Netflix missed Wall Street’s third-quarter earnings targets because of an unexpected expense from a dispute with Brazilian tax authorities, while it offered a forecast a touch ahead of Wall Street projections for the rest of the year.
The report failed to impress investors accustomed to fast-paced growth from the streaming video pioneer. Shares of Netflix, which had risen 39% this year ahead of the earnings report, fell 6.3%, to $1,163.80, in after-hours trading on Tuesday.
Netflix posted net income of $2.5 billion and diluted earnings per share of $5.87 for July through September, a period when the animated K-Pop Demon Hunters became the most-watched movie in Netflix history. Analysts had expected $3 billion and $6.97, respectively, according to the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG).
Revenue was even with forecasts, at $11.5 billion.
Netflix is seeking growth from new areas such as advertising and video games after attracting more than 300 million customers around the world. It faces competition from YouTube, Amazon’s Prime Video, Disney+, and others. The media business is facing major changes, including the potential sale of industry titan Warner Bros. Discovery and the rise of generative artificial intelligence with the ability to produce short-form video.
Netflix reported an operating margin of 28% for the third quarter. Without the Brazilian tax expense of roughly $619 million, the margin would have exceeded the company’s guidance of 31.5%, it said, adding that it did not expect the matter to have a material impact on future results.
PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore said he believed the tax issue weighed on Netflix shares.
“All things considered, this was another robust quarter, despite a blip due to an unforeseen expense,” Pescatore said.
For the fourth quarter, Netflix forecast revenue of $11.96 billion, compared with Wall Street’s projection of $11.90 billion. It projected diluted earnings per share a penny ahead of analysts’ targets, at $5.45.
For the third quarter, Netflix said it recorded its best ad sales quarter in history but did not disclose a number.
“This gives the impression that the sustained revenue growth achieved this quarter, and forecasted for next quarter, will predominantly continue to come from subscription fees,” eMarketer analyst Ross Benes said.
Netflix will release the final season of one of its biggest hits, Stranger Things, in November and December, and stream two live National Football League games on Christmas.
“We’re finishing the year with good momentum and have an exciting Q4 slate,” Netflix said in its quarterly letter to shareholders.
Earlier this year, Netflix stopped reporting subscriber numbers and urged investors to focus on revenue and profit.
It has expanded into video games and advertising, two areas that have contributed little to revenue so far, according to analysts and investors.
By Lisa Richwine, Reuters
Seeking a flatter management structure is a leadership trend you could compare to fashions craze for skinny jeanstrendy yesterday, forgotten tomorrow, then back in fashion again before you know it. Recently, big tech firms like Meta, Microsoft, and Google made headlines for cutting management positions to lower costs and increase productivityturning some of their workloads over to AI tools.
But a new survey from San Francisco-based workplace communications outfit Firstup shows that eliminating too many management jobs can have some unexpected effects on the way your teams work, sometimes damaging employee engagement, which undermines productivity. This is definitely something to bear in mind if youre considering restructuring your own companys management ranks.
The surveys top results show that employees think middle management layers are crucial to the company success. More than half the people surveyed said their direct manager was their most trusted source for up-to-date workplace newscompared to just 10% who think that senior leadership is their best source for this information.
Interestingly, the Firstup survey, which quizzed 1,000 U.S.-based, full-time non-managerial employees at companies that carried out layoffs in the last year, shows that junior staff think that their middle management layers are critical to their well-being at work. Fully 75% of respondents said they rely on managers for recognition and appreciation, 63% said they relied on them for helping tackle workplace challenges, while 50% said they seek coaching and development advice from managers. Meanwhile, 86% of people said they relied on managers to translate company updates into meaningful advice about what changes mean for individual workers.
This paints a picture of junior staff relying on their layers of middle management as a trust and information barrier between themselves and senior leadershipperhaps hinting at an ivory tower syndrome surrounding senior management.
Other survey details offer a deeper view of what happens when layoffs hit the management structure of a company.
Fully 38% of survey respondents said that since their company experienced layoffs, their manager had become less accessible. This has had consequences: 30% of people said theyd felt less support when things were disrupted or changed, 34% expected theyll lose a sense of connection and 30% expected decreased or zero access for mentorship and career development options.
Employees also dont trust senior leaders, with nearly 40% saying they cant get mentorship or guidance from upper management, 37% saying they feel unheard by the top leaders, and only 47% agreeing that their company leadership is somewhat transparent.
This paints an interesting picture of how the average U.S. worker views their management, relying on their direct supervisors while apparently distrusting upper layers of company leadership. The report quotes Firstup CEO Bill Schuh, who explained that the data show workers see middle managers as critical for translating organizational priorities into action, clarity, and connection for their direct report.
As companies shed middle managers, they risk losing this vital link, which can leave frontline workers feeling lost and unsupported. That discontent will likely diminish their engagement with their work, and could reduce their productivity. Meanwhile Schuh also noted that stripping managers out adds strain on their remaining colleagues. That means companies are asking fewer managers to do more, and that simply is not sustainable, he said. While AI is useful for handling some mundane managerial tasks, it wont replace the human connection and leadership that great managers provide.
What does this mean for your company?
In smaller organizations, there may be more of a direct line of communication between senior leaders and frontline workers: but these data are still important. If youre considering trimming your intermediate management structure, you should consider how this will impact employee trust and expectations for career advancement. Open and frank conversations may improve levels of trust among your employees and help support their engagement and productivity during times of upheaval.
Kit Eaton
This article originally appeared on Fast Companys sister publication, Inc.
Inc. is the voice of the American entrepreneur. We inspire, inform, and document the most fascinating people in business: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters that represent the most dynamic force in the American economy.
After a record-setting rally over the past week, commodities traders went all in on a massive gold sell-off on Tuesday. The price of the precious metal fell down to $4,118 an ounce, after a high of $4,381.52 an ounce just one day before. Meanwhile, silver is trading at $48.76 an ounce in midday trading at the time of this writing, down from $54.35 last week.
At the time of this writing, the live gold spot price for an ounce of gold in U.S. dollars (USD) is $4,133.13, a gram of gold is $132.88 and one kilogram of gold is $132,883.22, according to JM Bullion.(Gold spot price can fluctuate by the second.)
For some context, that means gold prices have decreased the most they have in four years, and silver is seeing its biggest drop since early 2021, per Bloomberg.
This is a stunning reversal from last week, which saw gold and silver prices spiking as investors sought out a “safe haven” from more volatility in the stock market due to overall economic uncertainty.
The two main ways to invest in gold and silver are by buying the physical metals, or through futures contracts.
What’s causing the abrupt change?
Analysts say it’s not just one thing causing the slump. They point to the current economic and political climate, including a prolonged government shutdown; upcoming U.S. and China trade talks amid Trump’s escalating tariff wars with Beijing; and softer than expected numbers from the US Consumer Price Index (CPI), which are expected to be released by end of week.
The shutdown is delaying some economic and jobs data from coming out as government workers are currently furloughed, while at the same time, there have been mass firings.
Meanwhile, a standoff with Beijing over rare earth minerals resulted in President Donald Trump threatening a massive increase of tariffs on Chinese products,” seemingly triggering a market sell-off.
However, a retreat from gold and silver could mean the market is feeling more secureand therefore, a good sign investors aren’t running for cover.
My friend turned to me the other day with a sly smirk and whispered, Are you also part of Group 7? I shook my head, unsure of what she meantfeeling left out of whatever secret club she was referring to.
It didnt take long for the algorithm to catch up with me. Within a few hours, my For You Page on TikTok was flooded, and before I knew it, I, too, was officially part of the internets newest inside joke.
“Group 7” began as a simple experiment by musician Sophia James, who wanted to promote her new song So Unfairand experiment with the quirky nature of TikToks algorithm.
TikToks For You Page, or FYP, described by the Guardian as uncannily good at predicting what videos will catch your eye,” works differently than older recommendation systems.
Rather than passively waiting for users to engage with a video, it actively evaluates its own predictions, presenting content it anticipates users will find appealing and gauging their responses.
It pushes the boundaries of your interests and monitors how you engage with those new videos it seeds in your For You Page, Chris Stokel-Walker, author of TikTok Boom and frequent Fast Company contributor, told the Guardian in 2022.
Every user has the potential for global fame. Even with zero followers, a video can eventually land on someones FYP. Positive engagement can quickly snowball into millions of views. TikToks short-form format accelerates this learning.
Leveraging this insight, James posted seven nearly identical videos of her track, each labeled with a different group number. You are in group [number], the text read. “Group 7,” uploaded last, swiftly became the algorithms favoriteand TikToks latest obsession.
Before long, everyone wanted in.
Users jumped on the “exclusive” group trend, now the center of TikTok lore.
Can you imagine not being in Group 7? one user commented. I hereby declare group 7 is the most elite group, another added. Group 7 is the hot girl groupI dont make the rules.
Even brands and celebrities crowded into the group. Clorox dubbed Group 7 clean girl coded. HBO Max chimed in with judging groups 16, and Shark Tank star Barbara Corcoran along with the actress Madelyn Cline also jumped on board.
On music marketing and memes
Its immaculate marketing, one TikTok user said in a viral post praising the stunt. And she wasnt wrong.
James managed to get millions of people to stream, share, and memeify So Unfair without spending a cent on traditional promotion, now garnering over 2.5 million likes and 114,600 comments on her post.
Fans soon began referring to the song as the Group 7 anthem. The track became ubiquitous, climbed the charts, and Sophia James emerged as the internets latest marketing sensation. According to the New York Times, she has gained more than 100,000 TikTok followers and seen a significant uptick in streams of her music.
Taking her efforts beyond TikTok, James has launched an official “Group 7” section on her website, promoting a real-life meetup at the Bedford Pub in London on October 24.
Are inside jokes the new marketing strategy?
This is not the first instance of the internet transforming a half-joke into a cultural phenomenon. From the chair emoji saga to Crop and Story Time, TikTok users gravitate toward communities that feel exclusiveeven when built entirely on shared irony.
Jamess experiment demonstrates a larger trend: In an era where authenticity is algorithmic, the best marketing doesnt feel like marketing at all.
Taylor Swift is an economic force all on her own. The superstars relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce brought not only eyeballs to his games but a monetary boost to the city overall. Thanks to her Eras tour, Swifties spent an estimated $5 billion across the country.
And most recently, she spurred fans to give more than $2 million in donations to the Monterey Bay Aquariums sea otter programjust by wearing an old t-shirt.
Earlier this month, Swift launched her The Official Release Party of a Showgirl movie, an 89-minute film tied to the release of her latest album. It was only shown in theaters for three days.
Eagle-eyed fans noticed how, in that film, Swift wore a 1993 Monterey Bay Aquarium t-shirt featuring an illustration of sea otters. And swiftly, social media lit up with requests for us to bring it back, Liz MacDonald, Monterey Bay Aquarium director of content strategy, said via email.
The Aquarium quickly realized this moment could be huge.
It was an opportunity to elevate our Sea Otter Program to a global audience and engage new supporters in our conservation work in a big and fun way, MacDonald says.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Liberty Graphics Nature T-shirts (@libertygraphicstees)
Long story shirt
Aquarium staff got to work building a donation campaign about the t-shirt. They tracked down the original artwork from the 1990s, first printed by Harborside Graphics. That company has since become a part of Liberty Graphics, an employee-owned cooperative, and the aquarium worked directly with Liberty to re-issue the design.
The campaign came together in about a week, offering the t-shirt for $65.13 (a nod to Swift’s favorite number, 13). In just seven hours, the aquarium hit its goal of raising $1.3 million.
The re-issue of the sea otter shirt has since raised more than $2.3 million for the aquariums sea otter program, which has rescued, rehabilitated, and returned threatened southern sea otter pups to the wild for more than 40 years.
The campaign was launched on Tiltify, an online fundraising platform that uses social media sites like Twitch and TikTok to foster virtual donations.
Tiltifys flexibility and online experience (it has hosted campaigns for YouTube stars MrBeast and Jacksepticeye that brought donations in the double-digit millions in just hours) helped the aquarium respond to the viral moment, CEO Michael Wasserman says in a statement.
When Swifties mobilized, we processed tens of thousands of orders . . . Most traditional donation platforms would crash handling 20,000 shirt orders in hours, plus 13,000+ backorders before the campaign had to pause for fulfillment, Wasserman said. This is the difference between modern giving and traditional fundraisingit’s interactive, social, and immediate.
Even before the Tiltify campaign, Monterey Bay staff had noticed a bump of $13 donations coming in after Swifts movie. But the t-shirt campaign went beyond what staff could have expected.
The outpouring of love for the Aquarium is honestly touching, MacDonald says, adding that she hopes the increased attention will draw even more people to the cause of helping sea otters. “We had a Taylor Swift dance party in the office when we hit our initial goal.”
OpenAI has released a new web browser, the companys latest bid to become consumers chief gateway to the web.
The new browser, called ChatGPT Atlas, will initially be available on macOS on the desktop. Versions for Windows, iOS, and Android are coming soon, OpenAI says.
OpenAI worked hard to build as many AI-driven features into Atlas as possible. For example, Atlas learns the users browsing history and, in some cases, can make content suggestions proactively.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman suggested that this first version of the browser is just the start, pledging to add way more stuff that we will tell you about later and adding that the company can take this pretty far.
The browser also integrates an AI agent, which can perform certain tasks for the users, such as filling out web forms and booking reservations. These things can happen in the background while the user does other things on the web. This, OpenAI says, may cut down on the number of browser tabs that users must currently wade through. However, agent mode is only available to OpenAIs paying Plus and Pro subscribers.
The Atlas browser isnt the only AI-first product out therePerplexity, for instance, launched its Comet browser earlier this year. But Atlas may pose a serious threat to Googles dominant Chrome browser, which plays a central role in the companys advertising business model.
OpenAI announced the new browser via a livestream on Tuesday.
We think AI presents a rare once-in-a-decade opportunity to rethink what a browser can be about, Altman said at the beginning of the stream.
The Coca-Cola Co. said sales of premium beverages and mini cans helped boost its third-quarter results despite tepid demand in the U.S. and elsewhere.
The Atlanta beverage giant said Tuesday it continues to see a divergence among consumers in North America and Europe, with higher-income buyers opting for its more expensive brands like Smartwater, Topo Chico, and Fairlife, while middle- and lower-income consumers are under more pressure.
Henrique Braun, Coke’s chief operating officer, said the company has focused on affordability by shrinking package sizes and leaning into sales of mini cans. Earlier this month, Coke announced it will sell individual, 7.5-ounce mini cans for the first time at North American convenience stores starting Jan. 1. The mini cans have a suggested retail price of $1.29.
We’re pivoting accordingly. We know that the consumer landscape has not changed, Braun said during a conference call with investors.
Coca-Cola said its organic revenue rose 6% to $12.41 billion in the July-September period. That was in line with what Wall Street expected, according to analysts polled by FactSet.
Unit case volumes were up 1% worldwide, reversing a 1% slide in the second quarter. Case volumes were flat in North America and Latin America and down 1% in Asia. But they rose 4% in the companys Europe, Middle East and Africa region. Coke said prices grew 6% in the quarter, partly due to the mix of beverages sold.
Coca-Cola Zero Sugar was a standout in the third quarter, with unit case volumes up 14% globally, while Diet Coke and Coca-Cola Light sales grew 2%. Case volumes for water, sports drinks, coffee and tea rose 3%, while dairy and juice volumes fell 3%.
The companys net income jumped 30% to $3.69 billion. Adjusted for one-time items, Coke earned 82 cents per share. That was also higher than the 78 cents analysts forecast.
Coca-Cola reiterated its full-year financial guidance, including organic revenue growth of 5% to 6% and adjusted earnings-per-share growth of 3%. Coke also said it continues to expect the impact of tariffs to be manageable.
Coca-Cola shares rose 3.5% in morning trading Tuesday.
Coca-Cola also said Tuesday it is refranchising its bottling operations in Africa. Coke and Gutsche Family Investments, a private South African company, have agreed to sell a 75% controlling interested in Coca-Cola Beverages Africa to Coca-Cola HBC AG, a major bottler for the company based in Switzerland. The deal is worth $2.55 billion.
Coca-Cola will retain a 25% stake in Coca-Cola Beverages Africa. The transactions are expected to close by the end of 2026.
Coca-Cola Beverages Africa is the largest bottler on the continent, operating in 14 countries and accounting for 40% of Cokes product volume in Africa. Coca-Cola HBC operates in 29 countries in Europe and Africa, including Nigeria and Egypt.
Coca-Cola Chairman and CEO James Quincey said Tuesday that the deal in Africa and a similar transaction in India in July were the last two big pieces of a bottler refranchising plan that Coke set in motion a decade ago.
Quincey said the strategy helps Coke focus more on brand building and innovation while bottlers can invest in the manufacturing system.
The bottler performs better and it helps us drive overall growth for the total system, so that the combination grows faster and is more profitable, Quincey said.
Rival PepsiCo is under some pressure from an activist investor, Elliott Investment Management, to refranchise its bottling operations in North America.
Dee-Ann Durbin, AP business writer
Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of CNN and HBO, announced Tuesday that it is up for sale after receiving unsolicited interest from multiple potential buyers.
The news adds a new wrinkle to an already-planned shakeup at the media giant. In June, WBD announced plans to cleave the company into two separate publicly traded companies. The companys streaming and studio brandswhich include HBO, HBO Max, Warner Bros. Pictures, and New Line Cinemawould be part of Warner Bros., while Discovery Global would oversee its cable networks that include CNN, TNT Sports, and Discovery.
Though its not abandoning plans to split the company, WBD indicated in its announcement on Tuesday that its now reviewing strategic alternatives, with no set timeline for this process. This move merely confirms what many people had already suspectedthat the company wants to be acquired.
Earlier this month, the newly merged Paramount Skydance Corporation reportedly made a lowball offer for the company. WBD rejected a takeover offer from Paramount of about $20 per share, according to reporting by Bloomberg. The newly appointed Paramount CEO, David Ellison, has made it clear hed like to buy Warner Bros. Discovery before that split can occur.
INTEREST FROM MULTIPLE PARTIES
But Ellison isnt the only interested buyer, it seems, and that news sent shares of WBD surging more than 10% in midday trading Tuesday to as high as $20.58. And it may scuttle plans that Ellison, son of billionaire Oracle founder Larry Ellison, has for completing another mega-consolidation in the media industry.
“It’s no surprise that the significant value of our portfolio is receiving increased recognition by others in the market, David Zaslav, president and CEO of WBD, said in a statement. After receiving interest from multiple parties, we have initiated a comprehensive review of strategic alternatives to identify the best path forward to unlock the full value of our assets.”
Among the other companies interested in a possible acquisition of part or all of WBD? The list includes Netflix and Comcast, sources told CNBCs David Faber.
SHAREHOLDER VALUE
While splitting up the companysimilar to what NBCUniversal did this year with its networks and various entititesis still WBDs preferred path forward, its board decided to consider all opportunities, according to chair Samuel A. Di Piazza, Jr. We determined taking these actions to broaden our scope is in the best interest of shareholders.”
WBD shares have nearly doubled in value this year.
And the acquisition interest means its likely that Warner Bros. Discovery could sell before that split occurs. And if theres a bidding war, the winner may have to pay upwards of $60 million to acquire the media company, according to estimates, even though the company is saddled with more than $40 million in debt related to its 2022 merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery Inc.
JPMorgan Chase unveiled its new 60-story headquarters to the public on Monday, one of the first major office buildings to be constructed after the COVID-19 pandemic and one that will remake the New York City skyline for decades.
The bronze and steel tower at 270 Park, which reportedly cost $3 billion, replaced the Union Carbide Building, which sat on a full city block at 48th Street and Park Avenue for nearly 60 years. JPMorgan expects to house roughly 10,000 of its 24,000 New York-based employees in the new building, with employees starting their first workday at the tower at the same time as the company holds its ribbon cutting ceremony.
For 225 years, JPMorgan Chase has always been deeply rooted in New York City. The opening of our new global headquarters is not only a significant investment in New York, but also testament to our commitment to our clients and employees worldwide, said Jamie Dimon, CEO and chairman of JPMorgan, in a statement.
The building contains 2.5 million square feet and a blocks worth of public space. The bank also commissioned five new artworks for the building, adding to the banks already substantial art collection. The bank will house its trading operations in the building across eight floors.
At 1,388 feet, the new building is taller than the Empire State Buildings roofline and is now the fourth-largest building in Manhattan.
The building was a major engineering and architectural undertaking by Norman Foster, the buildings lead architect and Tishman Speyer. Engineers had to systematically demolish the old Union Carbide building over a period of two years the site sits above the rails of the Metro North Railroad and the Long Island Rail Road that run underneath Park Avenue.
For years, JPMorgan has worked out of several buildings around Grand Central Station, a result of the banks growth and acquisitions over the years. Corporate execs and investment bankers still use 383 Madison Ave, the former headquarters of Bear Stearns, and 277 Park, which housed Chemical Bank, also a predecessor of the current JPMorgan Chase. Parts of JPMorgan started using 270 Park in the mid-1990s, but the bank always struggled to fit all its operations in the building. With 270 Park finished, the bank says it will now start a renovation of 383 Madison.
The completion of 270 Park is a major accomplishment for Dimon, who has been one of loudest voices about the need for employees to report to an office for work. The building was designed before the COVID-19 pandemic and was completed after the pandemic, when remote work became more common.
Ken Sweet, AP business writer
Robert Redfords legacy and mission were always going to be a key component of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, which will be the last of its kind in Park City, Utah. But in the wake of his death in Septemberat age 89, those ideas took on a new significance.
This January, the institute that Redford founded over 40 years ago, plans to honor his career and impact with and a screening of his first truly independent film, the 1969 sports drama Downhill Racer, and a series of legacy screenings of restored Sundance gems from Little Miss Sunshine to House Party, festival organizers said Tuesday.
As we were thinking about how best to honor Mr. Redfords legacy, its not only carrying forward this notion of everyone has a story but its also getting together in a movie theater and watching a film that really embodies that independent spirit, festival director Eugene Hernandez told The Associated Press. Weve had some incredible artists reach out to us, even in the past few weeks since Mr. Redfords passing, who just want to be part of this years festival.
Archival screenings will include Saw, Mysterious Skin, House Party, and Humpday as well as the 35th anniversary of Barbara Kopples documentary American Dream, and 20th anniversaries of Half Nelson and Little Miss Sunshine, with some of the filmmakers expected to attend as well.
Over the almost 30 years of Sundance Institutes collaboration with our partner, the UCLA Film & Television Archive, weve not only worked to ensure that the Festivals legacy endures through film preservation, but weve seen that output feed an astonishing resurgence of repertory cinema programming across the country, said festival programmer John Nein. The films weve preserved and the newly restored films screening at this years festival, including some big anniversaries, are an important way to keep the independent stories from years past alive in our culture today.
Tickets for the 2026 festival, which runs from Jan. 22 through Feb. 1, go on sale Wednesday at noon Eastern, with online and in person options. Some planning is also already underway for the festivals new home in Boulder, Colorado, in 2027, but programmers are heads down figuring out the slate of world premieres for January. Those will be revealed in December.
Theres a lot more to come and a lot more to announce, Hernandez said. This is just laying a foundation.
Redford’s death has added a poignancy to everything.
Seeing and hearing the remembrances took me back to why I felt compelled to go to the festival in the first place, Hernandez said. Its been very grounding and clarifying and for us as a team its been very emotional and moving. But its also been an opportunity to remind ourselves what Mr. Redford has given to us, to our lives, to our industry, to Utah.
Lindsey Bahr, AP film writer
