Allbirds is becoming an AI company after its shoe business failed.
 

Allbirds is walking away from shoes. The once-celebrated sustainable footwear brand peaked at a $4 billion valuation before sales fell nearly 50% between 2022 and 2025, and it sold off its brand and intellectual property last month for just $39 million. Now the company is remaking itself as a business that buys and rents out powerful computer hardware to tech companies, under the new name NewBird AI.

To fund the new direction, Allbirds is raising up to $50 million. In a final break from its roots, the company also plans to remove all references to its environmental mission from its charter, since the energy demands of AI computing directly conflict with the sustainability commitments on which the brand was founded.

Snapchat is cutting 1/6th of its employees and blaming AI.
 

The company behind Snapchat is cutting 16% of its full-time employees as it tries to become consistently profitable for the first time. The social media giant is letting go of about 1,000 workers and closing more than 300 open positions, with CEO Evan Spiegel pointing to advances in artificial intelligence as a reason the company can now do more with fewer people. AI is already writing more than 65% of Snap's new code, allowing smaller teams to handle work that previously required larger ones.

The cuts are expected to reduce the company's annual costs by more than $500 million, which Snap says will put it on a clearer path to profitability.

PepsiCo's proving cutting prices can drive more sales.

PepsiCo's price cuts are working. After dropping prices on Doritos, Lay's, and other staples by as much as 15% earlier this year, more people are buying its snacks again for the first time in over two years. Beverages are still struggling, though, with fewer people buying its drinks in North America than a year ago.
PepsiCo is responding to a broader shift toward healthier eating by reformulating products to remove artificial colors and rolling out new lines that are higher in protein and fiber.

The company also overhauled its Gatorade brand, introducing new products focused on better hydration and lower sugar. PepsiCo didn't change its financial forecasts for the rest of the year, but said a more uncertain economy is something to watch.

JPMorgan Chase had its best trading quarter ever while its CEO warned of growing risks ahead.

JPMorgan Chase had its best trading quarter ever, pulling in $11.6 billion, nearly $2 billion more than its previous record, as volatile markets drove clients to trade more actively across stocks, bonds, and other markets. The largest US bank also saw fees from advising companies on mergers and acquisitions more than double, while everyday customers continued to open new accounts and take out loans at a healthy pace.

Despite the strong quarter, the bank trimmed its forecast for how much money it expects to earn from charging interest on loans this year, a key driver of bank earnings. Walking back a projection it had raised just two months earlier. CEO Jamie Dimon acknowledged the economy is holding up well but flagged a growing list of concerns, including trade uncertainty, energy price swings, and geopolitical tensions, as reasons to stay cautious about the road ahead.

Goldman Sachs is riding high on trading fees.

Goldman Sachs is having a historic moment in its stock trading business, with its traders posting the highest revenue quarter on record for the second consecutive quarter. Wild swings in financial markets driven by the Iran conflict pushed investors to trade more actively, and Goldman's trading desks captured that activity at a scale no bank has matched before.
Goldman's business of advising companies on major deals like mergers and acquisitions is also coming back to life after years of quiet. Activity surged, driving a sharp jump in advisory fees and suggesting more companies are pursuing deals despite the uncertain environment. One area did struggle, though. The part of the business that trades bonds and interest-rate products had a down quarter.