Good morning,

The U.S. government is preparing to take a closer look at why egg prices surged over the past two years.

The Department of Justice is preparing a civil antitrust case to investigate whether major egg producers coordinated prices during the avian flu crisis, rather than prices rising solely due to supply shortages.

Regulators are examining whether widely used pricing data tools gave companies too much visibility into competitors’ strategies, potentially allowing prices to move in parallel across the market.

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Let’s dive into today’s edition.

Shein and Temu are facing class-action lawsuits alleging they unfairly raised prices during the Trump administration’s tariff hikes on Chinese imports. The lawsuits claim the companies increased prices far beyond the value of the tariffs and kept the extra profits even after the duties were later ruled unlawful.

The complaints allege that after the de minimis exemption for low-value shipments was removed, tariffs on Chinese goods rose to as high as 145%, prompting both companies to announce price increases for U.S. customers. According to data cited in the lawsuits, prices on some items rose by as much as 377%.

The legal battle intensified after the Supreme Court ruled that the tariff policy was unlawful and ordered Customs and Border Protection to begin refunding billions of dollars in duties. Plaintiffs argue that if Shein and Temu receive tariff refunds, consumers should also be compensated for the higher prices they paid.

Walmart is refreshing the packaging of its largest private-label brand, Great Value, in its biggest redesign in more than 10 years. The updated look will begin rolling out in May across roughly 10,000 products, ranging from snacks and cereals to dairy and household goods.

The retailer said customer research showed that shoppers liked the quality and low prices of Great Value products, but did not feel proud to display them at home. Walmart hopes the more colorful and modern packaging will make the products feel less like a compromise and help attract younger and higher-income shoppers.

The redesign also comes as competition in private-label products intensifies. Retailers such as Amazon, Costco, Trader Joe's, and Aldi are all expanding their private-brand offerings as more consumers become comfortable buying store brands.

Uber Eats has launched a new feature that lets customers return unwanted items directly through the app without visiting a store. Users can select an eligible product from their order history, choose a return reason, and have a courier pick it up at their location.

The service is only available for items worth at least $20 and only if they meet the retailer’s return policy. Customers will also have to pay a return fee based on the courier’s travel distance and time. Refunds will include the item cost, taxes, and Uber Eats service fees, but not the original delivery charge or tips.

At launch, the feature is available with retailers including Best Buy, Petco, and Dick's Sporting Goods. The move is part of Uber’s broader strategy to expand beyond food delivery and add more retail and package-handling services to its platform.

Walmart is stepping up its competition with Amazon on delivery speed by turning back rooms in stores into mini-warehouses for third-party marketplace products.

The company is testing the use of store back rooms in Dallas to hold marketplace inventory closer to customers, enabling faster same-day deliveries.

According to the company, more than one-third of its online orders delivered from stores already arrive in under three hours, giving it a major advantage because of its large network of stores located close to customers’ homes.

Walmart plans to remodel more than 650 stores this year and open around 20 new locations over the next two years. The upgraded stores will include wider aisles, expanded pickup and delivery areas, upgraded pharmacies, enhanced e-commerce fulfillment spaces, and more digital tools for Walmart app users.

U.S. wholesale inflation accelerated sharply in March as the war in Iran drove up oil and fuel prices. The producer price index, which measures inflation before it reaches consumers, rose 0.5% from February and 4% from a year earlier, marking the biggest annual increase in more than three years.

The surge was mainly driven by energy prices, which climbed 8.5% during the month as the conflict disrupted oil infrastructure and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Higher gasoline prices also pushed consumer inflation higher, adding pressure across the broader economy.

The increase in wholesale inflation is creating a new challenge for the Federal Reserve, which has been under pressure from President Donald Trump to cut interest rates. However, some policymakers are now considering rate hikes instead as energy-driven inflation risks continue to rise.

Home Depot has acquired SIMPL Automation to increase automation across its supply chain and improve same-day and next-day deliveries. The deal follows a pilot of SIMPL’s technology at a Home Depot distribution center in Georgia.

SIMPL uses engineering and AI tools to help warehouses run faster and more efficiently. Its storage and retrieval technology is designed to improve storage density, allowing Home Depot to keep more high-demand products closer to customers and speed up fulfillment.

The acquisition is part of Home Depot’s broader push into supply chain technology, including AI-driven inventory management, advanced analytics, mobile tools, and live delivery tracking. The retailer says more than half of its online orders are already fulfilled through physical stores.

Uber is increasing its stake in Delivery Hero to 7% after agreeing to buy an additional 4.5% stake from Prosus for €270 million ($318 million). Prosus, which owns stakes in multiple food delivery companies across Europe, is effectively one of Uber’s broader competitors in the sector.

Prosus is selling the shares at €20 each, a 22% premium to Delivery Hero’s one-month average share price. Prosus is reducing its stake in Delivery Hero to comply with European antitrust requirements following its acquisition of Just Eat Takeaway.com. At the same time, Delivery Hero has been under pressure to cut costs, sell assets, and respond to activist investors after a long decline in its share price.

Uber first invested in Delivery Hero in 2024 when it bought $300 million of newly issued shares. Delivery Hero’s shares rose as much as 6.4% in Frankfurt following the announcement, while Uber's shares were little changed in premarket trading.

PepsiCo reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue as lower prices on key snack brands helped revive demand in its North American food business. The company reported adjusted earnings of $1.61 per share on revenue of $19.44 billion, both ahead of Wall Street expectations.

The biggest improvement came from Pepsi’s North American snack division, which returned to volume growth for the first time in more than two years. After facing pushback from consumers over higher prices, Pepsi cut prices in February on products such as Lay's, Doritos, and Cheetos by as much as 15%. The move helped the company secure more shelf space at retailers and lifted snack volumes by 2% during the quarter.

Pepsi’s international business remained a major growth driver, with food volumes in Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa rising 9%.

Albertsons reported a fourth-quarter loss of $480.8 million after recording a major charge tied to a nationwide opioid settlement. The company swung from a profit of $171.8 million a year earlier to a loss of 94 cents per share.

The loss was largely driven by a $600 million charge linked to a broader $774 million settlement that is expected to resolve nearly all opioid-related claims against the company. Albertsons has faced lawsuits accusing its pharmacies of failing to do enough to prevent opioid misuse and overprescribing. The company plans to pay the settlement over the next nine years.

Despite the large legal charge, Albertsons’ underlying business remained relatively stable. Adjusted earnings came in at 48 cents per share, above analyst expectations of 44 cents, while revenue rose to $20.25 billion. However, identical sales growth was weaker than expected at 0.7%, and the company forecast only modest growth for fiscal 2026.