Amazon is dismantling some of its most visible consumer experiments — from cashierless stores to palm-scanning payments — just as it cuts another 16,000 jobs.

• 🧭 Why it matters: This isn't just belt-tightening. Amazon's pullback from some of its most ambitious projects suggests the company is becoming more selective about its public-facing retail initiatives.

Driving the news: Amazon confirmed another 16,000 corporate job cuts today, bringing total layoffs since October to roughly 30,000, as leadership looks to flatten management and reduce bureaucracy.

• Yesterday, in an unrelated move, the company said it will close all Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh stores, shutting 72 physical grocery and convenience locations.
• Amazon is also ending Amazon One, its palm-based ID and payment system for retail, in early June, the company said on its website.

What they're saying: Leadership is framing the layoffs as an effort to move faster, refocus hiring and remove unnecessary layers.

• The company reiterated today to Axios that the job cuts are not related to the announced changes to its physical stores.

Yes, but: After years of experimentation, Amazon is narrowing its consumer retail footprint to businesses that already operate at scale — such as continuing to grow Whole Foods — and trimming away projects that proved costly, complex or difficult to expand profitably.

• The move means fewer storefronts, less emphasis on technology initiatives, and greater reliance on logistics, delivery and existing brands.

The bottom line: The future Amazon is betting on now looks less like a showroom — and more like a delivery-first operation built to scale.

Tesla's quarterly profit dropped sharply as Elon Musk's company deals with a slowdown in electric vehicle sales and ballooning costs.

📊 Driving the news: The automaker's net income fell 61% to $840 million in Q4, compared with a year earlier.

• Revenue declined 3%, to $24.9 billion.
• Operating expenses soared 39%, to $3.6 billion, sending operating margins down to 5.7% from 6.2% a year earlier.

Yes, but: The profit number beat expectations. And the market is largely focused on Tesla's future, not its current finances.

💰 The intrigue: The company also said this afternoon that it was investing $2 billion in the preferred shares of xAI, Musk's AI startup.

📈 Tesla shares were up more than 3% in after-hours trading.

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Starbucks' U.S. customer traffic rose for the first time in nearly two years, the company said today — an early sign its turnaround is gaining traction, Axios' Kelly Tyko writes.

• Why it matters: It's a win for CEO Brian Niccol, who was brought in more than 16 months ago to revive slowing U.S. sales by pulling customers back into stores.

📈 Zoom in: Starbucks said the number of customer transactions at U.S. stores rose 3% in its most recent quarter — the first increase in eight quarters.

• Sales at locations open at least a year rose 4%.
• The average amount spent per U.S. transaction rose only modestly, underscoring that more visits — not higher prices — fueled the rebound.

Between the lines: Niccol pointed to operational changes — including staffing, faster throughput and simplified menus — as key drivers of shifting customer behavior.

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💵 The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged today, noting "solid" growth and a stabilizing job market. Two governors dissented, wanting a rate cut. (Axios)

🌶️ Brinker International shares jumped today as the Chili's and Maggiano's Little Italy owner continues to buck the casual dining slowdown. Chili's same-store sales rose 8.6% for the quarter. (Barron's)

🇩🇪 Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius said he declined the Trump administration's bid to move the automaker's headquarters from Germany to the U.S. (Bloomberg)

Travis Kelce is becoming one of the largest shareholders in Sleep Number after becoming an avid user of the company's mattresses.

🛌 State of play: The Kansas City Chiefs star and Taylor Swift fiancé is adding Sleep Number shares to his growing portfolio of non-football investments, the adjustable bed company announced today.

• The co-host of the popular podcast "New Heights" also recently acquired a stake in Six Flags Entertainment in partnership with an activist investor that's seeking changes at the amusement park company.

💭 Nathan's thought bubble: He's got a lot of time to lie in bed thinking about where the Chiefs' season went wrong this year.