News

Ford Motor reported its largest quarterly earnings miss in four years in its fourth-quarter results released Tuesday, with unexpected tariff costs and impacts from fires at a Novelis aluminum supplier plant affecting the company’s financial performance. The automaker is guiding for 2026 to be a rebound year, with adjusted EBIT, free cash flow, and capital expenditures all expected to increase compared to 2025. Despite the challenges faced in the past year, Ford’s underlying business is improving, as demonstrated by its 2025 revenue reaching a record $187.3 billion.

Looking ahead, Ford’s traditional and fleet operations are expected to offset losses from its “Model e” electric vehicle unit in 2026. The company’s net loss of $8.2 billion in 2025, its largest since the Great Recession in 2008, included special charges related to a pullback in its all-electric vehicle plans. Despite the setbacks, Ford remains focused on its long-term strategy and is optimistic about its prospects for the coming year.

The restaurant industry has been navigating a challenging economic landscape, with McDonald’s focusing on value messaging through initiatives like Extra Value Meals and Snack Wraps to drive sales. However, this emphasis on value has led to tensions among some franchise operators, who are pushing back against new pricing standards introduced by the company at the beginning of the year.

The National Owners Association, an independent franchisee advocate group, has issued a Franchisee Bill of Rights that asserts operators’ right to set prices independently and renew franchise agreements fairly. McDonald’s has implemented value assessments and warned of penalties for noncompliance, leading to concerns among operators about their relationship with the corporate arm. Despite these challenges, analysts are optimistic about McDonald’s stock performance and earnings growth potential following changes to its value strategy.

Elon Musk’s recent all-hands meeting with xAI employees revealed his ambitious plans for the future of the AI company, focusing on establishing a lunar manufacturing facility to propel AI satellites into space. While Musk emphasized the need for xAI to outpace competitors in computing power, questions remain about the practicality and organization of this moon-based venture, especially as the company is on the cusp of a potentially historic IPO. The departure of key xAI co-founders adds another layer of complexity to this rapidly evolving situation.

Musk’s strategic shift towards lunar exploration marks a significant departure from SpaceX’s previous focus on Mars colonization. The potential legal and logistical challenges of establishing a moon factory raise critical questions about ownership and sovereignty in space. Despite uncertainties surrounding Musk’s moon ambitions, investors and industry experts speculate on the broader implications of this new direction for xAI and the future of AI technology.

University of Texas spinout Apptronik has announced a significant extension to its Series A funding round, raising a total of $935 million. The company, known for building humanoid robots for clients like Google DeepMind, has seen its post-money valuation soar to approximately $5.3 billion. Initially targeting $350 million for its Series A, Apptronik expanded the round to $415 million due to strong demand, and has now secured an additional $520 million from existing investors such as Google, Mercedes-Benz, and B Capital, as well as new investors.

Despite the substantial increase in funding, Apptronik maintains that it is still in the early stages of development and was not actively seeking additional investment. The company’s focus on embodied AI, in partnership with Google DeepMind, GXO, and Mercedes-Benz, sets it apart in the industry by creating robots capable of perceiving their environment and taking actions based on reasoning. With a history dating back to 2013 and roots in the NASA-DARPA Robotics Challenge, Apptronik’s expertise in humanoid robotics positions it as a key player in the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence and automation.

Target announced on Monday that it will be ramping up store staffing while simultaneously eliminating about 500 jobs at distribution centers and regional offices. The decision comes as the retail giant works to address complaints from customers regarding messy shelves, out-of-stock items, and long checkout lines. The changes are part of an effort to enhance the overall customer experience, a key focus for new CEO Michael Fiddelke.

In addition to restructuring store districts and investing in additional hours for front-line store employees, Target will be making leadership changes within the organization. The company also confirmed its outlook for fourth-quarter sales and full-year earnings, aiming to return to growth after annual sales have remained flat for four years. With these organizational changes under Fiddelke’s leadership, Target seeks to regain its reputation for style and design, provide a more consistent customer experience, and streamline its operations to better meet the demands of today’s retail landscape.

Former GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke has secured a record-breaking seed round for Entire, a startup focused on helping developers manage code generated by AI agents. Backed by Felicis, Entire has raised $60 million with a valuation of $300 million. The startup offers an open-source tool that combines a git-compatible database, a universal semantic reasoning layer, and an AI-native user interface to streamline collaboration between AI agents and human developers.

Entire’s first release, Checkpoints, aims to provide developers with a transparent view of AI-generated code submissions by pairing them with their original contexts. With the rapid increase in AI-generated code volumes, Entire’s platform seeks to address the challenges faced by developers in effectively utilizing and evaluating the quality of this code. The investment round, led by Felicis, also saw participation from prominent investors including Madrona, M12, Basis Set, and notable industry figures such as Jerry Yang and Datadog founder Olivier Pomel.

In an effort to recapture sales growth, Nike-owned Converse has instructed its employees to work from home this week, as reported by Bloomberg News citing a memo from Converse’s CEO, Aaron Cain. The sportswear giant is undergoing strategic changes that include new roles and team moves for staff.

However, these changes come amidst layoffs, with 775 employees being let go to boost profits and accelerate the use of automation in distribution center roles in Tennessee and Mississippi. Despite facing business struggles and losing market share to rivals, Nike is striving to reclaim its position as the leading sportswear brand through various rounds of layoffs and restructuring efforts. While Nike declined to comment on the recent developments, the company is focused on reshaping its operations under new leadership in a rapidly evolving market.