Business

Delta forecast full-year adjusted earnings at the high end of its previously stated range.
The airline also raised its estimate for free cash generation this year.
Delta holds its investor day on Tuesday and reports second-quarter results next month.

Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Delta Air Lines on Tuesday raised its second-quarter forecast and estimated full-year adjusted earnings of $6 a share, at the high end of estimates it gave last April as strong travel demand and trade-ups to more expensive fare classes continue to drive growth.
Delta forecast adjusted earnings per share of $2.25 to $2.50 for the second quarter, up from a previous range of $2 to $2.25 a share. CEO Ed Bastian said that the company’s second-quarter earnings, which it will report next month, could be its highest ever for the April-June period.

“The demand as you know, as anyone that’s traveling knows, is off the chain,” Bastian said in an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
In an investor day presentation Tuesday, the airline also raised its estimate for free cash generation this year to $3 billion from $2 billion. Delta reinstated its quarterly dividend earlier this month.

Delta and its rivals have reported strong travel demand, particularly for international trips, while other sectors have struggled as consumers grapple with inflation and other challenges. The airline industry has also faced growth constraints because of air traffic controller shortages, delays in new aircraft and shortfalls of new pilots, helping keep fares firm.
But in addition to resilient demand, airlines are also enjoying jet-fuel prices that are down about 30% from a year ago.
And, Delta on Tuesday forecast revenue per available seat mile, a gauge of how much money an airline is generating for how much it’s flying, to be up as much as 18% over last year, an increase from a previous forecast of 15% to 17% growth.

The airline has repeatedly touted customers’ willingness to buy up to more expensive seats, from those with extra legroom to first class. Premium revenue will come in at about $19 billion this year, a 35% share of total revenue, up from a 24% share in 2014.
The carrier also said its lucrative partnership with American Express credit cards continues to grow, generating an estimated $6.5 billion this year compared with $4 billion in 2019.
Delta shares were up more than 1% in premarket trading Tuesday. More

Walgreens slashed its full-year earnings guidance to a range of $4.00 to $4.05 per share, down from its previous forecast of $4.45 to $4.65 per share.
Walgreens fiscal third-quarter earnings missed analyst expectations for the first time since July 2020.
CEO Rosalind Brewer said Walgreens will increase its cost-cutting program to $4.1 billion and take immediate action to increase profitability in the company’s health-care segment.

Walgreens Boots Alliance on Tuesday slashed its full-year earnings guidance as it fell short of Wall Street expectations for its fiscal third quarter due to lower consumer spending and a drop in demand for Covid vaccines and testing.
The retail pharmacy chain lowered its earnings guidance to a range of $4.00 to $4.05 per share for the full year, down from its previous forecast of $4.45 to $4.65 per share.

CEO Rosalind Brewer told analysts during the company’s earnings call that she was disappointed by the reduced profit guidance for the year.
Brewer said soft demand for Covid vaccines and lower consumer spending is likely to extend into next year. She said the company is closing watching the end of fiscal stimulus and resumption of student loan payments as potential headwinds.
“Our customer is feeling the strain of higher inflation and interest rates, lower SNAP benefits and tax refunds and an uncertain economic outlook. They are pulling back on discretionary and seasonal spending and responding strongly to promotional activity,” Brewer said.
Brewer said she is increasing Walgreen’s cost-cutting initiative to $4.1 billion, which includes $800 million in savings for fiscal year 2024. The company is also working to increase profitability of its health-care segment, she said.
Brewer said although she’s not satisfied with Tuesday’s results, Walgreens had the right strategy to drive future growth.

Shares of Walgreens fell roughly 9% in premarket trading following the release.
Here’s how Walgreens performed in its fiscal third quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting based on analyst estimates polled by Refinitiv:

Earnings: $1.00 per share adjusted, vs. $1.07 expected.
Revenue: $35.42 billion, vs. $34.24 billion expected.

The earnings miss is the first time Walgreens has underperformed analyst expectations since July 2020.
But the company beat revenue expectations and posted sales growth, booking sales of $35.4 billion in the quarter — 8.6% higher than revenue of $32.6 billion in the same period a year earlier — due to growth in its retail pharmacy and health-care segments.
Walgreens booked net profit of $118 million for the quarter, or 14 cents per share unadjusted, a 59% drop from the $289 million in income the company reported for the same quarter last year. The decline was due primarily to lower operating income, according to the company.
Walgreens’ U.S. retail pharmacy segment generated about $28 billion in sales for the quarter, an increase of 4.4% compared with the same period last year. Comparable sales at individual locations rose 7%.

CNBC Health & Science

Read CNBC’s latest health coverage:

Walgreens pharmacy sales also increased 6.3% compared with the same quarter last year, with comparable sales up nearly 10% due to price inflation in brand medications.
Total prescriptions filled in the quarter, including immunizations, increased by 0.1% for a total of 305 million. Covid vaccines administered during the period plummeted 83% to 800,000, down from 4.7 million in the same period last year.
“We had called out Covid as a wildcard heading into the quarter and have unfortunately seen less patient willingness to vaccinate,” Brewer said.
Walgreens expects to administer 9 million to 10 million Covid vaccines in 2024, in line with a typical flu season, compared with 12.5 million projected vaccinations in 2023, Brewer said.
Sales in Walgreens U.S. health-care segment came in at $2 billion, a $1.4 billion increase compared with the same period last year.
The company’s partnership with primary-care provider VillageMD, which includes urgent care provider Summit Health, saw revenue grow by 22%. Sales at Walgreens at-home health-care provider CareCentrix increased 15% due to additional service offerings. More

The Inform Act, a bipartisan bill that takes effect on Tuesday, requires online marketplaces to disclose and verify the identity of its sellers to deter the sale of stolen, counterfeit or harmful products.
The bill came after retailers and trade groups lobbied Congress and blamed online marketplaces, such as eBay and Amazon, for what they called a surge in retail theft.
Online marketplaces that don’t comply with the law could face more than $50,000 in fines for each violation.

Locked up merchandise, to prevent theft in Target store, Queens, New York. 
Lindsey Nicholson | Universal Images Group | Getty Images

The Inform Act, a new law that aims to curb organized retail theft and the sale of counterfeit and harmful products on online platforms, takes effect on Tuesday as more retailers blame theft as a reason for lower profits. 
The bipartisan legislation, which stands for Integrity, Notification and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces, passed in December as part of an omnibus spending bill, more than a year after it was introduced by Reps. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., and Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla.

The identity of sellers on online marketplaces is typically unknown, but the new law seeks to change that. Under the Inform Act, web vendors such as Amazon and eBay will be required to verify and share information on third-party sellers that do a high volume of transactions on their platforms.
“The goal of the INFORM Consumers Act is to add more transparency to online transactions and to deter criminals from acquiring stolen, counterfeit, or unsafe items and selling them through those marketplaces,” the Federal Trade Commission, which will be tasked with enforcing the law along with state attorneys general, said on its website. 
“The Act also makes sure online marketplace users have a way to report suspicious conduct concerning high-volume third party sellers.”
Once the bill passed, online marketplaces were given six months to get into compliance. Now that the law has taken effect, they can face steep civil penalties for violations. 
The law comes after trade associations and retailers lobbied Congress about an alarming uptick in retail theft that they say was driven by lax regulations governing third-party sellers and verification processes on online platforms. They claim organized crime groups steal merchandise from stores and then resell it on online marketplaces, typically at a lower amount than the sticker price.

Many experts say organized retail theft has grown alongside the rise of online shopping, which boomed during the Covid pandemic and became the primary way consumers shopped.
During the second quarter of 2020, e-commerce sales in the U.S. accounted for 16.1% of total retail sales and reached $211.5 billion, a 44.5% increase from the prior-year period, according to Census data. E-commerce growth in the U.S. has since leveled out, but its share of sales has remained consistent.
In the first quarter of 2023, e-commerce in the U.S. accounted for 15.1% of total retail sales, and reached $272.6 billion, a 7.8% jump from the year-ago period.
While stolen or counterfeit goods make up a small fraction of those transactions, retail groups and law enforcement officials have increasingly called on legislators to address the problem. They’ve said it’s been difficult to catch bad actors who sell stolen goods online because their identities were shielded.
Criminals have been able to operate with “complete anonymity using fake screen names and fake addresses,” but the Inform Act will change that, Lisa LaBruno, the senior executive vice president of retail operations at Retail Industry Leaders Association, told CNBC.
“Under INFORM, online marketplaces can no longer turn a blind eye to criminal actors using their platforms to sell stolen and counterfeit goods. The FTC and state attorneys general will be empowered to hold these platforms accountable, and consumers will also have their own reporting mechanism to flag suspicious activity,” said LaBruno. “For retailers, INFORM’s implementation means we have more support and partners in the fight against organized retail crime.”

What does the law require online marketplaces to do? 

Online marketplaces are now required to collect, verify and disclose certain information about third-party sellers that have high transaction volumes on their platforms. 
The rules apply to sellers that had 200 or more separate sales or transactions and $5,000 or more in gross revenue in any continuous 12-month period during the past 24 months, according to the FTC. 
Digital marketplaces will now be required to collect bank account details, a tax ID number and contact information from relevant sellers and verify that information is correct within 10 days of a vendor reaching “high-volume” status. 
Individuals that carry out the relevant number of transactions will only be required to give their name, email address and phone number to the platforms. Legal entities and corporations will have to provide the same information. But they also have to give a copy of a valid government-issued ID or a valid government record or tax document that includes the business name and physical address of the seller.
Third-party vendors are required to keep the information current and certify it as accurate at least once a year. Marketplaces must disclose that information either in the sellers’ product listings or in order confirmations. 
The new law requires marketplaces to suspend sellers from the platform if they fail to disclose the required information. The marketplaces also have to provide a clear way for consumers to report suspicious conduct on product listings from relevant third-party vendors. 
For sellers that have annual gross revenues of $20,000 or more on a particular marketplace, the platforms must clearly disclose their information on product listing pages, or in order confirmation messages and account transaction histories on the platform. That data includes the name of the vendor or their business, and their address and contact information, including a phone number and email address. 
Many of the online marketplaces subject to the legislation are national, household names. But smaller, more niche platforms with relevant sellers and volume are covered, as well. 

How will the law be enforced?

The FTC and states will share enforcement authority of the Inform Act. 
Marketplaces found to have run afoul of the law could face civil penalties of $50,120 per violation. 
State attorneys general and other state officials can also file actions in federal court that could result in higher penalties from damages, restitution or other compensation, the FTC said. 
It’s not clear how the law will be enforced, or if the FTC will actively seek out violations or only respond to complaints made through the new reporting systems. 
The Buy Safe America Coalition, a group that advocates against the sale of stolen or counterfeit goods, sent a letter to the FTC this month urging the agency to “take immediate action” once the Inform Act takes effect. 
“While our respective organizations represent a diverse group of industries and interests, we are singularly united in our belief that INFORM must be fully enforced by the FTC (and the state AGs) to protect consumers and businesses from what has become a serious threat to consumers, honest businesses, and a fair and healthy marketplace,” the letter, signed by retailers including Gap, Home Depot, Walgreens and Best Buy, states. “We strongly encourage the FTC to act quickly and publicly to rigorously enforce the law.”
The group also offered its assistance to the FTC. 
A week before the measure took effect, the FTC sent a letter to 50 online marketplaces about their new obligations under the law and reminded them of the penalties associated with violations.
It urged the groups to communicate the new requirements to the sellers they work with and advise them on how to avoid “potential imposters” that could trick them into sharing personal or account information. 
“The Commission will enforce the Act to the fullest extent possible and will collaborate with our state partners to hold online marketplaces accountable,” Samuel Levine, the director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement.
In a statement, a spokesperson for eBay said the company is “fully prepared” to comply with the new law.
“eBay fully supports transparency and is committed to a safe selling and buying experience for our customers,” the spokesperson said. “We were proud to support passage of the INFORM Act to create a national standard to protect consumers from bad actors who seek to misuse online marketplaces, while also ensuring important protections for sellers.”
Meta, Facebook’s parent company, told CNBC it has already rolled out a business verification tool for shops and sellers that meet the relevant threshold. 
Amazon has notified high-volume sellers that they must verify their information before the law takes effect in order to avoid getting kicked off the platform or having their funds frozen.
— Additional reporting by CNBC’s Annie Palmer More

Lordstown Motors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection early Tuesday.
Lordstown also sued Taiwanese contract-manufacturing giant Foxconn, alleging that it breached a deal to provide the EV startup with additional funding.
Foxconn, which bought Lordstown’s Ohio factory for $230 million last year, said it had been proceeding in good faith, but it will now consider legal action of its own.

The Lordstown Motors Corp. Endurance electric pickup truck is displayed during an unveiling event in Lordstown, Ohio, June 25, 2020.
Matthew Hatcher | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Struggling electric-truck maker Lordstown Motors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday and said that it would put itself up for sale amid an ongoing dispute over investments that had been promised by Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn.
Shares were down over 60% in premarket trading following the news.

Simultaneously with its bankruptcy filing, Lordstown filed a suit against Foxconn. The company accused Foxconn of fraud and of failing to abide by an agreement that called for the Taiwan-based firm to invest up to $170 million in Lordstown, and for the two to work together on a range of new electric vehicles.
In a statement provided to CNBC, Foxconn said it had hoped to continue discussions to reach a solution that would “satisfy all stakeholders” without “resorting to baseless legal actions.” But in light of the litigation and what it characterized as Lordstown’s attempts to “mislead the public,” it is suspending talks and reserving the right to take legal action of its own.
Lordstown, launched in 2019 with a factory acquired from General Motors and the enthusiastic support of the Trump administration, struck a deal to sell that Ohio factory to Foxconn for $230 million last year. Following the deal, which closed in May 2022, Lordstown and Foxconn  agreed to a second deal in which Foxconn would invest up to $170 million in Lordstown, taking a 19.3% stake in the startup.
Foxconn paid the first $52.7 million due under that deal last year. The next payment, of $47.3 million, was due within 10 days of regulatory approval by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. That approval was secured in late April, Lordstown said – but Foxconn never made the payment.
Instead, Foxconn told Lordstown that the startup had breached the deal by allowing its stock price to fall below $1 per share. (Lordstown executed a 1:15 reverse stock split in May, pushing its share price back over the critical $1 mark.)

In early May, Lordstown warned investors that a bankruptcy filing was likely if it didn’t reach an agreement with Foxconn or acquire additional funding elsewhere. A few days later, Lordstown said that it was nearly out of cash and that it would be forced to stop production of its Endurance electric pickup unless it could find a strategic partner.
Lordstown had just $108.1 million in cash available at the end of March, after losing $171.1 million in the first quarter.   More

Attorneys for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis asked a federal court to dismiss Disney’s lawsuit that alleges political retaliation against the company.
DeSantis argued that he and at least one other defendant are “immune” and that the company lacks standing to sue them.

Republican presidential candidate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a campaign rally on June 26, 2023 in Eagle Pass, Texas.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images

Attorneys for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday asked a federal court to dismiss Disney’s lawsuit that alleges political retaliation against the company, arguing that he and at least one other defendant are “immune” and that Disney lacks standing to sue them.
The attorneys also argued that Disney’s complaint — that DeSantis targeted the company after it denounced the controversial state classroom bill derided as “Don’t Say Gay” by critics — “fails to state a claim on which relief can be granted.”

A spokesman for Disney did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the court filing.
The governor’s bid to dismiss the lawsuit comes as he has leaned into his drawn-out battle with Disney while campaigning in the Republican presidential primary. The fight between DeSantis, the top GOP contender behind former President Donald Trump, and Disney, one of Florida’s top employers, has been brewing for well over a year.
The 27-page motion to dismiss was filed by attorneys for DeSantis and Meredith Ivey, named as secretary for Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity.
“Disney lacks standing to sue the Governor and Secretary, who are also immune from suit,” they argued in a filing in U.S. District Court in Tallahassee.
The entertainment giant’s lawsuit centers on the special tax district encompassing Florida’s Walt Disney World, which for decades allowed the company to essentially self-govern its operations there. After Disney criticized the Republican-backed classroom bill, DeSantis and his allies moved to dissolve that special tax district.

The district, formerly known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District, was ultimately left intact, following fears that neighboring counties would be saddled with debt if it were dissolved. But it was renamed as the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, and its five-member board was replaced with DeSantis’ preferred candidates.
Disney struck development deals before those new board members took over. The new board members accused the company of thwarting their power and voted to void the contracts, prompting the company to sue.
The governor’s attorneys argued in Monday’s filing that “any alleged injuries that might flow from” the clashes over the district and the contracts “are not traceable to the State Defendants, and enjoining the State Defendants would not provide Disney relief.”
Neither DeSantis nor Ivey enforce any of the legislative acts at issue in the suit, the attorneys wrote, and Disney’s attempts to link them to those laws “are unpersuasive.”
“Signing a law is not ‘enforcing’ a law,” they argued, adding that “Disney’s claims against the Governor run square into his legislative immunity” and its “allegations of retaliatory intent do not change the analysis.”
Disney filed its First Amendment lawsuit in federal court in late April. Days later, the DeSantis-appointed board countersued in state court. Disney filed a bid in May to dismiss that state-level suit.
The board responded in opposition in a filing dated June 19, writing, “Disney’s motion is classic Imagineering, inviting the Court to make believe that reality is whatever Disney dreams up.” More

Eli Lilly’s experimental drug retatrutide helped patients lose up to 24% of their weight after almost a year, the highest reduction seen in the obesity drug space to date, according to new results.
The trial’s researchers said average weight loss did not appear to plateau after 48 weeks, suggesting a longer study could show even more.
Like Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s other obesity drug Mounjaro, retatrutide is a weekly injection that changes the way patients eat and leads to decreased appetite by mimicking certain hormones in the gut.

Eli Lilly and Company, Pharmaceutical company headquarters in Alcobendas, Madrid, Spain.
Cristina Arias | Cover | Getty Images

Eli Lilly’s experimental drug helped patients lose up to 24% of their weight after almost a year, the highest reduction seen in the obesity treatment space to date, according to new mid-stage clinical trial results released Monday. 
The phase two trial followed 338 adults who were obese or overweight and either received the pharmaceutical company’s injection, retatrutide, or a placebo each week. 

Patients who took a 12-milligram dose of retatrutide lost 17.5% of their body weight, or 41 pounds, on average after 24 weeks, compared with 1.6% for those who received the placebo. 
Patients lost 24.2%, or 58 pounds, on average after 48 weeks. Those who took the placebo lost 2.1% of their body weight after that same time period.
The trial’s researchers said average weight loss did not appear to plateau after 48 weeks, suggesting a longer study could show even more. Eli Lilly is currently recruiting patients for a phase three trial.
That data suggests Eli Lilly’s retatrutide is the “most effective anti-obesity med to date,” Michael Weintraub, an endocrinologist at NYU Langone Health, said in a Twitter post. 
Eli Lilly’s other obesity drug Mounjaro, which is approved for type 2 diabetes, has helped patients lose up to 21% of their weight in clinical trials.

Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, cleared for weight loss, has shown up to 15% weight loss in trials. 
Like Wegovy and Mounjaro, Eli Lilly’s retatrutide is a weekly injection that changes the way patients eat and leads to decreased appetite by mimicking certain hormones in the gut.
But Wegovy only mimics one hunger-regulating hormone called GLP-1, while Mounjaro mimics GLP-1 and another hormone called GIP.
Retatrutide mimics three different hunger-regulating hormones: GLP-1, GIP and glucagon. That appears to have more potent effects on a person’s appetite and satisfaction with food.  More

Ford Motor confirmed Monday it will carry out layoffs this week, primarily affecting engineering jobs in the U.S. and Canada.
The job cuts are expected to affect all three of Ford’s business units: Ford Blue, Model e and Ford Pro.
Ford has been restructuring its operations for several years under its Ford+ plan, led by CEO Jim Farley.

Ford CEO Jim Farley at a battery lab for the automaker in suburban Detroit, announcing a new $3.5 billion electric vehicle battery plant in the state to produce lithium iron phosphate batteries, Feb. 13, 2023.
Michael Wayland/CNBC

DETROIT — Ford Motor confirmed Monday it will carry out layoffs this week, primarily affecting engineering jobs in the U.S. and Canada, as the automaker seeks billions in cost-cutting measures as it restructures its business operations.
The job cuts are expected to affect all three of Ford’s business units: Ford Blue, its traditional internal combustion engine operations; Model e, its electric vehicle unit; and Ford Pro, its fleet service operations.

A company spokesperson declined to provide how many employees will be affected. In Ford’s most recent quarterly filing in May, the automaker said it expected to incur total charges in 2023 that range between $1.5 billion and $2 billion, “primarily attributable to employee separations and supplier settlements.”
That forecast compared to $2 billion and $608 million in 2021 and 2022, respectively, related to similar actions.
Ford has been restructuring its operations for several years under its Ford+ plan, led by CEO Jim Farley. The automaker cut 3,000 workers in North America in August and has more recently conducted 3,800 layoffs in Europe.
“We continue to review our global businesses and may take additional restructuring actions where a path to sustained profitability is not feasible when considering the capital allocation required for those businesses,” Ford said in its first-quarter filing.
Farley has said the company has a roughly $7 billion cost disadvantage compared with some of its competitors, which it’s attempting to address through efficiency gains and job reductions.

Ford’s employee headcount last year dropped about 10,000 people to 173,000 globally, according to a separate public filing.
“Delivering our Ford+ plan for growth and value creation includes increasing quality, lowering costs, investing in our priorities, and adjusting staffing to match the capabilities we need,” the company said in an emailed statement. “People affected by the changes will be offered severance pay, benefits and significant help to find new career opportunities.”
The most recent layoffs were first reported late last week. At that time, some contractors were notified they would no longer be working with the company.
Leaders whose teams are affected were notified this afternoon, and employees are expected to be notified through midweek, according to people familiar with the company’s plans. The company has instructed units affected by the cuts to work remotely this week as the layoffs are conducted, the people confirmed.
Ford is not the only automaker to reduce its headcount, as it realigns its business to focus more on electric vehicles.
Crosstown rival General Motors has taken some layoff actions and conducted an employee buyout program that cost it $875 million during the first quarter.
Jeep maker Stellantis confirmed in April it was offering voluntary buyouts to about 33,500 U.S. employees, as the global automaker attempts to cut costs and headcount. More

Fox News said Jesse Watters would be its new 8 p.m. ET primetime host, replacing Tucker Carlson.
The change comes after Tucker Carlson was ousted from the network following parent Fox Corp.’s $787.5 million settlement in Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit.
Since Carlson’s departure in April, there’s been a rotation of hosts in the primetime spot on Fox, and ratings have suffered.

Jesse Watters host of “The Five” interviews Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Bush during “The Five” at Fox News Studios on November 13, 2017 in New York City.
John Lamparski | Getty Images

Fox News has named Jesse Watters as the newest star of its 8 p.m. ET primetime slot, as the network looks to boost ratings two months after ousting Tucker Carlson from the post.
Watters, who rose through the ranks from production assistant to one of the most popular faces on the network, has established himself as one of Fox News’ leading conservative voices. He is currently the host of the 7 p.m. opinion show “Jesse Watters Primetime,” and appears regularly on “The Five,” one of Fox News’ highest rated programs.

As part of the nighty show shakeup, Laura Ingraham’s show will begin the primetime programming block at 7 p.m., while Sean Hannity’s segment will remain in the 9 p.m. slot. Greg Gutfield’s comedy program will move to 10 p.m.
“FOX News Channel has been America’s destination for news and analysis for more than 21 years and we are thrilled to debut a new lineup,” said Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott in a news release. “The unique perspectives of Laura Ingraham, Jesse Watters, Sean Hannity, and Greg Gutfeld will ensure our viewers have access to unrivaled coverage from our best-in-class team for years to come.”
The moves comes as Fox News’ primetime ratings have suffered since Carlson’s abrupt departure in April.
The right wing host was ousted the week after parent company Fox Corp. agreed to shell out $787.5 million to settle Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit. There was no sendoff for Carlson and his “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” which had long been one of Fox’s most-watched shows.
Fox’s 8 p.m. ratings took a noticeable dip in the wake of Carlson’s departure, and fledgling networks like Newsmax reaped the benefits in the ensuing weeks.

Carlson has since started his own show on Twitter. While Carlson has posted videos on Twitter, he has yet to publicly address why he was fired from Fox. His departure was reportedly the result of vulgar, behind-the-scenes messages unearthed during the discovery process in the Dominion lawsuit.
Meanwhile, Fox News has since sent a cease-and-desist letter to Carlson, alleging a breach of contract by launching a new show on the social media platform, NBC News previously reported. More