Chickening out: Sweetgreen isn't up for a fight with Chipotle

4/6/23 8:00PM

Chickening out

‍The 2 day Sweetgreen-Chipotle war is over after the salad maker agreed to change the name of its latest menu offering, the “Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl”, after Chipotle filed a lawsuit accusing the chain of copyright infringement.

The move makes sense for Sweetgreen. The company's shares had closed 6% down on the day Chipotle staked its claims that the promotional materials for the product used the fast-Mexican chain’s iconic font and that the new “very similar and directly competitive” bowl could confuse customers.

‍Wilting

‍Sweetgreen was dreamed up back in 2007 by 3 college students who’d grown tired of the nutritious-but-overpriced or cheap-but-unhealthy options they’d encountered while at school. The company’s seen impressive growth since, from its debut store in Washington DC, to becoming the “first-ever restaurant unicorn”, and an IPO in 2021. Getting the financials into the green, however, hasn’t come easily.

Even though its salads and sides aren’t particularly wallet-friendly, Sweetgreen's bowls can easily cost $15+, the company is yet to turn its sales into profit. Despite revenues of $470m in 2022, Sweetgreen posted an operating loss of $193m, building on the $134m loss the year before. Even with the resolution of the lawsuit the company’s shares are still down ~85% since going public.

Max Knoblauch14h

Paramount reportedly offers concessions to resolve multistate antitrust investigation

Paramount has reportedly offered up some concessions in an effort to prevent an antitrust lawsuit by California and about 10 other states, according to Bloomberg reporting on Monday.

Reuters first reported on the potential suit from a group of unnamed states last week, which could throw a wrench in Paramount’s plans to buy rival Warner Bros. Discovery in a Hollywood megamerger.

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

Paramount Offers Concessions to Head Off State Antitrust Lawsuit

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

$98B ⛽

Max Knoblauch21h

The IATA released its latest financial outlook for the airline industry over the weekend, forecasting a $98 billion jump in the sector’s collective fuel bill. The world’s largest trade group representing airlines expects the oil spike to halve profits by 49% from last year to $23 billion.

The group also expects profit margins to halve year over year, falling from 2025’s 4.2% to 2%. Still, revenue is expected to climb to $1.17 trillion from $1.07 trillion.

A surge in the cost of jet fuel has rocked US and global airlines this year, leading Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, and others to raise fares and ancillary charges like bag fees. Low-cost carriers, which operate on smaller margins, have been squeezed the hardest, resulting in Spirit’s shutdown.

“It’s a tough year for all airlines, especially those whose balance sheets had not yet recovered from COVID. And, of course, for those operating in the Gulf,” said IATA Director General Willie Walsh, who added that demand is holding up and about half of passengers expect to spend more on travel this year. “That bodes well for a strong northern summer peak season. The big unknown is how long travelers and shippers can tolerate the higher costs of connectivity.”

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GM has reportedly rehired more than 100 former Cruise employees, 18 months after shuttering the robotaxi unit

GM has rehired more than 100 employees it let go early last year when it shuttered Cruise, its former robotaxi business, according to reporting by The Information.

The hiring spree, which also includes employees from Nvidia and Uber, is geared toward ramping up GM’s plans for personal-use self-driving vehicles and not robotaxis. The former had been the focus of Cruise, prior to GM shuttering it in 2024.

Reporting last fall revealed that GM was attempting to rehire some former Cruise employees, but the scope of that effort wasn’t clear. More than 1,000 employees were laid off when the automaker scrapped Cruise, which it invested $10 billion into.

Google’s Waymo, Cruise’s former chief rival, is now worth $126 billion after a $16 billion funding round earlier this year. The company says it’s serving 500,000 paid robotaxi rides per week in the US.

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