Taco Bell is named the fastest drive-thru for a fifth year, but it may have lost a human touch with AI
Though Chick-fil-A was the slowest fast-food drive-thru, it was considered the friendliest, per the latest QSR report. At the Golden Arches, however, customers weren’t lovin’ the vibe.
Amazon doubles down on groceries with new private-label collection, sending grocery stocks lower
Amazon on Wednesday launched Amazon Grocery, a new private-label food brand that combines its Fresh and Happy Belly lines into one collection.
The label covers more than 1,000 staples, from milk and eggs to olive oil and fresh meat, with most items priced under $5. Shares of Amazon were little changed, but grocery-selling rivals Target, Walmart, and Kroger all slipped around 2% following the announcement. Costco also slipped about 1%.
The launch highlights Amazon’s growing push into both grocery and private-label essentials as more customers trade down to cut costs. In August, the e-commerce giant added perishable groceries to same-day delivery in 1,000 cities and towns across the country.
At the same time, Amazon said shoppers purchased 15% more private-brand products in 2024 compared to the previous year across Amazon.com, Whole Foods Market, and Amazon Fresh.
Ford sales climb for 7th straight month as EVs hit a quarterly record on tax credit expiration
September marked another banner month for Ford’s electric vehicle business, with EV sales climbing 85% from the same month last year to more than 11,700 units.
For the third quarter as a whole, Ford’s electrified unit sales grew nearly 20%. That’s the division’s best Q3 on record, boosted by the looming end of the $7,500 federal tax credit on Tuesday. Ford, with rival GM, has found some ways to extend that credit in the hopes of keeping sales stable.
Overall, Ford sales rose 8.2% on the quarter, and September was the automaker’s seventh straight month of sales gains. Ford sales have been buoyed this year by panic buying: first from fears of tariff price hikes (and Ford’s strong incentives), and lately from the EV credit expiration.
Some automakers are working accounting magic to extend the EV tax credit beyond today’s deadline
The $7,500 EV tax credit is set to expire after today, September 30. Logically, electric vehicle sales are expected to fall off afterward.
But some automakers, including Ford, GM, and luxury EV maker Lucid, have found ways to effectively extend the credit for some customers.
According to reporting by Reuters, Ford and GM have initiated plans to dealers that would have the automakers themselves put down payments on EVs currently in inventory at dealerships. Those down payments would qualify for the expiring tax credit, and dealers would be able to extend the subsidy to future customers through discounted lease rates.
Reuters reports that the programs were launched following discussions between the automakers and the IRS.
In August, Lucid announced that the company would honor the $7,500 tax credit through the end of the year for lessees who order its Gravity SUV by Tuesday at 11:59 p.m. ET.
According to reporting by Reuters, Ford and GM have initiated plans to dealers that would have the automakers themselves put down payments on EVs currently in inventory at dealerships. Those down payments would qualify for the expiring tax credit, and dealers would be able to extend the subsidy to future customers through discounted lease rates.
Reuters reports that the programs were launched following discussions between the automakers and the IRS.
In August, Lucid announced that the company would honor the $7,500 tax credit through the end of the year for lessees who order its Gravity SUV by Tuesday at 11:59 p.m. ET.
Boeing is reportedly planning its 737 successor
Boeing has spent much of the year improving its deliveries and climbing out of the hole it dug last year as safety issues and a major strike rocked its business.
Now, the plane maker is weighing what comes next. Boeing is in the early stages of planning a successor to its 737 family of planes, according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal.
Earlier this year, CEO Kelly Ortberg promoted an executive to a role overseeing the 737 replacement and discussed a new engine for the plane with Rolls Royce, per the report.
Plans are early, and the process of developing a new plane can take more than 10 years. Boeing is about six years behind schedule in replacing its 777.
Earlier this year, CEO Kelly Ortberg promoted an executive to a role overseeing the 737 replacement and discussed a new engine for the plane with Rolls Royce, per the report.
Plans are early, and the process of developing a new plane can take more than 10 years. Boeing is about six years behind schedule in replacing its 777.
“Madden” maker EA surges on report it’s nearing $50 billion deal to go private
Shares of video game giant Electronic Arts are surging up more than 15% Friday following a Wall Street Journal report that the company is nearing a roughly $50 billion deal to go private.
According to the WSJ, an investment group including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and PE firm Silver Lake (which is also part of the TikTok deal) could announce a deal next week.
In its fiscal first quarter that ended in June, EA delivered a disappointing net bookings outlook for the fiscal year.
Shares of EA’s most intimidating competitor, “Grand Theft Auto” publisher Take-Two Interactive, climbed nearly 5% on the report.
In its fiscal first quarter that ended in June, EA delivered a disappointing net bookings outlook for the fiscal year.
Shares of EA’s most intimidating competitor, “Grand Theft Auto” publisher Take-Two Interactive, climbed nearly 5% on the report.
Uber’s relying less on pad thai from 0.8 miles away. The company expects gross bookings (what customers spend) of non-restaurant deliveries to grow to $12.5 billion by the end of the year, according to reporting by Bloomberg.
The new forecast marks a 25% boost from the $10 billion estimate Uber shared in May for the delivery of groceries and items from retail partners like Best Buy.
Through the first half of the year, Uber’s total delivery gross bookings climbed to more than $42 billion, up about 18% year over year. That nearly matches the gross bookings of its ride-hailing business in the same period.
Nike, trying to break out of its funk, launches its high-stakes collab with Kim Kardashian’s Skims
The partnership champions women athletes and tests how far Kim K’s star power can stretch in the women’s activewear arena.
Lucid rises following the delivery of its first Uber robotaxi (of 20,000) and a price target bump
One down, a minimum of 19,999 to go.
In a Wednesday morning post on X featuring some of the most royalty-free music you’ve ever heard, Lucid announced it’s delivered its first Gravity SUV earmarked for service as an Uber robotaxi next year. Shares of the company climbed 3%.
The vehicle is now with autonomous driving company Nuro, which will add software and test the SUV for road readiness.
The 20,000-vehicle agreement over six years is a hefty order for Lucid, which expects to build between 18,000 and 20,000 vehicles this year.
Lucid stock could also be seeing a boost from a price target hike by Cantor Fitzgerald on Wednesday, to $26 from $20. (Remember, though, that before a 1-for-10 reverse stock split at the beginning of this month, Cantor’s target had been the equivalent of $30.)
Lucid shares have now risen more than 40% from their all-time closing low of a split-adjusted $16.16 on September 4.
Disney+ subscribers are getting (another) price hike next month
Disney’s streaming prices are going to infinity and beyond.
Starting October 21, Disney+ with ads will climb to $11.99 a month (from $9.99), while the ad-free Disney+ Premium plan will rise to $18.99 (from $15.99). Annual Premium subscriptions will now cost $189.99, up from $159.99. Disney shares were flat on the news.
Bundles are getting pricier too: the Disney+/Hulu (with ads) package will jump from $10.99 to $12.99, while the Disney+/Hulu/ESPN Select bundle will rise from $16.99 to $19.99. The ad-free version of that bundle will go from $26.99 to $29.99. Even legacy bundles that subscribers were allowed to keep will see hikes. For example: the Disney+ Premium/Hulu (with ads)/ESPN Select plan will now run $24.99 instead of $21.99.
After increasing prices four times in the past four years, Disney’s streaming unit finally became profitable last year. It’s yet another example of streaming services slowly raising prices and hoping consumers don’t notice or care enough to cancel.
Disney shares are up over 20% over the past 12 months.
Better Home soars after Opendoor kingmaker Eric Jackson dubs it the “Shopify of mortgages”
Shares of Better Home & Finance soared over 160% Monday after EMJ Capital founder Eric Jackson posted on X, dubbing the online mortgage lender the “Shopify of mortgages.” The post drew attention to BETR’s rapid growth.
He went further, calling BETR a “potential 350-bagger in 2 years.” In a subsequent post, Jackson argued that Better ought to be worth $626 per share today, and claimed that it should be worth $12,000 per share in two years.
Now, these are bold claims, but Jackson is coming off a rather successful called shot as the primary architect of the rally in Opendoor Technologies. After a similar series of posts where Jackson argued that Opendoor would be the next Carvana, retail interest in the real estate stock soared, mobilizing an “$OPEN Army” that has managed to gain the ear of management as they propel the stock upward.
Needless to say, when Jackson talks up a stock, retail at least will hear him out.
Better Home & Finance stock is now up a massive 682% year to date.