Consumer stocks were lower late Wednesday afternoon, with the State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) decreasing 0.5% and the State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) falling 1.3%.
In corporate news, McDonald's (MCD) said Wednesday it will provide $8.5 billion in support to franchisees through 2036 to accelerate restaurant modernization, technology deployment, and operational improvements. Shares fell past 5%.
Paramount Skydance (PSKY) is considering asking Elon Musk to join a syndicate of equity investors in the media company as its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) progresses, Semafor reported. Paramount shares were down 0.6%, and Warner was shedding 0.4%.
Walt Disney (DIS) is raising the price of its flagship Disney+ streaming service without ads by $2.50 to $21.49 per month as soon as Wednesday, Bloomberg reported. Shares eased 0.4%.
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store's (CBRL) fiscal Q4 earnings rose year on year, partly driven by tariff refunds, while its CFO said its traffic trends were improving. Shares rose 6%.