In Texas, parts of Houston are sinking at a rate faster than 10 millimetersor about two-fifths of an inchper year. Parts of Dallas and Fort Worth are sinking more than 5 millimeters per year. While that may sound small, it adds up: Every few millimeters that a city sinks can cause cracks in roads or tilt building foundations, and make that region more vulnerable to extreme flooding.
And those Texas cities arent alone: Twenty-five other major citiesfrom New York and San Francisco to Boston and Oklahoma Cityare also sinking, according to a new study, putting more than 34 million people at risk.
Cities can sink for a few reasons. Buildings are heavy, and so sometimes the ground below them can settle and constrict, especially if theyre built on top of sand. Erosion or natural land and tectonic movements can come into play, too. But the most common cause for cities sinking lower and lowera process known as subsidenceis groundwater extraction.
Across the county, half of the U.S. population relies on groundwater for drinking, irrigation, or industrial uses. When cities pump that water from the ground below, the land then compacts and settles down, bringing the city, and the structural integrity of its buildings roads, and bridges, with it.
Land subsidence is often invisibleuntil it isnt, says Manoochehr Shirzaei, a geophysicist at Virginia Tech and coauthor of the study, published today in the journal Nature Cities. It undermines building foundations, damages roads and pipelines, and compromises flood defenses. . . . It’s a quiet hazard, but its effects accumulate, potentially amplifying damage during storms or earthquakes.
All 28 major U.S. cities are shrinking
For their study, Shirzaei and his team focused on the 28 most populous U.S. cities, which cover nearly 12% of the countrys population. Previous studies about subsidence often focused just on coastal regions or individual cities, ignoring the widespread urban risk. Researchers used satellite-based radar measurements to create high-resolution maps of those cities sinking land.
The researchers expected to see subsidence in places like Houston and New Orleans. Houston has long been one of the fastest-sinking cities because of groundwater mining and oil and gas extraction; and New Orleans is built on top of soft, marshy land, with a drainage system that runs through the city. But they found subsidence in all 28 cities they examinedincluding Chicago, Columbus, Seattle, and Denver. The widespread nature of the hazard was striking, Shirzaei says.
In 25 out of the 28 cities, at least 65% of the urban area is sinking. In some cities, thats even greater: Chicago, Dallas, Columbus, Detroit, Fort Worth, Denver, New York, Indianapolis, Houston, and Charlotte saw the most widespread subsidence, with about 98% of their areas affected. Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston saw the highest rates of subsidence, from about 5 millimeters to as much as 10 millimeters per year.
Climate change, subsidence, and what cities can do
Subsidence comes with a range of risks. In cities that are already prone to flooding, like New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., it can make floods even worse because more land is closer to sea level.
That means when cities sink, theyre more vulnerable to climate changes impacts. Our study found that the cities with the highest rates of subsidence have also experienced numerous major flood events in the past two decades, Shirzaei says. But at the same time, climate change can exacerbate subsidence, by increasing droughts and also the demand for groundwater.
Cities still have time to act, Shirzaei says. They can slow this rate of sinking, or even reverse subsidence, by enacting regulations around groundwater use, managing aquifers better, and updating building codes to take soil movement into account. Cities should also adopt monitoring systems, integrate this risk into their urban planning, and retrofit any infrastructure that may be vulnerable.
The key is that these responses must be tailored to a specific cityits ground makeup, its infrastructure, and its subsidence causes. What works in San Diego wont work in Memphis, Shirzaei says.
Greg Creed spent 25 years at Yum Brands, including more than a decade in leadership roles at Taco Bell, before he retired from the company in 2020. He offered this unsolicited advice after a rough quarter for McDonalds, in which same-store sales fell over 3%, the companys worst drop since the pandemic.
The problem, Creed asserts, is that McDonalds isnt chasing menu options that its customers will crave. And without a menu that elicits a strong reactioneither positive or negativefrom diners, McDonald’s is just being beige.
Nothing as a brand is worse than being beige, Creed wrote in a recent LinkedIn post. It upsets no one, but lets be honest: No one loves beige.
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In the companys first-quarter earnings report, McDonalds CEO Chris Kempczinski cited uncertain economic and geopolitical conditions as reasons for the sales slump. Traffic to McDonalds fell more than expected, even as the company leaned into its value messaging. Still, McDonalds has raised prices as inflation persists.
Were not immune to the volatility in the industry or the pressures that our consumers are facing, Kempczinski said.
Comparatively, though, Taco Bell is killing it. In the first three months of the year, sales are up 9%. Traffic is up too, regardless of customer income. These numbers were a bright spot for Yum Brands, also the parent company of KFC and Pizza Hut, which reported mixed results in the first quarter.
I know this is a tough operating environment for everybody else in the industry, Yum Brands CEO David Gibbs said during his companys recent earnings call. It just is probably an environment that favors Taco Bell, and thats what youre seeing there, firing on all cylinders.
From his position on the outside, Creed can only speculate on whats happening. But his hunch is Taco Bells success comes from its willingness to aggressively push new menu items, like its crispy chicken nuggets, a former limited-time offering that just made it onto the menu for good. Its not that McDonalds cant innovate, Creed says, its that the companys structurewhere he guesses operators have more input on menu items than the marketing departmentis slowing it down.
I always thought of McDonalds as an operating company, Creed said via email. Whereas I used to say when I ran Taco Bell, that we are a marketing company that just happens to sell Mexican-inspired food.
Process aside, Kempczinski expects McDonalds fortune to turn. Like Taco Bell, its adding more fried chicken to the menu with this weeks nationwide launch of fried chicken tenders called McCrispy Strips, and plans to lean hard on its value offerings to reach a stretched consumer.
The biggest co-sign of Creeds analysis, though, comes from current Taco Bell CEO Sean Tresvant. In response to Creeds LinkedIn screed, he wrote:
Nuggets (pun intended) of gold, Greg.
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The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership opportunities, events and more.
The speed and breadth of the changing political/cultural status quo in the U.S. has been breathtaking and disorienting for brand leaders across the tech/business community. Some leaders have gone all in to kiss the ring of the new status quo. Many more are wrestling with the question How do I continue to support the ideals my brand believes in without causing serious self-sabotage?
This article is intended as a conversation starter, not a neat solution, and is informed by decades of experience of building the most influential brands as well as a series of 2025 interviews with leading founders. It puts forward a set of three principles and concrete actions to help leaders get on the front foot again.
1. Rebrand initiatives for minimum drama, maximum impact
Inspiration: The rebranding of progressive finance
We can learn from the example of the progressive finance community, which is in the process of rebranding its entire category, swapping trigger words such as ESG for terms like energy security. Surveying fund managers and analysts, the FT noted, The new world of sustainable investment will have a greater focus on energy transition, better regulation, and less virtue signalingESG as a synonym for sustainable investment is likely to disappear but the trend, in its revamped form, will continue.
This is a great example of reframing language to focus on the nondebatable goal of ensuring our energy suppliers resilience, no matter what your view on the causes and speed of climate change.
2. Stick to your values, but focus on outcomes: The Flo Health approach
Flo Health, a leading womens health app, successfully navigated the post-Roe v. Wade landscape by focusing on science-backed healthcare outcomes rather than political rhetoric. Instead of engaging in ideological debates, the company stayed true to its missionimproving womens healthby highlighting established medical research demonstrating the negative impact of restricted reproductive care.
This wasnt just talk; it sparked tangible innovation. Flo Health introduced Anonymous Mode, a game-changing feature that allows users to track their menstrual cycles without fear of their data being misused. The move resonated deeply with users, addressing concerns about digital privacy at a time of heightened vulnerability.
The results speak for themselves. By keeping the focus on action rather than controversy, Flo Health experienced a 55% surge in paid subscribers, solidifying its position as Europes first femtech unicorn. In the U.S., the app has become an essential tool for reproductive health, with an estimated 40% of women who were trying to conceive, relying on it.
Flo Healths approach underscores a key lesson: Brands can stand by their values and drive meaningful impact without performative statements, earning both community trust and business success.
3. Adopt an adaptive Day One mindset focused on current needs over historical wrongs
This mindset has long been advocated by innovative CEOs, treating each day as if its the first, willing to let go of the past with a focus on excellence and opportunity. I believe that now is the time for brand leaders to apply the same lens in a new world with a new set of rules. Reduce talk of correcting historical injustices and focus more on actions that drive the maximum benefit for the majority of people.
Example: Rockets blockbuster Super Bowl activation
Rocket, a leading provider of mortgages in the U.S., returned to the Super Bowl in 2025 with a goal to unite a divided nation around the principle that everyone deserves a shot at home ownership. The campaign was intentionally crafted to find common ground from the choice of music (one of the U.S.s most beloved country tracks) to representative, authentic casting from young families to veterans, to the topic with 94% of Americans believing that homeownership is part of the American dream. With two million people visiting Rocket.com within an hour and the largest brand lift of any Super Bowl advertiser, the impact illustrates the power of the approach with feedback showing that people from both sides of the political spectrum saw themselves in it.
Final word
Navigating this complex landscape requires courage and a commitment to acting with intention, orienting towards inclusive solutions over rallying against partisan problems. There is no one-size-fits-all formula but adopting a Day One mindset offers a way forward where values drive decisions but outcomes drive communications. A blend of purpose and pragmatism to achieve maximum impact with minimum drama.
The examples above illustrate how this strategy can yield significant benefits, from strengthening community trust to driving commercial success.
Were all writing the new playbook for purpose-driven performance in real time, and I remain stubbornly optimistic that this evolution will, over time, elevate the industrys ability to create lasting cultural and business impact
Neil Barrie is cofounder and global CEO of TwentyFirstCenturyBrand.
The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership opportunities, events and more.
While virtual doctor visits were available prior to 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic kicked them into overdrive: From 2018-2022, the percentage of American hospitals offering telehealth jumped over 14% to 86.9%. In 2021, McKinsey reported that the use of virtual care had stabilized at 38 times higher than before the pandemic. That same year, 85% of doctors offered it and 37% of adults surveyed had used it in the past year. In less than a decade, telehealth has gone from care alternative to industry staple. But with patients and providers increasingly dissatisfied with the quality of care, is this a positive development?
It can be. As the CEO of Sollis Health, a 24/7 concierge medical membership, Ive seen how telehealth can be leveraged alongside features like premium tech-based services, healthcare personalization, and powerful proactive care to prioritize patient experience, support providers, and boost health outcomesbecause high-tech and human-centered dont have to be mutually exclusive.
Premium tech-based services
More than ever, time is a luxury for both patients and healthcare providers: Patients are waiting longer for care while overworked providers are slowed down by administrative burdens and staffing shortages. This lack of time contributes to burnout on both sides, with a 2022 poll revealing that fewer than half of Americans feel that the healthcare system is generally handled well. On the provider side, a 2024 survey showed that 48.2% of physicians reported experiencing at least one symptom of burnout.
Tech-based services could help fill these gaps, alleviating these pressures on both sides. AI is just one example. By automating administrative tasks, streamlining preventive care, and even playing a role in diagnosticslike reading MRIs or X-raysa smart rollout of AI could free providers to spend more intentional time with patients while making care more efficient and effective by finding cancer sooner and making precision medicine more comprehensive.
Healthcare personalization
Women are more likely to die from heart attacksand yet, because of medical biases, they are also more likely to be misdiagnosed.
While a one-size-fits-all approach to healthcare has long been the norm, care that tailors medical treatments and interventions to the unique needs of individual patients not only improves health outcomes, but streamlines them, too. From simply making sure patients are comfortable before, during, and after exams, to providing access to wearables like Zio patches, targeted cancer diagnostics, and seamless care navigation, personalized healthcare can save time and money by enhancing prevention and refining diagnostics. It can also improve engagement and compliance: Healthcare strategies specifically tailored to an individuals needs makes patients feel more understood and cared for overall.
Powerful proactive care
Youre probably already familiar with preventive care, which research shows could reduce premature cancer deaths by about 40%. Proactive care broadens preventive cares reach by deepening the connection between patients and providers with more and better communication while encouraging traditional preventive measures like health education, lifestyle changeslike quitting smoking or balanced eating habitsand screenings for conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
Unfortunately, in the United States only slightly more than half of recommended healthcare interventions are provided during the course of normal care, often due to a lack of time. Technological advances in preventive care have so much to offer, especially in terms of access. Thanks to the time-savings of telehealth, AI-driven diagnostics, app-based medical education and care, wearables, and more, proactive care becomes more accessible to those who need it, including at-risk patients, patients managing chronic conditions, and others who would benefit from the convenience of higher-tech care.
The future of healthcare is human-centered
Finding solutions to a healthcare system thats become too complex, transactional, and onerous doesnt mean ignoring technologies like telehealthit means striking the delicate balance between the human touch and the cutting edge. Whether its as simple as a warmer bedside manner or as advanced as AI-driven predictive analytics, human-centered healthcare is not just possible, but necessary, in this evolving landscape.
Brad Olson is CEO of Sollis Health.
The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership opportunities, events and more.
When architects constructed the Notre-Dame Cathedral in the 13th century, they reinforced its structure with 28 flying buttresses. These famous buttresses are credited with saving the entire roof from collapse during the devastating 2019 fire. Today, as nonprofit organizations brace against shifting economic winds, Im reminded of these critical architectural supports when I consider the wraparound services many philanthropies provide their grantees. Leadership development, training, and networking opportunities are like flying buttresses: They strengthen organizations and provide added structural stability in an unpredictable and unchartered funding environment.
Pairing holistic support with financial contributions is especially critical for nonprofits at a time when traditional philanthropic sources are uncertain. Providing opportunities for nonprofit professionals to strengthen their leadership skills and abilities is an increasingly valuable benefit that philanthropies can help make possible, particularly at a watershed moment when groups that deliver critical programs and services must pivot as necessary on a variety of fronts.
Building nonprofits capacity for impact
According to the T. Rowe Price Foundations 2024 Learning Report leaders of small and mid-size organizations find that workshops, seminars, and personalized advice and insights are prized opportunities to build organizational capacity, and notably when the nonprofit lacks the resources to provide these opportunities to its staff.
For instance, Goodyear Tire hosts an annual global week of volunteering that includes professional development workshops for nonprofit professionals on topics like leadership development and project management. Similarly, the American Express Leadership Academy provides skills training for emerging social purpose and nonprofit leaders around the world. In addition, the Allstate Foundation Nonprofit Leadership Center has provided free online management training for nonprofit professionals in partnership with Northwestern Universitys Center for Nonprofit Management at the Kellogg School of Management since 2014.
Local and regional philanthropies can also support nonprofits capacity-building efforts, especially since they deeply understand the unique needs of the community and can act as an anchor in the nonprofit ecosystem. For instance, the Greater New Orleans Foundation (GNOF) provides robust civic leadership training and opportunities that include six-month training programs to boost nonprofit professionals leadership skills and foster peer learning to help better ensure a strong talent pipeline. Independently, GNOF also provides routine trainings and workshops to bolster community nonprofit success.
At the Ares Charitable Foundation, we surveyed our grantees and found that our partners would benefit from capacity-building resources and strategies that help them increase their expertise in measurement, storytelling, and fundraising. Earlier this year, we launched a Learning Community program for our U.S. grantees that brings organizations with similar goals together for collaborative learning, peer networking, and shared problem solving. Part think tank, part idea incubator, and part professional development institute, our Learning Community program, which we intend to scale globally, was inspired by our staunch belief that philanthropies canand shouldhelp nonprofits increase their reach and impact in ways that extend beyond monetary support alone.
Safeguard nonprofits for the future
Leadership training, community partnerships, and peer networking are our nonprofits flying buttresses. These kinds of supports can shore up fiscal contributions and provide practical resources to help undergird organizations as they strive to execute day-to-day operations and remain stable as the funding landscape continues to evolve. Notre-Dame thankfully continued standing following the historic 2019 fire and with the help of philanthropic wraparound supports, organizations that communities have come to rely on and trust can, too. If funders recognize and commit to providing resources that, in truth, can be just as valuable as cash, then nonprofits can survive in the wake of the unknown and continue to make the difference they have long sought.
Michelle Armstrong is president of Ares Charitable Foundation.
The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership opportunities, events and more.
Digital wallets have fast become part of daily life. By 2027, theyre expected to account for half of all retail salesaround $25 trillion worldwide. Its easy to see why. Paying with a digital wallet is easy, secure, and requires nothing more than a phone. But theres potential for wallets to do so much more, beyond payments.
Digital wallets started as payment tools. Now, they’re becoming platforms for everything: verifying identity, storing loyalty cards, presenting boarding passes and rail tickets, accessing insurance documents, and roadside assistance memberships. This isnt just convenienceits intelligence in your pocket. In China, super apps like WeChat let people manage investments, book rideshares, order food, schedule medical appointments, access government services, and engage with social networks. Its meeting a growing demand for more personalized digital experiences.
Its me, always
Identity is no longer a card in your walletit is your wallet. As governments around the world implement digital passports and drivers licenses, they will be held in digital wallets. In Belgium, more than 80% of those over 16 use itsme for secure identification, digital transactions, and electronic signatures, with millions of actions performed daily.
Another examplethe EU Digital Identity Walletis expected to launch for all EU citizens, residents, and businesses by 2026. It will store users documentation so they can securely access public and private online services across member states. Given its focus on cross-border interactions, the EU program could be a precursor to a standardized global ID framework.
A wealth of management
Today, innovative companies are developing wallets into financial hubs that manage investments, loans, and cryptocurrencies. Revolut, for example, started as a currency exchange wallet and expanded into banking, trading, insurance, and wealth management. This year, the company plans to introduce one-day mortgage approvals and AI-powered assistants that provide personalized financial insights and recommendations.
The convergence of AI, blockchain, and fintech is pushing wallets boundaries. Apps such as Trim, for example, function as AI-driven financial assistants that help users negotiate bills, cancel unwanted subscriptions, and automate savings. Argent, an Ethereum-based smart contract wallet, allows users to securely store, manage, and invest in cryptocurrencies.
Think: less banking app, more autonomous CFO. In a few years, wallets could be semi-autonomous financial agents that analyze a users real-time cash flow, optimize investments, and negotiate loan rates with minimal human input. They may execute smart contracts for renting homes, leasing vehicles, or securing gig work, eliminating the need for traditional intermediaries. With integrated finance capabilities enabled by open banking, they could lend, borrow, and trade assets, adapting to market conditions as they change.
Just A Rather Very Intelligent System
Consider the number of apps we have on our phones, and the amount of time we spend logging in to various platforms and hopping between tasks. Imagine the digital wallet as a personal assistant that steps in for ushelping to manage shopping, banking, healthcare, and prescriptions, for example, or scheduling travel and rebooking flights when delays occur. It might not be JARVIS the AI butler from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but certainly it is a useful and intelligent assistant.
These assistants could make decisions on your behalf via agentic AI models. They have the potential to automatically calculate tax returns, pay utility bills, switch providers, order groceries based on household consumption patterns, share medical histories with healthcare professionals, and recommend spontaneous trips based on weather and work schedules. Imagine your wallet negotiating a mortgage rate at 3 a.m. while you sleep.
Know your agent
Considering the level of agency we may grant to these assistants, it is essential to ensure that they are secure and transparent. A statistic from the World Economic Forum suggests that only a minority of organizations currently have a process in place to assess the security of AI tools before deploying them. Know your agent protocols are in the ascendant, and rightly so. Regulatory and governance frameworks must enforce standards and require that AI models are auditable and free from bias. Solution developers must prioritize user controlenabling individuals to set privacy preferences, verify AI-driven decisions, and override automated actions.
In the future, the smartest thing in your pocket might not be your phoneitll be the agent inside it. This is emerging territory, so businesses and governments should work together to develop open, secure, and ethical innovations. If done right, the digital wallet wont just carry your moneyit will carry your life. And itll do it with your permission, your priorities, and your protection in mind.
Ken Moore is the chief innovation officer at Mastercard.
One of the worst parts about flying might just be, well, fellow passengers. In fact, a 2023 Fast Company-Harris poll even found that 62% of airline customers are most dissatisfied with other travelers.
Now, that might just be backed up by the new 2025 North America Airline Satisfaction Study from J.D. Power. The study noted that the volume of fliers has decreased in the first quarter of 2025. But surprisingly, customer satisfaction is slightly up compared to last year, which potentially means that people think overcrowding is one of the worst elements of air travel.
The study is based on feedback from 10,224 passengers, all of whom had flown on one of the major airlines within a month of completing the survey. Since the study was conducted from March 2024 through March 2025, its worth noting that the responses were collected before President Trump announced sweeping tariffs that caused airline stocks to fall as the U.S. Consumer Expectations Index reached its lowest level in 12 years. Even still, they reflect a reduction in consumer travel thats likely a result of overall market uncertainty.
The study based satisfaction scores on seven different elements of travel, and broke down passenger responses into three segments by seating class, including first/business, premium economy, and economy/basic economy.
On the studys 1,000-point scale, consumers reported a six point overall uptick in satisfaction compared to the prior yeara number that was largely influenced by the 8-point increase in passengers flying in the economy and basic economy classes. (Satisfaction for customers in premium economy experienced a 7-point decline, and first class passengers reported a 1-point decline.)
All of the passengers were asked to rank their experiences across seven categories: airline staff; digital tools; ease of travel; level of trust; on-board experience; pre/post-flight experience; and value for price paid. While the bump in satisfaction could be partially due to the general decrease in ticket prices as airlines scramble to entice passengers, customers also reported positive experiences with airline staff.
Overall rankings show JetBlue Airways ranking the highest for first/business class satisfaction, followed by Delta Air Lines and Alaska Airlines. Delta won the customer satisfaction survey in the premium economy segment for the third year in a row, followed by JetBlue and Alaska. For the fourth year in a row, Southwest Airlines took home the win for the economy/basic economy segments, followed by JetBlue and Delta.
As airlines face a challenging year for the travel industry, it will be interesting to see if and how they manage to prioritize consumer satisfaction in the face of economic challenges.
At a time of skyrocketing costs in the U.S., looming tariffs, and fears of a recession, New Yorkers are finally getting some good news: This year more than 8 million people in the Empire State will receive a sort of stimulus check, or officially, an “inflation refund check,” according to Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The refunds come as Americans continue to battle high inflation, which is driving up prices on everything from housing to groceries, and stems from the global COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath. While inflation has steadily decreased from its 2022 high of 9.1%, prices have not readjusted to levels before the pandemic, according to Newsweek.
Last week, Hochul said: “While inflation has driven prices higher . . . it has also driven sharp increases in the state’s collection of sales tax” that “belongs to hardworking New York families and should be returned to their pockets as an inflation refund.”
The checks add up to about $2 billion and are allocated as part of the state’s 2026 fiscal budget. It’s the first time the state has issued this type of refund check.
Here’s what you need to know.
Am I eligible for a New York inflation refund?
The inflation refunds are going out to more than 8 million people living in New York state who are part of households that fall under set income limits.
For couples or families that file joint taxes, households earning up to $300,000 a year are eligible for the refunds.
For individuals who file solo taxes, those earning up to $150,000 are eligible.
How much can I expect to receive if live in New York?
Couples or families that file joint taxes and earn up to $150,000 will receive a $400 check, while joint tax filers earning more than $150,000 and up to $300,000 will get a $300 refund.
Individuals who file solo taxes of up to $75,000 will get a $200 refund; those who earn more than $75,000 and up to $150,000 will receive a $150 check.
What’s the timeline for the inflation refunds?
There’s no clear timeline yet for when the inflation refunds will be sent out, although Hochul has said New York residents can expect the refunds this year.
What if I have kids? Is there an additional tax credit?
In addition to that refund, the governor announced she will be expanding New Yorks child tax credit “for middle-class New Yorkers,” giving 1.6 million New York families an annual tax credit of up to $1,000 per child under the age of four, and up to $500 per child ages 4 through 16.
The expansion of New Yorks child tax credit will benefit approximately 2.75 million children statewide, and will double the size of the average credit going out to families from $472 to $943.
One day after WeightWatchers said that it would file for bankruptcy, weight-loss drug giant Novo Nordisks outlook is brightening.
Novo Nordisk, the Danish company that produces the semaglutide drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, saw its shares rise more than 7% Wednesday, in spite of recent headwinds from widely available copycat versions of its signature weight-loss drugs.
Following its quarterly earnings report, shares of the company rose to $71.53 before leveling off and settling around $67.70, in spite of lowered expectations for the year.
Novo Nordisk lowered its sales growth forecast for 2025, now expecting growth between 13% and 21%, down from the 16% to 24% it projected back in February. The company blamed the dip on slower-than-expected uptake of its branded glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drugs, largely due to competition from compounding pharmacies, which had been filling the gap as demand for weight-loss meds like Wegovy outpaced supply.
FDA crackdown signals end of GLP-1 copycats
But that pressure is expected to ease. The Food and Drug Administration recently declared the shortage over and has officially banned large-scale compounding of GLP-1 drugs like semaglutide. With those off-brand versions now illegal in the U.S., Novo Nordisk and its investors are optimistic sales will rebound in the coming months.
The agency has given large compounding pharmacies in the U.S. until May 22 to wind down production of those drugs or face potential enforcement actions. Late last month, a U.S. judge rejected a legal challenge from an industry group representing compounding pharmacies that could have allowed continued production of GLP-1 copycat drugs to continue.
While their products can be cheaper for consumers, drugs produced in compounding pharmacies face less regulatory scrutiny than their name-brand counterparts. The FDA acknowledges that while compounded drugs are a lawful option that alleviates supply problems, they may not meet the same quality and safety standards.
WeightWatchers collapses under pressure
The future is decidedly less sunny for longtime weight-loss industry stalwart WeightWatchers, which announced that it would pursue Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday. The company has struggled to reinvent itself in the era of widely available weight-loss drugs, even as it embraced their rise by pivoting to sell compounded semaglutide through its own online pharmacy.
WeightWatchers may be down, but the company insists that it isnt out. WeightWatchers insists that it will continue to operate normally in spite of its bankruptcy plans, which it described as transformational in a press release. There will be no impact to members or the plans they rely on to support their weight management goals, the company said.
After the process is complete, a new investor group will wield 91% of the company and the remaining chunk of stock will be held by existing shareholders.
The decisive actions were taking today, with the overwhelming support of our lenders and noteholders, will give us the flexibility to accelerate innovation, reinvest in our members, and lead with authority in a rapidly evolving weight management landscape, WeightWatchers CEO Tara Comonte said.
As the conversation around weight shifts toward long-term health, our commitment to delivering the most trusted, science-backed, and holistic solutionsgrounded in community support and lasting resultshas never been stronger, or more important, she added.
A new generation of GLP-1 drugs promising fast results continues to rock the weight-loss industry, which has emphasized dieting and other slow behavioral changes for decades. Whether WeightWatchers can weather the storm remains to be seen, but complete transformation might be the only option if the 60-year-old company plans to make it in the Wegovy era.
Apple is considering reworking its Safari web browser across its devices to place a greater emphasis on AI-powered search engines, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.
The disclosure came from Eddy Cue, Apples senior vice president of services, during his testimony Wednesday in the Department of Justices lawsuit against Alphabet. Cue was speaking about the two companies $20 billion-a-year deal that makes Google the default search engine on Apples browsers.
The Apple executive said he expects AI search providerslike OpenAI, Anthropic, and Perplexityto eventually replace standard sources like Google. Apple has already seen a decline in Safari searches for the first time last month, which Cue attributed to the growing use of AI. Still, he added, its too early for these platforms to become the default.
Currently, Apple and Alphabet have a lucrative agreement that allows Apple usersacross more than 2 billion active devicesto perform searches through Google. Initially, Apple agreed to use Google in its Safari browser for free. Eventually, the two companies agreed to share revenue generated from search advertising. A shift away from Google and the entry of multiple competitors into the space could jeopardize that profitable arrangement, which contributes significantly to Apples revenue.
Theres enough money now, enough large players, that I dont see how it doesnt happen, Cue said about the switch from standard internet search to AI, according to Bloomberg.
