Axios

Some of America's most iconic companies are heading for splitsville, having decided their businesses will be worth more apart than they are together.

Why it matters: The movement calls into question the future of the conglomerate model, which was long hailed as a way for companies to maximize profits.

OG Closer readers may remember Courtenay Brown's story in May 2021 on how there's an exchange-traded fund (ETF) for nearly everything these days.

State of play: Well, now there's an ETF for the weight-loss drug boom.

• Roundhill Investments this week debuted an ETF "focused exclusively on the rapidly growing sector of GLP-1 receptor agonists and other weight management drugs."

Zoom in: 20% is Novo Nordisk (maker of Ozempic and Wegovy), while 20% is Eli Lilly (maker of Mounjaro and Zepbound).

• Other parts of the portfolio include Amgen and Viking Therapeutics.

Fun fact: The ticker symbol is OZEM.

Here's what's new on Prime Video, Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Max, Paramount+ and BET+.

What we're watching: A new game show that tests how the brain works, a sci-fi thriller with a star-studded cast and a new season of "The Kardashians."

Affluent Americans are reaping the rewards of soaring prices for stocks and houses. Lower-income Americans are falling behind on their credit card bills, being pinched by high rents and interest rates and not seeing their pay rise as quickly as it did a couple of years ago.

Why it matters: The economic strains experienced by low-income households help explain negative sentiment about the economy — and President Biden's weakness in major polls.

Wading into the culture wars can directly impact corporate reputation, but the effects do not appear to be everlasting.

Why it matters: The corporate reputations of Anheuser-Busch InBev and Target saw minimal decline, while Disney is already showing signs of recovery, this year's Axios/Harris Poll 100 rankings found.

How it works: The poll surveyed 6,273 Americans between Jan. 16-27 to establish the public's top-of-mind awareness of corporate reputation.

• From there, 16,500 Americans rated the 100 most-visible companies based on corporate citizenship, ethics, culture, trust, vision, growth, and products and services.

💡 View the entire list here

The latest Axios/Harris Poll 100 coverage includes ...

• 🔴 Companies ride a red wave: Of the 15 companies that improved more than half a point in their overall reputation score this year, several are rooted in conservative-leaning values, including Hobby Lobby, the Trump Organization and Fox News.
• 💸 Price increases take a bite out of reputations: Trust scores fell by 3.8 percentage points for clothing companies, 3.2 points for quick-service restaurants, 2.9 points for big-box stores and 2.2 points for grocers.
• 🤖 Americans don't trust social media companies that use AI: TikTok's parent company ByteDance, Meta and X all had lower ranks than last year and sit in the "very poor" range.

Yahoo is expanding its communications team at a time when others are shrinking.

Why it matters: The media and tech company is in the process of reinventing itself to better explain its mission, products and profitability amid rumors of an IPO.

Driving the news: Yahoo recently brought on Lyft alum Sona Iliffe-Moon to serve as chief communications officer and help shape the its new corporate narrative.

• Since joining the media outlet in 2023, she has revamped the comms leadership team to include Katelyn Brehony, formerly of Lyft and Meta, to manage consumer communications, Handshake and Meta alum Erin Miller to oversee corporate communications, and Sarah Smith to lead internal communications.

"Some of the skills that are really salient to cooperate with this new [artificial] intelligence in the world are critical thinking, understanding logic and rhetoric, the ability to be creative."

Go deeper ... The rise of the English major: BlackRock COO wants to recruit liberal arts analysts (Fortune).

Wading into the culture wars can directly impact corporate reputation, but the effects do not appear to be everlasting.

Why it matters: The corporate reputations of Anheuser-Busch InBev and Target saw minimal decline, while Disney is already showing signs of recovery, this year's Axios/Harris Poll 100 rankings found.

Yahoo is expanding its communications team at a time when others are shrinking.

Why it matters: The media and tech company is in the process of reinventing itself to better explain its mission, products and profitability amid rumors of an IPO.

The Department of Justice and a group of 30 state and district attorneys general on Thursday announced a lawsuit against ticketing giant Live Nation on antitrust grounds.

Why it matters: The outcome of the legal battle could upend the ticketing and live events industry for years to come.

The future of private equity will be tokenized, according to Erik Hirsch, co-CEO of alternative asset giant Hamilton Lane.

The big picture: This is about how individuals and institutions invest in private equity, rather than the sorts of companies and projects in which private equity invests.

National Football League have chosen not to vote on a proposal to allow private equity investment in franchises, although negotiations are continuing.

Why it matters: The NFL is the last major U.S. sports league to eschew private equity, with even college sports cashing in.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday rejected an argument by Coinbase over a case involving the cryptocurrency exchange's 2021 dogecoin sweepstakes that prompted a lawsuit.

Why it matters: The ruling marks a new era for consumer protection across the business landscape, with the crypto case largely perceived as a bellwether, according to experts.

Americans are keeping their old cars running longer, according to data released this week by S&P Global Mobility.

Why it matters: We're holding on to our cars in part because they're better-built than they used to be — but also because it's just too expensive to buy a new one.

The WNBA announced Thursday it will expand outside of the U.S. with a new Toronto-based team joining the league for the start of the 2026 season.

Why it matters: The professional women's basketball league has seen a surge in popularity, ticket sales and prices — as interests mounts in the women's sports industry as a whole.

Nvidia, the primary avatar of the AI revolution, has solidly ensconced itself not only as one of the most valuable companies in the world but also as one of the most profitable.

Why it matters: Nvidia's profit margins are the envy of the corporate world — it made $14.9 billion of net income on revenue of $26 billion last quarter.

Strategic communications firms are cash cows, and private equity firms are grazing on them.

Why it matters: Specialist firms with deep client relationships — and contracts — are attracting more investment dollars.

41% of hourly workers in California said they experienced at least one serious labor law violation, including wage theft, over the past year, finds a new survey, conducted by researchers at Harvard and UC San Francisco.

Why it matters: These violations, like failing to pay overtime, undermine the economic security of low-income workers.

The share of parents who say they're doing OK financially dropped significantly in 2023 while holding relatively steady for other adults, according to a new survey from the Federal Reserve.

Why it matters: "Parents are not OK" was a pandemic-era mantra, yet it seems just as apt today as parents deal with rising prices, particularly for child care.

Daily marijuana use has outpaced daily alcohol consumption in the U.S. for the first time, according to a study published Wednesday.

Why it matters: Shifting consumption patterns reflect changes in attitudes toward marijuana as states embrace legalization and the Biden administration moves to reclassify it as a less dangerous substance under federal law.

Tesla Motors' brand reputation continued to slip over the last year as the antics of polarizing CEO Elon Musk and other issues tarnished its once-impeccable image, according to new Axios Harris Poll 100 survey results.

Why it matters: Tesla soared to 8th place in 2021's ranking of America's 100 most visible companies by their perceived image, but has since plummeted to 63rd — suggesting Musk and his company flew too high and too fast, like Icarus of Greek myth.

The Department of Justice and a group of U.S. state attorneys general on Thursday plan to sue ticketing giant Live Nation on antitrust grounds, a source familiar with the DOJ's plans told Axios.

Why it matters: The outcome of the legal battle with one of the largest ticketing and live events companies in the U.S. could fundamentally upend the industry.