Bite-sized business news from Australia and around the world
Unilever is spinning off its ice cream empire into the new Magnum Ice Cream Company, which will debut as a standalone global giant.
Real-world testing shows top EVs falling short of their advertised range, renewing worries about reliability as adoption continues to grow.
H&M faces falling sales, a wage underpayment probe, and a shrinking store network as it reassesses its place in the Australian retail market.
Shopify suffered a major Cyber Monday outage, locking merchants out during peak sales and sparking a 5% drop in its share price.
Collins Foods boosts profit and upgrades forecasts as KFC same-store sales climb, proving demand is growing beyond just new store openings.
Metcash’s food sales grew, but a plunge in legal tobacco purchases slashed profits as smokers shifted to the illicit market.
Harvey Norman defies the retail slowdown with a 9% sales lift, driven by booming growth in Slovenia, Croatia and the UK.
Meta is in talks to buy Google’s TPUs starting 2027, a surprise move that could chip away at Nvidia’s dominance and shift power in the AI hardware race.
El Jannah has been bought by General Atlantic for nearly $1B, with major expansion ahead and the founders keeping a stake to ride the next growth wave.
SkinKandy is chasing a $400m IPO to fuel its US expansion, but past beauty listings show how tough it is to win long-term investor confidence.
Industry super funds are spending tens of millions on marketing, prompting regulators to question whether the costs truly benefit members.
Temple & Webster posted solid growth but missed revenue expectations, triggering a 30 percent share price plunge as investors punished the gap.
A failed US bid opens the door for DMGT to buy The Telegraph, highlighting how legacy media turns to consolidation to survive the digital giants.
Aussie-founded Chronosphere is sold to Palo Alto Networks for $3.3B as real-time monitoring becomes essential after major cloud outages.
TikTok grabs naming rights to a major Sydney venue, taking its influence offline as Gen Z cuts screen time and digital brands go IRL.
Monash IVF cuts earnings again after its embryo mix-ups, shares slump—then suddenly surge 37% after rejecting a $300M takeover bid.
Entain is cutting 120 jobs and winding back perks as rising costs and tighter regulations hit the gambling industry, signalling a shift in employer power.
Reece cops a second strike as frustrated shareholders hit back at falling earnings and a rough US acquisition, triggering a board spill vote.
Adobe is buying Semrush for $1.9B to strengthen its creative ecosystem and give users built-in marketing, SEO and data tools without leaving Adobe.
Nvidia beats sky-high expectations with a $57B quarter, but its massive influence cuts both ways as markets swing sharply on its every move.
Qantas is extending its Frequent Flyer perks to Jetstar for $199 a year, strengthening its dual-brand hold on the market and boxing in Virgin Australia.
AI-generated country artists are now topping Billboard charts, signalling a major shake-up for a music industry built on human emotion and storytelling.
ChatGPT rolls out “Groups,” letting up to 20 users collaborate in one chat—another clear step in OpenAI’s move toward becoming a social platform.
Airtasker raises $17M through cash and media-for-equity with iHeartMedia to supercharge its US/UK expansion... though investors weren’t thrilled.
Visa is testing stablecoin payouts, letting businesses send instant digital-dollar payments as it gears up for the future of global money movement.
Google unveils new AI shopping tools that track prices, auto-buy items, and call stores for stock info, aiming to reinvent how people shop online.
Xero posted strong profit and revenue growth, but worries over its Melio acquisition and weak US performance sent its share price down 9%.
Skims secures $225M at a $5B valuation, fueling its push into apparel, activewear, and global retail as celebrity-led brands continue to dominate.
DroneShield pulled a mistaken contract announcement, then its executives dumped millions in shares, triggering a 30% share price plunge.
Menulog, once Australia’s food delivery leader, loses ground to global giants and falls below 10% market share, forcing its exit from the industry.
Football Australia’s push to raise betting fees sparks backlash from bookies, with some pulling soccer bets amid tense profit-sharing talks.
Myer revamps its loyalty program and launches a new beauty box to win back younger shoppers after a tough year of falling profits.
Zip’s US arm is now the company’s powerhouse, driving 70% of transactions and marking a major revival for the Aussie BNPL pioneer.
Kering sold its beauty arm to L’Oréal for €4B to cut debt and refocus on fashion, marking a major pivot under its new CEO.
After 15 months in administration, US firm Air T is buying Rex Airlines, but most creditors—including the government—won’t be repaid.
CommSec’s profits soared 36% to $156M as market volatility sent Aussies trading in droves, boosting its user base to 3 million.
Nestlé’s new CEO plans to cut 16,000 jobs after sales dip, aiming to save billions and reset strategy as part of a global “new year, new me.”
EssilorLuxottica’s revenue hits record highs as AI-powered Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses soar in demand, turning novelty into necessity.
Mayne Pharma wins court battle after Cosette tried to ditch its $672M takeover. Shares jump 14%, but FIRB approval still looms.
Elon Musk’s xAI launches flirtatious AI companions Ani and Valentine, igniting debates on emotional AI, ethics, and user wellbeing.
Macquarie sells Aligned Data Centres for $61B to Nvidia, Microsoft, and others... proof that AI’s growth is driving huge infrastructure bets.
As Australia moves to ban social media for under-16s, Meta and Google roll out new teen safety tools to stay ahead of regulators.
Paramount Skydance makes a $42B offer for Warner Bros. Discovery, chasing streaming scale, but the deal’s debt risk keeps Hollywood cautious.
Pop Mart’s viral Labubu toys are booming, with shares up 350% as Australia becomes a key market, fueled by strong demand and spending power.
Treasury Wine Estates faces a brutal double hit from weaker China demand and US distribution woes, sending shares to a decade-low.
DAZN bought Foxtel for $2.2B but still posted a $936M loss in 2024 despite $3.2B revenue, banking on 2026 to finally reach profitability.
Netflix expands beyond streaming, letting users play games like Tetris and Pictionary on smart TVs using phones as controllers.
CommBank moves its core systems to the cloud with AWS, aiming to modernise banking, cut costs, and outpace slower rivals like ANZ.
Hackers claim to have breached Salesforce, stealing data from 39 major companies, including Qantas, and threatening to leak it online.
Aldi and Costco hit $17.5B in Aussie sales, pushing Coles and Woolies to sharpen prices as competition heats up in the supermarket showdown.
Guzman y Gomez bounces back with an 18.6% sales rise and launches a $100M share buyback to boost confidence after a rocky earnings slump.
Paramount Skydance is buying Bari Weiss’ The Free Press for $150M, proving creator-led media can rival legacy outlets in reach and influence.
Cboe Australia just got ASIC’s nod to list companies, ending ASX’s monopoly and setting the stage for real competition in Aussie markets.
Eagers Automotive is betting $1B on CanadaOne, taking its booming Easyauto123 model global... but Aussie success doesn’t always travel well.
Peloton’s spinning back with AI-powered fitness tech to regain momentum, but investors can’t tell if it’s real innovation or just hype.
General Pants shuts a quarter of its stores as fast-fashion rivals like Shein and Temu outpace the once “cool kid” of Aussie retail.
Armaguard secures a lifeline deal with banks and supermarkets, keeping Australia’s cash system alive under a new utility-style model.
Amazon hit with $2.5B in fines and refunds as FTC cracks down on Prime’s “subscription traps,” forcing changes to sign-up and cancellation.
Trump threatens 100% tariffs on foreign-made films as Hollywood loses productions to countries like Australia offering big tax breaks.
Seven West Media and Southern Cross are merging into a $415m content giant, as broadcasters consolidate to survive the shifting media landscape.
Accenture will cut 11,000 jobs in a $865M restructure, urging staff to reskill for AI as new bookings soar to $5.1B despite IT contract losses.
Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund and partners will acquire EA for $55B, in a record buyout that underscores gaming’s growing private equity appeal.
The RBA held the cash rate at 3.60% as inflation hit 3%, signalling a wait-and-see approach to balance growth, stability, and economic volatility.
Alibaba deepened its AI push with a new Nvidia deal and model launch, pledging billions more in Capex that lifted its shares 8%.
Premier Investments’ profit surged 31% on a one-off brand sale, but underlying earnings fell as Smiggle weakened and Peter Alexander carried the load.
Optus has been hit with a record $100 million fine after knowingly selling phone plans to customers outside its own network coverage.
Lego will acquire 29 Legoland Discovery Centres in a £200m cash deal.
ABS has announced that annual inflation hit 3% in August.
KMD has reported a full-year loss for the 12 months to July 31 of more than $93m NZD.
Porsche has issued its fourth profit warning this year and warned that operating profits were expected to cop a €1.8 billion hit.
Meta has unveiled an AI “dating assistant” that supposedly helps users find matches.
Myer warned that its net profit has fallen 30% compared to last year.
Cocoa prices have officially hit their peak and have now slid to below $7,400 per tonne.
Nvidia will invest $5 billion USD into Intel by buying common stock and this will give Nvidia just below a 5% stake in its frenemy.
Atlassian is acquiring DX, a five-year-old US startup that helps companies measure developer productivity and satisfaction.
StubHub listed on the New York Stock Exchange earlier this week but struggled to get momentum, so its share price fell 6% on debut.
Meta Connect conference, Zuck showed off the new Ray-Ban Display glasses on stage.
Just two days before the deadline, ADNOC’s consortium backed out from the Santos deal.
Kering has asked for the Valentino purchase offer to be pushed out to 2029.
Apple unveiled a bunch of its latest upgrades, including a new operating system called iOS 26.
ANZ is being slapped with a record $240 million fine for ‘unconscionable conduct’ from ASIC.
Adobe has announced its Q3 adjusted earnings of $5.99 billion in revenue, which was ahead of analyst forecasts.
The Federal Court has fined The Good Guys $13.5 million for misleading customers.
Nine Entertainment’s shares plummeted 36% in a single day.
Cashrewards has announced it will shut down immediately as ANZ, its owner, does a clean-up of its business.
The Federal Court has ruled that Coles and Woolworths wee found to be using the “set-off” approach for employee entitlements.
ANZ has announced 3,500 redundancies of ANZ staff by next September.
American Eagle’s sales have boomed and their share price surged by 25% following the ad controversy.
Macquarie landed nearly 40% of all new lending in the month of July, which means their mortgage book grew 6.4 times faster than the Big 4 banks.
Atlassian has announced plans to acquire The Browser Company for $936 million.
BYD has reported a 30% drop in net profit in the second quarter - down to 6.4 billion yuan (or $895 million USD).
ASIC is chasing up Mecca for being tardy and non-transparent with its use of company funds.
Rugby Australia has repaid its $63 million debt to Pacific Equity Partners - years ahead of schedule.
The ACCC is investigating three of ALDI's vegetable suppliers for alleged price fixing.
Thanks to its 40% revenue jump, Rokt is eyeing that US IPO once again.
Dollarama has announced plans for a full-scale transformation of The Reject Shop.
Lovisa is dialling up their global expansion after a major jewellery competitor ‘Claires’ filed for bankruptcy this August.
Open AI announced plans to open a local operation in Sydney.
