Southwest Airlines on Wednesday posted a surprise profit for the third quarter and said it expects to generate record sales in the last three months of the year thanks to better travel demand and higher fares.

The carrier said it expects unit revenue to rise between 1% and 3% for the fourth quarter, with capacity up 6% over the same period last year.

“This guidance range assumes demand strength remains at current levels through the end of the quarter,” Southwest said.

Here’s how Southwest performed in the period ended September 30 compared with Wall Street expectations, according to consensus estimates from LSEG:

• Earnings per share: 11 cents adjusted vs. loss of 3 cents expected
• Revenue: $6.95 billion vs. $6.92 billion expected

In July, Southwest joined other airlines in cutting its 2025 profit forecast. The Dallas carrier said it expected full-year earnings before taxes of $600 million to $800 million, down from an earlier forecast of $1.7 billion. It reaffirmed that earnings outlook on Wednesday.

The carrier has been working to better compete with rivals and increase sales, abandoning longtime policies like open seating and two free checked bags for each traveler.

Southwest CFO Tom Doxey told CNBC in an interview that increased sales from selling seat assignments would show up in the first quarter, when the first flights without open seating begin.

Southwest’s third-quarter profit fell more than 19% year over year to $54 million from $67 million. On a per-share basis, Southwest’s earnings fell to 10 cents from 11 cents a year earlier.

Adjusting for one-time items, Southwest reported $58 million in earnings for the third-quarter, or 11 cents a share. 

Revenue rose 1% to $6.95 billion from the year-earlier period. 

The National Hockey League said Wednesday it’s reached a multi-year licensing agreement with prediction markets Kalshi and Polymarket. More sports leagues may be coming soon.

Tarek Mansour, Kalsh’si co-founder and CEO, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” the deal marked a “seminal moment” for prediction markets and the company.

“A league like the NHL partnering with us is a strong sign that prediction markets are here to stay,” Mansour said.

As part of the NHL deal, Kalshi and Polymarket will gain access to the league’s proprietary data and rights to use NHL marks and logos. In return, Mansour said, the hockey league will get a suite of customer protections. The NHL said both companies will receive brand exposure during broadcasts.

Mansour said the NHL deal could be replicated across other leagues: “Be on the lookout for more announcements soon,” he told CNBC.

Representatives for the NBA and NFL did not immediately respond to requests for comment. MLB declined to comment.

In August, the NFL expressed its concern about prediction markets, which allow customers to trade on the outcomes of events across entertainment and culture like election results or the length of the ongoing government shutdown.

Kalshi and other event trading platforms are regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Yet many states, regulators and tribes are pushing back on prediction markets, arguing they amount to unregulated gambling. Multiple state and federal lawsuits are in progress over the alleged risks.

The American Gaming Association said in a statement Wednesday that the NHL deal “sends a troubling message.”

“The platforms in question fail to comply with essential standards,” the AGA said. “Worse, they are currently offering sports wagers in all 50 states to anyone 18 years of age—some of which have not authorized any form of legal sports betting and those that have largely define 21 as the prevailing legal age for wagering.”

Keith Wachtel, president of NHL Business, told CNBC he feels comfortable with Kalshi and Polymarket from a regulatory and integrity standpoint, noting that sportsbooks like FanDuel and DraftKings have also struck partnerships with prediction platforms.

He said the league’s interest in prediction markets lies in the opportunity to reach new fans.

“What’s great about prediction markets is it goes beyond sport,” he said. “It gives opportunity to watch a different audience grow significantly.”

Mansour said criticism of the market is par for the course for a disruptor and that he feels confident in Kalshi’s regulatory setup. He said Kalshi has spent years working with the federal government to create a regulated prediction markets.

“When we think about the announcement today, the NHL deal is really about that. It’s essentially a validation of the fact that we have established the right set of customer protection and the right set of market integrity measures to protect our markets, but also the game,” he said.

NEW YORK — General Motors is targeting a suite of new software initiatives for its vehicles over the next three years, including an in-vehicle artificial intelligence assistant from Google and a driver-assistance system that can largely control the vehicle without human interaction or monitoring.

GM said the conversational Google Gemini AI will begin launching in its vehicles next year, followed by the new driver-assistance system, which will allow drivers to be hands-free and take their eyes off the road under certain circumstances, in 2028.

GM CEO Mary Barra and other executives made the announcements Wednesday as part of a “GM Forward” software event that also showcased other initiatives designed to “transform the car from a mode of transportation into an intelligent assistant,” the automaker said.

The company also announced that it is working on a new centralized computing platform, which is planned to roll out starting with the Escalade IQ in 2028; increased use of collaborative robots, also known as cobots, that can work alongside humans; and expanding availability of products from its GM Energy business.

“Today we’ll share our vision for our vehicles, our industry and how we’re driving the future of transportation forward,” Barra said to kick off the event in lower Manhattan.

GM said the announcements are meant to usher in a “new era of mobility” for the company, which has struggled to achieve such initiatives in the past. Its previous efforts at moving forward include announcing plans in 2021 to double revenue by 2030, led by many now-defunct growth businesses, as well as growing annual software and services revenue to between $20 billion and $25 billion.

In recent years, it also killed an “Ultra Cruise” system meant to be able to drive in 95% of circumstances that was initially due to come out in 2023 and folded its Cruise robotaxi business.

GM executives on Wednesday declined to discuss revenue potential of the new announcements. CFO Paul Jacobson has previously walked back the doubling revenue goal, but has noted the company’s growing revenue, up 9.1% last year to $187.44 billion.

GM President Mark Reuss on Wednesday said the company’s revenue plans are “pretty much on track … maybe a year or two different” as it plans to continue to grow revenue, especially with the technologies announced Wednesday. He also said these initiatives are “very different” than prior announcements, as they’re tangible products that are entering the market shortly.

As of the third quarter of this year, GM recognized $2 billion from software services. That’s up from 2021, when the plans were announced and it took the full year to hit that mark. It also cited $5 billion in deferred revenue, up 90% from a year earlier, to end the third quarter.

The event comes a day after GM reported standout third-quarter earnings and upped its guidance, pushing the stock to have its second-best day on record since the automaker’s 2009 emergence from bankruptcy.

GM stock on Wednesday was trading relatively flat.

GM said the artificial intelligence system from Google, which its infotainment system is developed on, will make “it possible to talk to your car as naturally as you would to a fellow passenger.”

“Our vision is to create a car that knows you, that looks out for you, and just meets your needs, even before you say,” Sterling Anderson, GM chief product officer, said during the event.

Anderson called the centralized computing a “foundational piece” of the company’s plans in increasing the capabilities of its vehicles.

The Detroit automaker said it expects to update select vehicles from the 2016 model year to all new models in the U.S. beginning next year with the AI tech.

GM also said it plans to develop its own “AI, custom-built” technology in the years to come but did not provide an exact time frame.

“In the future, we will introduce our own AI fine-tuned to your vehicle,” said David Richardson, a former Apple executive who is now GM vice president of software and services engineering. “Think of this as an assistant. It’s going to anticipate your needs, offer timely help and make every journey more personable and more enjoyable.”

GM said it plans for its upgraded advanced driver-assistance system, also known as ADAS, to feature hands-free, “eyes-off” driving technology, beginning on the Cadillac Escalade IQ EV, which currently starts around $127,500, in 2028.

The automaker then expects to expand the availability of the tech to other models, company executives said.

“Autonomy will make our roads safer. They’ll give customers back their most valuable asset: time. It’ll be a cornerstone of GM product portfolio going forward,” Anderson said.

The vehicle will use lidar, or light detection and ranging, systems that allow it to better detect or “see” its surroundings. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has notably been a critic of the technology, and his company’s vehicles rely on camera-based systems and computer vision.

“Just be clear, we’re developing a self driving product,” Anderson, a former Tesla executive, told CNBC. “It’s an eyes-off, self-driving system. As it relates to use of lidar in it, your product will be better with multiple modes of sensing, period. Full stop.”

Anderson, calling it an “ocean that’s too big to boil,” said the system is expected to evolve incrementally to its full potential.

GM declined to say whether the new technology will be called “Super Cruise,” which is its current system that allows drivers to be hands-free on 600,000 miles of pre-mapped roads in North America.

The current Super Cruise system monitors a driver’s attentiveness through the use of sensors and eye-detection cameras.

GM was the first automaker to offer such a hands-free system in 2016, but it was slow to roll out the technology until recent years.

Barra said the rollout of the new system will be significantly faster than the company’s initial expansion of Super Cruise.

GM Energy launched in 2022 as one of the automaker’s growth initiatives involving EVs. It was started to rival Tesla‘s home energy systems and provide battery packs, EV chargers and software to help customers optimize charging and ride out electric grid disruptions.

GM has not disclosed the size or revenue of its GM Energy business other than a blog by Wade Sheffer, vice president of GM Energy, that said momentum for its services are growing.

“It’s really incredible to see all the great things that are right on the horizon, and I know we will deliver for our customers, and that’s what matters most,” Barra said. “This moment builds on our history and sets the course.”