business

Millie Giles12/2/25

Instacart falls as Amazon announces ultrafast delivery testing in major US cities

Shares of Instacart were down as much as 4% in early trading on Tuesday after e-commerce giant Amazon outlined plans to test ultrafast delivery offerings in parts of Seattle, Washington, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

On Monday, Amazon released a statement announcing that deliveries of “household essentials and fresh grocery items” in approximately 30 minutes or less are now available in certain areas.

The ultrafast offerings come as part of Amazon Now, the company’s same-day grocery delivery service, which has been looking to expand since moving into selling perishable goods like eggs, milk, and fresh produce earlier this year.

While Instacart had a stronghold on rapid grocery delivery for years — following a solid debut on the Nasdaq back in 2023, the stock has risen gradually on some better-than-expected results — analysts have been wary that its retail offerings won’t be able to match Amazon’s incredible reach.

Amazon’s ultrafast service will build on its Prime model, with the statement detailing that Prime members will get discounted delivery fees, starting at $3.99 per order — compared with $13.99 for non-Prime customers.

Far from the first, and certainly not the last, it seems that Instacart might have just gotten “Amazoned.”

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Claire Yubin Oh

Estée Lauder’s Jo Malone is launching an “AI Scent Advisor” to convince people to buy perfumes without smelling them

Gen Z is driving a perfume and fragrance boom.

Skunk

business

Max Knoblauch12/4/25

Netflix is down amid reports it’s leading the Warner Bros. bidding war as Paramount cries foul

Netflix’s charm offensive appears to be working.

Netflix is reportedly emerging as the leader in the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery after second-round bids this week, edging out entertainment juggernaut rivals Comcast and Paramount Skydance.

Investors don’t appear psyched by the streaming leader’s turn of fortune: the stock is down on Thursday morning, a day after closing down nearly 5% following reports that scooping up HBO Max wouldn’t necessarily result in a big market share boost.

Paramount, which has reportedly made five bids for Warner Bros. Discovery, doesn’t love the current state of play, either. The company sent WBD a letter questioning the “fairness and adequacy” of the process, highlighting reports that WBD’s board favors Netflix and is resisting Paramount.

Any offer would be subject to regulatory approval — a fact that may have weighed against Netflix’s offer given that cofounder Reed Hastings’ politics are vocally to the left, very much at odds with the current regulatory regime. Paramount seems confident in its ability to get approval, reportedly boosting its breakup fee to $5 billion should its potential acquisition fall apart in the regulatory process.

Paramount questions Warner Bros. Discovery on 'fairness and adequacy' of sale process: Read the full letter

Paramount questions Warner Bros. Discovery on 'fairness and adequacy' of sale process: Read the full letter

Investors don’t appear psyched by the streaming leader’s turn of fortune: the stock is down on Thursday morning, a day after closing down nearly 5% following reports that scooping up HBO Max wouldn’t necessarily result in a big market share boost.

Paramount, which has reportedly made five bids for Warner Bros. Discovery, doesn’t love the current state of play, either. The company sent WBD a letter questioning the “fairness and adequacy” of the process, highlighting reports that WBD’s board favors Netflix and is resisting Paramount.

Any offer would be subject to regulatory approval — a fact that may have weighed against Netflix’s offer given that cofounder Reed Hastings’ politics are vocally to the left, very much at odds with the current regulatory regime. Paramount seems confident in its ability to get approval, reportedly boosting its breakup fee to $5 billion should its potential acquisition fall apart in the regulatory process.

PEAK CONSULTING?

After three decades of pretty constant growth, the consultancy boom just hit an AI-shaped wall

Accenture has a new deal with OpenAI — did ChatGPT’s launch top-tick consulting employment?

Human hand and AI hand on the yellow background

business

Max Knoblauch12/3/25

Delta says the government shutdown will cost it $200 million in Q4

The 43-day government shutdown that ended last month will result in a $200 million ding for Delta Air Lines, the airline said in a filing on Wednesday.

That’s about $100,000 per shutdown-related canceled flight. (Delta previously said it canceled more than 2,000 flights due to FAA flight reductions.) When the company reports its fourth-quarter earnings, the shutdown will lop off about $0.25 per share.

Delta initially stayed calm about the shutdown, with CEO Ed Bastian stating in early October that the company was running smoothly and hadn’t seen any impacts at all. One historically long shutdown later, Delta wasn’t able to remain untouched.

The skies have since cleared, though, and Delta’s filing states that booking growth has “returned to initial expectations following a temporary softening in November.”

Delta’s shares were up over 2% as of Wednesday’s market open.

Delta Air Sees $200 Million Hit from Shutdown Fallout

Delta Air Sees $200 Million Hit from Shutdown Fallout

Delta initially stayed calm about the shutdown, with CEO Ed Bastian stating in early October that the company was running smoothly and hadn’t seen any impacts at all. One historically long shutdown later, Delta wasn’t able to remain untouched.

The skies have since cleared, though, and Delta’s filing states that booking growth has “returned to initial expectations following a temporary softening in November.”

Delta’s shares were up over 2% as of Wednesday’s market open.

Netflix reportedly made a mostly cash offer for Warner Bros. Discovery over the weekend

The WBD bidding war is heating up — what will the winner get?

WBD studio lot gate 2

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