The Best & Worst of 2025

(Arkansas Business photo illustration)

Best Company Moves

In November, Walmart announced it was moving its stock listing from the New York Stock Exchange, where it had been since 1972, to the tech-dominated Nasdaq.

Reuters called the move by the Bentonville retailer, which had a market capitalization of about $914.58 billion last week, the “biggest-ever exchange transfer on record.”

“Moving to Nasdaq aligns with the people-led, tech-powered approach to our long-term strategy,” said Walmart CFO John David Rainey. “Walmart is setting a new standard for omnichannel retail by integrating automation and AI to build smarter, faster, and more connected experiences for customers, while enabling our associates to deliver even greater value at scale.”

And in another company move, Dillard’s Inc. of Little Rock announced in August it was moving its incorporation from Delaware to Texas. Dillard’s made the transfer, which was approved by shareholders, for several reasons, including Texas’ statute-based law approach, which Dillard’s said would likely be more predictable than Delaware’s case-law system.

Delaware has long been a favored home of big corporations, with nearly 70% of the Fortune 500 incorporating in the state as of last year, according to Fortune. Delaware’s legal setup for corporations, whose cases are heard by judges versed in business law, has been considered favorable for companies. In recent years, however, companies have begun to reincorporate in Texas to take advantage of the state’s favorable tax laws and other considerations.

Worst Fresh Start

In August, Evolve Bank & Trust of West Memphis hired former bank regulator and tech exec Bob Hartheimer to help the bank recover from a bumpy 2024 that included a fintech partner’s bankruptcy and a cyberattack. On Oct. 23, the FBI raided Evolve’s Memphis headquarters and arrested Hartheimer. Days later, documents revealed Hartheimer had solicited sex from an FBI employee posing as a 15-year-old boy online. Hartheimer was fired the day after he was arrested.

Worst Use of AI

Fayetteville attorney Tony Pirani was running up on a deadline to file motions and turned to artificial intelligence for help.

The move backfired. The motions contained “citations to nonexistent cases and quotations of nonexistent caselaw passages, U.S. District Court Judge Timothy L. Brooks said in his Dec. 3 order.

The judge said it was “an obvious and flagrant violation” of a rule requiring attorneys to certify that they made a reasonable inquiry to make sure their filings contain legal arguments that are permitted by existing law or by nonfrivolous argument. Brooks pointed out that a fake opinion is not “existing law.”

As a sanction, Brooks tossed Pirani’s two filings.

Brooks also fined Pirani $1,000. Brooks also said that Pirani can’t enter any new appearances as attorney of record in the Western District of Arkansas until the fine is paid. And after the fine is paid, for two years, Pirani must have an appointed attorney on all appearances in the Western District of Arkansas. That co-counsel will be equally responsible to Brooks for any missed deadlines or any future improper conduct by Pirani.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, Brooks referred him to the Arkansas Judiciary’s Office of Professional Conduct. The OPC’s job is to protect the public from attorneys who fail to fulfill their professional duties.

Oh, and Pirani and his law firm were hit with a $11.47 million judgment in the case involving “runners” who allegedly recruited wrongful death plaintiffs at funerals. The plaintiff in the case, the Jason M. Hatfield PA law firm of Springdale, which was represented by attorney Mark Murphey Henry of the Henry Law Firm in Fayetteville, was awarded $1.58 million in attorneys fees and $93,000 in costs.

Best Use of AI

The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and Arkansas State University in Jonesboro quickly jumped at the chance to join Google’s AI for Education Accelerator program. The program gives professors, staff and students at public universities access to AI training and resources through Google’s platform.

The free program is part of Google’s $1 billion investment in artificial intelligence.

Best Napkin Sketch

An Arkansas native has become a publishing phenom for his Murdle puzzles, which started as a sketch on a napkin for a friend. The napkin puzzle even had a mistake, but G.T Karber, who grew up in Fort Smith and attended the University of Arkansas, has now worked on more than two dozen books, a television series, a board game, a puzzle, a notebook and a Tarot card deck. Many of the murder mystery puzzles take inspiration from Karber’s Arkansas upbringing.

Worst Debut

Ryan Hauck was CEO of Experience Fayetteville, the city’s tourism bureau, for less than two months before he was suspended with pay for allegedly making culturally insensitive comments. He was reinstated after two weeks by the Fayetteville Advertising & Promotion Commission.

Worst Decision to Retry a Case

Walmart Inc. decided to go forward and retry a federal court case filed by a California technology company that won a $110 million judgment in 2021 against the Bentonville retailer.

But for the retrial, the federal jury in May returned a verdict of $222.7 million — more than twice the amount of the first jury award — in favor of  Zest Labs Inc. of San Jose, California, over allegations that Walmart stole Zest’s revolutionary technology and incorporated it into a patent that was later published, destroying Zest’s trade secret. In July, Walmart reached a settlement with Zest and won’t appeal the jury award.

Best Stock Numbers

Dillard’s stock price shattered a number of all-time high records this year. In September, the Little Rock retailer’s stock price broke the $600 mark and then in December, it reached $700.

Dillard’s stock price closed at $730.73 on Dec. 10, a 67.8% increase from its opening of $435.50 on Jan. 2. The S&P 500 increased about 17% during that period.

Best First Day of School

On June 30, 80 students began their first day at Arkansas’ first dental school: Lyon College School of Dental Medicine in Little Rock.

Lyon College hopes the class of 2028 improves the state’s dismal dental health statistics. Arkansas ranks last in the country in dental health and second to last in dentist-to-population ratio. And with the average age of dentists in Arkansas above 50, the dentist-to-population ratio is only going to get worse as dentists retire.

The dental college planned its graduate program to be completed in three years instead of the standard four by having the students go year-round. The school will add 80 students a year for two more years until it reaches its full capacity of 240 students.

Best New Start

The Arkansas School for the Deaf & Blind, previously two separate schools on a single 133-acre campus in Little Rock, is building a new 90,000-SF facility to accommodate both deaf and blind students. The first-of-its-kind facility will replace older buildings that Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and state legislators found to be in disrepair in 2023.

The new building will have innovative design features that accommodate both deaf and blind students in a single space.

“Our kids truly deserve a high-quality education in facilities that are safe and dependable and state of the art,” Superintendent Nicole Walsh said. “We are truly building a state-of-the-art instructional facility for these kids with the goal that we become a nationwide model.”

Best Research Job

Two researchers at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville are studying how to use milled rice to brew beer. It could be a boon to Arkansas’ rice farmers and beer drinkers alike.

Worst War Memorial Memory

With future Little Rock games for the Arkansas Razorback football squad in limbo, thoughts turned to War Memorial Stadium history when the Hogs played Arkansas State there in September. Memories surfaced of the Aluminum Bowl in December 1956, a dreary and scoreless tie between small-college contenders St. Joseph’s College of Indiana and Montana State.

A cold downpour turned the field into mud and forced Miss Arkansas Barbara Banks to cover up the $25,000 aluminum dress she wore. Just 5,000 spectators huddled in the stadium’s 38,000 seats, and Little Rock quickly vanished from the bowl calendar. The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics championship moved to Florida in 1957, and the Holiday Bowl was born.

Best News for Gluten-Sensitive Beer Drinkers

That would be the opening March 14 in Bentonville of Stoic Brews Alternative, Arkansas’ first gluten-free craft beer brewery. “I’ve had people cry. We’ve heard, ‘I haven’t had a beer in 20 years,’” Rebecca Davitt, co-owner of Stoic Brews, told Arkansas Business.

Best Reasons for Bad Aim

Longtime Walmart executive Andrew Wilson was missing every target when he first went bird hunting with company founder Sam Walton. Walton said, “You know, Andrew, you’re not a very good shot.” Wilson replied he was just nervous. “I was so scared that I might shoot Sam or one of the dogs, even Ol’ Roy.” Ol’ Roy, the namesake of Walmart’s dog food brand, was Walton’s favorite bird dog.

Best Way to Skin a Cat

Sharp County business owner Renee Clay-Circle played a trick on 24 dinner guests after a hunting trip to New Mexico where she and her husband bagged a mountain lion.

She served cougar tenderloin at the party. “Everyone assumed it was pork tenderloin and they all bragged on it,” Clay-Circle said. “I didn’t tell them until after the meal that they had just had something that less than 1% of the U.S. population has eaten.”

Best Tiny House Debate

Little Rock property developer Mike Orndorff asked the city of Little Rock for permission to build four tiny homes on a single lot in Little Rock’s Hanger Hill neighborhood. The city initially denied Orndorff’s request over concerns about a lack of parking. Orndorff eventually won approval for the project, which he said would allow him to spread the cost of a lot across multiple units so he could sell the houses for around $100,000 apiece.

Best Rescue Effort

The Helena Health Foundation purchased Helena Hospital in June and took on about $6 million in debt to save the hospital. The previous owner, Progressive Health Group of Mississippi, had stopped paying many of the hospital’s bills, and some vendors had stopped working with the hospital when they stopped getting paid. Interim CEO Rex Jones said the hospital would have closed if it weren’t for the foundation stepping in.

Worst Contract Negotiations

The Little Rock Municipal Airport Commission suspended Executive Director Steven Baker in September in a dispute that involved missed internal deadlines, a rush to execute paperwork before a federal grant deadline, and an indemnification agreement Baker wanted added to his employment agreement.

On Sept. 3, commission Chair Patrick Schueck told Baker he had been “non-responsive” and that “a delay at this point is hurting the airport.” The commission eventually placed Baker on paid administrative leave and appointed an interim executive director who executed the grant paperwork on time. Baker resigned in September after 13 months on the job.

This month, the commission promoted Interim Deputy Director Suzanne Peyton to be the new executive director starting Jan. 1.

Worst Mistaken Identity

George Makris, outgoing CEO of Simmons Bank of Pine Bluff, led the bank through a series of acquisitions that included 13 banks and a trust company between 2013 and 2022. During Simmons’ acquisition spree, Makris said the bank received an email “out of the blue” from an out-of-state bank owner who asked for a phone call. When the Simmons team called him, the man said he was interested in Simmons buying his bank. So Makris and other Simmons execs met the man at a neutral location.

When they arrived, the man said, “So, which one of you guys is the billionaire?” Knowing that none of them was a billionaire, the Simmons team was confused. It turns out someone else had just bought a bank in that man’s state and he had confused them with Simmons. Makris said the man’s bank was never sold and is still independent today.