Notice: Boeing Deal With Spirit Aero Could Close As Early As Monday

By Francesca Fontana

The Score is a weekly review of the biggest stock moves and the news that drove them.

Warner Bros. Discovery

Netflix struck a $72 billion deal to buy Warner Bros., beating out Paramount and Comcast — and shocking Hollywood.

The acquisition would combine the largest global streaming service with the company behind HBO Max, the Superman and Harry Potter movies and hit TV shows such as "Friends." Warner plans to split its cable networks off into a separate company before the deal closes.

Like Netflix, Comcast was pursuing the studios and HBO Max business, while Paramount had sought to buy the entire company, including cable networks such as CNN, TNT and TBS.

Paramount had argued that a deal with Netflix wouldn't be blessed by antitrust regulators. President Trump's advisers are concerned about the deal, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

Warner Bros. Discovery shares gained 6.3% Friday.

American Eagle Outfitters

American Eagle soared after posting strong quarterly results, boosted by the clothing brand's latest marketing campaigns.

The company's momentum has been boosted by its latest celebrity collaborations — including its controversial campaign with "Euphoria" actress Sydney Sweeney, and its ads with Martha Stewart and football player Travis Kelce.

Chief Executive Jay Schottenstein said they have attracted new customers and driven increased traffic, especially in its digital channel.

The company said the holiday shopping season is off to a strong start, and raised its same-store sales guidance for the current quarter and full year.

American Eagle shares jumped 15% Wednesday.

Dollar General

More higher-income shoppers are looking for bargains at dollar-store chains.

In their latest quarterly reports, discount-store operators Dollar General and Dollar Tree both reported the trend, as new customers skewed more affluent.

Dollar Tree said roughly 3 million more households shopped at its stores during the recent quarter compared with the same period a year earlier. Of those shoppers, approximately 60% came from higher-income households, or those earning over $100,000 annually, Chief Executive Mike Creedon said.

Both companies also lifted their annual outlooks. Dollar General said its fourth-quarter sales are off to a strong start, despite the pause in federal government funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Dollar Tree shares rose 3.6% Wednesday, while Dollar General shares surged 14% Thursday.

Boeing

Jet-making rivals Boeing and Airbus are experiencing a reversal of fortunes, with Airbus stumbling for the first time in years as Boeing regains its footing.

Boeing, which had suffered from production challenges and safety concerns in recent years, told investors Tuesday it expects to generate more cash as it ramps up deliveries of its most popular aircraft.

On Wednesday, its European rival was the one announcing production delays. Airbus warned that its deliveries would fall due to a quality problem with its bestselling A320 jets, days after a separate issue on thousands of its aircraft required an urgent software fix.

Boeing shares jumped 10% Tuesday, one of the S&P 500's best performers of the day.

Salesforce

Salesforce's AI product, Agentforce, is gaining traction.

The software giant said the product — which uses large-language models to perform tasks — hit $540 million in annual recurring revenue during the third quarter. The company also raised its full-year guidance.

Chief Executive Marc Benioff told analysts Wednesday that more companies, including Williams Sonoma and SharkNinja, are adopting the AI agent to use for customer service and internal operations.

Agentforce, which launched in October 2024, has been the main focus for many investors who see it as a measure of how well Salesforce will keep up in the AI era.

Salesforce shares gained 3.7% Thursday.

Kroger

Strapped shoppers are taking a toll on supermarkets and the companies whose products fill their shelves.

Procter & Gamble Chief Financial Officer Andre Schulten warned on Tuesday of a "tougher context" for the Pampers maker's U.S. business.

He said the company's sales this quarter are affected by a more wary consumer, the government shutdown and the temporary loss of SNAP food-assistance benefits. P&G shares dropped 1.1% Tuesday.

On Thursday, supermarket chain Kroger swung to a quarterly loss and said it is working to cut costs, as it tries to manage consumers' sensitivity to rising prices while addressing its own rising expenses.

Kroger shares dropped 4.6% Thursday.

Our weekly markets news roundup is now part of the WSJ's What's News podcast. Host Francesca Fontana discusses the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them. Check out What's News in Markets at wsj.com/podcasts or wherever you listen.

Write to Francesca Fontana at francesca.fontana@wsj.com.