Bloomberg Intelligence – BI Weekend: Delta Earnings, Google-Apple Deal, Lululemon Outlook

Date: January 16, 2026
Hosts: Scarlet Fu & Alexandra Semenova (filling in for Paul Sweeney)

Episode Overview

This episode dives into several high-impact stories shaping markets and industries, including Delta Airlines’ cautious 2026 outlook, the game-changing AI deal between Google and Apple, Lululemon’s attempts at a rebound, major shifts in Big Tech’s AI strategies, and how AI is transforming retail and drug development. The show features detailed analysis from Bloomberg Intelligence’s team of analysts, alongside expert guests from Bloomberg News and industry leaders.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Delta Airlines Q4 Earnings & 2026 Outlook

Guest: George Ferguson, Senior Aerospace, Defense, and Airlines Analyst
Segment Start: 03:12

• Premium Revenue Carries Delta: Premium and loyalty revenues continue to outperform, running 5-7% above GDP, while basic/main cabin revenue dropped by 7%.
  • “The back of the airplane...main cabin or basic economy, that revenue was down 7%.” – George Ferguson (03:16)
  • Airlines are aggressively expanding premium offerings, potentially crowding the market and shifting fare dynamics.
• Risks & Warnings: Delta cites heightened risks from geopolitics and domestic policies, such as possible credit card interest caps.
  • Credit card/Amex loyalty program revenue is a major edge but could take a hit if rate caps are imposed. (04:59)
• Industry Consolidation:
  • Smaller carriers like Allegiant and Sun Country are merging, with Spirit in Chapter 11 and Frontier showing interest.
  • Major carriers (Delta, United, American, Southwest) unlikely to merge, but the “edges” of the market are in flux. (05:45)
• Fleet Modernization:
  • Delta ordered 30 Boeing 787 Dreamliners (delivery in 2030) to replace aging 767s, improving efficiency by ~15%.
    • Notable as Delta has historically favored Airbus for widebody purchases – this signals confidence in Boeing’s 787. (07:03)

2. CEO Strategies for Navigating Trump’s Second Term

Guest: Matthew Boyle, Bloomberg Senior Management Reporter
Segment Start: 08:45

• Reluctance to Speak Publicly: Major corporate figures are avoiding public comment on Trump, preferring background conversations.
  • “Just about every CEO under the sun...they just don't want to go there. It’s like the third rail.” – Matthew Boyle (08:50)
• Pushback Against Policy: Some CEOs with sufficient influence (e.g., Jamie Dimon, ExxonMobil’s CEO) are openly challenging policies like interest rate caps, while others stay silent or work behind the scenes.
• Trump’s Accessibility:
  • Top CEOs can reach Trump directly, sometimes as simply as calling his personal cell phone.
    • “Jensen [Huang]...said, Trump is extraordinarily accessible...he does answer his cell phone.” – Matthew Boyle (10:41)
  • For others, indirect connections through aides or White House staff are essential.
• Unshackled Leadership in Second Term:
  • In a second term, Trump is surrounded by loyalists, fewer traditional GOP “guardrails.” CEOs cannot rely on industry lobbying alone.
    • “Now it’s just all true believers...he’s sort of unfettered, he’s unshackled and there’s really not many checks.” – Matthew Boyle (11:29)
• Transactional Approach: Flattery and awards still work—Apple's Tim Cook gave Trump a custom trophy to seek tariff relief.
  • “These things do tend to have an impact. Everything is a transaction with this president.” – Matthew Boyle (12:19)
• Key Quote on Business Politics:
  • “The chaos is not just no longer in the background. The chaos is baked in. It’s in the system. It’s coming for them.” – Matthew Boyle (13:17)

3. Google-Apple AI Partnership

Guest: Anurag Rana, Technology Analyst
Segment Start: 17:46

• Deal Details:
  • Alphabet’s Gemini AI models will power Apple’s AI features, including Siri—the reported pricetag: ~$1B/year.
  • Apple lacks competitive foundational AI models and is pursuing this partnership to remain competitive.
    • “Apple and Google go back a long way...so we always knew...Apple may be working closely with Google…” – Anurag Rana (17:56)
• Regulatory Concerns:
  • Elon Musk flagged the partnership as a concentration of power. Rana counters: all big AI players pitched Apple, but privacy dictates Apple’s picks. Apple runs these models on private infrastructure for data protection.
  • “They will...run a lot of that either on device or their own private cloud data centers...they will still protect the privacy.” – Anurag Rana (19:08)
• Talent Exodus & R&D Implications:
  • Apple has been losing AI talent but sees this deal as cost-effective compared to developing in-house.
  • “If I can use the best model...into my product and I pay them some money...which is, to be honest, nothing compared to how many billions these companies are spending...” – Anurag Rana (20:17)

4. Lululemon’s Attempted Turnaround

Guest: Poonam Goyal, Senior US Ecommerce & Retail Analyst
Segment Start: 21:14

• Recent Performance: Lululemon forecasts Q4 sales at high end of guidance but overall sales remain down.
  • Loyalty program helps, but “that is not what’s going to drive the turnaround. Their turnaround needs a lot more than that.” – Poonam Goyal (21:19)
  • “The estimate was for sales to be down -1 to -3%. Maybe you’re close to -1. That’s still not where we expect Lululemon to be.” – Poonam Goyal (22:13)
• Challenges:
  • Decline blamed on lack of innovation and weak execution, not on broader macro pressure.
    • “It is that they have lacked innovation and execution has been weak. So the key here is a company-specific issue…” – Poonam Goyal (22:54)
  • Lululemon needs to re-engage its core customer and differentiate vs. growing athleisure competition.
• Leadership Watch:
  • CEO transition coming in 2026; Jane Nielsen (ex-Ralph Lauren) is a rumored candidate. Founder Chip Wilson’s influence remains significant.
    • “As long as they get a product-led executive...Lululemon could be in good hands to continue this turnaround.” – Poonam Goyal (24:11)
  • “The company was grounded on innovation, on product...the company needs to...re-engage the customer and go back to its roots...are you still ahead of the competition?” – Poonam Goyal (24:38)

5. Nvidia & Eli Lilly AI Partnership

Guest: Sam Fazeli, Director of Research for Global Industries & Senior Pharmaceuticals Analyst
Segment Start: 25:39

• Deal Structure: Nvidia and Eli Lilly will spend $1B over five years to build an AI lab automating and accelerating drug discovery.
  • “At the end of the day, I think the aim here is to try and get scientific discoveries, translate it to drugs quicker and get them to market quicker.” – Sam Fazeli (25:43)
• Industry Context:
  • All big pharma are pursuing similar AI-powered automation strategies; Google DeepMind example with “Google Scientist.”
  • Lilly’s cash flow allows it to deploy resources aggressively without financial strain.
• Moderna Watch:
  • Moderna, post-pandemic, is seeking stability but faces patent legal challenges and a volatile vaccine market.

6. Meta Shifts to AI, Cuts Reality Labs Jobs

Guest: Mandeep Singh, Global Tech Research Head
Segment Start: 33:41

• Reality Labs Losses: Meta’s Reality Labs division is losing ~$20B yearly. Job cuts (~10%) are a response to investor pressure.
  • “They've lost about $70B over the past 3 years...this is somewhat below expectations in terms of 10% job cut.” – Mandeep Singh (33:51)
• Pivot to AI:
  • Meta is redirecting spending from VR/Metaverse to developing AI models and features, focusing on ubiquitous AI agents.
  • Large AI investments increase competition with Google/Apple-Native integrations, which could disadvantage Meta.
• Talent & Compute Race:
  • Talent flocks to companies with the most computational resources (compute), which is essential for large-scale AI models.
• Earnings Outlook:
  • Alphabet is best-positioned for positive earnings surprises due to more efficient AI stacks, while Meta likely faces continued investor skepticism. (39:12)

7. AI Changes in Commerce and Retail

Guest: Travis Hess, CEO of Commerce
Segment Start: 40:11

• Google’s UCP Initiative:
  • Universal Commerce Protocol sets standards for frictionless, trusted AI-powered e-commerce across Google’s platforms.
    • “It’s essentially setting the foundation and the standard for brands and retailers...to be able to scale agent e-commerce across all of the surfaces that Google AI would hit.” – Travis Hess (40:35)
• AI Shopping Experience:
  • AI-powered answer engines and user data personalization are rapidly shifting shopping from search to conversation/agent-based experiences.
  • Trust and security are major concerns for brands as they lose some control over direct customer interactions.
  • “Think of...going in your favorite store and someone as you walk in can scan a code and immediately knows what you own, what you like...they could curate something for you immediately...” – Travis Hess (41:26)
• Challenges & Trends:
  • Maintaining positive, seamless customer experience is paramount. The 2025 holiday test of these systems showed mixed results; expectations are for a more robust offering next season.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Delta’s premium trend:
  “We still see this premium trend. I think we’re going to see a lot of growth in premium seats this year.” — George Ferguson (03:16)

• C-suite on Trump:
  “It’s like the third rail. So it was challenging to report, but we had a lot of great conversations...that led to our playbook here, the five rules for dealing with the Trump Madness.” — Matthew Boyle (08:50)

• Presidential access:
  “You can call this man up. He does answer his cell phone...at 4:30 in the morning, he will pick up his cell phone.” — Matthew Boyle (10:41)

• AI model outsourcing:
  “I am now buying the model outright from somebody who’s doing all the hard work...to be honest, nothing compared to how many billions these companies are spending to come up with their own large language model.” — Anurag Rana (20:17)

• Lululemon’s core problem:
  “It is that they have lacked innovation and execution has been weak. So the key here is a company specific issue that they need to resolve...” — Poonam Goyal (22:54)

• Meta’s Reality Labs struggles:
  “Reality Lab segment is almost losing $20 billion a year...” — Mandeep Singh (33:51)

• AI, Retail & Trust:
  “For larger organizations...trust, brand ethos, and security are top of mind...it’s less about the sizzle, it’s more about the steak.” — Travis Hess (43:55)

Important Segment Timestamps

| Topic | Guest/Source | Timestamp | |-----------------------------------------------|----------------------|-------------| | Delta Q4 Earnings & Outlook | George Ferguson | 03:12–08:10 | | CEOs & Trump’s Second Term | Matthew Boyle | 08:45–14:21 | | Google-Apple AI Deal | Anurag Rana | 17:46–20:51 | | Lululemon's Outlook & Challenges | Poonam Goyal | 21:14–25:17 | | Nvidia & Eli Lilly AI Lab | Sam Fazeli | 25:39–29:47 | | Meta’s Pivot, Job Cuts, AI Strategy | Mandeep Singh | 33:41–39:57 | | AI’s Impact on Retail (Commerce CEO) | Travis Hess | 40:11–45:56 |

Episode Takeaways

• Airlines are pressured by changing consumer demand (premium vs. main cabin), macro and political risk, and a wave of consolidation among smaller carriers.
• Corporate America is recalibrating its response to a more unpredictable political environment, with access and transactional relationships proving key.
• Tech Giants are racing to deploy and integrate AI, with partnerships like Google-Apple shifting the balance of ecosystem power and escalating the compute and talent wars.
• Retailers and Brands face the dual challenge of AI-driven shifts in customer behavior and the imperative to build trust in a less controlled e-commerce landscape.
• AI in Pharma and retail is changing operations at the root, from drug discovery to shopping interfaces.

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