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The Rubik’s Cube turns 50 this year and, under the ownership of Spin Master, it shows no signs of retirement.
The iconic 3-by-3 grid has graced T-shirts, been turned into keychains, inspired architecture and sparked an entire subgenre of art.
The cube claims 42% market share in the brain teaser category, and sales are still growing. In 2022, global retail sales of the Rubik’s Cube reached $75.3 million.

Erno Rubik, inventor of the Rubik’s Cube, holds one of the cubes at the International Toy Fair in Nuremberg, Germany, Jan. 29, 2020.
Picture Alliance | Getty Images

It took a month of twisting and turning for the first person to solve a Rubik’s Cube. That person was Erno Rubik, now 79, the iconic puzzle toy’s creator.
Conceived as a mathematical tool to help his students understand three-dimensional movement, the magic cube, as it was initially called, was first pieced together with cubes made from wood and paper held together with rubber bands, glue and paperclips.

It was only after the Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture scrambled his completed cube and tried to realign the colored blocks that he realized he’d created a puzzle.
“I thought, if I can’t do it, nobody else can do it, or very few can do it,” Rubik told CNBC. “That was proof that it was possible to put in the market, to demonstrate it to the public.”
A source of pride, envy and frustration, the Rubik’s Cube turns 50 this year and, under the ownership of Spin Master, it shows no signs of retirement.
“Rubik’s isn’t just a toy,” said Sam Susz, senior director of global marketing at Spin Master. “It’s art. It’s a sport. It’s science. It’s math.”
Since its inception in 1974, the Rubik’s Cube has spread throughout the pop culture landscape, appearing in movies and TV shows, music videos, comics, video games and museums. The iconic 3-by-3 grid has graced T-shirts, been turned into keychains, inspired architecture and sparked an entire subgenre of art.

Enthusiasts have raced to shrink the cube creator’s monthlong solving time, with the current world record standing at a mere 3.13 seconds.

Rami Sbahi auditioning for “America’s Got Talent” in 2014 by solving a Rubik’s Cube both with his feet and with his hands quickly.
Nbc | Nbcuniversal | Getty Images

“I would throw Rubik’s in the category of toys and game brands that transcended and became lifestyle brands,” said James Zahn, editor in chief of “The Toy Book” and senior editor of “The Toy Insider.”

A no-brainer acquisition

Toronto-based Spin Master, known for brands such as Hatchimals, Tech Deck and Kinetic Sand, acquired the Rubik’s Cube brand in 2021, five years after snapping up the iconic Etch-a-Sketch.
“I mean, in the toy and game industry it is not often that you come across the opportunity to acquire an evergreen, iconic brand,” Susz said. “And this brand is just something that has just such incredible staying power.”
Adding tried-and-true evergreen products to its portfolio allows Spin Master to take risks with new brands, knowing it has a set of products that will always have a space on retail shelves.
“Rubik’s is just a brand that shows no signs of ever going away,” Zahn said. “It will forever be regarded as a classic.”
At present, the cube has 42% market share in the brain teaser category, according to Susz. And sales are still growing.
In 2022, global retail sales of the Rubik’s Cube grew nearly 4% year over year and reached $75.3 million, the result of nearly 6 million units sold. That figure does not include tens of millions of dollars in sales of related, Rubik’s-inspired cubes, Susz said. As of November 2023, year-to-date sales were up 14% over 2022.
Spin Master generated just over $2 billion in revenue in 2022, making Rubik’s Cube sales just under 4% of the company’s total earnings that year.
“The one important element of its longevity is the fact that new people keep discovering it each and every year,” said Zahn.
Much of the Rubik’s Cube staying power is tied to its complex nature — 43 quintillion combinations, Rubik touts — and the human drive to solve problems.

14-year-old Terence Wilson of Deepdale near Preston, with his Rubik’s Cube and Rubik’s Snake, 28th August 1981.
Mirrorpix | Getty Images

Parents and educators have gravitated toward the cube as a way to occupy kids outside the digital world and aid in development of dexterity and critical thinking skills.
Spin Master is also in the process of starting the Rubik’s Academy, an educational program that provides teachers with lesson plans that integrate the puzzle toy into the classroom.
“It’s absolutely great for kids with learning difficulties,” said Amanda Gummer, a child development expert and founder of the toy review site “The Good Play Guide.” “It helps them with confidence, and when they’ve mastered it, it’s quite a kind of cool playground boast.”

The next 50 years

While the traditional Rubik’s Cube remains popular, Spin Master has been quick to develop new versions of the cube.
This includes the Rubik’s Phantom, the familiar 3-by-3 cube printed with thermochromic ink that appears all black until the heat from your hands activates the colors, and the Rubik’s Impossible, a cube with iridescent tiles that change color when viewed from different angles.
“There is probably no harder challenge than to try and innovate something that’s been around for 50 years, and everyone’s done everything under the sun with it,” Susz said.
Spin Master also wants to make solving the cube more accessible. Alongside online tutorials and a Rubik’s Cube mobile app, the company has developed the Rubik’s Coach Cube, covered in numbered stickers that correspond to each step needed to solve the cube.
The goal, after 50 years, is to keep momentum.
Spin Master is working closely with brands such as Mattel’s Barbie, Hello Kitty, Levi and Mercedes to launch new products, from toys to apparel and even a Formula 1 racing car. There’s even a hope that the company will develop a feature film about Rubik’s life, similar to films such as “Air,” “Blackberry” or “Barbie,” Susz said.
Spin Master expects sales growth to continue in 2024 as it unveils new iterations of the cube.
“One of the beauties of Spin Master having full control and ownership of Rubik’s globally is that now we can invest in a big way,” Susz said. More

Delta shares fell after the company trimmed its 2024 earnings forecast.
The company reported a fourth-quarter earnings beat as bookings, both for corporate and leisure travel, continued to pick up from the Covid-19 pandemic lows.
Airline stocks including United, American and Southwest were also down on the news.

Delta Air Lines shares slipped about 9% Friday after the company trimmed its 2024 earnings forecast. 
Delta forecast full-year earnings per share of $6 to $7, below its previous estimate of more than $7 per share for 2024.

Other major airlines including United, American and Southwest also fell on the new estimate, released alongside quarterly earnings. United and American were down about 10% each, while Southwest fell more than 4%.
Delta finished 2023 by doubling its quarterly profit as bookings, both for corporate and leisure travel, continued to pick up from the Covid-19 pandemic lows. The company reported $2.04 billion in net income in the fourth quarter, sharply up from the $828 million reported in the year-ago period. 
Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a CNBC interview that the airline has recovered almost 90% of its travel demand from its pre-pandemic numbers. Bastian said he expects strong growth in international travel as Americans continue to set their sights on overseas destinations.
“We expect to see an inflection point in the first part of this new year, in terms of our domestic unit revenues turning positive,” Bastian said.
Delta is coming off a strong 2023 where shares surged more than 20%, but the stock is still down from its all-time high of $63.16, notched in July 2019. The stock closed Friday at $38.47 per share.Don’t miss these stories from CNBC PRO: More

Airlines canceled about 2,000 U.S. flights Friday as severe winter weather and the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max 9 disrupted travel.
Storms in the Midwest helped drive more than 4,500 nationwide delays and disruptions at major hubs in Chicago and Detroit.
Alaska Airlines announced Friday they would cancel all flights on the Max 9 through Sunday.

An Embraer E175LR passengers aircraft of American Eagles airlines (C) taxxing before take-off to Pittsburg is seen at La Guardia Airport on January 9, 2024.
Charly Triballeau | Afp | Getty Images

Airlines canceled about 2,000 U.S. flights Friday as they grapple with winter weather and the grounding of Boeing 737 Max 9 planes. 
Storms in the Midwest helped drive more than 4,500 delays, with major disruptions around Chicago and Detroit, major hubs for the largest U.S. carriers, according to flight-tracker FlightAware.

About 40% of flights at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, a hub for United Airlines and American Airlines, were canceled after a snowstorm led to an over two-hour ground stop. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, a hub for Delta Air Lines, had about 20% of flights Friday either delayed or canceled due to the storms.
Southwest Airlines, which has a big operation out of Chicago Midway, canceled more than 400 flights, while more than 900 were delayed.
United canceled about 10% of its mainline flights and delayed about 20%.
Last week, the Federal Aviation Administration grounded Boeing 737 Max 9s after a door plug blew off an Alaska Airlines flight, so the jets can undergo inspections. That grounding has continued to disrupt travel for both United and Alaska Airlines, the only two U.S. airlines that operate the aircraft.
Alaska Airlines said Friday it would cancel all flights on the Max 9 through Sunday as it waits for documentation from Boeing and the FAA to begin inspections.

About 20% of the carrier’s flights were canceled Friday and more than 10% were delayed, FlightAware data showed. Alaska said that between 110 and 150 flights per day would be impacted by the grounding of the Max 9. 
“We regret the significant disruption that has been caused for our guests by cancellations due to these aircraft being out of service,” the company said. More

The FAA said it will audit Boeing’s production line after a door plug blew out on an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 a week ago.
The agency said it is considering the use of an independent third party to oversee Boeing inspections and quality.
The FAA grounded more than 170 Boeing 737 Max 9s, most of the world’s fleet, after that incident.

The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday said it will audit Boeing’s production line, a week after a door plug blew off an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9.
The agency said it is considering using “an independent third party” to oversee Boeing inspections and quality of its manufacturing.

The FAA grounded more than 170 Boeing 737 Max 9s, most of the world’s fleet, after that incident. The agency said the audit applies to Boeing’s production line for that plane model and its suppliers “to evaluate Boeing’s compliance with its approved quality procedures.”
“The results of the FAA’s audit analysis will determine whether additional audits are necessary,” said the agency.
The FAA said it will also evaluate risks around Boeing’s ability to self-monitor quality control and other aspects of airplane production. The agency on Thursday announced an investigation into whether the manufacturer failed to ensure its planes were airworthy and conformed to their design.
“The grounding of the 737-9 and the multiple production-related issues identified in recent years require us to look at every option to reduce risk,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said in a statement.
Boeing said in a statement it welcomes the FAA’s announcement will “cooperate fully and transparently with our regulator. We support all actions that strengthen quality and safety and we are taking actions across our production system.”

Earlier this week, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun told staff that the company acknowledges its “mistake” and said it would move past the incident, the latest defect and the most serious in recent years from Boeing.
No serious injuries were reported on the Alaska Airlines flight, and no one was seated next to the panel that blew out nor in the next seat over.
Still, the incident ramps up scrutiny on Boeing’s quality problems and on regulators that oversee the industry.
“The FAA conducts final safety checks and issues airworthiness certificates for newly produced Boeing 737s,” the agency said.Don’t miss these stories from CNBC PRO: More

Momentus, once valued at more than $1 billion before going public via a SPAC in 2021, abandoned plans for its next mission, which was to fly satellite customers in March.
The company cited its “inability to support continuing operations for the expected launch date as a result of the Company’s limited liquidity and cash balance.”
Momentus pitched itself as a “last mile delivery” service for spacecraft, targeting the market for small satellites with its orbital transfer vehicle.

An artist’s rendering of a Momentus Vigoride transfer vehicle deploying a satellite in orbit.

Space company Momentus warned shareholders in a securities filing on Friday that the company is running out of money and does not have a financial lifeline.
Momentus, once valued at more than $1 billion before going public via a special purpose acquisition company in 2021, abandoned plans for its next mission, which was to fly satellite customers in March. The company cited its “inability to support continuing operations for the expected launch date as a result of the Company’s limited liquidity and cash balance.”

Momentus already laid off about 20% of its workforce at the end of December to reduce costs.
Despite the cuts, Momentus said its “ability to continue to fund operations for the next few weeks and months will be dependent on its ability to raise equity capital or engage in a strategic transaction.”
It noted it “does not have definitive commitments at this time.”
Shares of Momentus fell more than 30% during trading on Friday, with its market value sliding to nearly $5 million. The company received another delisting warning from the Nasdaq earlier this month, having avoided a delisting last year by performing a reverse stock split.

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Momentus was among a dozen or so space companies that debuted during the SPAC frenzy. The company was already on rocky footing before it went public, with delayed missions after the departure of its founder and former CEO, its valuation cut in half to less than $600 million and an SEC settlement due to allegations of falsifying results from a prototype spacecraft test.

The company has flown four missions to date, deploying 17 satellites for customers. It pitched itself as a “last mile delivery” service for spacecraft, targeting the market for small satellites, with its central product the Vigoride orbital transfer vehicle, or “space tug,” designed to deliver satellites from a rocket to a specific orbit.Don’t miss these stories from CNBC PRO: More

Delta capped a year of strong travel demand, especially for international travel.
Fourth-quarter profit doubled, and CEO Ed Bastian said demand is high.
The airline and other carriers, however, have faced higher costs throughout 2023.

Delta Air Lines closed out the year by doubling its quarterly profit as travel demand, particularly for international trips, helped drive record revenue in 2023. CEO Ed Bastian said continued strong travel demand could boost earnings this year.
Still, the company’s full-year profit outlook was below a previous forecast, and the stock fell 5% in premarket trading.

The airline on Friday forecast adjusted earnings per share of between $6 and $7 for 2024, below the more than $7 a share the carrier predicted last year. Delta posted adjusted earnings of $6.25 a share in 2023.
“Business is going great. Just go to any airport,” Bastian told CNBC in an interview.
Delta said it expects revenue in the first quarter of 2024 to increase 3% to 6% over the prior year period. The carrier forecast earnings per share of between 25 cents and 50 cents, within the range analysts are projecting, according to LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv.
The winter is typically one of the slowest periods for air travel. Airlines have also been navigating cooling fares and higher expenses like fuel and labor.
Delta is the first of the major U.S. carriers to report fourth-quarter results.

Here’s how the company performed in the three months ended Dec. 31 compared with Wall Street expectations based on consensus estimates from LSEG:

Adjusted earnings per share: $1.28 vs. $1.17 expected.
Adjusted revenue: $13.66 billion vs. $13.52 billion expected.

Delta reported $2.04 billion in net income for the last three months of 2023, up from $828 million a year ago. Revenue rose 6% to $14.22 billion from a year earlier.
Stripping out one-time items, Delta posted adjusted revenue of of $13.66 billion, slightly ahead of LSEG estimates. Adjusted per-share earnings of $1.28 topped analysts’ estimates for $1.17 a share in the fourth quarter.
Delta’s president, Glen Hauenstein, said in a news release that the carrier has seen strong demand for international travel that has outpaced U.S. flight revenue, but there has been “a positive inflection” for domestic travel of late. Some carriers have struggled with oversupply of domestic flights in recent months, forcing them to discount off-peak fares more than usual.
Delta and other large U.S. carriers have benefitted from offering sprawling international networks, where many high-priced tickets were sold last year.
Overall, record numbers of people paid to sit in Delta’s higher-priced cabins like first class or premium economy in the last quarter, driving revenue from premium cabins up 15% during the period, outpacing 10% revenue growth from standard coach seats.
But the carrier still faces challenges with the aerospace supply chain for parts and repairs, Bastian said.
“It’s taking longer to fix planes and taking longer to put them back into service,” he said. Aircraft repairs and the parts supply chain is “the biggest area of the business that’s not returned to a pre-pandemic level of performance.”
The airline industry was rocked in recent days when a door plug blew out of a Boeing 737 Max 9, an Alaska Airlines flight, when the plane was at about 16,000 feet. The Federal Aviation Administration grounded those Boeing planes a day later.
Delta doesn’t have any Max 9s in its fleet, though it does have dozens of 737 Max 10 aircraft, which the FAA hasn’t yet certified, on order. It isn’t yet clear whether the Alaska incident will mean further delays to the certification of the Max 10s.
Delta also announced Friday an expected order for 20 wide-body Airbus A350-1000 aircraft, with deliveries starting in 2026. More

CVS Health plans to close select pharmacies inside Target stores early this year, as retail pharmacy chains in the U.S. struggle to boost profits. 
The pharmacy closures will begin in February and finish by the end of April.
Employees affected by the closures will be offered comparable roles within CVS. 

CVS Health plans to close select pharmacies inside Target stores early this year, a company spokesperson said Thursday, as retail pharmacy chains in the U.S. struggle to boost profits. 
The closures will begin in February and finish by the end of April, the spokesperson said in a statement. She added that employees affected by the closures will be offered comparable roles within CVS, and prescriptions will be transferred to a nearby CVS pharmacy before a location closes.

The spokesperson did not disclose how many stores would be shuttered, but a report from The Wall Street Journal on Thursday said CVS would close “dozens” of locations.
CVS operates 9,000 pharmacy locations nationwide. The company has a pharmacy in about 1,800 of Target’s 1,956 stores in the U.S., according to a Target spokesperson. 
The Target spokesperson declined to comment on the closures or share plans for the closed CVS locations. 
The decision to shutter the stores is part of CVS’ effort to reduce its retail footprint “based on our evaluation of changes in population, consumer buying patterns and future health needs,” the CVS spokesperson said.
In 2021, CVS said it would close about 900 stores, which is about 10% of its U.S. locations, between 2022 and 2024, as the company pushes to transform itself from a major drugstore chain into a large health-care company.

CVS has deepened that push over the past year with its nearly $8 billion acquisition of health-care provider Signify Health and $10.6 billion deal to buy Oak Street Health, which operates primary care clinics for seniors.
But the company also launched a cost-cutting program last year as part of that expensive push into health care, with plans to lay off 5,000 employees.
The closures also come after pharmacy staff from CVS and other drugstore chains walked out in the fall to protest what they call harsh working conditions that put both employees and patients at risk. CVS has told CNBC that the company is engaging with staff to directly address any concerns they might have.
— CNBC’s Melissa Repko contributed to this report.Don’t miss these stories from CNBC PRO: More

The governors of New York and California are proposing new laws and funding to address retail theft in 2024.
Both governors, who represent the country’s largest Democratic strongholds, want stiffer penalties for retail crime offenses and increased police funding.
The announcements come as voters from both sides of the aisle point to crime as one of their biggest concerns ahead of the 2024 election. 

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The governors of New York and California announced sweeping plans to crack down on retail crime this week, as trade associations and police departments lobby for government action to curb theft.
The plans include new legislation designed to increase the penalties for retail crime offenses and more funding for police departments and district attorney’s offices to help them tackle theft. 

Both Govs. Kathy Hochul of New York and Gavin Newsom of California, who represent the country’s largest Democratic strongholds, made preventing retail theft a top priority this year as voters from both sides of the aisle point to crime as one of their biggest concerns ahead of the 2024 election. The sheer fact that major “tough on crime” platforms are coming from Democratic governors of progressive states also threatens to upend decades of partisan political fault lines. In the modern era, Republicans have traditionally fought to stiffen criminal penalties, while Democrats have sought to address deeper causes of crime, like poverty, inequality and urban unemployment.
But not anymore.
Since 2022, at least nine states — including six in 2023 — passed laws to impose harsher penalties for organized retail crime offenses, and New York and California could join that list. Retailers and trade associations around the country have worked to get the bills written and past the finish line.
It’s tough to determine whether theft offenses are up nationally, as it’s a crime that often goes unreported and undetected. It’s also unclear how effective the proposed legislation will be.
Experts previously told CNBC that laws that increase penalties for retail crime offenses may not actually reduce theft offenses, and could disproportionately harm marginalized groups. Similar strategies implemented to address the drug trade have done little to reduce the use or availability of illegal narcotics. Similar to low-level drug dealers, many serial thieves face mental illness, poverty or drug addiction, law enforcement agents previously told CNBC. 

Hochul in her State of the State address Tuesday said she is planning to introduce bills that would create criminal penalties for online marketplaces and third-party sellers that contribute to the sale of stolen goods. She also aims to work with the legislature to strengthen penalties for those who assault retail employees. 
In addition, Hochul plans to set up two new task forces dedicated to tackling theft – one for building cases against organized retail theft rings and another that addresses so-called smash-and-grab robberies.
As part of the initiatives, Hochul called for expanded funding for state police departments and district attorney’s offices to better equip them to tackle retail theft and other property crimes like burglary. She also wants to establish a tax credit for business owners who implement store security measures to help them offset those costs.
“Across our nation and our state, retail theft has surged, creating fear among customers and workers. Thieves brazenly tear items off shelves and menace employees. Owners go broke replacing broken windows and stolen goods, driving many out of business,” Hochul said in her address.
“These attacks are nothing less than a breakdown in the social order. I say: no more. The chaos must end.”
Newsom said on Wednesday that California will invest $1.1 billion over the next four years to address “safety and security” – $373.5 million of which will be dedicated to combating organized retail theft, according to his office. 
In his state budget address, Newsom said 52 sheriff’s and police departments have already received upward of $250 million in new grants to combat retail theft. He added district attorney’s offices are receiving assistance to advance prosecution efforts. 
“We mean business in this space,” Newsom said.
Newsom this week also called for new legislation that would address organized retail crime. He wants to target in particular people who are accused of repeatedly stealing from the same stores and “professional thieves” who resell stolen goods. 
The proposals include new penalties that target people who engage in retail theft, including by increasing felony penalties and prison time, and bolstering existing laws so police can arrest theft suspects even if they didn’t witness the crime as it was happening. 
Newsom is also calling for changes to the state penal code that would allow police to aggregate theft incidents within a given time period so it’s easier to charge repeat offenders with grand theft and other felonies. Currently, someone has to steal more than $950 in goods in a single incident to be charged with grand theft in California.
— CNBC’s Christina Wilkie contributed to this report.
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