Walmart raised its forecast on Tuesday, as its customers bought more discretionary merchandise, ordered more deliveries to their homes and started their holiday shopping.

The discounter now expects net sales will grow between 4.8% and 5.1% for the full year. That compares with its previous forecast for between 3.75% and 4.75% sales growth for the period. The updated outlook came as Walmart posted third-quarter earnings and revenue that beat expectations. 

In a CNBC interview, Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey said sales of general merchandise — outside of the grocery department — grew year over year for the second quarter in a row after declines for 11 straight quarters. Still, he said consumers are waiting to make those purchases until they see a compelling deal, especially as they pay more for food.

“We’re expecting this holiday period to be very consistent with that,” he said. “They’re focused on price and value.”

Here is what the big-box retailer reported for the period compared with Wall Street’s estimates, according to a survey of analysts by LSEG:

Walmart shares climbed about 3% in early trading, hitting both a 52-week high and an all-time intraday high since it began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in Aug. 1972.

In the three-month period that ended Oct. 31, Walmart’s net income increased to $4.58 billion, or 57 cents per share, compared with $453 million, or 6 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose from $160.80 billion in the year-ago quarter. 

Comparable sales, an industry metric also known as same-store sales, jumped 5.3% for Walmart and 7% at Sam’s Club, excluding fuel.

Customers visited Walmart’s stores and website in the U.S. more and tended to spend more when they did compared with the year-ago quarter. Walmart U.S. transactions rose 3.1%, and average ticket increased by 2.1% year over year. 

E-commerce sales rose 22% in the U.S., with gains coming from curbside pickup and home delivery, along with growth in Walmart’s advertising and third-party marketplace businesses.

Walmart shoppers have also been willing to pay more to get their purchases faster, Rainey said. For the past two quarters, 30% of customer orders in the U.S. have come with an extra fee to get delivery within a shorter time frame, like within one hour or within three hours.

He said Walmart’s e-commerce business is “getting very close to profitability because we’re able to use some of the cost of delivery with these incremental fees that customers are willing to pay for convenience.”

Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, delivered its latest sales results and read on U.S. consumers as investors gauge sentiment and weigh the outlook for the most crucial shopping season of the year.

Retailers, including Walmart, are contending with a mixed bag of factors this holiday season. Inflation has moderated, with gas prices declining and grocery inflation remaining low year over year. Fears of a dragged-out process to determine the winner of the U.S. presidential race never materialized.

Yet President-elect Donald Trump’s proposal for tariffs on imports from China and other countries has fueled fresh concerns about prices rising again. The holiday season is also shorter this year and parts of the U.S. have had unseasonably warm weather, two dynamics that could hurt retailers.

Rainey said tariffs could force Walmart to increase prices, but said it’s too soon to say what merchandise may get more expensive. 

“We never want to raise prices,” he said. “Our model is everyday low prices. But there probably will be cases where prices will go up for consumers.”

He said about two-thirds of the items that Walmart sells are made, grown or assembled in the U.S., which reduces the tariff risk for those goods. And he added that Walmart, like other retailers, has been trying to diversify where it imports goods. 

“We’ve been living under a tariff environment for seven years, so we’re pretty familiar with that,” he said. “Tariffs, though, are inflationary for customers, so we want to work with suppliers and with our own private-brand assortment to try to bring down prices.”

Holiday spending is expected to increase this year, but at a modest rate. The National Retail Federation, a retail trade group, said it expects holiday spending in November and December to increase 2.5% to 3.5% compared with 2023, to a range between $979.5 billion and $989 billion. That would be lower than the 3.9% year-over-year jump from the 2022 to 2023 holiday season, when spending totaled $955.6 billion.

Rainey said the holiday period is “off to a pretty good start.” 

He said items like TVs, Apple AirPods, Beats headphones and even tires have been selling. On the other hand, clothing and other weather-dependent purchases like space heaters have been slower because of unseasonably warm weather in parts of the country.

Some of the general merchandise gains indicate that consumers are feeling relief from inflation, but some also have to do with Walmart’s strategy, he said. The company has deepened its assortment of toys, home goods and more through its third-party marketplace. 

As of Monday’s close, Walmart shares are up nearly 60% this year, more than the S&P 500′s approximately 24% gains during the same period. Walmart’s stock closed Monday at $84.08, bringing the company’s market value to $675.86 billion.

Comcast is expected to announce a plan Wednesday to spin off its cable networks into a separate company, two people familiar with the matter told NBC News.

The split would cleave off some of NBCUniversal’s best-known brands, including MSNBC, E!, Syfy, Golf Channel, USA, CNBC and Oxygen, which now face the same cord-cutting challenges as many other major cable channels.

The spinoff plan was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Comcast had announced during its quarterly earnings call in October that it was considering spinning off its cable networks.

President Mike Cavanagh said at the time that the company was exploring creating “a new, well-capitalized company owned by our shareholders and comprised of our strong portfolio of cable networks.” He added that NBCUniversal’s broadcast network NBC and the streaming service Peacock would remain with Comcast.

Comcast owns NBCUniversal, which is the parent company of NBC News. A spokesperson for Comcast declined to comment.

Comcast is moving forward with the decision as millions of customers exit the traditional pay TV bundle in favor of streaming. The company has been beefing up Peacock in recent years. Comcast said last month that Peacock’s paid-subscriber count jumped nearly 30% to 36 million year over year.

Bravo will remain part of Comcast’s NBCUniversal because its content is heavily featured on Peacock, CNBC reported.

Traditional broadcast networks remain cash cows. Comcast reported in October that third-quarter revenue for its media segment, which mainly comprises TV networks, was up nearly 37% to $8.23 billion, largely because of the Paris Olympics. Without the Summer Games, revenue was up almost 5%.

Comcast shares were up more than 2% in after-hours trading.

The spinoff will take roughly a year as the company figures out whether licensing agreements need to be put in place and whether MSNBC and CNBC will continue to work with NBC News, CNBC reported.

Mark Lazarus, the current chairman of NBCUniversal’s media group, will lead the new company, CNBC reported, while NBCUniversal’s chief financial officer, Anand Kini, will be the CFO and operating chief.

Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts will have a voting position in the new entity, but he won’t be on the board of directors, CNBC reported.

At NBCUniversal, Donna Langley, the current chief content officer, will become chairman of NBCUniversal Entertainment and Studios. Matt Strauss, the current head of the direct-to-consumer unit, which includes Peacock, will be chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group, overseeing sports, ad sales and distribution, CNBC reported.

Cesar Conde will continue to lead the NBCUniversal News Group as chairman — which includes oversight of NBC News, Telemundo and local TV stations — and will advise the company on areas of business growth. Executive Vice President Adam Miller will become NBCUniversal’s chief operating officer, CNBC reported.

It’s certainly eye-catching: A group of multiracial, gender-bending models emerge from an elevator in cutting-edge makeup and bright-colored clothing to a techno-industrial beat into an austere, prismatic landscape.

But one thing is missing from the storied British carmaker Jaguar’s new rebrand: cars.

The spot has drawn some reactions online that range from puzzled to dismayed, with several commentators comparing the potential fallout to Bud Light’s use of a trans influencer in straying far afield from its core demographic.

One communications professional on X called the advertisement ‘disastrous’ for being overly focused on branding and not on the product itself.

‘Jaguar should be saying … some version of ‘our cars are engineered to the gills and go very very fast,” wrote Lulu Cheng Meservey, co-founder of Rostra PR group. ‘Art school grads simply aren’t associated with elite engineering ability, I’m sorry.’

In a press release accompanying its rebrand, Jaguar’s chief creative officer, Sir Gerry McGovern, explained the thinking behind the rollout.

‘New Jaguar is a brand built around exuberant modernism,’ he said. ‘It is imaginative, bold and artistic at every touchpoint. It is unique and fearless.’

Jaguar sold fewer than 67,000 cars in the entire world last year, approximately half the number it sold in the fiscal year incorporating the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Today there are just 122 Jaguar dealerships in the U.S., down from a peak of around 200, according to Car and Driver magazine.

The revamp is designed to turn things around, in part by introducing new emblems that will be featured on future Jaguar vehicles.

In the lead-up to the campaign’s debut, Jaguar announced it was discontinuing five models with “close to zero profitability,” CEO Adrian Mardell told investors this year, as it developed three new ultra-luxury electric vehicles, one of which is set to be unveiled at Miami’s Art Basel event next month.

In response to other X users asking why the ad didn’t feature any cars, Jaguar’s X account responded, “The story is unfolding. Stay tuned,” and “Think of this as a declaration of intent.”

A spokesperson for Jaguar Land Rover, today a unit of India-based Tata Motors, did not respond to a request for comment.

‘To bring back such a globally renowned brand we had to be fearless,’ Rawdon Glober, Jaguar’s managing director, said in the release. ‘Jaguar was always at its best when challenging convention. That ethos is seen in our new brand identity today and will be further revealed over the coming months. This is a complete reset. Jaguar is transformed to reclaim its originality and inspire a new generation. I am excited for the world to finally see Jaguar.’

Friday’s anticipated boxing match between former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul will be remembered for more than its unique card.

The bout shown on Netflix was the most streamed global sporting event ever with 65 million live concurrent streams and 108 million total live viewers around the world, according to a Netflix release. The Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor fight before the Tyson-Paul match averaged 74 million live global viewers, the most watched professional women’s sporting event ever in the U.S. with 47 million viewers, the company said.

The event notched several other wins, including being the biggest boxing gate in history outside of Nevada.

Both Tyson and Paul made 10-figure paydays, according to Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian, whose company promoted the fight. Serrano and Taylor received record pay for women’s boxing, he said.

This event was crucial for Netflix as it prepares for its Christmas Day stream of NFL games — its first time showing the most popular sport in the U.S. live. Viewers complained of buffering issues, but Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria said she is not concerned about the company’s ability to stream the NFL games.

Netflix is not the first streamer to wade into live sports. Amazon has carried Thursday Night Football games since 2022, and NBCUniversal’s Peacock streamed an NFL playoff game last season.

Comcast announced a plan Wednesday to spin off most of its cable television networks into a separate publicly traded company.

The new company will include the USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and the Golf Channel. Comcast will retain key NBCUniversal assets, including the NBC broadcast network, NBC News, NBC Sports, the streaming service Peacock and the cable channel Bravo.

“The transaction will be structured as a tax-free spin to existing shareholders,” Comcast President Mike Cavanagh said in an internal memo. “While we don’t have a precise timetable for completing the transition, we are estimating that it will take approximately a year.”

Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC News.

The move comes as the traditional cable television bundle faces stiff economic headwinds, most notably the rise of cord-cutting and the shift to streaming alternatives. Comcast’s cable portfolio still contributes to its financial bottom line and helps expand its cultural footprint.

“The well-capitalized, independent company will be positioned to lead in the changing landscape for cable networks given the strength of its portfolio and the quality and focus of its management team,” Cavanagh said. 

The new company, known for the time being as SpinCo, “will have significant cash flow, a strong balance sheet, and the financial flexibility to pursue growth opportunities, both organically and potentially through acquisitions,” Cavanagh added.

Cavanagh said the new company will be led by Mark Lazarus, chairman of NBCUniversal’s media group. Anand Kini, NBCUniversal’s chief financial officer, will serve as the CFO and chief operating officer.

The plan was first reported by The Wall Street Journal and then confirmed to NBC News on Tuesday by two people familiar with the matter.

The new business structure is notable partly because it would separate MSNBC and CNBC from the central newsgathering operations of NBC News. It was not immediately clear whether the cable news channels and the network’s core news division would continue to share editorial resources.

Dan Ives, a managing director and senior equity research analyst covering the technology sector at Wedbush Securities, said in an email that the spinoff move is appealing to investors. Comcast’s stock price rose by about 0.5% in premarket trading Wednesday.

“The Street wanted to see this move and we believe it will be a smart strategic move for both Comcast and the new spinoff with golden jewel cable assets like CNBC and MSNBC,” he said. “The cord cutting dynamic is a headwind but we see brighter days ahead as cable defines a new monetization and streaming path with subscriptions and content to build on its strong advertising base looking forward.”

Rich Greenfield, a media and technology analyst who often criticizes media companies for what he views as a belated reaction to cord-cutting, framed the move in blunt terms in an appearance on CNBC: “This is sort of a very clear, direct statement by Comcast.”

“They are exiting the cable network business,” said Greenfield, a co-founder of research firm LightShed Partners. “This is them saying we don’t want to be in this business. This is no longer a growth business. It’s going to be around for a long time, but it’s just no longer a growth business.”

Cavanagh on Wednesday also announced a reorganized leadership team for NBCUniversal.

Cesar Conde will continue leading the NBCUniversal News Group as chairman. The division includes NBC News, the NBC News Now streaming product, Telemundo and the company’s owned-and-operated local stations. Cavanagh added Conde “will work closely with me on other growth opportunities for NBCUniversal.”

Donna Langley will become chair of NBCUniversal Entertainment & Studios, a role that will give her broad oversight over all entertainment programming and marketing across NBC, Peacock and Bravo, as well as the company’s film and television studios.

Matt Strauss will become chairman of the NBCUniversal Media Group. Mark Woodbury will continue in his role as chairman and chief executive officer of Universal Destinations & Experiences, the unit that runs the theme parks and global consumer products business.

Comcast agreed to buy a majority stake in NBCUniversal from General Electric in 2009, combining one of the country’s largest operators of cable TV with the sizable NBC media and entertainment operation. The cable channels were seen as a particularly lucrative acquisition.

Since then, the rise of streaming entertainment has eaten into the cable television business, leading to waves of consumers canceling their cable subscriptions in favor of platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

In this environment, many cable channels are still profitable businesses, with some continuing to generate strong cash flows for their corporate owners. But the media industry writ large considers the cable marketplace to be in decline.

Comcast, like other leading media conglomerates, has invested heavily in streaming. Peacock, home to a large library of NBCUniversal content and programming licensed from other studios, added 3 million subscribers during the third fiscal quarter, according to the company’s most recent earnings report. Comcast lost 365,000 cable customers during that period.

The Disney fleet is expanding.

Next month, the Disney Treasure cruise ship will make its maiden voyage from Port Canaveral, Florida, to the Caribbean, officially becoming the sixth ship in the company’s lineup.

The Treasure, which is 221 feet tall and 1,119 feet long, can carry 4,000 passengers and 1,555 crew members. Like Disney’s other cruise ships, the Treasure features themed dining, curated lounges and premium on-board live entertainment.

As the Treasure sets sail, Disney, too, is embarking on its own journey. The company, which hadn’t launched a new ship in a decade prior to the Disney Wish’s debut in mid-2022, is entering an era of rapid expansion.

Disney’s fleet will double by 2031, with two ships arriving in 2025 — the Disney Destiny and the Disney Adventure — followed by four additional Disney-branded vessels and a partnership with Oriental Land Company to bring Disney’s cruise vacations to Japan.

“Disney Cruise Line is going through an unprecedented period of growth,” said Thomas Mazloum, president of Disney’s new experiences portfolio and Disney signature experiences. “The demand that we’re seeing right now for Disney Cruise Line is very strong. We’re a premium brand, occupancy is high, and frankly, the business is doing really, really well.”

Disney cruises are part of the company’s experiences division, alongside parks, resorts and consumer products. According to the company’s earnings report on Thursday, the division posted record revenue and profit for fiscal 2024, with revenue up 5% for the full year to $34.15 billion and operating income up 4% to $9.27 billion.

The experiences segment was the second-highest revenue driver for Disney last year behind its entertainment division, which tallied $41.18 billion in fiscal 2024. However, the entertainment segment’s operating profits were smaller, just $3.92 billion.

Full-year revenue growth in experiences was the strongest of any Disney division, and the company expects to see 6% to 8% profit growth for experiences in fiscal 2025.

Disney has become a leader in the family cruising space, despite its relatively small number of ships. For comparison, the three largest cruise lines are Carnival, with more than 100 vessels, Royal Caribbean, with more than 40, and Norwegian Cruise Line, with around 30.

Disney is considered slightly more expensive than Carnival and Royal Caribbean for base pricing, but if guests choose to upgrade to larger cabins or add food packages or experiences to their itineraries, the prices are quite similar.

Disney’s Treasure offers seven-night cruises starting at $4,277 for two guests and $6,994 for a family of four. These prices increase if travelers select cruises tied to Halloween or Christmas.

What sets Disney apart is its innovations in cruising and its focus on storytelling, said Gavin Doyle, founder of MickeyVisit.com.

“Disney redefined the cruising space when they entered, and that was in the way they were designing the ships in a guest-centric way that they serviced people on board, and also the beloved characters and intellectual properties that they can integrate,” he said.

Doyle noted that Disney accommodates diners using “rotational dining” on its cruise ships. Passengers don’t eat in one large mess hall — they are prescheduled to dine at different themed restaurants. Disney rotates the restaurant staff, too, to follow each group of passengers to their scheduled restaurant. In so doing, guests have the same servers, busboys and restaurant managers throughout their trip, and the waitstaff gets to know the guests — and their preferences.

“They’re able to just deliver this level of customer service that does feel like magic,” Doyle said.

While there are traditional amenities onboard the Treasure that are staples on cruise lines — upscale restaurants, pools, spas and gaming rooms for kids — Disney has integrated storytelling into these services to elevate them for guests.

Its dinnertime restaurants are immersive and feature live entertainment. Plaza de Coco, the first theatrical dining experience themed to the 2017 film “Coco,” invites guests to gather at Mariachi Plaza for a festive meal and music.

Meanwhile, over at Worlds of Marvel, guests will experience two different shows, one called “Avengers: Quantum Encounter” and the other “Marvel Celebration of Heroes: Groot Remix.”

The high-tech venue has a number of screens for diners to tune in to during their meal to experience the heroic adventures.

There is also 1923, a restaurant named after the founding year of Walt Disney Animation Studios. This location is a bit more subdued and upscale. It features a collection of exploration-themed artwork from modern and classic animated films.

In addition to the three main family restaurants, the Treasure has a number of places for casual dining and to grab quick bites during the journey. Those with a sweet tooth can head to Jumbeaux’s Sweets, which is based on the ice cream parlor from Disney’s “Zootopia.”

The Treasure also features some adult-exclusive dining locations for those traveling without kids or looking for a night away.

Palo Steakhouse and Enchante are upscale restaurants inspired by “Beauty and the Beast” and feature gourmet Italian and French menus. The Rose, a chic lounge at the entrance to the two restaurants, has pre-dinner aperitifs and after-dinner cocktails.

The Disney Treasure marks the first time that Disney has brought intellectual properties from its parks to one of its ships.

The Haunted Mansion Parlor is a bar that features ghostly design elements from the famed attraction as well as spirit-filled cocktails, mocktails and zero-proof beverages.

“Walt Disney World has been around 50 years,” said Mazloum. “Disneyland even longer. Many of our guests over the years have been growing up by coming to our parks and over time you have these iconic attractions and experiences … Our Imagineers, and I’ve got to give them a lot of credit, came up with the idea.”

“We were literally thrilled with that idea, and even more thrilled with the reception we’ve received,” he added.

Another fan-favorite parks property coming to the Treasure is Jungle Cruise. Skipper Society is a place to grab themed cocktails and light snacks surrounded by camp-style furnishings.

Other adults-only spots include Scat Cat Lounge, based on “The Aristocats,” and Periscope Pub, based on “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.”

Of course, for many, Disney cruises are a family affair.

“People often say that they have been designed with families in mind, which is absolutely correct,” said Mazloum. “I would go a step further and say they’ve really been designed for multiple generations so that everyone is allowed to enjoy their experiences.”

According to the Cruise Lines International Association, cruises are a top choice for multigenerational travels, with one-third of families sailing with at least two generations. Another 28% of cruise travelers board with three to five generations, the organization said in its annual state of the cruise industry report published in April.

Disney has dedicated spaces for every age group. It’s a Small World nursery offers babysitting services for children ages six months to three years, while older children can head over to Disney’s Oceaneer Club, which features several immersive spaces.

Families can also catch “Disney the Tale of Moana” at the Walt Disney Theatre onboard the Treasure. The Broadway-style production features a massive Te Ka puppet and introduces an all-new song called “Warrior Face.” The stage will also feature “Disney Seas the Adventure” and “Beauty and the Beast.”

Additionally, the Treasure will have Hero Zone and the Wonderland and Never Land Cinemas, popular spaces from the Disney Wish. Hero Zone is a sports and recreation venue with game show-style competitions and physical challenges, while cinemas are luxe screening rooms featuring first-run films from Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm.

Similar to the Wish, the Treasure also has a Toy Story-themed area that includes a splash pool, wading pool and family waterslide. There’s also an adapted version of the Wish’s AquaMouse water coaster called “Curse of the Golden Egg.”

Target reported earnings Wednesday that came in far below Wall Street’s expectations, something the big-box retailer attributed to slower than expected demand.

The company announced profits that fell short of forecasts by 20%, its widest miss in two years. Revenues, meanwhile, came in under expectations for the first time in more than a year.

Target’s stock, as a result, fell more than 21% Wednesday.

The discouraging results came despite a heavily touted campaign to discount thousands of items, as well as a pushed-up holiday sale.

On a call with reporters, Target CEO Brian Cornell blamed the dismal quarter on “lingering softness in discretionary categories,” as well as costs associated with preparing for the short-lived port strike in October.

Target Chief Operating Officer Michael Fiddelke added that it was “disappointing that a deceleration in discretionary demand combined with some cost pressures have caused us to take our guidance back down after raising it last quarter.”

The company lowered its profit and sales goals for the year, though Fiddelke said Target feels confident in its long-term outlook.

Broader stock trading did not immediately react, however, as Wall Street awaits earnings from chipmaker Nvidia, which has helped power the market higher throughout the year. Yet, combined with other indicators like slower holiday hiring, it could be a signal that sales for the all-important final calendar quarter could be softer than hoped.

Target’s report comes a day after rival Walmart reported earnings and revenues that beat expectations.

Yet, even Walmart noted that customers were still holding back in many cases for compelling deals, especially as the cost of food has risen.

“We’re expecting this holiday period to be very consistent with that,” Walmart Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey told CNBC. “They’re focused on price and value.”