CVS beats Wall Street estimates in Q2 at Yahoo Finance. "...reported $98.9 billion in revenue, compared to estimates of $94.6 billion, and up 8.4% year over year. The adjusted earnings per share of $1.81 were above estimates of $1.46." Read more   EBay stock surges on earnings beat, rosy guidance at CNBC. "GMV, or the dollar value of items sold, grew 6% year over year to $19.5 billion. That topped analysts’ projected $18.9 billion..." Read more   Autonomous trucks are now driving highways at night, hauling food and dairy between Dallas and Houston at WSJ. "Aurora said its system [...]

  Fortune announces 2025 Fortune Global 500 List - Walmart is No. 1 for the 12th consecutive year - Amazon No. 2 Press release | Fortune List (subs.)   The Trump Organization sued Amazon, eBay and Walmart sellers, accusing them of peddling knockoff merchandise promoting President Trump at CNBC   Welcome to the Grocery Store Where Prices Change 100 Times a Day at WSJ. "It is only a matter of time before Americans also see dynamic pricing on groceries, industry experts say. “All one has to do is visit the Netherlands or Norway,” says Ioannis Stamatopoulos, an associate professor who [...]

  Why Walmart Is Overhauling Its Approach to AI Agents at WSJ. "It became very clear that we could dramatically simplify,” said Suresh Kumar, Walmart’s chief technology officer and chief development officer. “If I have an agent that helps you with your payroll and I have a different agent that helps you with identifying merchandising trends, you shouldn’t have to remember that and switch between those two.” WSJ subs.   ...Walmart Taps Instacart Executive to Lead Its AI Ambitions at WSJ. "...hired Daniel Danker, an executive at Instacart, as the head of global AI acceleration, product and design. Danker will [...]

  After Pledging to Keep Prices Low, Amazon Hiked Them on Hundreds of Essentials at WSJ. "The Journal’s analysis of prices from e-commerce data firm Traject Data found that while Amazon’s price rose on 1,200 of its cheapest household goods, competitor Walmart lowered prices on the same items by nearly 2%." WSJ subs.   Coca-Cola reports weakening global sales volumes in second quarter at AP. "Coca-Cola reported better-than-expected earnings in the second quarter as higher prices offset weaker sales volumes. Case volumes fell 1% globally and 1% in North America, but Coke said Tuesday that pricing rose 6% for the April-June [...]

  Walmart is cutting hundreds of store-support roles: Report at CNBC. "...eliminating the market coordinator job that supports some managers...These coordinators are considered to be corporate positions, assisting market managers, who are responsible for supervising roughly a dozen store managers each...also cutting some coach and coordinator roles at Walmart Academy..." Read more   Couche-Tard drops offer to buy Japanese 7-Eleven c-stores at AP. "In the letter, sent to media Thursday and signed by its two top executives, including founder Alain Bouchard, Couche-Tard expressed exasperation at the response it was getting from Seven & i despite repeated attempts at dialogue." Read [...]

  ‘Lost their identity’: Why Target is struggling to win over shoppers and investors at CNBC. "Multiple former employees...said Target’s store standards have slipped in recent years as the company has tried to juggle online and in-store businesses with a leaner store staff — leading to items being out of stock. Customers and analysts also told CNBC they have seen longer checkout lines, messier aisles and fewer employees at stores." Read more   US inflation accelerated last month at AP. "Consumer prices rose 2.7% in June from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Tuesday, up from an annual increase [...]

  Costco June comp sales (Ex fuel & f/x) +6.2%: ...US +5.5% / Canada +7.9% / Other Int'l +8.2% / Ecom +11.2% "Costco net sales for the first 44 weeks were $227.46 billion, an increase of 8.0 percent from $210.55 billion last year." Press release   Deloitte: Parents Hold Firm on Back-to-School Budgets "Back-to-school spending for K-12 students will likely remain steady, estimated to reach a collective $30.9 billion, or approximately $570 per student...shoppers surveyed plan to increase their spending on clothing and accessories (+6%), while spending on technology and school supplies is expected to decline by 8% and 3%, [...]

  Amazon sellers curb Prime Day discounts with tariffs taking bite at Bloomberg/Business Times. "...(Akeneo) conducted a survey of 1,000 US shoppers showing that one in four respondents planned to skip Prime Day due to tariffs while 57 per cent said they would more closely monitor prices...Upstream Brands sells aluminium trays that make decorative ice cubes...He usually sells his products at cost on Prime Day to promote the brand. But with them subject to 50 per cent tariffs, he’s not offering any discounts for the first time." Read more   ...Adobe: Prime Day event expected to drive $23.8 billion in [...]