NBC-parent Comcast is exploring spinning of its struggling cable networks business, including left-leaning MSNBC, President Mike Cavanagh said Thursday. Cavanagh revealed during the third-quarters earnings call that the media giant is mulling the creation of a “new, well-capitalized company owned by our shareholders and comprised of our our strong portfolio of cable networks.”The cable networks include MSNBC, CNBC, Bravo, E!, Syfy, USA Network and Oxygen True Crime. 3 Comcast president Mike Cavanagh said ...

Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol on Wednesday told investors that he plans to overhaul Starbucks' US locations, adding more comfortable seating, ceramic mugs and a coffee-condiment bar, with customer wait times of less than four minutes. Faced with falling demand for its pricey beverages in the key US and China markets as well as a slide in its share price, Starbucks' investors are counting on the new CEO to steer the company back to growth. The company last week suspended its forecast for its 2025 fiscal year. " ...

Facebook owner Meta Platforms beat analysts’ estimates for third-quarter revenue and profit on Wednesday, but warned of “significant acceleration” in infrastructure expenses related to its artificial-intelligence buildout, sending mixed signals about whether higher digital ad sales from its core social media business would continue to cover its massive AI investments.Shares of the Menlo Park, Calif.-based firm fell 2.5% in after-hours trading.The world’s biggest social media company, headed by CEO Mark Zuck ...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that the number of infected people from the E.coli outbreak linked to McDonald's Quarter Pounder hamburgers has increased to 90 from 75. The outbreak was first reported on Oct. 22 and on Wednesday, CDC said 27 people have been hospitalized due to the outbreak, which has already killed one person. Two of them developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a serious condition that can cause kidney failure, as of Oct. 24. The E.coli outbreak linked to M ...

A union representing Google employees is demanding the tech giant lift what it called an illegal “gag order” barring them from discussing landmark antitrust cases that could upend the company’s business.On Aug. 5, US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google is a “monopolist” with an illegal stranglehold over the online search market. That same day, Google president of global affairs Kent Walker instructed employees not to comment on the case inside or outside the workplace. 3 Google president of global ...

Google parent Alphabet topped third-quarter revenue expectations on Tuesday, helped by steady growth in its digital advertising business and an AI-driven jump in demand for its cloud services.Shares of the company rose more than 3% in extended trading.CEO Sundar Pichai said investments in AI were “paying off” through use and sales in its Search and Cloud businesses.CEO Sundar Pichai said investments in AI were “paying off.” AFP via Getty ImagesYouTube revenue surpassed $50 billion over the past four quarter ...

By 2040, there will be at least 10 billion humanoid robots priced between $20,000 and $25,000, Elon Musk said at the 8th Future Investment Initiative conference, which began Tuesday in Saudi Arabia's capital, Riyadh. The Optimus robot is the humanoid robot under development by Tesla and could multiply the company's valuation, according to Musk, who joined the conference via videolink. "Robotic taxis makes Tesla about a $5 trillion company," Musk said. "The Optimus Robot, I think, makes Tesla a $25 trillion ...

Core Viewpoint - McDonald's experienced a significant decline in sales and customer visits due to an E. coli outbreak linked to its Quarter Pounder burgers, with a notable impact on consumer confidence and restaurant traffic [1][2][4]. Sales Impact - Following the outbreak, customer visits to McDonald's dropped by 6.4% nationwide and 24% in Colorado on the day after the outbreak was reported [2] - By the end of the week, visits had decreased by 10% across the US and 33% in Colorado [3] Response to Outbreak - McDonald's plans to resume sales of Quarter Pounder burgers without slivered onions after confirming that its beef patties tested negative for E. coli [4] - The company has removed all onions supplied by the affected facility and ceased sourcing from that location indefinitely [6] Financial Performance - Despite the outbreak, McDonald's reported adjusted earnings per share of $3.23, surpassing analysts' expectations of $3.20, and revenue of $6.87 billion, exceeding expectations of $6.82 billion [11][12] - Global same-store sales fell by 1.5%, worse than the anticipated 0.6% decline, while US same-store sales grew by 0.3%, which was below the expected 0.5% growth [12] Consumer Behavior - The company noted a trend of consumers, particularly low-income individuals, opting to eat at home more frequently due to inflationary pressures [11][14] - Special deals and value offerings have helped McDonald's gain market share among low-income consumers for the first time in over a year [13]

Starbucks has reportedly warned corporate employees that they will lose their jobs if they don't report to the office three days per week — just weeks after sparking backlash for allowing its new CEO to work from his Southern California home. The Seattle-based coffeehouse chain will institute a new policy in January that will include a "standardized process" to hold employees accountable if they fail to adhere to the company's return-to-office policy, according to a memo that was circulated to one of the co ...

Meta Platforms is working on an artificial intelligence-based search engine as it looks to reduce dependence on Alphabet’s Google and Microsoft’s Bing, the Information reported Monday.The AI search engine segment is heating up with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, Google and Microsoft all vying for dominance in the rapidly evolving market.Meta’s web crawler will provide conversational answers to users about current events on Meta AI, the company’s chatbot on WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook, according to the report, w ...