movie world premiere at AMC The Grove in Los Angeles on Oct. 11, 2023.
Valerie Macon | AFP | Getty Images

For decades, popcorn has been a staple of the movie theater experience and exhibitors’ bottom lines. Now, the receptacle it comes in is becoming just as important.
As recently as three years ago, AMC Entertainment didn’t sell any merchandise. Last year it hawked novelty popcorn buckets, drink sippers and T-shirts to the tune of about $65 million in revenue.

“It started with us in a big way with our own movie, ‘Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,’ that we released in October of 2023 and we sold just an incredible number of popcorn buckets,” said AMC CEO Adam Aron. “That sparked us to do it almost all the time … just literally every month.”
Other theater chains like Cinemark, Marcus, Regal and B&B Theatres have also embraced popcorn buckets, using these specialty items to drive concession purchases, create a sense of urgency to see big movies on opening weekend and add value to the theatrical experience.
“Post-Covid, we realized that the eventizing of cinema has never really been as important as it is now,” said Paul Farnsworth, executive director of communication and content at B&B Theatres. “We recognized during that time that the greatest casualty for our industry was people just fell out of the habit of going to movies.”
Hollywood production issues led to fewer theatrical releases and smaller ticket sales in 2024, with box office receipts down 3.4% from 2023 to $8.74 billion. Farnsworth noted that unique popcorn buckets can add value to a customer’s trip to the movies and creates a memory of the trip that can be taken home, propped up on a display shelf or repurposed for movie nights in.
“It is very good for the bottom line,” he said. “The big value for us is that people come in and there’s these fun things they get to take home and they’re taking pictures with them in the theater. There’s immense value in that.”

For Cinemark, the proof of concept came with the release of “Scream VI” in 2023.

Cinemark’s Ghostface popcorn bucket from 2023’s “Scream VI.”

“We made a ‘Scream’ popcorn bucket and it completely caught us by surprise,” said Sean Gamble, CEO of Cinemark. “This thing just had this huge uptake. We sold out of the thing immediately and we were basically selling them to people online afterwards.”

Not just a movie theater snack

Commemorative popcorn buckets have long been a part of theme park merchandising, driving revenue of the likes of Disney and Universal both domestically and internationally. However, U.S.-based movie theaters were late to adopt the trend.
Marketing and merchandise company Zinc has been designing and manufacturing branded popcorn buckets and drink sippers for over a decade internationally, but turned its attention stateside in 2016.
“Theaters were reticent because the cups didn’t fit in the holders,” said Rod Mason, vice president of business development at Zinc Group, one of the biggest players in the premium popcorn space.
A shift came in 2019 with an R2-D2 popcorn bucket created for “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” Mason said.
“AMC took a punt on it,” he explained. “They took multiple tens of thousands of pieces. They sold through it in about three or four days at an incredibly high price. Nothing like that had ever been done before, and it was like ‘OK, well, this works.'”
A revamped version of the droid popcorn bucket was re-released for the 25th anniversary screenings of “Star Wars: Episode 1 — A Phantom Menace.”
The popcorn bucket and drink cup combo sold for $49.99.
However, the true watershed moment for the niche market came nearly five years later with a now-infamous popcorn bucket in honor of “Dune: Part Two,” released in last March. The bucket was modeled after the sandworms featured in the film but inspired crude comparisons to an adult product.
“The beauty of the ‘Dune’ bucket was it just wasn’t intended to be viral,” Mason said.
The $24.99 bucket sold out and found momentum on secondary markets. Receipts from eBay show these popcorn buckets sold for between $50 and $210 apiece on the reseller site.
“The popularity of the popcorn buckets on social media combined with the perception of limited supply of the popcorn buckets leads to a feeling of ‘fear of missing out’ among consumers who are driven to buy the buckets when [they] see them available,” said Lindsay Brookshier, content director at online Disney guide MickeyVist.com.
The “Dune” bucket inspired “Deadpool & Wolverine” actor and producer Ryan Reynolds to design a cheeky popcorn bucket for the release of his film.
“Years from now they will look back at 2024 as when the War of the Popcorn Buckets began,” Reynolds wrote on X to promote the concession container, which was shaped like Wolverine’s head with its mouth wide open to house the popcorn.

 The “Deadpool & Wolverine” popcorn bucket is seen during 2024 Comic-Con International on July 25, 2024 in San Diego, California.
Matt Winkelmeyer | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images

The $29.99 bucket was exclusively available at AMC and was released the same weekend as San Diego Comic-Con and the “Deadpool & Wolverine” film release.

More unique popcorn buckets to come

Studios and theaters have been more proactive about working with companies like Zinc to create unique popcorn buckets for moviegoers.
“It’s a very competitive business,” said Mason. “Everyone is trying to outdo, and not just the companies like us, but also the companies that are buying it. They’re trying to make sure that they have the coolest item … that competition has been magnified over the last 12 months because there’s so many eyes on this segment of the business.”

Cinemark’s Colosseum shaped popcorn bucket for Paramount’s “Gladiator II.”

And the movie industry is about to have an influx of blockbuster titles now that production delays from the pandemic and dual Hollywood strikes are in the rearview mirror.
Following “Captain America: Brave New World,” which debuted Friday, the 2025 calendar has “Thunderbolts*,” ” Mission: Impossible: The Final Reckoning,” “How to Train Your Dragon,” “Jurassic World Rebirth,” “Superman,” “Fantastic Four: First Steps,” “Wicked: For Good,” “Zootopia 2,” and “Avatar: Fire and Ash.”
And 2026 has equally promising tie-ins for popcorn buckets with a “Super Mario Bros.” sequel, “Avengers: Doomsday,” “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” “Toy Story 5,” “Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow,” “Minions 3,” “Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping,” “Ice Age 6” and “Shrek 5.”
“We’ve missed out on a couple,” B&B’s Farnsworth said. “We didn’t have that crazy ‘Dune’ one. But that was kind of one of the hinge points for us. It was like, ‘Alright, we really have to pay attention.'”
B&B, the fifth-largest cinema chain in America with 58 locations, still has to be very intentional about which products it offers and how many it purchases. Films like “Wicked,” with a massive built-in audience craving merchandise, are a safer bet. But theaters have a very short window to sell the specialty items.
“Unlike our normal popcorn bags, which are evergreen, if you don’t sell the [product], you’re probably not going to sell them a month after the movie,” Farnsworth said.
Meanwhile, AMC is investing more heavily.
“One of the big things that we’re doing in 2025 is we’re significantly increasing the quantities,” Aron said, noting that AMC was already placing orders for 100,000 units or more. “We’re buying, because there’s no need for us to sell out on opening day. There’s plenty of people coming to see that movie for weeks and weeks.”
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. More

Many restaurants reported improving sales in the fourth quarter, but executives warned that the first quarter will be weak.
Freezing temperatures, wildfires and a still-cautious consumer led to lower sales in January.
Chipotle, Wendy’s and McDonald’s are among the chains predicting stronger results in the second half of the year.

A McDonald’s restaurant in El Sobrante, California, on Oct. 23, 2024.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

In like a lion, out like a lamb.
That’s how restaurant executives envision 2025 after a rough start to the year, largely caused by freezing temperatures, wildfires and consumer caution.

Many restaurant chains, like Restaurant Brands’ Burger King and Popeyes, said sales improved in the fourth quarter as value offerings brought back diners who had been cooking at home instead. Even McDonald’s domestic traffic grew, despite a 1.4% decline in U.S. same-store sales.
But the trend reversed in January.
“We’ve started the year facing some overall industry traffic headwinds, exacerbated by significant weather events across the country,” Wendy’s CFO Kenneth Cook said on the company’s conference call on Thursday.
Fast-food net sales rose 3.4% in January, compared with the year-ago period, but the growth was down slightly from December’s spike of 4.9%, according to restaurant market research firm Revenue Management Solutions. Traffic for breakfast and lunch both declined during the month.
“I think consumers are still wary,” Subway U.S. President Doug Fry told CNBC. “I think they’re waiting to see how the economy goes, but they’re also not willing to sacrifice that quality and portion size and the quantity of what they’re eating. They want to find that best value for the dollar they spend.”

Traffic and sales growth are expected to pick up as the year progresses, in part due to the easy comparisons to last year’s declines. Industry traffic was negative every month except November, and sales slid over the summer, which is typically a high point for restaurants.
“We expect year-over-year comparisons to ease into the summer months,” Restaurant Brands CFO Sami Siddiqui said.

January blues

A customer holds a bag of food outside of a Chipotle restaurant in New York on Jan. 12, 2024.
Angus Mordant | Bloomberg | Getty Images

January always brings colder temperatures, but this year it also included wildfires in Los Angeles and new uncertainty after President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Chipotle Mexican Grill estimates that the wildfires hurt its January same-store traffic growth by 400 basis points, or 4%.
Overall, traffic to Chipotle restaurants open at least a year fell 2% in January compared with a year ago, hurt by the weather and New Year’s Day falling on a Wednesday. Chipotle CFO Adam Rymer told analysts that the company believes its first-quarter same-store sales will be roughly flat.
Looking to the second quarter, Chipotle also expects weaker same-store sales as it faces comparisons to last year’s popular promotions. While the company predicts stronger sales in the second half of the year, its weak forecast for the coming months led to a 4% decline in the stock.
For now, restaurants aren’t predicting any major impact on their businesses from the Trump administration’s trade war. Chipotle, which imports roughly half of its avocado supply from Mexico, downplayed concerns about how currently suspended tariffs of 25% would raise food costs. The company, along with Wendy’s and McDonald’s, did not include any impact from the new 10% duties on China and potential levies on Mexico and Canada in its outlook.
But consumers are worrying about tariffs and the potential pressure on their wallets.
U.S. consumer sentiment hit a seven-month low in February as households fear rising prices over the next year. Already, inflation in January was hotter than expected, with away-from-home food prices rising 3.4% over the last 12 months, according to the Department of Labor.

Second-half comeback

For the chains plotting a comeback, sales are expected to improve later this year.
For example, McDonald’s is still waiting for its sales to rebound fully after an E. coli outbreak linked to its Quarter Pounder burgers began weighing on sales in mid-October. The fast-food giant is predicting that demand will recover by the beginning of the second quarter, McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said on the company’s conference call on Monday.
Plus, if overall consumer health strengthens, McDonald’s predicts even more sales gains.
“Should the underlying environment improve beyond our initial expectations, especially with respect to lower-income consumers, we would expect to benefit disproportionately relative to our competitors,” McDonald’s CFO Ian Borden said.

People are seen leaving a Starbucks in New York City on Jan. 14, 2025.
Angela Weiss | AFP | Getty Images

Then there’s Starbucks, which will need a much longer timeline to turn around its business. The coffee chain’s same-store sales have fallen for four straight quarters as consumers opt to buy their caffeinated drinks elsewhere.
Starbucks suspended its outlook for fiscal 2025, so it didn’t provide any insight into its expected sales for the year. However, Starbucks CFO Rachel Ruggeri told investors that the company’s earnings are expected to improve in the second half of its fiscal year.
“[Earnings per share] is expected to be the lowest in [the fiscal second quarter] on an absolute basis due to seasonality, the organization restructuring I just spoke about and elevated investments, with year-over-year pressure also intensifying in the quarter,” she said in late January. “EPS is then expected to improve in the latter half of the fiscal year 2025, both sequentially and year-over-year.” More

EatOkra and Black Foodie Finder spotlight Black-owned restaurants in their apps.
EatOkra offers resources and visibility to independent restaurants amid a challenging economic landscape.
Black Foodie Finder focuses on social media as a means to amplify Black food creators and businesses.

Arrows pointing outwards

EatOkra’s mobile app lists nearby Black-owned restaurants.
Courtesy: EatOkra

When Anthony Edwards Jr. and his then-girlfriend, Janique, first moved to Brooklyn in 2016, they struggled to find food that was comfortable and familiar to them.
They explored their neighborhood, Edwards said, but had a hard time finding Black-owned restaurants nearby. There were few resources for doing so besides group chats and informal lists. So, with the encouragement of Janique, now his wife, he used his computer science degree to create a platform for users to find Black-owned eateries.

The two co-founded EatOkra, an app that now has 20,000 monthly active users and brought in about $700,000 in revenue in 2024.
“As we put it out there into the world, we saw people immediately gravitate and tell us frankly, ‘I’ve been looking for an app like this,’ and we still hear this to this day,” Edwards, EatOkra’s CEO and CTO, told CNBC.
They weren’t the only ones. In 2020, Brax Rich was seeking a way to support Black-owned restaurants amid the Covid pandemic. He launched Black Foodie Finder, originally as a social media space to highlight eateries. Now, Black Foodie Finder has 1.3 million Instagram followers and spotlights restaurants, chefs and recipes in its app.
“I think our impact has been really big,” Rich, CEO of Black Foodie Finder, told CNBC. “We would highlight a restaurant, and the next thing I know, the owner’s posting on social media, ‘Hey, where did all you new guys come from?'”
Here’s a look at how these platforms are showcasing Black-owned businesses and Black food professionals:

EatOkra looks to uplift independent restaurants

EatOkra co-founders Janique and Anthony Edwards.
Courtesy: EatOkra

EatOkra users can search for Black-owned restaurants, caterers and food trucks based on keywords or proximity. About 20,000 businesses across the U.S. are available to browse in its database, including their locations, user reviews, contact information and online ordering options. EatOkra, named after the plant used in African diasporic dishes, also lists Black-owned food products in its marketplace.
The platform offers two tiers for businesses seeking to join the database: a free Lite option and a paid Plus subscription that offers additional features, online business courses and more space on the app for $9.99 a month. Edwards said the Plus membership serves as EatOkra’s primary business model.
EatOkra’s current partners include catering company ezCater and Pepsi Dig In, PepsiCo’s initiative to promote Black-owned businesses. It also collaborates with Apple Maps to help produce local guides to Black-owned eateries.

Arrows pointing outwards

Map feature on the Black Foodie Finder app.
Courtesy: Black Foodie Finder

The company provides resources on topics such as marketing, supply chain and restaurant growth, said Jason Wallace, EatOkra’s director of business solutions and a food service educator.
“It’s been exactly what the independent restaurateur needs,” Wallace said. “There’s a mom-and-pop aspect that needs to be refined so that they can develop those CEO skill sets, those COO skill sets that EatOkra brings to the table. And quite frankly, it’s refreshing to the operator to know that they’re not out there by themselves.”
Ken Polk, executive chef and partner at Batter & Berries, said the Chicago-based restaurant joined EatOkra several years ago to boost its visibility, especially among travelers who might use EatOkra to seek out local Black-owned businesses.
“I thought the platform was ingenious, particularly in this day and age we live in, where things just get buried and it’s very hard to find something,” Polk told CNBC. “It’s a beacon.”
Edwards said EatOkra’s efforts to build a community for Black-owned restaurants culminated in its Culinary Creatives Conference, which debuted in October in New York City. The one-day event brought about 500 attendees together to build connections, spotlight vendors and discuss business strategies.

A panel at EatOkra’s Culinary Creatives Conference in New York City in October 2024.

The most rewarding part, Edwards said, was seeing people find mentors and strike deals with other businesses. He hopes to eventually plan a multiday national conference.
“This conference aims to be an incubator, be a catalyst for current and future entrepreneurs to come together — to get the education, to get the community and the networks they need,” Edwards told CNBC.
Jeremy Joyce, founder of website Black People Eats, said EatOkra provides a platform for restaurants that don’t have the resources for marketing campaigns. He’s discovered numerous restaurants through EatOkra, he told CNBC.
“What they’re doing is very impactful. Because I did the research, and there, at the time, was no other app who was doing what they were doing,” Joyce said.
Clark Wolf, founder and president of restaurant consulting firm Clark Wolf Company, said EatOkra’s rise comes at a moment of increased representation and recognition of Black food culture. He cited the 2021 Netflix docuseries “High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America” and the success of James Beard Award-winning chef Kwame Onwuachi as examples of the growing interest.
“This is at a time when in American culture, even though there’s a push against it, we have been acknowledging Black history, African American influences in food and farming,” Wolf said.
Still, challenges lie ahead for EatOkra and the businesses it supports. Wallace said fluctuating food prices, President Donald Trump’s push for more deportations and consumer disposable income all present potential headwinds for independent restaurants.
“We’re still resolute in what we’re going to continue to do and who we’re going to fight for,” Edwards said. “That’s not going to change.”

Black Foodie Finder fosters a food-loving network

Rich said Black Foodie Finder is a one-stop shop for all things food and beverage in the Black community.
Social media is Black Foodie Finder’s “meat and potatoes,” Rich said, and it often serves as a gateway for newcomers to BFF.

Arrows pointing outwards

The find chefs feature on the Black Foodie Finder app.
Courtesy: Black Foodie Finder

“It’s really just been about a community and, as we highlight these people, making sure we put them in their best light,” Rich told CNBC. “I honestly can say that’s been the best return. It’s kind of the secret sauce.”
On BFF’s app, which has 75,000 active users and about 15,000 restaurant listings, users can find nearby Black-owned eateries as well as profiles for local chefs and recipes for dishes such as peach cobbler.
Heather Rose, CEO of restaurant consulting firm Black Ink Team, said BFF’s spotlight on chefs boosts businesses by creating access to the people behind them.
“It puts you directly in contact with the person who is the creative driver behind the business,” Rose told CNBC.

An attendee displays a beverage at Black Foodie Finder’s inaugural BFF Cookout in Memphis, Tennessee, on Sept. 1, 2024.
Courtesy: Black Foodie Finder

Black Foodie Finder has previously inked corporate partnerships, but its current primary revenue source is its BFF Cookout, a food festival in Memphis, Tennessee, where the company is based. The inaugural cookout in September, with sponsors including Clorox-owned charcoal company Kingsford, brought about 3,000 people to Tom Lee Park for food vendors and musical performances.
Rich said it was important for him that the cookout appealed to everyone, from families enjoying kid-friendly programming to vendors receiving fair compensation. The festival will return this year, he told CNBC, and he’s looking to expand it.
“At the end of the event, our vendors came to us and were like, ‘Wherever you go, I want to follow,'” he said.
Rich is also hoping to build out BFF’s media presence. The company is currently looking into producing short shows and video segments highlighting restaurants, possibly on television.

Food being served at the BFF Cookout in Memphis, Tennessee, on Sept. 1, 2024.
Courtesy: Black Foodie Finder

It’s part of Rich’s vision for Black Foodie Finder as a go-to space to highlight businesses.
“Most of the businesses and most of the people in the food space, they are experts at food,” Rich said. “Sometimes, they just don’t have the platforms or support to grow. And so that’s what we are. We are that support system.” More

Roku shares surged Friday morning on the heels of a stronger-than-expected quarterly report, reaching a new yearly high.
CEO Anthony Wood said the company added more than four million new streaming households during its most recent quarter and is on track to reach 100 million streaming households in the next year.
The company boosted revenue by 22% to $1.2 billion.

Shares of Roku surged 14% Friday, notching a new 52-week high, on earnings that beat Wall Street expectations.
In an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” CEO Anthony Wood said more than half of U.S. broadband households now watch TV with Roku.

Wood said the company added more than four million new streaming households during its most recent quarter and is on track to reach 100 million streaming households in the next year.
The company’s growth was driven in part by the Roku user experience, including promoting content on its home screen, Wood told CNBC’s Julia Boorstin.
“We’re the No. 1 streaming operating system in the country and in most of the Americas by a wide margin,” he said.
Here’s how the company performed for the fourth quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

Loss per share: 24 cents vs. a loss of 40 cents expected
Revenue: $1.2 billion vs. $1.14 billion expected

The company boosted revenue by 22% to $1.2 billion. It reported a net loss for the period of $35.5 million, or 24 cents per share, an improvement from a net loss of $78.3 million, or 55 cents per share, during the same quarter a year earlier.

Roku reported 89.8 million streaming households as of the end of 2024, a 12% year-over-year increase. Beginning next quarter, the company no longer expects to report that metric as it streamlines earnings reports to focus on revenue and profitability numbers.
Roku also reported an 18% year-over-year increase in streaming hours in the fourth quarter, with a focus on continuing to grow ad demand through “deeper third-party platform integrations,” the company said in its earnings release.
“Advertising is a big part of our business, and so a big focus for us in our strategy is to continue to grow demand by working with third-party partners,” Wood said.
The company is forecasting net revenue of $1 billion and gross profit of $450 million for the first quarter of 2025.

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