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Rose, ‘Shoeless’ Joe and the others who were reinstated by MLB

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Former MLB legends ‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson and Pete Rose shockingly were reinstated by league commissioner Rob Manfred on Tuesday.

Jackson and Rose were two of 17 deceased individuals reinstated by MLB, as Manfred noted MLB’s punishment of banned players ends upon their death.

The move allows for Jackson and Rose (the all-time hits leader) to both be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The two were previously viewed as stains on the game, based on their gambling participation during their playing careers.

Jackson was banned from baseball in 1921, along with seven other Chicago White Sox players, for fixing the 1919 World Series. He ranks fourth in MLB history in batting average (.356).

Here’s everything to know about Jackson, who might be headed to the Hall of Fame over 100 years after his playing career ended:

Who was ‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson?

Jackson was an MLB outfielder from 1908-20, but was most known for his time with the White Sox. He won the 1917 World Series with Chicago but was also a part of one of MLB’s most well-known controversies.

Jackson played 12 MLB seasons, primarily in the outfield. He was one of the best contact hitters ever, with a career line of .356/.423/.517. His best seasons came with Cleveland from 1910-15, and he also played for the Philadelphia Athletics (1908-09) and the White Sox (1915-20).

Jackson is also a notable character in the baseball movie ‘Field of Dreams,’ and is depicted by Ray Liotta.

Why was ‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson banned?

Jackson, along with seven of his teammates, were banned from MLB after the 1920 season for attempting to fix the 1919 World Series. The players were accused of accepting $5,000 each to purposefully lose the series.

The White Sox players were actually acquitted by a Chicago jury but were banned from MLB anyway by the league’s first commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis. Jackson had 12 hits in the series, a record that wasn’t broken until 1964. He also wasn’t charged with an error.

‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson stats

Here are Jackson’s career stats in 12 MLB seasons:

  • Career: 62.2 WAR, 1,772 hits with 54 home runs, 873 runs, 792 RBIs and 202 stolen bases. .356 batting average with .423 on-base percentage and .517 slugging percentage.

Who were the 17 reinstated individuals?

➤ Pete Rose: All-time hits leader was permanently banned in 1989.

➤ Black Sox: Eight members of the Chicago White Sox were permanently suspended by commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis in 1921 for conspiring with gamblers to throw the 1919 World Series to the Cincinnati Reds. Those players were pitchers Eddie Cicotte and Lefty Williams, outfielder Happy Felsch, first baseman Chick Gandil, shortstop Swede Risberg, third baseman Buck Weaver, utility infielder Fred McMullin, and ‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson, one of the greatest hitters in baseball history.

➤ Joe Gedeon: A member of the St. Louis Browns at the time of the Black Sox scandal, Gedeon was present during meetings between gamblers and the aforementioned White Sox players.

➤ Gene Paulette: Once the Black Sox scandal ruling was made by Landis, Paulette was retroactively suspended permanently from the game for allegedly receiving gifts from gamblers to throw games while playing for the Philadelphia Phillies.

➤ Benny Kauff: Banned by Landis, despite being acquitted by a jury, for allegedly stealing a car. It seems Landis, a former judge, had made up his mind — despite the jury’s decision — that Kauff was guilty.

➤ Lee Magee: Magee and the notorious Hal Chase — who was a fine baseball player in his own right, but also had a reputation for allegedly conspiring with gamblers — were accused of throwing a game while Magee’s Chicago Cubs played Chase’s Philadelphia Phillies. It should be noted that Chase was not among the 17 individuals reinstated by Manfred.

➤ Phil Douglas: Landis permanently suspended Douglas for writing a letter offering to desert his New York Giants — due to quarrels with feisty manager John McGraw — and hurt his team’s pennant-winning chances in 1922.

➤ Jimmy O’Connell: While playing for the Giants in 1924, O’Connell offered an opposing player $500 to throw games in order to help his Giants win the pennant.

➤ Cozy Dolan: Dolan was a coach on O’Connell’s Giants and also was suspended as part of O’Connell’s attempt to bribe a Phillies player to throw games.

➤ William Cox: Cox’s tenure as owner of the Phillies was brief. After buying the team in March 1943, Cox was indefinitely suspended by Landis in November 1943 for placing bets on his own team.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

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Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame? Here’s how it would work

Sport 4 Mins Read

Pete Rose is, somewhat stunningly, off Major League Baseball’s permanently ineligible list.

But that doesn’t mean he’s automatically in the Hall of Fame.

Casual baseball fans often equated Rose’s ban from baseball – which lasted past his September 2024 death until commissioner Rob Manfred reinstated him Tuesday following pressure from President Donald Trump – with a banishment from Cooperstown’s shrine. But reinstatement doesn’t ensure enshrinement.

Certainly, Hall of Fame officials deferred to MLB with regards to Rose’s eligibility, a procedural choice that kept their hands out of the Rose quagmire for decades. Yet with Rose now eligible, when might fans unbothered by Rose’s many indiscretions see the slap-hitting scourge have his day in Cooperstown?

When will Pete Rose come up for Hall of Fame election?

Per Hall regulations, Rose’s candidacy won’t come up for a couple of years. As a player whose greatest contributions to the game came before 1980, he’ll be under consideration by the 12-person Classic Baseball Committee, a group that also considers candidates from the Negro Leagues and pre-Negro League stars. The group will next vote in December 2027 for induction in July 2028.

While Rose broke Ty Cobb’s all-time hits record in 1985, he played 17 of his 24 seasons before 1980, amassing 3,372 of his 4,256 hits in that span. That puts him in the same bucket as players like Dave Parker, who debuted 10 years after Rose in 1973 and played until 1991, and was elected by the Classic Baseball Committee for enshrinement in July.

How will Rose get on the ballot?

The 2027 ballot for the Classic Baseball Era Committee will be determined by the Historical Overview Committee, a group of 10 baseball historians appointed by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. That group includes eight current or former baseball writers, a university professor and a statistician.

Last year, the committee included Parker, fellow electee Dick Allen, Tommy John, Ken Boyer, John Donaldson, Steve Garvey, Vic Harris and Luis Tiant on the Classic Baseball ballot.

Who will vote on Rose’s candidacy?

Should the committee include Rose in the group of eight Classic Era finalists, his candidacy will be voted on by a 16-member electorate. In 2024, that group was comprised of Hall of Famers Paul Molitor, Joe Torre, Lee Smith, Tony Perez, Eddie Murray and Ozzie Smith, along with Angels owner Arte Moreno, four other baseball executives and five baseball writers and historians.

The committee was chaired by Hall of Fame chairman of the board Jane Forbes Clark.

Clark and the Hall managed to keep a distance from the emotional Rose issue, deferring over the decades to whomever sat in the commissioner’s chair. In a statement Tuesday, Clark said the Hall is prepared to consider Rose’s case.

‘The National Baseball Hall of Fame has always maintained that anyone removed from Baseball’s permanently ineligible list will become eligible for Hall of Fame consideration,’ she said. ‘Major League Baseball’s decision to remove deceased individuals from the permanently ineligible list will allow for the Hall of Fame candidacy of such individuals to now be considered. The Historical Overview Committee will develop the ballot of eight names for the Classic Baseball Era Committee – which evaluates candidates who made their greatest impact on the game prior to 1980 – to vote on when it meets next in December 2027.’

Would Rose’s election be a slam dunk?

Not necessarily.

Just like with Hall of Fame voting done by hundreds of BBWAA members, Rose would need to garner support on 75% of ballots, or 12 of 16 committee members.

In what will surely become an ongoing measuring stick of perceived moral turpitude, all-time home run king Barry Bonds failed to reach that plateau in his first year under Contemporary Era Committee review in 2022.

Bonds received less than four votes, the Hall announced, meeting the same fate as Roger Clemens and Rafael Palmeiro, two other players closely tied to performance-enhancing drug use.

While Rose is the game’s all-time hits king, Bonds is the objectively superior player, amassing 162.8 career WAR to Rose’s 79.6. Bonds still holds a significant advantage if his years before well-documented ties to PEDs began: From 1986 through 1998, he produced 99.9 WAR.

That means future committees will face the same ethical quandary BBWAA voters did in the decade Bonds, Clemens and others were on the Hall ballot: Is gambling on games you managed – and, likely, played in – a disqualifying violation?

For decades, MLB commissioners upholding Rose’s permanent ban made that a non-issue. In coming years, it will be in the hands of 16 electors.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

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Objectors argue new NCAA roster-limit deal remains unfair for athletes

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Objectors to the proposed settlement of three athlete-compensation antitrust cases against the NCAA and the Power Five conferences have argued in new filings that even a recently amended version of the deal remains unfair to athletes who could lose their places on teams due to sport-by-sport roster limits that are part of the agreement.

The limits had been set to go into effect on July 1 for any school that chooses to participate in another feature of the agreement: paying athletes directly for the use of their name, image and likeness (NIL). But on April 23, U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken refused to grant final approval, saying in an order that the roster arrangement is “not fair” because thousands of athletes who are supposed to be benefiting from the deal stood to lose their places on teams after the current school year.

She gave the sides two weeks to address her concerns, and wrote that one solution would be “to ensure that no (athletes) who have or had a roster spot will lose it as a result of the immediate implementation of the settlement agreement.”

On May 7, lawyers for the plaintiffs, the NCAA and the conferences wrote that they had agreed to a setup under which schools would have the option to exempt from the limits any athlete who was on a roster in 2024-25 and who has been or would have been removed for 2025-26 because of the limits for the remainder of their college careers. It also would let schools similarly accommodate any high school senior who was ‘recruited to be, or was assured they would be’ on a Division I school’s roster for the 2025-26 school year.

However, this would not remove the roster limits from the settlement. And this would not require schools to keep all of their current athletes on their rosters. Lawyers for the NCAA wrote that ‘there are no guarantees’ that these athletes ‘will get or maintain roster spots. But that does not adversely affect any’ athlete, the NCAA said, because athletes’ roster spots always have been ‘at the discretion of the coach’ and the school.

In filings on May 9 and May 13, three lawyers for objectors who had been allowed by Wilken to have input in how the agreement would by modified, separately argued, basically, that athletes have been on teams or promised spots should be assured that they will not lose those positions because of the limits.

 “A settlement like this one, which vests (the schools) with ‘discretion’ to provide relief – or not – is no settlement at all,” wrote a group represented by Chicago-based attorney Steve Molo. “Indeed, numerous Objectors are hearing that schools have no intention of relaxing roster limits at all, leaving many student-athletes in the same position as under the settlement (Wilken) rejected as unfair.”

Molo’s group proposed that all athletes currently on a roster or promised a spot should not count against the limits for the duration of their careers. This group said schools would have the discretion to cut athletes “for legitimate reasons unrelated to the roster cap, such as conduct violations and poor athletic or academic performance,” but if there is dispute about this, the athlete could ask for an arbitrator to decide the matter.

Another objector lawyer, Laura Reathaford, argued for mandatory grandfathering of current athletes and of high school seniors who had “accepted an offer” to join a team in 2025-26 until their eligibility expires.

“By making grandfathering … optional, the (athletes) are still not treated equitably relative to each other and relief is not being provided to each (athlete covered by the settlement) as the law requires,” she wrote. “Instead … conflicts persist by protecting some athletes while leaving the others exposed.”

A third group of lawyers led by Denver-based attorneys Douglas DePeppe and Robert Hinckley endorsed the other objectors’ proposals but argued for what they termed “a formal grievance” and “oversight” system.

The plaintiffs, the NCAA and the conferences can respond to these in arguments they must provide to Wilken no later than May 16.

Wilken has written that she was inclined to approve the rest of the deal over a variety of other objections. That means she already was otherwise prepared to accept an arrangement under which $2.8 billion in damages would be paid to current and former athletes — and their lawyers — over 10 years, and Division I schools would be able to start paying athletes directly for use of their NIL, subject to a per-school cap that would increase over time and be based on a percentage of certain athletics revenues.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

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McDonald’s announces plan to hire 375,000 employees this summer

Editor's pick 2 Mins Read

McDonald’s announced a plan to hire 375,000 employees across the U.S. this summer.

The plan, announced on Monday, is one of the fast-food chain’s largest hiring pushes in years, according to a news release. It goes hand in hand with McDonald’s goal to open 900 new restaurants in the U.S. by 2027 and its plan to serve more customers during summer months.

Joe Erlinger, McDonald’s president for the U.S., met with Department of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer at a location just outside of Columbus, Ohio, to announce the news. The hiring will be across McDonald’s company-owned and franchised locations, according to a company spokesperson.

The news comes amid the Trump administration’s push for businesses to invest more in the U.S. The White House reported that it secured more than $5 trillion in new investment promises in the U.S. during Trump’s first 100 days in office.

Those investments include a $500 billion plan in manufacturing by Apple, and $500 billion investment plans announced by Nvidia and by a coalition of companies including SoftBank and Oracle.

Earlier this month, McDonald’s reported its worst quarterly sales for the U.S. since the height of the pandemic in 2020.

The restaurant company reported U.S. same-store sales fell 3.6%, the largest three-month drop since Q2 2020, when they plunged 8.7%. Forecasts had been for a decline of just 1.7%.

McDonald’s executives told investors during a call that the reason for the decline was that ‘people are just visiting less,’ adding that traffic among middle-income diners fell by “nearly double digits” alongside an ongoing drop-off among low-income ones. As an example, they said more people appear to be skipping breakfast entirely to cut back on spending, or eating breakfast at home.

The fast-food chain has over 38,000 locations in over 100 countries, and is aiming for 50,000 by 2027.



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Father and son fraudsters sentenced in case of $100 million New Jersey deli

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CAMDEN, N.J. — The father and son duo behind a stock fraud scheme involving the infamous $100 million New Jersey deli were sentenced to several months in prison Tuesday.

Peter Coker Jr. was sentenced to 40 months. With credit for time served, he owes about 12 months locked up. But he could be released sooner than that given how federal inmates are granted time off for good conduct.

Earlier Tuesday, the 56-year-old’s father, North Carolina businessman Peter Coker Sr., was sentenced to six months in jail, to be followed by six months of home confinement, for his role in the case.

The Cokers and a third man, James Patten, admitted to the scheme in orchestrated the fraudulent inflation of the share price of two companies to better position them for mergers with private firms.

One of the companies, Hometown International, ended up having a market capitalization of more than $100 million despite owning just a small, money-losing deli in South Jersey.

The other company, E-Waste, had an even larger market cap, despite having no business operations.

Coker Jr. was brutally attacked while in a Thai prison awaiting extradition in early 2023, his attorney said at his sentencing for securities fraud in New Jersey federal court on Tuesday.

Coker Jr. was set upon by as many as 10 fellow inmates in the Thai lock-up, his lawyer said. Coker Jr. was being held there after police found him in Thailand while under indictment in the United States for the securities fraud scheme involving the deli owner and a related shell company

Coker Jr.’s lawyer, John Azzarello, cited his time in the Thai prison and in the 26 or so months he has served in an Essex County jail, in asking a judge to sentence him to effectively time served, or only a few months more.

Azzarello called those conditions in both jails “inhumane.”

Azzarello also detailed how Coker Jr. was suffering from severe cirrhosis of the liver as the result of alcohol abuse — “a bottle of whiskey a day” — before he was arrested in Thailand.

He said Coker Jr. had been hospitalized several times for his condition, and that doctors were considering doing a liver transplant.

Coker Jr., speaking to Judge Christine O’Hearn in U.S. District Court in Camden, said, “This crime has changed me profoundly.”

“The assault and the horrors I experienced in Bangkok prison, I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy,” Coker Jr. said, wearing a yellow one-piece jailhouse uniform.

“It was the lowest point in my life.”

He also expressed regret for his role in the scheme, which involved his father and another man.

“It’s very important to me that your honor and my parents know I wish I could go back,” and not commit the crime, Coker Jr. said.

“It kills me, every time I think about it, how my actions affected my parents,” he said.

“My parents should have never been associated with this abhorrent crime,” Coker Jr. said.

“My greed destroyed us both.”

Coker Jr. faces deportation after he serves his sentence. He renounced his U.S. citizenship in 2019, and holds citizenship in the Caribbean nation St. Kitts.

During his sentencing, Coker Sr. was ordered to pay a $500,000 fine and pay up to $644,000 in restitution.

“I do stand before you extremely remorseful for my actions,” Coker Sr. said as his wife, daughter, grandchildren, and friends looked on.

“I’m terribly sorry for my part. This episode has been the worst time of my life,” the 82-year-old Chapel Hill resident said. “I’m sorry for every investor who has been harmed by my actions.”

Federal sentencing guidelines had suggested a prison sentence of 51 to 63 months for Coker Sr.

But prosecutors said they wanted less time than that, namely the top end of a range of zero to 24 months that they stipulated when he pleaded guilty.

Judge O’Hearn said she would have sentenced Coker Sr. to much more time in jail if he was not as old as he is.

“This was a fraudulent scheme from the inception,” Judge O’Hearn said at the start of the hearing.

“The companies are, in fact, worthless, and there is no prospect for recovery,” O’Hearn said.

“This was a multi-year, very sophisticated fraudulent scheme involving a sort of esoteric corporate structure, of which I’ve learned more than I ever care to,” the judge said. “One that was illegal … and it caused harm.”

The judge opened the hearing by delivering a blow to defense lawyers, adopting prosecutors’ argument that there were nearly $5 million in losses from the scheme, which included investments by Duke and Vanderbilt universities.

“What is the motivation here other than greed? Because I don’t see it,” O’Hearn asked at one point, after noting that all three defendants were each worth millions of dollars apiece.

Coker Sr., who was a star college basketball player at Dartmouth and then North Carolina State, has a net worth of $6 million, the judge said.

Patten is due to be sentenced on June 10.

The younger Coker was not in court while his father was sentenced, because of a long delay in transporting him from a jail in Essex County. He has been detained there without bail since being extradited from Thailand in March 2023 following his arrest there as a fugitive.

Coker Sr.’s lawyer, Zach Intrater, asked O’Hearn to sentence him to no prison time after describing him as a good family man who never disputed his criminal conduct after he was first charged.

“I don’t think they make very many more like Pete anymore,” the defense attorney said. “He’s courtly, his manners are impeccable.”

Intrater repeatedly referenced Susan Coker, who has been married to Peter for 61 years, asking the judge to allow the couple to remain together for what remains of their lives.

“He bears responsibility for engaging in an offense that didn’t just hurt other peopl,e that didn’t just hurt his family, but that involved his son, his only son, and knowing that his son has been incarcerated in part from his own actions and knowing what has happening to his son during that term of incarceration.”

“Judge, I think having to live with that is a punishment that could be worse than even what you could impose,” Intrater said.

The attorney also argued that Coker Sr. was not the “prime mover” for the scheme.

Susan Coker told the judge, “He’s just a wonderful guy.”

“I know if he had a second chance, he never would have done any of this,” Susan said, her voice cracking.

Coker Sr. and Patten were arrested in September 2022, months after both Hometown merged with a bioplastics company, and more than a year after E-Waste did its own merger with an electric vehicle company.

Coker Jr., who previously resided in Hong Kong, was arrested months later.

The men were indicted more than a year after CNBC detailed a web of questionable connections between Hometown and E-Waste, as well as the prior criminal and civil court cases of Coker Sr. and of Patten, and consulting deals with both companies that benefited those two men. 

The fraud came to light in April 2021 when hedge fund manager David Einhorn wryly noted that Hometown International’s market capitalization was $100 million despite owning just one asset whose annual revenue from selling sandwiches, soda, and chips was less than $36,000 for the past two years combined.

“The pastrami must be amazing,” Einhorn wrote in a letter to clients.

Intrater on Tuesday said that he believed the case was prosecuted in large part because of the Einhorn letter, which generated significant coverage in the media.

The scam, which ran from 2014 through September 2022, coordinated trading of the stocks of the companies, creating the false impression of demand for shares that traded on OTC Marketplace.

The scheme began when Patten suggested the creation of Hometown as an umbrella corporation to his friend Paul Morina, a high school principal and renowned wrestling coach. The company would go on to own the Your Hometown Deli in Paulsboro, New Jersey.

Morina and the other deli owner were unaware of Patten’s scheme to manipulate Hometown’s stock.

Hometown’s stock price rose by more than 900% during the scheme. The price of E-Waste rose by nearly 20,000%.

In 2010, Patten pleaded guilty in New Jersey federal court to a mail fraud charge in connection with sending a client a false financial statement to cover up bad investments he made using her money. He was sentenced to 27 months in prison in that case.

Four years before, Patten was barred by the broker-dealer FINRA from acting as a stockbroker for failing to satisfy an arbitration award of more than $753,000, violating securities laws, and unauthorized trading for churning a client’s account. 

Coker Sr. years ago was sued for allegedly hiding money from creditors and alleged business-related fraud. He denied wrongdoing in those cases.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

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UnitedHealth CEO suddenly steps down for ‘personal reasons’

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UnitedHealth Group announced a new chief executive Tuesday, a sudden and surprising change following the fatal shooting in December of its UnitedHealthcare subsidiary’s leader.

Andrew Witty stepped down from leading UnitedHealth for unspecified “personal reasons,” the company said. Stephen J. Hemsley, who served as chief executive from 2006 to 2017, will return to the role and remain board chairman. Witty will serve as a senior adviser to Hemsley, the company said in a news release. 

UnitedHealth has been the focus of sharp criticism over the health insurance industry’s practices and has seen its stock plummet in the past year. The Justice Department has investigated its business activities.

UnitedHealth’s shares fell more than 17% Tuesday. The stock, which is part of the 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average, closed at $311.38 a share, well off its recent high of $630.73 in November.

The company also said that it has suspended its annual outlook for 2025, to include ‘more types of benefit offerings than seen in the first quarter’ and because ‘the medical costs of many Medicare Advantage beneficiaries new to UnitedHealthcare remained higher than expected.’

‘The company expects to return to growth in 2026,’ the statement added.

In December, United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot in what police described as a “premeditated, preplanned targeted attack” in midtown Manhattan as he was walking to an investors’ conference. 

Luigi Mangione, now 27, was arrested after a five-day manhunt at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

He faces federal and state charges in New York and Pennsylvania in connection with the shooting. He has pleaded not guilty to the murder and terrorism charges in New York, and not guilty to federal stalking and murder charges. If convicted of federal charges, Mangione could be sentenced to death.



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Microsoft to cut 3% of its workforce

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Microsoft on Tuesday said that it’s laying off 3% of employees across all levels, teams and geographies.

“We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC.

The company reported better-than-expected results, with $25.8 billion in quarterly net income, and an upbeat forecast in late April.

Microsoft had 228,000 employees worldwide at the end of June, meaning that the move will affect thousands of employees.

It’s likely Microsoft’s largest round of layoffs since the elimination of 10,000 roles in 2023. In January the company announced a small round of layoffs that were performance-based. These new job cuts are not related to performance, the spokesperson said.

One objective is to reduce layers of management, the spokesperson said. In January Amazon announced that it was getting rid of some employees after noticing “unnecessary layers” in its organization.

Last week cybersecurity software provider CrowdStrike announced it would lay off 5% of its workforce.

In January, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told analysts that the company would make sales execution changes that led to lower growth than expected in Azure cloud revenue that wasn’t tied to artificial intelligence. Performance in AI cloud growth outdid internal projections.

“How do you really tweak the incentives, go-to-market?” Nadella said. “At a time of platform shifts, you kind of want to make sure you lean into even the new design wins, and you just don’t keep doing the stuff that you did in the previous generation.”

On Monday, Microsoft shares stopped trading at $449.26, the highest price so far this year. They closed at a record $467.56 last July.

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Fintech company Chime files for Nasdaq IPO

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Financial technology company Chime on Tuesday filed paperwork to go public on the Nasdaq. The company intends to file under the ticker symbol “CHYM.”

“Chime is a technology company, not a bank,” the company said in its prospectus, noting it’s not a member of the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Still, the company cited Bank of America, Capital One, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, PNC Bank and Wells Fargo as competitors.

Most of Chime’s new members who arrange for direct deposit previously did direct deposit elsewhere, “most commonly with large incumbent banks,” the company said.

According to the filing, Chime picks up revenue from interchange fees associated with purchases that members make with Chime debit cards and credit cards. Banks collect interchange fees, which are generally a percentage of the transaction value, plus a set amount for each transaction depending on the rates determined by card networks such as Visa. The banks then pass money on to Chime.

In the March quarter, Chime generated $12.4 million in net income on $518.7 million in revenue. Revenue grew 32%. At the end of March, Chime had 8.6 million active members, up about 23% year over year. Average revenue per active member, at $251, was up from $231. It has members in all 50 states, and 55% of them female. The average member age is 36.

Around two-thirds of members look to Chime for their “primary financial relationship,” Chime said. The term refers to those who made at least 15 purchases using its card or received a qualifying direct deposit of at least $200 in the past calendar month.

Chime offers a slew of other services in addition to its cards. Eligible members with direct deposit can borrow up to $500 with a fixed interest rate of $5 for every $100 borrowed. The company doesn’t charge late fees or compound interest.

Following an extended drought, IPOs looked poised for a rebound when President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January. CoreWeave’s March debut provided some momentum. But Trump’s tariff announcement in April roiled the market and led companies including Chime as well as trading platform eToro, online lender Klarna and ticket marketplace StubHub to delay their plans.

EToro is now scheduled to debut this week, and digital health company Hinge Health issued its pricing range for its IPO on Tuesday, win an expected offering coming soon. Chime’s public filing is the latest sign that emerging tech companies are preparing to test the market’s appetite for risk. Last month Figma said it had filed confidentially for an initial public offering.

Chris Britt, Chime’s co-founder and CEO, told CNBC in 2020 that it would be ready for an IPO within the next 12 months. But in late 2021 markets turned negative on technology as inflation picked up, prompting central bankers to ratchet up interest rates.

Chime was founded in 2012 and is based in San Francisco. It ranked 22nd on CNBC’s 2024 Disruptor 50 list of privately held companies.

Investors include Crosslink Capital, DST Global, General Atlantic, Iconic Strategic Partners and Menlo Ventures.

— CNBC’s Ari Levy contributed to this report.

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Navigating Earnings: Three Stocks, Three Different Stories

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Earnings season continues, and this week we’re looking at three companies heading into their reports with different trajectories. One is in a long-term downtrend, one has been a steady riser, and one is somewhere in between. Let’s unpack what’s happening adn what to watch, all with an eye on balancing opportunity and risk, something that matters even more when you’re managing your own nest egg.

Under Armour (UAA): Looking for a Comeback

If you’ve held Under Armour for the long term, you would be better off hiding out literally under armor than trying to make money owning the stock. For traders, though, there may be a near-term opportunity to trade.

The stock’s all-time peak coincided with the peak of the Golden State Warriors and Steph Curry jacking up threes. Every kid in the gym tried to be like Steph, and young basketball players couldn’t get enough of his gear. I know because I coached these kids! Good luck getting them to practice lay-ups… it was just shooting bombs like Curry, but I digress.

Coming to earnings, UAA stock is trading just above all-time lows and is looking for a new catalyst to turn things around (see chart below). Let’s see if Kevin Plank can spark a comeback.

FIGURE 1. DAILY CHART OF UNDER ARMOUR STOCK.Technically, things have been messy over the long-term and intermediate term. But for short-term traders, there may be an opportunity. I’ve added the 20-day simple moving average (SMA) to the chart (green line). Over the past years, when the stock’s price moved above this point, it has led to a near-term rally. Sadly, those rallies have been short-lived. 

Maybe this time it will be different.

The $6.10-$6.20 range is a key level to watch. That’s where the 50-day SMA and the old pocket of longer-term support the stock broke below on April 2 meet. From a risk/reward perspective, use this as the line in the sand to be long or short Under Armour stock.

Any upward momentum that gets price to and above this level could lead to a bigger rally. It’s not a pretty picture, but risk/reward metrics for a short-term trade and potential near-term bottom look possible.

Walmart (WMT): A Bellwether for Tariffs and Spending

Walmart could be one of the most telling stocks when it comes to tariff impacts when they report on Thursday.

Last quarter, the company expressed caution regarding the upcoming fiscal year, cutting their EPS numbers short of analyst expectations. This conservative outlook was attributed to uncertainties surrounding consumer spending and the potential impact of tariffs. Investors will be listening closely to this report for strategies on managing tariff-related challenges, maintaining competitive pricing, and supply chain issues that may make stocking shelves more of a challenge.

Technically, shares gapped lower after the last earnings report and broke a long-term downtrend (see chart below). While price did wash out and successfully test its 200-day SMA, it hasn’t been able to make it all the way back.

FIGURE 2. DAILY CHART OF WALMART, INC. Walmart’s stock price appears to be toppy as it struggles to fill last quarter’s gap. The lack of new highs and a moving average convergence/divergence (MACD) that is extended and turning over lends to a more cautious narrative coming into this week’s numbers.

The trend is not the investor’s friend at the moment. It may be better to wait and see how this result goes and where price settles after the announcement. If you’re hoping the S&P 500 ($SPX) can get back to new highs, WMT needs to lead. Currently, the direction looks lower, but a test and hold of the 50-day SMA at the $91 level may be a better entry point as shares continue to consolidate below all-time highs and wait for more clarity on the tariff front.

Alibaba (BABA): A Wild Card

Alibaba faces a few big challenges as it heads into this week’s earnings. There are a couple of issues at play. 

First is the obvious tariff uncertainty that has clouded this market, although that looks to be heading down a path to certainty. The second is Alibaba’s AI investments. Its latest model, Qwen 2.5, is integrated into Apple’s iPhones sold in China. Seeing a push away from the American product, what impact will this have on BABA’s bottom line?

Let’s dive into the chart below.

FIGURE 3. DAILY CHART OF BABA. Technically, this stock has been all over the map. Trends change on a dime and tend to move quickly. To trade BABA, you should try to wait for bigger moves. This is why I’ve used Fibonacci retracement lines to coincide with larger consolidation areas and moving averages. 

As we head into the week, shares are in a bit of a no man’s land. There is minor support at the $118 area and major support at the 61.8% retracement level that coincides with the 200-day SMA around $102.

To the upside, resistance is up at the $143/$148 52-week high level. Amid trade deal negotiations, it may be better to watch the fundamental story unfold when trying to gauge BABA’s next move. The technicals are at a coin flip and appear to be turning lower. Given solid support levels, that is where it may be safer to add to or enter the stock. 

Final Thoughts

Earnings season isn’t just about catching the next hot stock. It’s about protecting what you’ve built while finding opportunities that fit your comfort with risk.

  • Under Armour could offer a short-term trade, but it’s speculative.
  • Walmart is a reliable bellwether, but its trend is uncertain.
  • Alibaba is full of potential, but comes with added complexity and volatility.

Always remember: there’s no need to chase every opportunity. Go after those that have a higher probability of meeting your investment goals.

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