'Tron: Ares' underperformed at the box office with $33.5 million domestically, falling short of the $44 million debut of 'Tron: Legacy' in 2010, surprising no one given its cult status and expectations.
Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle remains at the top of the weekend box office with $17.3M despite a significant drop, while new releases Him and A Big Bold Beautiful Journey underperform, leading to a total weekend gross of $74.6M, down 8.9% from last year.
The 2025 summer box office is underperforming expectations, with grosses unlikely to surpass $4 billion due to a lack of major hits and underwhelming performances of key films like 'Fantastic Four' and others, despite some successes like 'Lilo & Stitch' and 'Jurassic World Rebirth'. The industry is experiencing a challenging season, with revenues falling short of previous years, though some analysts remain cautiously optimistic about a rebound.
McKinsey & Co. is offering underperforming employees nine months' pay and career counseling to help them transition out of the company, as part of its efforts to manage performance and development in a supportive manner amidst a slowdown in the management consulting industry.
TGI Fridays has closed seven locations in New Jersey due to underperformance, as part of a nationwide strategy to shutter 36 locations. The closures have affected employees, with over 1,000 transfer opportunities being offered, representing over 80% of the impacted workforce. Former kitchen manager Roxanne Meneghin shared her experience of the closure and her subsequent relocation to a Yonkers branch, highlighting the emotional impact on staff and the challenges faced by those not offered transfers.
Despite the stock market's strong performance in 2023, a significant number of professional investors are still underperforming their benchmarks, according to data from Fundstrat. Around 65% of large-cap fund managers are trailing their benchmark by an average of 6.5%. This underperformance could lead investors to chase this year's winning trades in the final weeks of the year, potentially putting pressure on them to catch up. The concentrated gains of popular stocks like Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Tesla, and Nvidia have contributed to the performance challenges for large-cap managers. This year's market rally, led by a few stocks overrepresented in the index, has created a perfect storm for active managers.
Elliott Management has acquired a $1 billion stake in Phillips 66 and plans to seek up to two board seats, citing the company's underperformance compared to competitors Marathon Petroleum and Valero. The activist investor claims that Phillips 66's focus shift away from its refining segment has led to declining performance and increased operating expenses, causing investor confidence to waver. Phillips 66 stock rose 4.6% following the news.
Amgen Inc. stock fell 0.76% on Friday, underperforming the overall stock market. The company closed $27.91 short of its 52-week high and had lower trading volume compared to its 50-day average. Competitors Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer Inc. also experienced fluctuations in their stock prices.
Many fund managers who avoided investing in Nvidia, whose shares have tripled this year, are now facing underperformance compared to their benchmarks. Only 15% of nearly 330 mutual funds benchmarked to the S&P 500 held an above-index weight in Nvidia, while 85% of funds that held a below-average weight in the stock underperformed the index. Concerns about valuation, chip demand, and the future of AI have kept some investors away. Nvidia's stock currently trades at a higher valuation compared to the Nasdaq 100. The underperformance of fund managers in megacap growth stocks, including Nvidia, has been a primary headwind to mutual fund performance this year.
Dividend stocks have underperformed this year, with high-yielding stocks lagging significantly behind. The low-growth nature of these stocks, combined with the availability of risk-free Treasuries yielding similar amounts, has made them less attractive to investors. As of Wednesday, non-dividend-paying stocks in the S&P 500 were up 20.7% on average year-to-date, while the 100 highest-yielding dividend payers were down 3.2%. Even stocks with the highest indicated dividend yields, at least 5%, have seen an average decline of 8.4% this year.
Large-value funds have seen significant outflows in 2023, with May marking the category's worst month of outflows ever. The outflows have affected both actively managed and index-tracking large-value funds, with roughly $36.3 billion exiting the $1.5 trillion category this year. The outflows coincide with a renewed spell of underperformance for value strategies, with the average large-value fund rising 3.9% through June 15, while the average growth fund returned 23.5%. Among the 10 large-value funds with the greatest outflows this year, seven are index funds.
JPMorgan's popular income ETF, JNK, is being outperformed by its own sister fund, JIGB, which invests in investment-grade corporate bonds. JNK has seen underperformance due to competition from other high-yield bond ETFs and concerns over the creditworthiness of some of its holdings. Meanwhile, JIGB has benefited from investors seeking safer investments amid market volatility.
New York Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman blames injuries and underperformance for the team's slow start, which has them in last place in the AL East. The team has 12 players on the injured list, and the healthy players tasked with picking up the slack offensively have not done the job. Cashman takes full accountability for the team's failures and is looking at the trade market for help. However, the Yankees don't have much help coming, and what you see is what you're going to get from the team for the foreseeable future.
New York Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman blames injuries and underperformance for the team's slow start, which has them in last place in the AL East. The team has 12 players on the injured list, and the healthy players tasked with picking up the slack offensively have not done the job. Cashman takes responsibility for the team's failures and is looking at the trade market for help. Despite the struggles, Cashman urges fans not to give up on the team.