Business
Jersey Mike’s strikes European expansion deal led by founder Peter Cancro
Jersey Mike’s Subs is taking its signature sandwiches overseas with its first European expansion set for this year, the company said Monday.
Leading the push is the brand’s founder and board chair, Peter Cancro, via his company, JM Submarines UK Ltd.
The deal between Jersey Mike’s and Cancro’s entity calls for 400 stores to be opened in the U.K. and Ireland, and it will be the first in a series of plans for international growth. The privately owned Jersey Mike’s was acquired for a reported $8 billion by Blackstone in late 2024.
“All consumers, not only here in the U.S. but around the world, are looking for a great value, but they want quality. They want authenticity,” Jersey Mike’s CEO Charlie Morrison told CNBC in an interview. “Everything about the brand screams quality and freshness, and I think that’s what consumers want anywhere in the world. They’re going to be picky and careful about what they choose, but we believe strongly they’re going to choose Jersey Mike’s over anybody else.”
Morrison noted that deli-style subs are becoming a staple internationally, and he plans to stay true to the brand’s roots in this expansion. He said Jersey Mike’s 20 consecutive years of positive same-store sales growth in the U.S. will help inform the international move.
A Jersey Mike’s restaurant in Walnut Creek, California, Nov. 21, 2024.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
At Wingstop, where Morrison served as CEO until 2022, the brand pushed heavily into international markets and was a pandemic winner in both stock performance and sales.
“I’ve learned that in my past, that consumers around the world really prefer that you bring them … that which got the brand to where it is today,” Morrison said.
Cancro founded Jersey Mike’s in 1975 after purchasing the first Mike’s Subs store in Point Pleasant, New Jersey. He led the brand as CEO for nearly 50 years, until Morrison took over in April 2025.
He said diners might see different toppings or sauces overseas than they do in the U.S., but the product will ring true to what is served in the sates.
“We see it as a great sandwich market,” Cancro said of Europe. “[There are] a lot of players in the marketplace, and we see a tremendous opportunity.”
The U.S. consumer is increasingly value-conscious, but Jersey Mike’s believes it can still win over diners in that environment, Morrison said.
“Certainly, we’ve seen some challenges at the lower end across the industry, but again, at Jersey Mike’s, it’s a craveable product. It’s one that’s going to be a staple for consumers for a long time to come,” he said.
A United Airlines plane approaches the runway at Denver International Airport on March 23, 2026.
Al Drago | Getty Images
United Airlines slashed its 2026 earnings outlook Tuesday as it grapples with a surge in jet fuel prices due to the Iran war, but CEO Scott Kirby said demand remains strong.
United said it could earn between $7 and $11 a share on an adjusted basis this year, down from its previous forecast of between $12 and $14 a share that it released in January, more than a month before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran.
Wall Street had already been adjusting its expectations for the year because of higher fuel. Analysts polled by LSEG had forecast that United’s adjusted, full-year earnings would be $9.58 a share.
The carrier, like others, is trimming some of its planned flying this year to reduce costs. Lower capacity can drive up airfare, with fewer seats on the market.
For the second quarter, United forecast adjusted earnings of between $1 and $2 a share. Analysts had expected $2.08 a share for the quarter. United estimated its fuel price would average $4.30 a gallon in the second quarter.
The carrier said it expects its revenue to cover between 40% to 50% of the fuel price increase in the second quarter, as much as 80% in the third and between 85% and 100% by the end of the year.
United reiterated that it is tweaking its schedules to adjust to higher fuel, with capacity in the second half of the year expected to be flat to up about 2% on the year. It grew 3.4% in the first quarter.
Here is what United Airlines reported for the quarter that ended March 31 compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on estimates compiled by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: $1.19 adjusted vs. $1.07 expected
- Revenue: $14.61 billion vs. $14.37 billion expected
Revenue, profit climb
Revenue overall rose more than 10%, to $14.61 billion, up from the $13.21 billion from a year before.
For the first quarter, United’s net income rose 80% to $699 million, or $2.14 cents a share, compared with net income of $387 million, or $1.16 cents a share, a year earlier. Adjusted for one-time items, United posted earnings per share of $1.19 a share.
Unit revenue was up in every reported segment, including for domestic U.S. flights, where it rose 7.9% to $7.9 billion from a year earlier, signaling strong pricing power in the quarter.
Jet fuel in the U.S. was going for $3.51 a gallon on Monday, down from the high on April 2 of $4.78, but far above the $2.39 on Feb. 27, the day before the first attacks on Iran, according to prices assessed by Platts.
Airline executives have said demand has remained robust even while they have increased fares and checked bag fees as they pass along higher fuel prices to customers.
“Bookings are strong,” Kirby told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Wednesday.
United and the rest of the industry have become more reliant on travelers who are willing to shell out more for flights and bigger seats, and who are less affected by price increases.
Alaska Airlines pulled its 2026 forecast on Monday because of higher fuel prices. It has raised fares about $25, CEO Ben Minicucci told analysts Tuesday.
Merger ambitions?
Kirby is likely to face questions on the company’s 10:30 a.m. ET earnings call on Wednesday about his ambitions for a merger with another airline.
Kirby floated a potential merger with American Airlines to a Trump administration official earlier this year, according to a person familiar with the matter, but President Donald Trump said he was against the idea.
“I don’t like having them merge,” he told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday morning. He said he would like someone to buy struggling discount carrier Spirit but he also suggested that the federal government could “help that one out.”
American also rejected the idea of a merger with United last week.
When asked about floating the merger, Kirby declined to confirm the meeting to CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Wednesday but said: “We want to create a truly global airline.”
Kirby reiterated his view that the U.S. is at a deficit in international air travel as customers fly on international competitors, some of which are state owned.
NI Affairs Committee told even if conflict ends immediately it will take time for supply chains to return to normal.
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The president also said the US will continue to blockade Iran’s ports until peace talks progress.
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United Airlines slashes 2026 forecast as fuel costs surge, but demand remains strong
Energy prices ‘could stay high into winter’
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