The daily business briefing: May 6, 2020

1. Airbnb to lay off a quarter of its workers

Airbnb is laying off nearly 1,900 employees because of huge business losses due to the coronavirus pandemic, The Information reported Tuesday, citing a copy of prepared remarks from CEO Brian Chesky to employees. "We are collectively living through the most harrowing crisis of our lifetime, and as it began to unfold, global travel came to a standstill," Chesky reportedly said. "Airbnb's business has been hit hard, with revenue this year forecasted to be less than half of what we earned in 2019." The layoffs amount to about 25 percent of the company's workforce. Airbnb started the year with plans for a stock offering that could have put its value around the $31 billion private market valuation from 2017, but it wound up raising $2 billion in new debt funding valuing the company at $18 billion.

The Information CNBC

2. Disney's earnings plummet amid coronavirus pandemic

The Walt Disney Co. on Tuesday reported that quarterly profits plunged as the coronavirus crisis cost the company $1.4 billion in operating income. Disney closed its theme parks and halted TV and film production in March. The company said the moves reduced profit by more than $1 billion in its theme-parks division alone. After adjusting for restructuring charges, Disney reported earnings of 60 cents per share, down from $1.61 a share in the same period last year, and short of the 91 cents per share analysts expected, according to FactSet. The company, which has furloughed more than 100,000 workers, said it plans to reopen Shanghai Disneyland on May 11, with a cap on visitors and mandatory temperature checks and face-mask use.

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MarketWatch

3. Pfizer, German partner start human trials on possible coronavirus vaccine

Pfizer and a German partner became the latest drug makers to launch human trials for a potential coronavirus vaccine. Pfizer and Germany's BioNTech hope their vaccine will be ready for emergency use in September, in time for what many predict will be a period of rejuvenated COVID-19 transmission, although many experts believe that getting a vaccine within 18 months is overly optimistic. Pfizer and several other companies, including Moderna, Inovio, and CanSino, are attempting to use genetic material known as messenger RNA to develop a vaccine in a way that could be faster to produce. The vaccine seeks to train cells to create a protein the coronavirus latches onto without making a person sick. With the protein, an immune system could produce antibodies to fight off a future infection.

The New York Times

4. Stock futures rise after two days of gains

U.S. stock index futures rose early Wednesday, putting Wall Street on track to add to two days of gains. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq were up by nearly 1 percent three hours before the start of trading. The gains came as a rising number of states began reopening their economies after the coronavirus crisis forced widespread shutdowns in March. Public health experts warned infections could spike. President Trump acknowledged "there'll be more death" from coronavirus, but he said prolonged business shutdowns also would cost lives through overdoses and suicides. Stocks closed higher for a second day Tuesday but retreated from session highs as investors closely watched developments as restrictions on businesses were eased in the U.S. and Europe.

CNBC MarketWatch

5. Hundreds of Wendy's restaurants run out of hamburgers

About one-fifth of Wendy's restaurants have run out of hamburgers due to meatpacking-plant shutdowns caused by coronavirus outbreaks, The New York Times reported Tuesday, citing an analysis by the financial firm Stephens. Customers responded by posting photos of "sold out" signs on social media, and poking fun at the company for its old ad slogan, "where's the beef?" Wendy's acknowledged the shortages, saying menu items at some locations were "temporarily limited" due to the "production challenges" many beef suppliers are facing. Kroger, the largest U.S. supermarket chain, is limiting amounts of ground beef and pork customers can buy at some stores, and Costco has capped customer purchases of fresh beef, poultry, and pork at three products per visit.

The New York Times