Ben & Jerry in talks to buy back eponymous brand from Unilever (UL). (00:30) Anheuser-Busch (BUD) sees only a limited impact on beer prices from tariffs in 2025. (02:05) META said to apologize for glitch that flooded Instagram Reels with graphic content. (02:56)Episode transcripts seekingalpha.com/wsb.Show links: Biggest stock movers Thursday: SNOW, CRM, and moreModerna slides on report of Trump team reevaluating bird flu vaccine fundingChina's Baidu plans to unveil AI model Ernie 4.5 in March - reportRithm Acquisition prices $200M IPO at $10 per shareSign up for our daily newsletter here and for full access to analyst ratings, stock quant scores, dividend grades, subscribe to Seeking Alpha Premium at seekingalpha.com/subscriptions.
Chapter 1: What are Ben & Jerry's founders planning with their ice cream brand?
Welcome to Seeking Alpha's Wall Street Breakfast, where we cover the top news for investors every morning. Good morning. Today is Thursday, February 27th. I'm Julie Morgan. Ben and Jerry could get back into the ice cream business. The price of a beer may not go up this year, but next year is a different story.
And if your suggested feed on Instagram seemed totally off yesterday, Meta is apologizing. The founders of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream are reportedly in talks to buy the iconic company back from Unilever. Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, who started their ice cream business in 1978 in Burlington, Vermont, sold the business in 2000 for $326 million.
The company has since gone on to become the number one selling ice cream in the U.S., with annual sales reaching a billion dollars.
Chapter 2: Why is Unilever considering selling its ice cream business?
Last year, in an effort to slim down its business and focus on its core businesses, Unilever was in discussions to either sell its ice cream business, which includes Ben & Jerry's, Breyers & Magnum, to a private equity firm, or spin off the businesses into an IPO to be listed online. on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange.
This was part of a broader concession to the Netherlands government to retain some of Unilever's operations in the country. In return for tax incentives, Unilever vowed to list any businesses that were spun off in the future with the Dutch exchange. After the private equity deal fell through, Unilever continued to move ahead with the separation of the ice cream business.
With Unilever opening up the possibility of a sale, Cohen and Greenfield could regain ownership of their namesake company, albeit at a significant premium from its sale in 2000. According to Bloomberg, Cohen and Greenfield may look to partner with socially-minded investors with deep pockets to finance a multi-billion dollar acquisition.
Chapter 3: How might Ben & Jerry's founders finance the buyback?
In an emailed statement to Bloomberg, Unilever insists the business is not for sale. Anheuser-Busch InBev does not expect tariffs on aluminum to have a major impact on the prices of its U.S. beers in the near term. The CEO told Reuters that the company uses prepared aluminum for cans mostly from local U.S. companies, but those firms source the raw metal from all over the world.
Chapter 4: Will aluminum tariffs affect beer prices in the U.S.?
While the cost of the prepared aluminum could rise as a result of tariffs along the supply chain, factors like hedging and productivity initiatives are anticipated to limit the impact in 2025. However, the CEO warned that the impact on U.S. beer prices in 2026 could be more pronounced if tariffs come into full force.
Shares of Bud ended the day on Wednesday up 7.2% after showing improvement with its Q4 earnings report. Meta has apologized for a glitch on Instagram after users worldwide reported that their feeds were flooded with graphic short-form videos, including those of people being killed and maimed.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the videos were recommended on users' Reels tab on Wednesday, some of which had sensitive content warnings while others did not. The videos reportedly included people being shot, run over by vehicles, and being subject to cartel violence.
An Instagram spokesperson said that the error was unrelated to Meta's decision to ease its content moderation policies to avoid censoring speech. Now for a look at what's trending at this early hour on Seeking Alpha. Moderna slides on a report that the Trump team is re-evaluating bird flu vaccine funding. China's Baidu reportedly plans to unveil an AI model Ernie 4.5 in March.
And Rhythm Acquisition prices a $200 million IPO at $10 per share. On our Catalyst Watch for the Day, notable investor events include Front Door's Investor Day, Primo Brand's Investor Day, and G. Willey Food International's special meeting to vote on leadership appointments and a compensation policy.
Perspective Therapeutics, Verix Imaging, and Zymworks are some of the companies participating in the B. Reilly Securities Precision Oncology and Radiopharma Conference. The Information's AI Agenda Live event in San Francisco will include participation by Anthropic, PagerDuty, Adobe, and IBM.
And Intel will participate in a fireside chat on the company's business and foundry strategy at the Bernstein Technology Media and Telecom Forum. Now for a look at the markets today ahead of the opening bell. Dow, S&P and Nasdaq futures are in the green. Crude oil is up 0.8% at $69 a barrel. Bitcoin is down 3.2% at $86,000. In the world markets, the FTSE 100 is up 0.2% and the DAX is down 1.1%.
Snowflake is on our list of the biggest movers of the day pre-market. Snow is up 11% after the company reported better than expected Q4 results and guidance. On today's economic calendar, at 8.30 a.m. GDP, at 10 a.m. Pending Home Sales Index,
At 1.15 p.m., the Fed's Beth Hammack will speak on financial stability before the Columbia University Bank Policy Institute 2025 Bank Regulation Research Conference. And at 3.15 p.m., the Fed's Patrick Harker will speak on the economic outlook before the Lions Economic Forecast, presented by the University of Delaware's Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship.
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