SOCIAL MEDIA
Reddit posts good first results as a public company
Reddit shares jumped 4 percent after improvements to the social media platform’s advertising system helped push quarterly sales higher than expected in its first results as a public company. Revenue increased 48 percent to $243 million in the period ended March 31, the social media company said Tuesday in a statement. Analysts, on average, estimated $211.9 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Reddit’s initial public offering in March was one of the largest on a US exchange this year, raising about $748 million. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
TRAVEL
Tripadvisor stock drops on news it won’t be sold, at least not yet
Shares of Needham-based online travel site Tripadvisor plunged more than 28 percent Wedesday after the company backed away from a possible acquisition. In February, Tripadvisor said its board had formed a committee to consider proposals to buy the company. But Tripadvisor said on Wednesday that “the Special Committee has determined that at this time, there is no transaction with a third party that is in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders.” The company said it was still open to the possibility of a deal, but doesn’t plan to comment further “unless it has something definitive to share.” (Analysts in February had pointed to a potential buyer: New York private equity firm Certares Management, which owns a stake in Tripadvisor.) Tripadvisor also announced a first-quarter loss of 43 cents a share, largely due to a $42 million payment to the Internal Revenue Service to resolve an income tax dispute. The travel company’s chief executive Matt Goldberg, who took over for longtime CEO Stephen Kaufer in 2022, has been working to boost the company’s growth, which took a steep hit during the pandemic. — HIAWATHA BRAY
PHARMACEUTICALS
Pfizer to settle thousands of cases involving Zantac
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 cases accusing it of hiding the cancer risks of its Zantac heartburn drug, according to people familiar with the deal, the biggest of the litigation. The agreements cover cases in state courts across the United States but don’t completely resolve the company’s exposure to Zantac claims, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the settlement publicly. Financial details of the accords weren’t immediately available. The deal is likely to reassure investors, who have seen other Zantac makers, including GSK and Sanofi, sign settlements. Concerns about the drug makers’ exposure to Zantac suits helped wipe out about $45 billion in combined market value in the summer of 2022. The shares have since recovered and have risen on news of the earlier deals. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
AUTOMOTIVE
Jaguar Land Rover to subsidize car insurance after thefts
Jaguar Land Rover is offering to pay part of customers’ insurance costs for new Range Rovers after a string of thefts caused premiums to soar and left some unable to get coverage. The British carmaker will provide $187 a month for up to three years toward insurance coverage of new Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models registered from May through September, it said Wednesday. The offer, through its recently launched insurance service, excludes the new Velar and Evoque models, and vehicles worth more than $187,400. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
MEDIA
NYT adds more than 200,000 digital subscribers
The New York Times Co. gained 210,000 digital subscribers last quarter, largely users who signed up for a bundle of services including news, games, and sports coverage through The Athletic, the company said Wednesday. Adjusted operating profit for the three months was $76.1 million, an increase of 40.9 percent from a year earlier, propelled both by the increase in subscribers and by higher average revenue per user. In recent years, the Times has tried to get more subscribers to pay for a bundle of services that include Wirecutter, which recommends products, and Cooking, an app that offers users a vast library of recipes. — NEW YORK TIMES
AGRICULTURE
Cocoa rallies after recent slump
Cocoa climbed in New York — adding to its biggest rally since 1999 — as volatility continues to grip the market beset by severe shortages. Futures rose as much as 5.4 percent on Wednesday and are on course for a two-day advance of more than 19 percent, reversing last week’s huge slump from a recent record high. On the supply side, while recent rain in West Africa eased worries about the mid-crop, farmers are fretting about damage caused by previous heat, according to The Hightower Report. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
MUSIC
Swifties head across the pond
Thousands of ride-or-die Taylor Swift fans who missed out on her US concert tour last year or didn’t want to buy exorbitantly priced tickets to see her again found an out-of-the-way solution: Fly to Europe. The pop star is scheduled to kick off the 18-city Europe leg of her record-setting Eras Tour in Paris on Thursday, and planeloads of Swifties plan to follow Miss Americana across the pond in the coming weeks. The arena where Swift is appearing said Americans bought 20 percent of the tickets for her four sold-out shows. Stockholm, the tour’s next stop, expects about 10,000 concertgoers from the United States. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUTOMOTIVE
Toyota doubled its profit in first quarter
Toyota doubled its net profit in the fiscal year that ended in March, as strong vehicles sales and a favorable exchange rate lifted results for Japan’s top automaker. Toyota Motor Corp.’s annual profit totaled 4.9 trillion yen ($31.9 billion), up from 2.45 trillion yen the year before, while its sales jumped 21 percent to 45 trillion yen ($290 billion), the company said Wednesday. The results exceeded Toyota’s own projection for a 4.5 trillion yen ($29 billion) profit, as its global sales surged to 9.4 million vehicles from 8.8 million vehicles in the previous fiscal year. Sales of hybrids performed well, although Toyota stressed it was working hard to offer various kinds of electric vehicles, including battery EVs, plug-ins, and fuel cell models. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
THEME PARKS
Expansion of Disneyland clears another hurdle
Disney has received another key approval to expand its Southern California theme parks in its first push to make major changes to its iconic Disneyland in decades. The Anaheim City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the plan to transform Disney’s 490-acre campus in densely-populated Southern California by moving parking to a multi-story structure and redeveloping a massive lot with new entertainment and rides. It was a second, required vote for the plan after the council gave initial approval last month. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
VACCINES
AstraZeneca pulls COVID vaccine from market amid waning demand
AstraZeneca pulled its COVID-19 vaccine from the market due to lack of demand for a shot initially raised hopes it would play a key role in protecting the world against the virus. The marketing authorization for the vaccine, Vaxzevria, in the European Union was withdrawn at the company’s request this week as the vaccine is no longer manufactured or supplied, Astra said in a statement. Astra’s vaccine, which was developed with Oxford University, was initially offered on a not-for-profit basis and was seen as a win for Britain. — BLOOMBERG NEWS