Papa John’s (PZZA) Stock Plummets Nearly 5% Following Disappointing Q1 Results

Papa Johns International, Inc., PZZA  Bottom-line results showed net income of $7 million, down from $9 million in the comparable period last year. Adjusted EBITDA totaled $48 million, representing a decrease from the prior years $50 million.  CEO Todd Penegor attributed the soft performance to consumers grappling with persistent inflation. He noted that customers are opting for smaller pizza sizes while eliminating side items and desserts from their orders, pressuring average transaction values.  Domestic Market Weakness Contrasts with International Strength  Comparable sales in North America declined 6.4% during the quarter. Penegor indicated this figure aligned with the companys internal projections.  Meanwhile, international operations delivered stronger performance. Markets outside North America recorded a 3.6% increase in comparable sales, representing the sixth consecutive quarter of positive international growth.  Global system-wide restaurant sales totaled $1.20 billion, down 3% compared to the same period last year.  The company added 28 new locations during the quarter — 8 domestically and 20 in international territories.  A portion of the domestic revenue contraction stemmed from strategic refranchising efforts. Papa Johns refranchised 85 locations in the fourth quarter of 2025, which eliminated approximately $25 million from company-operated restaurant revenue in North America.  Transformation Strategy Continues  Papa Johns is actively executing a comprehensive restructuring initiative. The plan includes shuttering

05-08

Amazon Teams With Coinbase and Stripe to Let AI Agents Pay With Stablecoins

In briefAmazon Web Services launched AgentCore Payments with Coinbase and Stripe for AI agent transactions.The system uses Coinbases x402 protocol and USDC stablecoin payments on Base and Solana.Amazon says future AI agents could autonomously buy services, data, flights, and hotel bookings.  Amazon Web Services is bringing crypto payments into enterprise AI software as tech companies race to build autonomous AI agents capable of completing tasks and making transactions online.  On Thursday, AWS announced Amazon Bedrock AgentCore Payments, a system developed with Coinbase and Stripe that allows AI agents to use stablecoins to automatically pay for APIs, data feeds, web content, and other online services during task execution. The launch brings stablecoin-based micropayments directly into AWSs AI agent platform, aiming to eliminate the need for developers to build custom billing systems for each service integration.  According to Preethi CN, director of AgentCore, the platform uses Coinbases x402 protocol, an open standard based on the HTTP 402 “Payment Required” response code, along with Coinbase wallet infrastructure and Stripe-owned Privy wallet technology.  “AgentCore is designed to work with any framework and any protocol. We‘ve carried that same flexibility into Amazon Bedrock AgentCore Payments. Developers don’t have to track the evolving payment protocol landscape or lock into a

05-08

21shares Launches First US Canton Network ETF on Nasdaq

Tech  21shares Launches First US Canton Network ETF on Nasdaq  21shares announced on May 7 the launch of the 21shares Canton Network ETF (Nasdaq: TCAN), marking the first U.S. exchange-traded fund (ETF) offering direct exposure to Canton Coin. The product debuted on Nasdaq with a 0.50% gross expense ratio and aims to provide regulated access to the Canton Network ecosystem through a traditional investment vehicle.  Built for institutional finance, the Canton Network operates as a privacy-enabled ecosystem designed to synchronize financial data and tokenized assets across firms. Major organizations, including Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, and Deutsche Bank, have participated in testing activities or governance functions tied to the network. A post from Canton Network on X stated: “The first U.S. ETF offering direct exposure to Canton is now listed on Nasdaq.” The asset manager launched TCAN through 21shares US LLC while also maintaining validator responsibilities within the ecosystem. The firm said:  “The fund is the first U.S. ETF designed to offer investors direct exposure to the Canton Coin, the native utility token of the Canton Network.”  Beyond providing token exposure, the investment management firm maintains a direct operational role on the network. It participates as an active validator and contributes to the coordination of the Global

05-08

Here’s Why Cristiano Ronaldo and Taylor Swift Lost Millions of Followers on Instagram

Meta wiped millions of fake followers from the accounts of celebrities like Cristiano Ronaldo, BLACKPINK, and Taylor Swift this week as its AI moderation systems scaled up across Facebook and Instagram.  The cleanup is part of a wider Meta push that introduced AI tools aimed at impersonation, scam ads, and coordinated inauthentic behavior on its apps.  A Meta spokesperson shares statement regarding Instagrams removal of followers from some accounts:  As part of our routine process to remove inactive accounts, some Instagram accounts may have noticed updates to their follower counts. Active followers remain unaffected, and any… pic.twitter.com/MGySH9LxAR  — Pop Base (@PopBase) May 7, 2026  The Great Purge of 2026 Hits Celebrities on Instagram  Celebrities, including Kylie Jenner, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Virat Kohli, and Priyanka Chopra, all saw their numbers drop, with some losing millions overnight.  The wave followed Instagrams May 5 policy update and a new moderation system trained to spot fake engagement patterns and predict user age.  K-pop and football accounts have long been favored grounds for bot farms inflating reach for crypto promotions, fake giveaways, and sneaker scams. A sweep of this size shows how deep automated activity had spread inside the platforms biggest profiles.  Metas broader cleanup removed 10.9 million accounts tied to

05-08

Anthropic’s on-chain pre-IPO market value jumps to $1.2 trillion, overtakes OpenAI for the first time

Anthropics tokenized pre‑IPO shares now imply a $1.2T valuation—above OpenAI—showing how on‑chain markets are front‑running late‑stage AI pricing before any IPO.Anthropic‘s on-chain pre-IPO valuation has surged to around $1.2 trillion, making it the most richly valued private AI company and pushing it ahead of OpenAI’s implied secondary-market price for the first time.The move continues a stunning repricing of Anthropic on tokenized pre-IPO venues like Jupiters Prestocks and private-share platforms such as Forge Global and Hiive, where its implied value has climbed more than 700–900% since October 2025.The gap between Anthropics last official round at $380 billion and its current on-chain valuation underscores how aggressively crypto-native secondary markets are front-running a potential IPO and recasting the AI startup race as a two-horse contest it is now perceived to be winning over OpenAI.  In February 2026, Anthropic closed a Series G round at a $380 billion post-money valuation, led by GIC and Coatue, already putting it in the ultra-elite tier of private tech firms. Since then, secondary trading has gone parabolic. On Forge Global, CEO Kelly Rodriques says Anthropic shares are now changing hands at prices that imply a valuation “around the $1 trillion threshold,” with OpenAI trading closer to $880 billion on

05-08

Top New Memecoin to Watch in May 2026: Wadoozie’s Fair Launch Is Days Away

The post Top New Memecoin to Watch in May 2026: Wadoozies Fair Launch Is Days Away appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News  Anyone scrolling X this week for the top new memecoin to watch in May 2026 has run into the same name more than once. Wadoozie — an Ethereum-native, narrative-driven project trading under the $WADZ ticker — is days away from a CertiK-audited fair launch on May 27, 2026, and the audience showing up early is the kind that doesn‘t want to find out about a launch the day after it’s gone live. With the clock running on the launch window, this is one of those rare months where even passive observation is the right move; serious memecoin watchers want this on the radar, not in the rear-view.  Why the Top New Memecoin to Watch May 2026 Looks Different This Cycle  The list of new memecoins shipping in any given month of 2026 is long, but the list of new memecoin launches that publish a third-party audit, lock the majority of supply on day one, and renounce ownership of the contract is short. Wadoozie sits in that smaller list. The token is ERC-20, deployed on Ethereum mainnet, with 75% of total supply

05-08

USYC and sUSDS Record Explosive 90-Day Growth in Expanding Yieldcoin Sector

Sentora has shared its latest chart, showing where the yieldcoin trade stands right now. Some assets are still competing on headline APY, while others are winning because capital keeps flowing into them. The chart itself compares 30-day average APY against TVL across leading yieldcoins, which is exactly the kind of split that matters in a market where investors are trying to balance return, size, and staying power.  The standout in the chart is syrupUSDC, which sits at the top of the APY ranking. That is important because yield alone does not tell the full story, but it is still the first thing most market participants notice when they scan a chart like this. In simple terms, syrupUSDC appears to be offering the most attractive average yield in this group, which helps explain why it keeps drawing attention in a crowded corner of DeFi. CoinGecko describes syrupUSDC as Maple Finance‘s yield-bearing stablecoin, and Messari also characterizes it as a product built to give users access to Maple’s decentralized lending pools.  USYC and sUSDS Dominate Supply Growth  But the more interesting part of the chart may be the growth story rather than the yield story. According to the information shared with the chart, USYC and

05-08

The Lesson Of The Maestro

getty  There are many talents every executive must master in order to flourish in todays competitive C-suites.  For example, you have to have the restraint to consider all angles, but the decisive nature to act when others hesitate, and the confidence to commit when others vacillate. You have to understand not just the dollars and cents, but the psychology of business that lets you navigate those often-tricky channels of your own organization, your industry, and the community beyond.  Thats just the beginning of a long list of qualities modern executives need in their toolkit, but the most important is having a management style that optimizes both you and your organization.  Finding the Right Management Style  For the longest time, corporate leaders followed what I call “The Command Style.”  Executives barked orders and made (often unreasonable) demands. The type of execs who put fingerprints on every project, maintained order through intimidation, and were more interested in establishing they were in charge than in actual performance.  Then a different management style emerged with the new millennium; perhaps, as a reaction to the heavy-handed practice of “The Command Style.” This management philosophy was more focused on feelings than actual corporate operations. I call it “The Indulgent Style” because it became

05-08

Kraken buys Hong Kong stablecoin firm Reap for $600 million in Asia push

Krakens $600 million acquisition of Reap folds a Hong Kong stablecoin business‑payments specialist into its stack, with Payward issuing stock at a $20 billion valuation to anchor its IPO‑era M&A currency.Kraken parent Payward will buy Hong Kong-based Reap Technologies for $600 million in cash and stock.The deal values Payward‘s stock at $20 billion and is designed to accelerate Kraken’s expansion across Asia.Reap brings stablecoin-based cross-border payment and commercial payment infrastructure into Krakens stack.  Krakens parent company Payward Inc. has agreed to acquire Hong Kong-based Reap Technologies for $600 million in a cash-and-stock deal, marking one of the largest bets yet by a global crypto exchange on stablecoin payment infrastructure in Asia, according to Bloomberg. The transaction values the Payward shares issued in the deal at a $20 billion equity valuation, effectively reaffirming the level Kraken reached in its last major funding round before IPO preparations began.  Reap is a financial technology company that builds stablecoin-enabled infrastructure for business payments, including cross-border settlement, corporate cards, and expense management, with its flagship Reap Direct product integrating fiat and stablecoin rails for corporate clients. Headquartered in Hong Kong, the firm has been expanding its global headquarters in the city to “tap into payments opportunities” as

05-08

Shiba Inu (SHIB) Price Prediction: Bullish Structure Holds Ahead of $0.00000640 Breakout 

Tech  Shiba Inu (SHIB) Price Prediction: Bullish Structure Holds Ahead of $0.00000640 BreakoutSHIB holds above key EMAs as higher lows suggest steady accumulation phase buildFutures leverage cooled as open interest dropped, lowering volatility risk across marketsToken burns reduce supply, but weak demand limits SHIB upside momentum recovery outlook  Shiba Inu continued to show signs of stabilization this week as traders monitored improving technical momentum, cooling leverage, and steady token burn activity. The meme coin traded near $0.00000636 on the 4-hour chart, while buyers defended key support zones above major moving averages. Consequently, analysts now view SHIB as entering a fresh accumulation phase after months of weak sentiment and declining speculative activity.  SHIB Maintains Bullish Technical Structure  Shiba Inus latest market structure points toward gradual bullish consolidation rather than explosive upside movement. The token now trades above its 20, 50, 100, and 200 exponential moving averages on the 4-hour timeframe. This alignment often signals improving short-term strength and stronger buyer control.  Additionally, SHIB continues forming higher lows after rebounding from late-April weakness. That pattern suggests traders increasingly buy dips instead of aggressively selling rallies. Immediate resistance currently sits near $0.00000640, where price faced multiple recent rejections.  Shiba Inu Price Dynamics (Source: Trading View)  A confirmed breakout above that

05-08
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