Delayed: $85B Railway Merger & Air Taxis Take to NYC Skies

Summary

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Brew Markets — April 27, 2026

Episode: Delayed: $85B Railway Merger & Air Taxis Take to NYC Skies

Host: Ann Berry (A), with co-host John (B), and field producer Avani (C)
Podcast Theme:
Brew Markets delivers in-depth, refreshingly insightful coverage of the day’s stock market stories, explaining what they mean for everyday investors.

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Episode Overview

On today’s episode, Ann Berry and the Brew Markets team tackle three headline stories influencing market sentiment and shaping trends:

• The delayed $85 billion merger between Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific
• The debut of Joby Aviation’s air taxi in New York City
• Market movers, including Peloton’s new strategy, Domino’s struggles, and Lionsgate’s blockbuster win

Berry also checks in live from Miami’s ‘Possible’ marketing conference, where AI, advertising, and changing tech trends dominate conversations.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Live from the ‘Possible’ Marketing Conference – AI & Market Tech

• [01:13 – 03:55]
  • 6,000+ marketing pros have gathered in Miami at the Fontainebleau and Eden Rock, talking creator economy trends and especially the role of AI in marketing.
  • “AI is the buzzword. I’m going to be roaming around … to try to cut through the noise and break out what is real.” — Ann Berry [02:01]
  • Major marketing tech stocks are under pressure: “Think Adobe, Figma, even Salesforce. And … Google, which does a ton in ads. Not least because of YouTube.” [01:38]
  • Berry teases an upcoming live fireside chat with Zeta Global’s CEO and highlights its unique data-driven ad targeting model, with earnings coming soon.

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2. Norfolk Southern & Union Pacific: The $85 Billion Merger Saga

• [04:24 – 10:34]
• Listener Ben Woody asks for an update on the first proposed transcontinental US railroad merger.

Norfolk Southern’s Business & Recent Earnings

• “Norfolk Southern Corporation, ticker NSC … market cap of $71 billion. … Freight network of 22 states with connections to every major container port on the Atlantic coast.” — John [05:06]
• Q1 results:
  • $3B in revenue (flat YoY)
  • Adjusted EPS $2.65 (down 1% YoY)
  • One-off merger expenses: Over $50M this quarter alone (~2.5% of operating costs). [05:41]
  • “Most analysts will … say, look, this is a one-time anomalous special expense, so don’t think of it as a recurring expense.” — Ann Berry [05:41]

Deal Progress and Regulatory Hurdles

• “The deal was announced last July... Union Pacific CEO Jim Veena argued that creating a railroad … coast to coast would be good for the economy.” — John [06:47]
• Approved by shareholders (Nov), but in Jan, the US Surface Transportation Board rejected the application as “incomplete,” not outright rejected. Missing competitive impact analysis. [06:47]
• Companies aim to re-file by April 28, hoping for approval by early next year.
  • "My antenna is up on this one … this is almost looking at what the competitive dynamic is now and how that would change with a tie up of these two monumentally massive players." — Ann Berry [07:52]

Wider Industry Implications

• Other US railroads watching closely: If the deal goes ahead, pressure mounts on companies like CSX and BNSF to consider their own mergers to remain competitive.
• Warren Buffett, key BNSF stakeholder, remains opposed: “Buffett waded in with an opinion that a deal is something he was not actually going to be supportive of.” — Ann [08:30]

Environmental & Safety Context

• Recap of 2023’s Ohio derailment: $2B in ongoing cleanup for Norfolk Southern.
  • "The cleanup and environmental remediation, along with community compensation, has cost the railway nearly $2 billion over the past few years." — John [09:09]
• Q1 safety record: lowest accident rate in five quarters (1.43 per million train miles) [10:03]
• NSC shares are up 43% YoY — “investors are still feeling bullish.” — Ann [10:10]

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3. Joby Aviation’s Air Taxi: Firsthand in NYC

• [12:10 – 15:08]
• The Brew Markets crew visits Joby’s electric air taxi demonstration flights between JFK and Manhattan.

Field Report – Avani’s Experience

• “Joby is in New York all week completing air demonstrations … It took 12 minutes … that drive can take an hour, hour and a half.” — Avani [12:46]
• Highlights:
  • “It really felt like Joby was staking its claim. Like we are a key player in this race and we are here to stay and take over these markets.” — Avani [12:58]
  • Aircraft much quieter than helicopters: “Felt like a truck driving by … for New York standards, I feel like that’s pretty quiet.” — Avani [13:16]
  • Only pilots allowed in demo flights so far.
  • Visual spectacle: “Jet skiers stopped to watch … quite a visually compelling product.” [13:44]
• Joby CPO Eric Allison quoted:
  • “We had customers that were waiting for helicopters in the lounge … can we just wait a little while longer and take that one instead? … People are so excited about the technology and about like what this means.” — Eric Allison, relayed by Avani [14:10]

Investor Sentiment

• Commercial operations set for later this year, but delays possible; stock down 40% YTD.
• “Will there be consumer adoption? … Are people actually going to book a Joby aircraft on their Uber app?” — Avani [14:25]
• Personal response: “I think I really did drink the Kool Aid. I think I would [fly].” — Avani [15:02]

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4. Market Movers: Earnings and Stock Headlines

• [15:19 – 17:15]

Indices:

• S&P 500: Up 0.1% — “an all time high”
• NASDAQ: Up 0.2% — “both representing an all time high” — John [15:19]
• Dow: "Down about 10% today." (This may be a slip; likely he meant -0.1%)

Featured Stocks:

• Domino’s Pizza (DPZ):
  • Shares down ~10% (lowest since three years ago); revenue up but missed estimates.
  • “Analysts are concerned about the pizza chain’s declining sales in international markets.” [15:49]
  • Shares down 25% over last year.
• Peloton (PTON):
  • Shares up 3.5% after Spotify partnership for a 1,400-class fitness hub.
  • “Peloton has been diversifying away from its original home stationary bike product… and now leveraging its catalog of workout classes.” — Ann [16:16]
  • Still down 95% from pandemic highs.
• Lionsgate (LION):
  • Shares up 6.5% after Michael Jackson biopic grosses $97M domestic, $217M worldwide opening weekend.
  • “By far the biggest biopic debut ever… Shares … have been up 33% year to date.” — John [16:37]
  • Upcoming Hunger Games prequel teed up for November.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On AI in marketing:
  “AI is the buzzword… I’m going to be roaming around … to try to cut through the noise and break out what is real.” — Ann Berry [02:01]
• On the rail merger’s impact:
  "If there’s going to be a deal, they should all be getting married and tying up. And the idea is to create their own transcontinental railroad." — Ann Berry [08:08]
• On air taxis capturing public imagination:
  “Jet skiers stopped to watch because it is quite a visually compelling product.” — Avani [13:44]
  “Will there be consumer adoption? … Are people actually going to book a Joby aircraft on their Uber app?” — Avani [14:25]

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Timestamps – Quick Reference

• 01:13 — AI, AdTech & Market Tech sector under pressure
• 04:24 — Listener question: Norfolk Southern/Union Pacific merger update
• 05:06 — Norfolk Southern Q1 earnings recap
• 06:47 — Regulatory hurdles & incomplete merger filing
• 08:08 — Competitive landscape; talk of "railroad marriages"
• 09:09 — Fallout & costs from Ohio derailment; safety focus
• 10:03 — Norfolk Southern’s improved safety metrics
• 10:43 — Market & merger feedback invitation from hosts
• 12:10 — Joby Aviation air taxi demo in NYC
• 12:46 — Avani’s on-location experience & vehicle assessment
• 14:10 — Demand signals (Eric Allison/Joby, via Avani)
• 14:25 — Investor and consumer adoption skepticism
• 15:19 — Human ticker wrap: Index & equity movers
• 16:06 — Domino’s struggles; Peloton-Spotify deal; Lionsgate biopic win

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Takeaways

• The $85B Norfolk Southern–Union Pacific merger remains uncertain, with regulatory hurdles around anti-competition and market impact front and center, even as investors stay bullish on rail stocks.
• Joby Aviation’s NYC test flights mark a turning point for urban mobility, but scale, timelines, and consumer adoption are all still big open questions.
• In broader markets, AI’s potential—and limitations—dominate industry buzz, while earnings season is producing volatility: from Domino’s decline and Peloton’s bounce to Lionsgate’s hit-fueled rally.

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For stock market enthusiasts and curious investors alike, this episode of Brew Markets distills a fast-moving financial landscape with accessible insights, direct company context, and a dash of on-the-ground reporting flair.

Transcript

[A]

Many employees can't afford a hefty medical bill that pops up out of the blue. But it happens. And employees who are financially stressed are understandably more likely to be distracted at work, costing their employers greatly in lost productivity. Luckily, Aflac plans help with out of pocket expenses not covered by health insurance and can be offered at no direct cost to businesses. Learn [e-mail] FruMarkets that's aflac.com FruMarkets Peloton teams up with Spotify in its latest bid to stay relevant post pandemic. Will it be enough to turn around the struggling Wellness Company and Norfolk Southern Railroad? We answer a listener who wants to know if its $85 billion merger deal with Union Pacific is still on track. Plus, I'm joining live from the possible conference in Miami where all the brightest marketing brains are gathered. We'll take a look at why they're all here for Monday, April 27th is Brew Markets Daily and Diamond Ber. More market details to come. But first I'm taking a very quick break from the absolute mayhem that is the possible conference here in Miami. Right now, 6,000 marketers, brands and media folks have descended on Southern Florida to talk about what is going on in the latest in marketing trends, the creator economy and of course AI. There is literally an entire part of this conference which takes over two massive hotels here in Miami, the Fontainebleau and the Eden Rock. There's a whole stage dedicated to what is called the AI Verse. Well, the reason from a markets perspective that this is so interesting is it comes at a moment when a lot of the most famous marketing technology stocks have been under real pressure. Think Adobe, think Figma, think even Salesforce. And then of course, on the other hand of the spectrum you've got Google, which does a ton in ads, not least because of YouTube. So everyone's here, they're all debating it. Again, AI is the buzzword. I'm going to be roaming around the rest of today, Tuesday and Wednesday to try to cut through the noise and break out what is real. Plus, tomorrow morning at about 9am I'm going to be doing a fireside chat with the CEO and founder of Zeta Global. Check out the stock, check out the company and its investor relations. It's pretty interesting. It's a way of gathering data on individual consumers to see how it is their spending patterns vary across ads they're seeing from connected TV to walking into stores, looking at credit card spend and basically helping brands figure out how best to reach them. So that's going to be live streamed from the Zeta Globals X count as well as posted on YouTube. And we'll be talking about it here because it's really good timing. The company's earnings are actually out later this week. Well, I'm not the only person who's out and about from the Brew Markets team at the moment because it was a big day in New York City today with Joby Aviation. That's the electric vertical takeoff and landing business, otherwise known as electric air taxis was doing a lot in Manhattan today and two of our team went along to try and grab the latest. We're going to talk about that a little bit later, but first a quick look ahead to a busy week of earnings. So far, 140 companies so roughly 1/3 of the S&P 500 has reported earnings. So far, 62% of those companies have beat both earnings and revenue expectations, which is outpacing even the rate of last quarter. But brace yourself. This week a whopping 180 companies released their latest reports including Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft on Wednesday and Apple on Thursday. Thursday. So it's the busiest week of earnings this quarter and we'll be loading up on coffee and watching it all. Well, still to come on today's show, shares of dominoes fall today as the company struggles to secure its slice of the international market. And a blockbuster biopic sends the stock price up for one Hollywood studio. We have the numbers on Lionsgate. But first a word from our sponsor, Charles Schwab. Trading at Schwab is powered by Ameritrade, unlocking the power of Think or Swim. The award winning trading platforms loaded with features that let you dive deeper in into the market. You can visualize your trades in new light on thinkorswim desktop with robust charting and analysis tools all while you uncover

[B]

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[A]

nice comment from one listener, Ben Woody, who asked to hear the latest on the Norfolk Southern Rail Corporation. Specifically if there have been any updates since last July when it was announced that Norfolk Southern, which operates in the eastern US Would be acquired by Union Pacific which operates in the western part of the country. That's in an agreement that would create the first transcontinental railroad network in the United States. Well, big stakes here because this is an $85 billion tie up and then we'll get to those deal developments in a moment, including the application rejection from the U.S. surface Transportation Board. But first, John, Norfolk Southern reported earnings last Friday. So give us some context from that

[B]

Norfolk Southern Corporation ticker NSC on the New York Stock Exchange market cap of $71 billion. This railroad has been around since 1827. It operates a freight network of 22 states with connections to every major container port on the Atlantic coast as well as through the Gulf coast and Great Lakes. So that's what you were saying. That's an east coast based railway system. Shares were up over 5% on the earnings report last week. The Q1 earnings revenue of $3 billion was flat year over year and adjusted earnings per share of $2.65 was down 1% year over year.

[A]

Well, some of the reason that the earnings were down, of course, was because of cost increases in the past quarter and management called out severe winter weather as well as a spike in fuel prices in March. So pretty consistent with what we've been hearing in other ports, parts of the transportation sector, including of course in airlines ongoing drag on earnings were expenses tied to this potential merger specifically. In fact, in the recent quarter, Norfolk Southern spent over $50 million on merger expenses, which comes to about two and a half percent of total operating costs. That being said, just as a reminder, most analysts will actually add this back and say, look, this is a one time anomalous special expense, so don't think of it as a recurring expense of the underlying business. So a little bit of noise there is important to unpack when cutting through these earnings. Now in the major banks reported earnings earlier this month. We talked about them making money off increased merger and acquisition activity. This is an example. This is a big deal. And bank of America reported to be advising on this one and could make as much as $130 million in deal fees by the time this deal closes.

[B]

But the big question, Anne, is when will it close? These companies are paying a lot of money to get the merger done and it doesn't seem to be on track, just to use that pun. The deal was announced last July, as you said, when Union Pacific CEO Jim Veena argued that creating a railroad that stretches from coast to coast would be good for the economy because without the need to hand off between railroads in the middle of the country, rail shipments would move faster and be less expensive. President Trump around that time said the deal quote, sounds good to me. And in November, shareholders of each company approved the merger. In December, a full and formal application was submitted to the Surface Transportation Board. So things seem to be moving smoothly. But in January, the application was rejected, the board saying it was incomplete. So that's not a rejection of the deal. The board was just saying that the application was missing required information, including analysis of the impact on the market that a merger would make. And so the companies are looking to refile any day now. They've been actually saying by April 28th with the goal of getting approval by early next year. So this drags on.

[A]

Got to tell you, my antenna is up on this one a bit. John, when we're talking about analysis of the quote, impact on the market, feels to me that this is almost looking at what the competitive dynamic is now and how that would change with a tie up of these two monumentally massive players. So the board is saying it was just quote, missing required information. But I wouldn't underestimate the ramifications of what that information could be and how it could be interpreted. A little bit speculative, but just a hunch on this one. Well, the rest of the railroad industry is keeping an eye on on this potential deal. There are four major railroads, just as a reminder, that serve the U.S. union Pacific and Norfolk Southern and then BNSF principally in the western United States and CSX principally in the eastern part of the country. So lots of initials and acronyms. Here we take a look at what's going on at csx. There is pressure from an activist investor to pursue a merger with BNSF to stay competitive. So it's basically a case of if there's going to be a deal, they should all be getting married and tying up. And the idea is to create their own transcontinental railroad. BNSF has indicated it's not interested in buying sf. And you may remember that Warren Buffett waded here at one point with an opinion that a deal is something he was not actually going to be supportive of.

[B]

That's right. BNSF is not pursuing it at this time, say they. But before we go, you mentioned the cost of the mergers as being sort of a one time thing. This is also really interesting. This came up a lot in the earnings report that was highlighted. And that's the Eastern Ohio incident. And people listeners will remember in February 2023. So it was over three years ago. A Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. Several cars were carrying hazardous chemicals and officials conducted a controlled burn of those chemicals to prevent an explosion. There were no immediate serious injuries reported, though there have been several lawsuits alleging long term health effects. And I bring this up because the cleanup and environmental remediation, along with community compensation, has cost the railway nearly $2 billion over the past few years, over $10 million just in the last quarter.

[A]

So if you take a look at the investor deck, which of course we always do, going straight to the source, it actually opens with a safety update and it reported the total number of reportable accidents per million train miles. Q1 had the lowest in five quarters. That level coming in at 1.43. So, you know, pretty important. This sort of sets the tone and the culture when you see a company leading with a safety moment or safety update like that one. Well, investors are still feeling bullish on the merger because shares in NSC are up 43% year over year.

[B]

And like Ben if you're interested in hearing more about a company on the show, leave us a comment or send an email to BrewMarketShoworning Broadcom let's take

[A]

a break and when we come back we hear from our Brew Markets team. They were in the field today at Joby's Manhattan event. What they witnessed firsthand from the company looking to launch air taxis. We'll also take a spin through the headlines that were moving the markets today.

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[B]

Welcome back. The Broom Markets crew went on a fun field trip today to the west side of Manhattan to See a product demonstration of Joby Aviation's air taxi. We've been covering the emerging evtol market. That's electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. More like drones in a traditional helicopter. Joby is facing competition from Archer Aviation, along with Chinese firms and others in a race for FAA regulatory approval. But let's talk about the actual aircraft. Avani, you're an associate producer here at Brew Markets, and you went out to the west side today and saw one of these vehicles. What is Joby doing this week? What was your experience?

[C]

Yeah. So Joby is in New York all week completing air demonstrations from JFK to New York and vice versa, or Manhattan, rather. And it's quite amazing. I timed it. It took 12 minutes, according to my phone. And for context, that drive can take an hour, an hour, a half. So it's pretty amazing. And it really felt like Joby was staking its claim. It's like we are a key player in this race, and we are here to stay and take over these markets.

[B]

All right, so we've heard about their approach, and we've heard about these vehicles. What was the vehicle like? Like we've heard it's quiet.

[C]

How quiet was felt like a truck driving by. And for New York standards, I feel like that's pretty quiet. And, you know, I haven't been around many helicopters, but it definitely felt quieter than a helicopter. And the vibe was amazing. Some of the Joby employees were as excited as the guests were because they have never been in one, because as of now, only the pilot can actually be in a Joby aircraft.

[B]

So for these demonstrations, there was only a pilot in the vehicle.

[C]

Literally only one pilot in the vehicle. And it was exciting, for sure. The vibe was like, this is the next frontier of aviation. And there were even some jet skiers who stopped to watch because it is quite a visually compelling product.

[B]

Yeah. Jet Ski being the old way of getting around.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, exactly. And even spoke with Eric Allison, the Joby chief product officer, and this is what he had to say about demand and where he sees it going.

[B]

We had customers that were waiting for helicopters in the lounge, and one of them, Rob, was telling me that they were like, can we just wait a little while longer and take that one instead? Right. So, like, people are so excited about the technology and about, like, what this means. What are investors thinking?

[C]

I think that's actually the big question right now. They still haven't launched commercial operations. They plan to this year, but, you know, timelines can get pushed, and it feels like investors may be losing patience the stock is down about 40% this year. And I think the biggest question of all is is this really going to take over as a will there be consumer adoption? Exactly. Like, are people actually going to book a Joby aircraft on their Uber app? I think this week and today was really all about we are here, this is proof of concept and we are going to become the new normal.

[B]

Okay, so after watching it, would you get in one?

[C]

I think I, I think I really did drink the Kool Aid. I think I would. Going there, I wasn't so sure, but now I'm like, yeah, maybe.

[B]

Aveny, thank you for your insight. And we're going to keep an eye on Joby all week long.

[A]

It's 4pm on the East Coast. The markets have wrapped up for the day. We don't have a ticker tape, so let's throw it over to our human ticker.

[B]

Our producer John the S&P 500 up a tenth of a percent for the day. And the NASDAQ up 2 10. Both representing an all time high. The dow down about 10% today. In other market headlines, shares in Domino's ticker DPZ were down nearly 10% today, putting it near its lowest close on record back three years ago. Revenue was up though, just missing estimates. And earnings declined primarily due to $30 million in losses associated with the Domino's investment in DPC Dash, a food delivery service that uses independent independent contractors instead of traditional in store employees. Overall, analysts are concerned about the pizza chain's declining sales in international markets on weaker consumer spending. Domino shares have tumbled 25% over the last 12 months.

[A]

Meanwhile, shares in Peloton Interactive, that's ticker Pton, were up three and a half percent. That's after announcing a partnership with Spotify to launch a fitness hub with over 1400 classes for premium Spotify users. Shares in the company have been down 95% since its pandemic highs. And so Peloton has been diversifying away from its original home stationary bike product into equipment for commercial gyms. And now leveraging its catalog of workout classes. And finally, one for movie buffs.

[B]

That's right. If you saw the Michael Jackson biopic Michael this weekend, you're not alone. The film distributed in the United States by Lionsgate, brought in $97 million domestically and over $217 million worldwide. Those are eye popping numbers these days and by far the biggest biopic debut ever. As a result, shares in Lionsgate Ticker lion, great ticker, were up six and a half percent today. And they've been up 33% year to date. This November from Lionsgate, look for the Hunger Games Sunrise of the Reaping. The new prequel in the Hunger Games franchise could be a big year for the company.

[A]

That's it for today's Brew Markets Daily.

[B]

Brew Markets Daily is hosted by Anne Barry and produced by John Crateau, Tarkab Delatif, Avani Laroya, and Emily Miller. Our technical director is Euchena Waugu, Brittany Dottocco is our audio engineer and the President of Morning Brew Inc. Is Devin Emery.

[A]

Wake up tomorrow with the Morning Brew newsletter and tune in to Neil and Toby on Morning Brew Daily. See you back here tomorrow. Same time, same place.

[B]

Some Follow the noise, Bloomberg follows the money. Whether it's the funds fueling AI or Crypto's trillion dollar swings, there's a money side to every story. Get the money side of the story. Subscribe [e-mail].