The Association of American Publishers responded to a request for information from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) on development of the Administration’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Plan. AAP’s submission calls on the Administration to prioritize copyright protections, promote partnerships between American companies, embrace and encourage licensing, reject bloated fair use arguments and other sweeping exceptions that would unjustly enrich tech companies at the expense of authors and publishers, denounce the use of pirate sites in AI training, and work with Congress to prioritize transparency requirements. “The United States is an unmatched leader in both technology and intellectual property, both of which are key to global AI markets,” commented Maria A. Pallante, President and CEO, Association of American Publishers. “We thank the White House for the opportunity to inform its action plan and look forward to working with all parts of the Administration to ensure that authors, publishers, and all creative sectors are protected and positioned to partner with AI developers to achieve the extraordinary benefits of AI for the long term, in safe and lawful fashion. Among our priorities is stopping the proliferation of pirate sites that are a scourge on American IP investments and an illegal source of AI development.”

Ulta Beauty Inc. reported modest gains in comparable sales in earnings for its fiscal Q4 and full year ended Feb. 1, 2025, reflecting a year marked by cautious consumer spending. Including ecommerce, Ulta Beauty comparable sales rose 1.5% in Q4. This was down from 2.5% growth during the same quarter a year before. Despite the slowdown, Ulta reported growth across both store and digital channels. On the retailer’s March 13 earnings call, chief financial officer Paula Oyibo said ecommerce sales in Q4 grew in the mid-single-digit range. However, the company did not share specific figures.

The Postmaster General’s statements about the Postal Regulatory Commission’s role during the recent mismanagement of USPS are false. The Commission follows the law to ensure that USPS provides universal service to all Americans, including those in rural and remote locations, and also safeguards fair competition in package markets by preventing the Postal Service from abusing its monopoly position. The price cap the Postmaster General has complained about for years was established by law, not by the Commission. Once the Commission had the legal authority to change the price cap, the Commission gave USPS significantly more pricing freedom. Combined with the 2022 law passed by Congress, the Postal Service received over $100 billion in financial assistance. So far, the Delivering for America Plan (DFA) has wasted that help, losing more money for the Postal Service (a $9.5 billion loss in FY 2024), making USPS less efficient, and collapsing service, especially for rural Americans. On April 1, USPS is planning to amplify that negative impact on rural areas by deliberately slowing mail to thousands of rural communities nationwide. The Postmaster General has also tried to ignore USPS’ traditional role in mail delivery while expanding the role of the government in the competitive package market, a strategy which has failed miserably to this point. DFA’s failures have received bipartisan scorn and are documented at www.prc.gov. DFA needs transparency and accountability. The Commission has done more than its part to help USPS. In addition to pricing flexibility, the Commission, as required by law, has approved thousands of specialized contracts between USPS and customers in recent years. The Commission approved these negotiated service agreements rapidly, while working to make sure USPS does not compete unfairly with private sector shipping competitors. The Commission has done this work along with its other statutory responsibilities with fewer than 100 staff members.

“Adobe’s success over the next decade will be driven by customer-focused innovation and new offerings for creators, marketing professionals, business professionals and consumers,” said Shantanu Narayen, chair and CEO, Adobe. “Adobe is well-positioned to capitalize on the acceleration of the creative economy driven by AI and we are reaffirming our FY2025 financial targets.” “Our continued innovation and diversified go-to-market strategy drove a record Q1, with new AI-first standalone and add-on innovations exiting the quarter with over $125 million ending ARR book of business,” said Dan Durn, executive vice president and CFO, Adobe. “Our customer- focused strategy, leading product portfolio and strong cash flow position us for sustainable long-term growth and increased market share.”

The Postal Service has one of largest fleets in the world, with more than 246,000 vehicles that drive more than a billion miles every year, delivering mail to more than 169 million delivery points across the nation. Safe driving is a paramount part of our duties as we are Delivering for America. As part of a safe driving public awareness campaign, the Postal Service is reminding customers of the importance of staying vigilant when maneuvering near postal vehicles. “Postal Service employees drive our nation’s roads every day, providing a vital service, to deliver America’s mail safely. It is something we strive to do 365 days a year,” said USPS Employee Safety and Health Awareness Manager Leeann Theriault. “We encourage the public to stay alert when around postal vehicles, and together, we can protect our drivers and everyone else on the road. This will reduce risks and ensure that everyone, including our employees, make it home safe.”

From the London Book Fair, Wiley announced it will provide access to a curated collection of Earth science research materials to help enhance the training and capabilities of the European Space Agency's Earth Virtual Expert (EVE). Wiley signed an agreement with Pi School, which is leading the development of the EVE project for ESA's Φ-lab. EVE is a fine-tuned large language model designed to transform how researchers and the public access and engage with Earth Observation and Earth science research and information. The EVE project, developed by Pi School with support from Imperative Space, is creating an innovative virtual expert capable of answering queries about Earth Observation and Earth science in natural language. Pi School's mission is to empower businesses and individuals by delivering cutting-edge AI solutions tailored to real-world challenges.

Best Buy’s sales growth online outpaced growth at stores as the retail chain reported a 0.5% boost in comparable sales for its fiscal Q4 2025, which ended Feb. 1. The company credited strong demand for computing, tablets and services. Meanwhile, Best Buy U.S. online sales in Q4 climbed 2.6% year-over-year, with ecommerce accounting for 39.5% of total revenue, up from 38% last year. “In our digital business, our focus on personalization and speed resulted in app engagement and sales growth,” CEO Corie Barry said during the company’s March 4 earnings call.

Lee Enterprises, the victim of a cyberattack and system outage on February 3, says it has contained the threat and is working with security vendors to restore automation to its business processes. “Currently all products are being produced and distributed, although some limitations remain including limited depth of products due to tightened schedules,” the company says in an SEC filing. “Additionally, certain back-office functions remain delayed including billing our clients, collections, and payments to vendors.” The company expects normal processes to be restored in the coming weeks. Lee publishes over 70 news products throughout the country.

Gannett Co., Inc. announced it has prepaid approximately $57.5 million on its five-year first lien term loan facility. As a result of this prepayment, the Company has reduced its first lien debt from $850.0 million to $792.5 million during the first quarter of 2025. The debt repayment was funded with the proceeds from the sale of the Austin-American Statesmen that was completed on February 28, 2025, as well as cash on hand. "As part of our long-term strategy, debt repayment remains a high priority, and we continue to make measurable progress, while also maintaining a healthy balance sheet and a strong liquidity position," said Michael Reed, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

Costco Wholesale Corporation announced its operating results for the second quarter (twelve weeks) and the first 24 weeks of fiscal 2025, ended February 16, 2025. Net sales for the quarter increased 9.1 percent, to $62.53 billion, from $57.33 billion last year. Net sales for the first 24 weeks increased 8.3 percent, to $123.52 billion, from $114.05 billion last year. Net income for the quarter was $1,788 million, $4.02 per diluted share, compared to $1,743 million, $3.92 per diluted share, last year. For the four-week reporting month of February, ended March 2, 2025, the Company reported net sales of $19.81 billion, an increase of 8.8 percent from $18.21 billion last year. Net sales for the first 26 weeks were $133.36 billion, an increase of 8.3 percent from $123.15 billion last year.

*Third quarter reported revenue of $405 million vs. $461 million due to foregone revenue from divested businesses *Third quarter Operating Income $52 million vs. ($46 million) *Year-to-date Operating Income of $145 million vs. ($17 million) “We continue to deliver disciplined growth and material margin expansion as we capitalize on the global demand for scientific research and responsible AI model development,” said Matthew Kissner, Wiley President and CEO. “Our recurring revenue Research business has not only proven to be resilient across economic cycles but poised for continued expansion; our authoritative content and data-driven insights are increasingly coveted by corporations for their research and development initiatives, including AI enablement; and our strong execution and cost re-engineering efforts continue to deliver tangible results, with significant margin and cash flow improvement this year and raised margin expectations for Fiscal 2026.”

It’s been a busy 48 hours as President Trump has issued, and in some cases temporarily delayed sweeping tariffs which had spurred retaliation from the affected countries. On Wednesday, March 5, Trump announced he would grant a one-month delay for any tariffs on imported vehicles from Canada and Mexico that comply with the terms of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a trade agreement Trump signed with the other two countries in July 2020 during his first presidential term. Trump followed that decision up with executive orders on Thursday, March 6 that exempt all Canadian and Mexican imports which fall under the USMCA from the 25% tariff until Wednesday, April 2. According to a statement from the White House to CNBC, roughly 50% of Mexican imports and 38% of Canadian imports fall under USMCA.

Hearst Newspapers announced the launch of a multi-market advertising initiative that showcases the power of its journalism and its advances in digital storytelling. The campaign, which begins with two of Hearst’s leading news brands — the San Francisco Chronicle and Houston Chronicle — will expand to additional markets in the coming months. The effort was created in partnership with PMG, which was recently named Hearst’s creative and media agency of record. Titled “There’s More with the Chronicle,” the initiative highlights the wide-ranging coverage and digital innovations that connect readers to the issues that shape their communities and to the wider world. The campaign is part of a previously announced multimillion-dollar, multi-platform investment in brand building across Hearst’s businesses and is a key component of the company’s broader investment in its newspaper business, alongside its recent announcement to acquire the Austin American-Statesman. “We are committed to high-quality journalism and growing readership in the digital era,” said Jeff Johnson, president, Hearst Newspapers.

“As we close out the first year of the Bold New Chapter strategy, investments in the customer experience enabled us to achieve our highest comparable sales of the year, our best performance in 11 quarters,” said Tony Spring, chairman and chief executive officer of Macy’s, Inc. “At Macy’s, our First 50 locations delivered four quarters of increased sales, while our luxury nameplates, Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury, achieved accelerated annual sales growth. As we enter the second year of our strategy, we plan to scale initiatives that are resonating with our customers to drive long-term profitable growth and further unlock shareholder value.” Macy’s, Inc. net sales decreased 4.3% to $7.8 billion, with comparable sales down 1.1% on an owned basis and up 0.2% on an owned-plus-licensed-plus-marketplace basis. Comparable owned-plus-licensed-plus-marketplace sales growth at Macy’s First 50 locations, Macy’s digital channel, Bloomingdale’s, and Bluemercury was offset primarily by weakness in Macy’s non-First 50 and non-go-forward locations. Macy’s, Inc. go-forward business2 comparable sales were down 0.7% on an owned basis and up 0.6% on an owned-plus-licensed-plus-marketplace basis.

Walkouts were averted at six Gannett titles in New Jersey and New York when employees and the firm agreed on “ life-changing” increases in pay and job protections. A vote on ratification was scheduled for Thursday. The publications include the Asbury Park Press, Courier News, Home News Tribune, the Journal News, Poughkeepsie Journal and Times Herald-Record. The Jersey staffers were represented by the APP-MCJ Guild and the New York State employees by the Hudson Valley NewsGuild.

President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, as well as a 10% increase to tariffs on goods from China, went into effect on March 4—and although the tariffs had been delayed once before, the publishing and printing industries are still left with more questions than answers as they look for ways to navigate the new levies. While American publishers will now face higher costs, printers in the United States hope that the tariffs will lead to more business. While the amount of printing done in Canada and Mexico is far less than in China, the new tariffs on those two nations present other challenges. For one thing, the U.S. imported $1.82 billion of uncoated paper, some of which is used in books, in 2023, according to government statistics, with 67% of that paper coming from Canada.

Total revenues across all categories year-to-date were up 6.5%, reaching $14.2 billion. Revenues for the month of December 2024 were down 4.3% as compared to December 2023, coming in at $904.6 million. Trade revenues were up 6.0%, at $9.5 billion on a year-to-date basis. Hardback revenues were up 6.8%, coming in at $3.5 billion; Paperbacks were up 3.0%, with $3.2 billion in revenue; Mass Market was down 13.3% to $122.9 million; and Special Bindings were up 4.3%, with $231.7 million in revenue. eBook revenues were up 1.6% as compared to 2023 for a total of $1.0 billion. The Digital Audio format was up 23.8%, coming in at $1.1 billion in revenue. Physical Audio was down 37.4% coming in at $8.7 million.

Urban Outfitters’ net sales increased 10.1% to a company-record $1.6 billion for its fiscal Q4, which ended on Jan. 31, delivering a new milestone for the company’s rental business Nuuly. The record quarter was part of a record year for the Philadelphia-based retailer. It saw total company net sales increase 7.7% to $5.6 billion. During its earnings call, Frank Conforti, the co-president and chief operating officer at Urban Outfitters, credited success to the Anthropologie, Free People, FP Movement and Nuuly brands. Of those brands, Nuuly also distinguished itself by becoming profitable for the retailer’s full fiscal year. “The strong revenue growth in the fourth quarter resulted in expense rate leverage in almost every expense line item, which helped deliver a record fourth quarter operating profit and another Nuuly first, its first full year of profitability,” he stated.

For the fiscal year ended February 1, 2025, net earnings were $294 million and EPS was $1.74, with EBIT of $495 million, or 3.4 percent of sales. Excluding charges related primarily to a supply chain asset impairment in the second quarter, accelerated technology depreciation in the third and fourth quarters, and privatization fees in the fourth quarter, adjusted EBIT was $593 million, or 4.1 percent of sales, and adjusted EPS was $2.17 for fiscal 2024.1 For the 13-week fourth quarter in fiscal 2024, total Company net sales decreased 2.1 percent versus the 14-week period in fiscal 2023, or increased 2.5 percent excluding approximately $190 million related to the 53rd week in fiscal 2023. Total Company gross merchandise value ("GMV") decreased 0.2 percent. Nordstrom banner net sales decreased 3.7 percent and GMV decreased 1.0 percent compared with the fourth quarter of 2023. Net sales for Nordstrom Rack increased 1.2 percent.2 "Customers responded positively to the strength of our offering across both banners in the fourth quarter," said Erik Nordstrom, chief executive officer of Nordstrom, Inc. "We maintained the momentum we built throughout the year, which resulted in full-year sales and profitability coming in at the high end of our expectations."

U.S. ecommerce sales and penetration of total sales reached new peaks in 2024, according to Digital Commerce 360 analysis of U.S. Department of Commerce data. Ecommerce penetration — or the percentage of total U.S. retail sales that are completed online — has grown every year but one since the Commerce Department began tracking this data in 2000. In 2022, ecommerce penetration was 20.7%, a slight dip compared to 20.8% in 2021. As such, ecommerce penetration reached a record 22.7% in 2024. Ecommerce has accounted for at least a fifth of U.S. retail sales every year since 2020.