Harley-Davidson's retail motorcycle sales plunged for the fourth straight year in 2025, as the company struggles to pull in younger riders and grapples with the punishing effects of President Trump's trade war.

• 🏍️ Why it matters: The motorcycle maker's prolonged sales slide shows how even iconic American brands can struggle to adapt as younger consumers, higher costs and trade tensions reshape demand.

📊 Driving the news: Harley this morning reported a 12% drop in motorcycle sales to consumers in 2025 to 132,500.

• Bike sales are now down 32% from 2021, the last year they rose.
• Wholesale shipments fell 4% in Q4 as Harley cut back to balance dealer inventory. Analysts had expected an increase of 22%, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

🗣️ "2025 was a challenging year," the company's new CEO, Artie Starrs, said on an earnings call. "And while some of the pressures we are facing are macro-driven, others are firmly with our control."

• The company incurred $67 million in additional costs in 2025 due to tariffs, excluding "price mitigation actions," CFO Jonathan Root said.

What they're saying: "Despite efforts to appeal to younger riders, the company has not been able to stem the decline in its sales volumes," CFRA Research analyst Garrett Nelson tells Axios in an email.

The intrigue: Starrs, who took the job in October after serving as CEO of Topgolf, highlighted the company's efforts to improve the health of its dealer network, saying he's "encouraged by the early green shoots we're seeing."

• His plans include balancing inventory while working to find the right portfolio — including lighter, more affordable bikes aimed at broadening the brand's appeal, expected in the second half.
• 📈 Harley shares, which were down over 10% pre-market, closed up 4%.

Go deeper

Paramount this morning sweetened its takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, adding a "ticking fee" that could total $650 million per quarter and pledging to pay the $2.8 billion termination fee that would be owed to Netflix, Axios' Dan Primack noted this morning in Pro Rata.

Zoom in: The sweetened bid doesn't raise Paramount's $30 per share, all-cash offer.

What's next: WBD said it will review Paramount's latest proposal.

State of play: Netflix last month amended its own offer for WBD assets to pay $27.75 per share entirely in cash.

• The companies said at the time that the new structure is simpler and can close faster — an effort to get a deal done quickly, as Paramount ramped up the pressure with a hostile offer.

🎯 Target's new CEO, Michael Fiddelke, is shaking up the retailer's leadership team. Executive VP Rick Gomez and chief merchandising officer Jill Sando are out as Target seeks a turnaround. (AP)

🎧 Spotify shares soared after the streaming music service recorded an 11% jump in monthly active users, topping estimates. (CNBC)

🏨 Marriott shares jumped despite missing earnings estimates after the travel giant projected a 35% increase in fees from co-branded credit cards. (Bloomberg)

🥤Coca-Cola's incoming CEO, Henrique Braun, said the company needs to speed up innovation. The beverage giant missed 2025 revenue projections today. (Reuters)

Swiping right is out — dating questionnaires are in.

❤️ State of love: A new app called Date Drop is spreading fast on college campuses, replacing the traditional swipe-right-if-interested dichotomy with 66 questions that help find ideal matches.

• Date Drop, created by Stanford graduate student Henry Weng, aims to connect potential love interests based on questions about "their values, lifestyles and political views," WSJ reports.
• "These responses are fed into an algorithm to pair compatible students. Matches 'drop' every Tuesday night at 9 p.m."

Zoom in: More than 5,000 Stanford students have used it already — the university has only 7,500 undergrads — and it's now available on 10 other college campuses too.

• It's raised $2.1 million in venture funding, according to WSJ.

💭 Nathan's thought bubble: Given how many people are dissatisfied with the ephemerality of dating apps, it certainly feels like there's room for disruption in this space.