😮 WeightWatchers sheds CEO

Friday ✅.

Today's newsletter is 690 words, a 2½-minute read.

🔔 The dashboard: The S&P 500 closed down 0.1%.

• Biggest gainer? Wynn Resorts (+7.2%) received a stock upgrade from Morgan Stanley — to overweight from equal weight.
• Biggest decliner? Dell Technologies (-5.0%), the PC maker. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The CEO of WeightWatchers is abruptly out of a job amid growing uncertainty about the company's future.

Why it matters: Tech executive Sima Sistani sent WeightWatchers in a new direction after taking over in early 2022, acknowledging that weight loss isn't necessarily a matter of willpower and acquiring a telehealth company that markets anti-obesity drugs.

Driving the news: WW International — the company's corporate name — said in a surprise announcement today that Sistani is exiting as CEO and as a member of the board.

• Board member Tara Comonte — who previously served as president and CFO of burger chain Shake Shack — is taking over as interim CEO.
• WW said Comonte would "sharpen its strategic focus, and evolve its behavioral and clinical offerings to drive growth."

The big picture: The shake-up comes after WeightWatchers' stock dipped below $1 in recent months as investors lose confidence in the company's outlook.

What they're saying: Morningstar analyst Sean Dunlop tells Axios that Sistani's departure "doesn't bode well" as it looks increasingly like weight-loss drugs are supplanting WeightWatchers for many would-be dieters.

Flashback: Sistani previously alienated some of WeightWatchers' most loyal members when she reduced the number of in-person meetings the company popularized, saying WeightWatchers needed to be more digitally minded.

• She blasted "breathless media coverage" in March, saying that WW's business "is healthy" and well-positioned for the future.

The bottom line: The company's stock closed down over 2% today at 83 cents. WW started the year with a market value of nearly $700 million, a number that's dwindled to $65 million.

Go deeper

Bristol-Myers Squibb shares rose today after the company won FDA approval for the first new schizophrenia drug in at least three decades.

Why it matters: The new treatment, acquired through a $14 billion acquisition last year, should help bolster its portfolio as Bristol faces generics competition for some of its top-selling drugs.

Zoom out: Schizophrenia is a complex condition currently treated with antipsychotics that carry their own safety risks and side effects, Axios' Maya Goldman reports.

• Bristol's KarXT uses a different mechanism that clinical trials suggest doesn't cause serious adverse events.

By the numbers: Jefferies analyst Akash Tewari estimates it will generate $4.7 billion a year in peak sales for schizophrenia, but coverage under Medicare or Medicaid will be crucial, per Bloomberg.

🍗 Boar's Head is facing a criminal investigation after a listeria outbreak tied to its plant in Virginia. (CBS News)

😶‍🌫️ Elon Musk said he's looking into reports of high rates of absenteeism at Tesla's plant in Germany. (Bloomberg)

America's modern economy with advanced manufacturing practices and new data-intensive sectors is demanding more and more energy.

Okay, but: The country isn't building the infrastructure to move energy where it's needed.

Discover four steps policymakers must take. Read more.

Hurricane Helene is one of the most expansive and damaging hurricanes on record for the Southeast, Axios' extreme weather reporter Andrew Freedman reports.

Zoom in: Nearly 800,000 homes and businesses are still without power in Florida as of this afternoon, with another nearly 3 million in Georgia and the Carolinas, according to poweroutage.us.

• Helene's effects extend across a wide area, causing record inland flooding in western North Carolina and unprecedented storm surge flooding in Tampa.

By the numbers: Private insurance losses in Florida are estimated to be as high as $6 billion, CBS News reported, citing global reinsurance broker Gallagher Re.

• Nearly 1,000 flights into or out of the U.S. were canceled today, with Atlanta, Tampa and Charlotte, North Carolina, seeing the most impact, according to FlightAware.

The big picture: At least 40 people across four states have died as a result of the massive storm.

Go deeper

Crumbs don't stand a chance in the new Toyota Sienna.

State of play: Multiple versions of the 2025 model-year minivan come with a vacuum cleaner and a refrigerator.

• Both are "integrated into the rear of the front center console," MotorTrend reports. "The so-called FridgeBox fits up to six bottled waters and features two temperature settings to either chill or freeze the contents."
• The fridge stops working when the vehicle is turned off.

The intrigue: Toyota was set to add these features to the 2020 Sienna, but the company's supplier went bankrupt.

💭 Nathan's thought bubble: Sadly, the Sienna doesn't come with an air freshener, which you'll need to offset the smell of spoiled food you accidentally leave in there overnight.

New sectors, such as large-scale data processing and advanced manufacturing, require significant energy resources.

The impact: This growing demand highlights the need for modernized infrastructure to ensure energy can be delivered efficiently and sustainably across the country.

Learn more.

Today's newsletter was edited by Pete Gannon and copy edited by Sheryl Miller.

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