Business News Today

BUSINESS NEWS TODAY – TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2025

• Stock futures for all three major indexes remain flat ahead of tomorrow’s Federal Reserve decision in interest rates.
• Nvidia stock rises (+1.7%) after a decision to allow the chip manufacturer to sell products to China.
• Top stock gainers from Monday include Wave Life Sciences, Inc. (+147%) and Structure Therapeutics, Inc. (+102%). Top losers include Polestar Automotive Holdings (-9.5%) and Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (-9.5%).

On Monday, December 8:

• The S&P 500 fell 23.89 points to 6,846.51.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 215.67 points to 47,739.32.
• The Nasdaq composite fell 32.22 points to 23,545.90.

For The Year:

• The S&P 500 is up 964.88 points (16.4%)
• The Dow is up 5,195.10 points, (12.2%)
• The Nasdaq is up 4,235.11 points (21.9%)

Home Depot Provides Cautious 2026 Guidance

ATLANTA, Dec. 9, 2025  — The Home Depot, the world’s largest home improvement retailer, will discuss key strategic priorities, provide a preliminary 2026 outlook and a market recovery case, today at its 2025 Investor and Analyst Conference.

During today’s conference, the company will discuss how it is uniquely positioned to grow market share and deliver shareholder value through its strategy to: drive core and culture, deliver a frictionless interconnected experience, and win the pro.

“We are focused on growing sales and delivering exceptional shareholder returns, supported by our culture and values,” said Ted Decker, chair, president, and CEO. “The investments we’ve made over the last several years have further strengthened our distinct competitive advantages and position us well to grow share in an approximately $1.1 trillion total addressable market.”

The company reaffirms its fiscal 2025 guidance, a 52-week year compared to fiscal 2024, a 53-week year:

• Total sales growth of approximately 3%
  • GMS expected to contribute approximately $2 billion in incremental sales
• Comparable sales growth to be slightly positive for the comparable 52-week period
• Approximately 12 new stores
• Gross margin of approximately 33.2%
• Operating margin of approximately 12.6%
• Adjusted⁽¹⁾ operating margin of approximately 13.0%
• Tax rate of approximately 24.5%
• Net interest expense of approximately $2.3 billion
• Diluted earnings-per-share to decline approximately 6% from $14.91 in fiscal 2024
• Adjusted⁽¹⁾ diluted earnings-per-share to decline approximately 5% from $15.24 in fiscal 2024
• Capital expenditures of approximately 2.5% of total sales

Pepsi To Reduce Costs, Cut 20% Of Product Line

PURCHASE, N.Y., December 8, 2025 – PepsiCo, Inc. today announced certain commercial and financial priorities to enhance shareholder value, including a preliminary 2026 financial outlook. The announcement followed a comprehensive review of PepsiCo’s strategic initiatives and plans (overseen by its Board of Directors).

“Today, we are announcing our plans and initiatives that aim to accelerate organic revenue growth, deliver record productivity savings and improve core operating margin – starting in 2026,” said Ramon Laguarta, Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo. “PepsiCo Foods North America will play a critical role towards achieving these targets and we feel encouraged about the actions and initiatives we are implementing with urgency to improve both marketplace and financial performance.”

Accelerating organic revenue growth and improving core operating margin expansion are critical to enhancing long-term shareholder value. To achieve these objectives, we are acting with a high sense of urgency to improve the marketplace competitiveness and financial performance of PepsiCo Foods North America by:

• Implementing sharper everyday value through a targeted approach on affordable price tiers by brand and channel, aimed at stimulating growth and improving the purchase frequency of our mainstream brands.
• Elevating an expansive innovation agenda, with permissible and functional offerings that remove artificial colors and flavors, provide simpler ingredients, and include more protein, fiber and whole grains. This includes the recent introduction of Simply NKD Cheetos and Doritos, the restaging of Lay’s and Tostitos and the 2026 launch of Doritos Protein.
• Aggressively reducing operating costs and improving operational excellence with savings generated to support meaningful investments in advertising and marketing and consumer value. For example, we have closed three manufacturing plants and shut several manufacturing lines this year and are in the process of reducing nearly 20 percent of SKUs in the U.S. by early next year.

As a result, we expect full-year 2026 organic revenue growth to range between 2 and 4 percent and expect to deliver the high end of that range during the second half of 2026. In addition, acquisitions net of divestitures that occurred in 2025 are expected to contribute 1 percentage point to reported net revenue growth in 2026. Based on current foreign exchange spot rates, foreign currency translation is also expected to benefit reported net revenue growth by approximately 1 percentage point in fiscal 2026. The ranges above imply net revenue growth within a range of 4 to 6 percent in fiscal 2026.

Paramount Skydance Launches Hostile Takeover Of Warner Bros.

LOS ANGELES and NEW YORK, Dec. 8, 2025 — Paramount, a Skydance Corporation today announced it has commenced an all-cash tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. for $30.00 per share in cash. Paramount’s proposed transaction is for the entirety of WBD, including the Global Networks segment.

Paramount’s strategically and financially compelling offer to WBD shareholders provides a superior alternative to the Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) transaction, which offers inferior and uncertain value and exposes WBD shareholders to a protracted multi-jurisdictional regulatory clearance process with an uncertain outcome along with a complex and volatile mix of equity and cash.

The Paramount offer for the entirety of WBD provides shareholders $18 billion more in cash than the Netflix consideration. WBD’s Board of Directors recommendation of the Netflixtransaction over Paramount’s offer is based on an illusory prospective valuation of Global Networks that is unsupported by the business fundamentals and encumbered by high levels of financial leverage assigned to the entity.

David Ellison, Chairman and CEO of Paramount, said: “WBD shareholders deserve an opportunity to consider our superior all-cash offer for their shares in the entire company. Our public offer, which is on the same terms we provided to the Warner Bros. Discovery Board of Directors in private, provides superior value, and a more certain and quicker path to completion. We believe the WBD Board of Directors is pursuing an inferior proposal which exposes shareholders to a mix of cash and stock, an uncertain future trading value of the Global Networks linear cable business and a challenging regulatory approval process. We are taking our offer directly to shareholders to give them the opportunity to act in their own best interests and maximize the value of their shares.”

Paramount’s proposal is more compelling to WBD shareholders on several fronts:

• Price: an all-cash offer at $30.00 per share, equating to an enterprise value of $108.4 billion, which represents a 139% premium to the undisturbed WBD stock price of $12.54 as of September 10, 2025. In contrast, the Netflix proposal entails a volatile and complex structure valued at $27.75 mix of cash ($23.25) and stock ($4.50), subject to collar and the future performance of Netflix, equating to an enterprise value of $82.7 billion (excluding SpinCo).
• Structure: Paramount proposal is for all of WBD, without leaving WBD shareholders with a sub-scale and highly leveraged stub in Global Networks, as the Netflix agreement assumes.
• Timeline and regulatory certainty: Paramount is highly confident in achieving expeditious regulatory clearance for its proposed offer, as it enhances competition and is pro-consumer, while creating a strong champion for creative talent and consumer choice. In contrast, the Netflix transaction is predicated on the unrealistic assumption that its anticompetitive combination with WBD, which would entrench its monopoly with a 43% share of global Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) subscribers, could withstand multiple protracted regulatory challenges across the world. In many European Union countries the Netflix transaction would combine the dominant SVOD player with the number two or strong number three competitor. The Netflix transaction creates a clear risk of higher prices for consumers, lower pay for content creators and talent and the destruction of American and international theatrical exhibitors. Netflix has never undertaken large-scale acquisitions, resulting in increased execution risk which WBD shareholders would have to endure.