Shares of salad seller Sweetgreen skyrocket

28 minutes ago

Sweetgreen (SG) shares rose sharply on Friday, a day after the salad restaurant chain trimmed losses, increased sales and raised its forecast as it expands its locations.

Sweetgreen reported a second-quarter net loss of $14.5 million, nearly half the year-ago loss, while adjusted EBITDA was better than expected at $12.4 million. Revenue rose 21% year-over-year to $184.6 million, also beating estimates.

The company attributed the jump in sales primarily to the net opening of 36 new restaurants compared to the same period in 2023, which brought in $18.2 million. In-store sales increased 9%, bringing in $13.9 million.

Sweetgreen shares rose 28 percent in recent trading, approaching a 52-week high.

–Bill McColl

Paramount rises as company announces major staff cuts

1 hour 47 minutes ago

Paramount Global (PARA) has written down the value of its cable television networks by nearly $6 billion, a day after Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) also took a massive writedown as streaming services like Netflix (NFLX) continue to outcompete traditional networks.

Paramount also announced plans to save at least $500 million in annual costs and will cut about 2,000 jobs, or 15 percent of its U.S. workforce, the owner of CBS, MTV and Nickelodeon said in its earnings call.

Paramount, whose majority shareholder Shari Redstone’s National Amusements signed a merger agreement with Skydance Media last month after months of negotiations, also reported an 11% year-on-year decline in second-quarter revenue to $6.81 billion.

However, the company said it is on track for Paramount+ to become profitable domestically in 2025.

The company’s shares rose more than 4% in premarket trading.

–Nisha Gopalan

Futures point to lower opening of major indices

2 hrs 32 mins ago

Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1 percent.

S&P 500 futures fell 0.2%.

Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.4%.