Wednesday's Pre-Market: ESPN Bet, Molson Coors, Paramount Global, Coca Cola, and Jeff Bezos

ESPN Bet plans launch in New York, the largest U.S. betting market

• ESPN Bet is planning to launch in New York.

• Penn Entertainment is buying Wynn Interactive’s mobile sports betting license in New York state for $25 million, after it was shut out of the licenses the state awarded in 2021.

• Penn’s newly rebranded sportsbook ESPN Bet has been making gains and taking market share in states where it operates.

Molson Coors looks to lock in market share gains as consumers shift away from Bud Light

• Coors Light and Miller Lite’s parent company reported a quarterly earnings beat as it returned to profit and grew its market share.

• Molson Coors grew its marketing and administrative spending nearly 19% in the fourth quarter as the company looked to maintain those gains.

• CEO Gavin Hattersley said he remains confident that the shifts in the U.S. beer industry will be “permanent.”

Paramount Global lays off about 800 employees, a day after announcing record Super Bowl ratings

• Paramount Global announced Tuesday it is laying off about 800 employees, or roughly 3% of its workforce, according to a person familiar with the matter.

• Paramount Global, which owns CBS, said Monday that the network set record highs for Super Bowl viewership.

• Bakish warned of impending layoffs in an internal note sent in January. He said at the time that Paramount Global must “operate as a leaner company and spend less.”

Coca-Cola CEO says inflation is moderating in most markets after higher prices boost revenue

• Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey said inflation is moderating in most markets globally, with some exceptions such as Argentina.

• In the majority of Coke’s markets, shoppers were only paying about 3.5% more for their drinks than they were a year earlier.

• “When you think about 95% of the business, 3.5% on a global basis is close to what we were getting prior to Covid, prior to this inflation spike,” Quincey said on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.”

Jeff Bezos sells more than $2 billion in Amazon stock

• Jeff Bezos has sold roughly $2 billion worth of Amazon stock in recent days, according to financial filings.

• The sales come a few days after he disclosed a separate sale of Amazon stock worth more than $2 billion.

• The Amazon founder and executive chairman has accelerated his share sales since he left Seattle to move to Miami.