Carl Icahn Takes Flight

Icahn: Stake In JetBlue

On Monday, activist investor Carl Icahn revealed a nearly 10% ownership in JetBlue Airways, claiming the airline's shares are undervalued. This led to a more than 15% spike in JetBlue's stock in after-hours trading. Icahn bought these shares through January and February, documents show. He's looking into possibly getting a board seat to continue his history with airlines, notably taking TWA private in the 1980s, which ended in bankruptcy.

JetBlue, meanwhile, has been trimming costs and improving operations to bounce back to profitability, especially after a failed merger with Spirit Airlines. Despite arguing the merger was vital for competition with larger airlines, and now appealing a judge's ruling against it, JetBlue's stock has fallen over 27% in the past year. The airline sector, however, is up nearly 7% in the same period. With Joanna Geraghty now as CEO and two airline veterans joining the team, JetBlue aims for a turnaround.

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Earnings: Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola exceeded Wall Street's expectations for fourth-quarter revenue thanks to price increases and strong demand for its signature beverage. The company capitalized on consumers' willingness to spend more on dining and entertainment, contrasting with PepsiCo's recent sales decline due to higher prices reducing volume.

Coca-Cola reported a 2% rise in unit case volumes and a 9% increase in average selling prices. However, it forecasts modest organic revenue growth for fiscal 2024, between 6% and 7%, due to the diminishing effects of price hikes. The company anticipates annual adjusted profit growth of 4% to 5%, with a decrease in input and freight costs contributing to an operating margin of 21%, up from 20.5% a year earlier. Net revenue rose to $10.95 billion, beating analysts' estimates of $10.68 billion.

TIGER: Launches New Brand

Tiger Woods has partnered with TaylorMade to launch Sun Day Red, a new apparel and footwear line, after ending his long-standing relationship with Nike. This new brand, inspired by Woods' tradition of wearing red on Sundays and his 15 major championships, will initially be available online starting May.

The collaboration builds on Woods' existing relationship with TaylorMade since 2017 for golf equipment. Despite recent challenges, including injuries from a 2021 car crash, Woods' involvement is a significant boon for TaylorMade, highlighting his lasting appeal in the golf world. The move comes as TaylorMade expands into lifestyle products, establishing TaylorMade Lifestyle Ventures and securing trademarks for the Sun Day Red brand.

Headlines You Need To Know: 🎙

• CPI comes in at 3.1% YoY

• Restaurant Brands earnings beat

• Super Bowl 58 was most most-watched TV show ever

• Temu spent millions on six Superbowl ads

• Commercial property loans coming due jump to $929 billion

• Senate passes $95.3 billion aid package

The Wirecard Fraud

The Wirecard scandal is like a movie full of twists and turns, but this story happened in real life. Imagine a company that was once a star in Germany, promising to change how we use money with technology. Wirecard was supposed to be handling billions of euros, showing off how successful and trustworthy it was. But then, suddenly, it was like a magic trick went wrong: €1.9 billion that Wirecard said it had was nowhere to be found. This huge amount of money had just vanished!

This money was supposedly sitting in accounts in the Philippines, a key part of their financial act. Wirecard had to admit it was all an illusion—the accounts were empty, and the €1.9 billion never existed. This wasn't just a small problem; it was a huge shock that made everyone question how such a big company could make up such a big lie. Weirdly enough, the CEO of Wirecard court case is pending as his defense claims that he was the victim of fraud himself.

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