United Airlines, DraftKings, Facebook: Stocks That Defined the Week
September 04 2020 - 7:42PM
Dow Jones News
By Francesca Fontana
United Airlines Holdings Inc.
Changing flights just got cheaper. United Airlines became the
first U.S. carrier to permanently end flight change fees for most
domestic tickets, the latest effort to boost sluggish demand in the
air-travel industry. American Airlines Group Inc. and Delta Air
Lines Inc. on Monday followed suit, a day after United's
announcement. Change fees, along with baggage charges, have been a
strong source of revenue for airlines and a target for criticism
from consumers and lawmakers. United shares fell 3.6% Monday.
DraftKings Inc.
"His Airness" is joining DraftKings. The sports-gambling company
said on Wednesday that NBA legend Michael Jordan agreed to purchase
an undisclosed stake in DraftKings and become a special adviser to
its board of directors, effective immediately. Mr. Jordan, who is
considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time, was
the first former player to become the majority owner of an NBA
franchise. His partnership with Nike Inc. remains one of the most
lucrative franchises in sportswear. DraftKings shares rose 8%
Wednesday.
Macy's Inc.
It's no Miracle on 34th Street, but there is reason for more
optimism at Macy's. The department-store giant on Wednesday
reported $3.6 billion in sales in its recent quarter, up from $3
billion in the previous quarter, and a quarterly loss of $431
million. Interim Chief Financial Officer Felicia Williams said the
results were stronger than anticipated, as digital sales improved,
stores recovered faster than planned, and sales of luxury goods
outpaced expectations. Sales of apparel have remained sluggish as
more people continue to work from home, and the back-to-school
season has gotten off to a slow start as delays to in-person school
in various districts have elongated the season, Ms. Williams said.
Macy's shares rose 0.6% Wednesday.
Walmart Inc.
Amazon Prime, meet Walmart+. On Sept. 15, the retail giant will
launch Walmart+, a $98-a-year membership that includes free grocery
delivery, a discount on gas from Walmart parking lots and the
ability to check out via a mobile phone in stores. The new offering
is Walmart's latest attempt to build a membership program that can
rival Amazon.com Inc.'s Prime service. The Walmart+ program is a
version of one Walmart has tested since last year called Delivery
Unlimited, which also offers free grocery delivery for $98 a year.
In 2017, Walmart scrapped a previous attempt at a membership
program called ShippingPass, which offered free shipping on
Walmart.com orders. Shares gained 6.3% Tuesday.
Facebook Inc.
Facebook is taking steps to halt election-related misinformation
in November. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said on Thursday that
the social-media giant will prohibit new political advertisements
in the week before the U.S. presidential election and seek to flag
premature claims of victory by candidates, steps meant to head off
last-minute misinformation campaigns and limit the potential for
civil unrest. "This election is not going to be business as usual,"
he said, noting both the difficulties of voting during a pandemic
and likely attacks on the credibility of the results. Facebook
shares fell 3.8% Thursday.
Campbell Soup Co.
Campbell is cooling. The soup giant said demand for its soups
and other grocery staples is moderating after a monthslong surge
fueled by consumers eating at home during lockdown orders. The
company expects the deceleration in sales growth to continue in
coming months as people return to a more pre-pandemic lifestyle.
After getting a chance to win back consumers who had gravitated
away from processed, packaged foods in recent years, Chief
Executive Mark Clouse said he is focused on retaining shoppers who
started cooking with its soups amid the pandemic. Campbell shares
fell 7.5% Thursday.
Apple Inc.
Apple users will have to wait longer for an alert about apps
that monitor them. The company is delaying a privacy prompt feature
that had been set to go into effect this fall, but will now be
introduced next year. The new feature will ask iPhone users on an
app-by-app basis if they consent to having their behavior tracked.
An Apple spokesman said that the company wants "to give developers
the time they need to make the necessary changes." Critics of the
change say it would hurt app makers by making it harder to sell
personalized ads. Apple shares fell 8% Thursday.
Write to Francesca Fontana at francesca.fontana@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 04, 2020 19:27 ET (23:27 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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