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Change Healthcare’s systems are down for the seventh day after a cyber threat actor gained access to its network last week. Parent company UnitedHealth Group said most U.S. pharmacies have set up electronic workarounds to mitigate the impact.

UnitedHealth discovered that a “suspected nation-state-associated” threat actor breached part of Change Healthcare’s information technology network on Wednesday, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Thursday. UnitedHealth isolated and disconnected the impacted systems “immediately upon detection” of the threat, the filing said. 

Change Healthcare offers tools for payment and revenue cycle management, and its system outages have disrupted operations in pharmacies and health systems across the country. UnitedHealth said late Monday night that more than 90% of the nation’s pharmacies have set up modified electronic claims processing workarounds, while the rest have set up offline processing systems.

The disruption has not impacted provider cash flows yet since payments are typically issued one to two weeks after processing, UnitedHealth said Monday.

UnitedHealth is the biggest health-care company in the U.S. by market cap, and it owns the health-care provider Optum, which services more than 100 million patients in the U.S., according to its website. Change Healthcare merged with Optum in 2022.

In a series of updates posted since Wednesday, Change Healthcare said it has a “high-level” of confidence that Optum, UnitedHealthcare and UnitedHealth Group’s systems were not affected by the attack. UnitedHealth said that these entities have been working with external partners like Palo Alto Networks and Google Cloud’s Mandiant to assess the breach.

“We appreciate the partnership and hard work of all of our relevant stakeholders to ensure providers and pharmacists have effective workarounds to serve their patients as systems are restored to normal,” UnitedHealth told CNBC in a statement Monday night. 

Rising number of health-care cyberattacks

The attack on Change Healthcare comes after 2023 set a grim record for health-related cybercrime. There were 725 large health-care security breaches last year, up from the record 720 the previous year, according to a January report from The HIPAA Journal.

Health data is attractive to bad actors because it can be easily monetized and sold on the dark web to perpetuate other crimes like identity theft and health-care fraud, said John Riggi, national advisor for cybersecurity and risk at the American Hospital Association. 

He said there are different kinds of cyberattacks impacting the health-care sector, including data theft attacks and ransomware attacks. In a data theft attack, bad actors sneak into a system and steal data. In a high-impact ransomware attack, the fallout can cause immediate harm to patients’ physical safety. 

“They come in and encrypt all the data in networks, so that suddenly, immediately, systems go dark, they become unavailable,” Riggi told CNBC in an interview. This means diagnostic technologies like CT scanners can go offline, and ambulances carrying patients are often diverted, which can delay life-saving care. 

UnitedHealth has not yet disclosed the nature of the attack on Change Healthcare.

“They’re a victim of a foreign-based cyberattack,” Riggi said. “Ultimately, though, this was not an attack just on them, this was an attack on the entire health-care sector.” 

Health care is a complex industry with lots of moving pieces and entry points, which means it can be hard for any organization to be 100% secure, said Cliff Steinhauer, director of information security and engagement at the National Cybersecurity Alliance. 

Even so, he said there are steps individuals can take to help keep their personal data safe, like keeping their software updated, setting up multi-factor authentication and using strong, unique passwords. 

“We all have a job to keep ourselves safe online,” Steinhauer told CNBC in an interview.

Riggi said senior health-care leaders need to dedicate real resources to cybersecurity and understand that it presents a risk to “every function” of the organization. In addition to deploying necessary technical defenses, he said health systems need to foster cultures where everyone feels like a part of the cybersecurity team. 

But when it comes to preventing cyberattacks, Riggi said offense is just as important as defense. 

“This is equivalent to cyber terrorism,” he said. “The government must devote as much priority, attention and resources to going after the bad guys who are conducting these attacks.” 

Impact of Change Healthcare’s breach

UnitedHealth has not specifically disclosed exactly which Change Healthcare systems have been affected, but the fallout from the cyberattack has caused a ripple of problems across the U.S. health-care system. 

CVS Health said some of its business operations were impacted by the interruption in a statement to CNBC on Saturday. The company said it has been unable to process insurance claims in some cases, though it can still fill prescriptions.

There is “no indication” that its systems have been compromised, CVS Health said in the statement.

Walgreens told CNBC that its pharmacy operations and the “vast majority” of its prescriptions have not been impacted by the breach at Change Healthcare, according to a statement Monday. The company said it has procedures to process the “small percentage” of prescriptions that may experience problems. 

For consumers like Cary Brazeman, the disruption has been a headache. 

Brazeman tried to pick up a prescription at a Vons pharmacy in Palm Springs on Saturday, a day after seeing his dermatologist, but it was a fruitless effort. He was told that the pharmacy hadn’t received the transmission from his doctor, and even if they had, they wouldn’t have been able to run his insurance.

“I’m like, ‘Okay, what am I supposed to do now?’ and they’re like, ‘We don’t know,” Brazeman told CNBC in an interview. 

By Monday, Brazeman said the pharmacy had set up a workaround that helped it communicate with some insurance companies, but not all. He said he plans to revisit his doctor on Tuesday to pick up a paper copy of his prescription for the pharmacy. He hopes they can process his insurance. 

Brazeman said he has been so concerned with the logistics of retrieving his medication that he wasn’t worried, until recently, about whether his personal information was exposed in the breach. The immediate problem, he said, is getting medication to the people who need it – especially those who have conditions more serious than his own. 

“I’m mobile, so I can make these rounds if necessary, and I can pay cash if necessary, but there’s a lot of people who cannot,” he said. 

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CoreWeave stock slumps 14% on wider-than-expected loss ahead of lockup expiration

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CoreWeave stock slumps 14% on wider-than-expected loss ahead of lockup expiration

CoreWeave sinks more than 8% on quarterly results

CoreWeave‘s stock dropped 14% after the renter of artificial intelligence data centers reported a bigger-than-expected loss.

In its second quarterly financial results as a public company, CoreWeave reported an adjusted loss of 27 cents per share, compared to a 21-cent loss per share expected by analysts polled by LSEG.

CoreWeave’s results came as the lock-up period following its initial public offering is set to expire Thursday evening and potentially add volatility to shares. The term refers to a set period of time following a market debut when insiders are restricted from selling shares.

“We remain constructive long term and are encouraged by today’s data points, but see near-term upside capped by the potential CORZ related dilution and uncertainty, and the pending lock-up expiration on Thursday,” wrote analysts at Stifel, referencing the recent acquisition of Core Scientific.

Shares of Core Scientific fell 7% Wednesday.

In the current quarter, the company projects $1.26 billion to $1.30 billion in revenue. Analysts polled by LSEG forecasted $1.25 billion. CoreWeave also lifted 2025 revenue guidance to between $5.15 billion and $5.35, up from a $4.9 billion to $5.1 billion forecast provided in May and above a $5.05 billion estimate.

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Some analysts were hoping for stronger guidance given the stock’s massive surge since going public in March. Others highlighted light capital expenditures guidance and a delay in some spending until the fourth quarter as a potential point of weakness.

“This delay in capex highlights the uncertainty around deployment time; as go-live timing is pushed, in-period revenue recognition will be smaller,” wrote analysts at Morgan Stanley.

The AI infrastructure provider said revenue more than tripled from a year ago to $1.21 billion as it continues to benefit from surging AI demand. That also surpassed a $1.08 billion forecast from Wall Street. Finance chief Nitin Agrawal also said during a call with analysts that demand outweighs supply.

The New Jersey-based company, whose customers include OpenAI, Microsoft and Nvidia, also said it has recently signed expansion deals with hyperscale customers.

CoreWeave acquired AI model monitoring startup Weights and Biases for $1.4 billion during the period and said it finished the quarter with a $30.1 billion revenue backlog.

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How Big Tech is paying its way out of Trump’s tariffs

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How Big Tech is paying its way out of Trump's tariffs

Apple CEO Tim Cook (R) shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump during an event in the Oval Office of the White House on August 6, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Win Mcnamee | Getty Images

Top tech executives are at the forefront of a recent swathe of unprecedented deals with U.S. President Donald Trump.

In just the last few days, the White House confirmed that two U.S. chipmakers, Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices, would be allowed to sell advanced chips to China in exchange for the U.S. government receiving a 15% cut of their revenues in the Asian country.

Apple CEO Tim Cook, meanwhile, recently announced plans to increase the firm’s U.S. investment commitment to $600 billion over the next four years. The move was widely seen as a bid to get the tech giant out of Trump’s crosshairs on tariffs — and appears to have worked for now.

Altogether, analysts say the deals show just how important it is for the world’s largest companies to find some tariff relief.

“The flurry of deal-making is an effort to secure lighter treatment from tariffs,” Paolo Pescatore, technology analyst at PP Foresight, told CNBC by email.

“In some shape or form, all of the big tech companies have been negatively impacted by tariffs. They can ill afford to fork out on millions of dollars in additional fees that will further dent profits as underlined by recent quarterly earnings,” Pescatore said.

While the devil will be in the detail of these agreements, Pescatore said that Apple leading the way with its accelerated U.S. investment will likely trigger “a domino effect” within the industry.

Apple, for its part, has long been regarded as one of the Big Tech firms most vulnerable to simmering trade tensions between the U.S. and China.

Earlier this month, Trump announced plans to impose a 100% tariff on imports of semiconductors and chips, albeit with an exemption for firms that are “building in the United States.”

Apple, which relies on hundreds of different chips for its devices and incurred $800 million in tariff costs in the June quarter, is among the firms exempt from the proposed tariffs.

A ‘hands-on’ approach

The Nvidia and AMD deal with the Trump administration has meanwhile sparked intense debate over the potential impact on the chip giants’ businesses and whether the U.S. government may seek out similar agreements with other firms.

Some strategists described the arrangement as a “shakedown,” while others suggested it may even be unconstitutional and comparing it to a tax on exports.

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that the legality and mechanics of the 15% export tax on Nvidia and AMD were “still being ironed out.” She also hinted deals of this kind could expand to other companies in future.

Ray Wang: Having Nvidia and AMD pay 15% of China chip sales revenues to U.S. govt. is 'bizarre'

Ray Wang, founder and chairman of Constellation Research, described the Nvidia and AMD deal to pay 15% of China chip sales revenues to the U.S. government as “bizarre.”

Speaking on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Monday, Wang said what is “really weird” is there is still some uncertainty over whether these chips represent a national security issue.

“If the answer is no, fine OK. The government is taking a cut out of it,” Wang said. “Both Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and Lisa Su at AMD both decided that OK, we’ve got a way to get our chips into China and maybe there is something good coming out of it.”

Investor concerns

While investors initially welcomed the deal as broadly positive for both Nvidia and AMD, which once more secure access to the Chinese market, Wang said some in the industry will nevertheless be concerned.

“As an investor, you’re worried because then, is this an arbitrary decision by the government? Does every president get to play kingmaker in terms of these deals?” Wang said.

“So, I think that’s really what the concern is, and we still have additional tariffs and trade deals to come from the China negotiations,” he added.

Tech investor Dan Niles says Nvidia having access to the Chinese market is 'crucial'

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Amazon launches same-day delivery of meat, eggs, produce in more than 1,000 cities

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Amazon launches same-day delivery of meat, eggs, produce in more than 1,000 cities

An independent contractor wearing a protective mask and gloves loads Amazon Prime grocery bags into a car outside a Whole Foods Market in Berkeley, California, on Oct. 7, 2020.

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Amazon is rolling out same-day delivery of fresh foods to more pockets of the U.S. as it looks to encourage shoppers to add meat and eggs to their order while they’re browsing its sprawling online store.

The company announced Wednesday it’s bringing the service to more than 1,000 U.S. cities and towns, including Raleigh, North Carolina, Tampa, Florida, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with plans to reach at least 2,300 locations by the end of this year.

Amazon began testing the service in Phoenix last year and in additional cities this year, where it found shoppers frequently added strawberries, bananas, avocados and other perishables to their order.

“Many of these shoppers were first-time Amazon grocery customers who now return to shop twice as often with same-day delivery service compared to those who didn’t purchase fresh food,” the company said in a release.

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The service is free for Prime members on orders over $25 in most cities, or for a $2.99 fee if an order doesn’t meet that minimum. Shoppers without a Prime membership pay a $12.99 fee to use the service, regardless of order size.

Grocery delivery company Instacart‘s stock tumbled more than 11% following the announcement. Supermarket chains Kroger and Albertsons fell about 4% and 3%, respectively.

Shares of Walmart, which has been racing to compete with Amazon on speedy deliveries and offers same-day shipping for groceries, slipped 1%.

Amazon has been retooling its grocery business over the past few years.

The company has tweaked its chain of Fresh grocery stores in a bid to attract more shoppers, and it opened up fresh food delivery to shoppers who aren’t Prime members.

It’s also looked to highlight its growing business selling household staples like paper towels, cleaning supplies, bottled drinks and canned food.

In January, Amazon tapped Jason Buechel, the CEO of Whole Foods Market, the upscale grocer it acquired in 2017 for $13.7 billion, to lead its worldwide grocery stores business. Buechel announced in June that the company was bringing Whole Foods closer to the Amazon grocery umbrella as part of a reorganization.

Previously, Whole Foods had remained largely independent from Amazon’s own grocery offerings.

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