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It’s not a great time for fast-food companies, unless you’re Taco Bell

Taco Bell is keeping Yum! Brands afloat and (so far) it’s winning the fast-food value war.

J. Edward Moreno

America’s inflation comfort food is, apparently, Taco Bell. 

The chain restaurant is known for its Mexican-inspired cheap eats and items that sound like they were made in a test lab for stoners, like its giant Cheez-It tostada. It’s also the only restaurant in the Yum! Brands portfolio that is actually growing. 

Taco Bell’s siblings, KFC and Pizza Hut, each saw same-stores sales decline of 4%, according to a Yum! Brands quarterly filing released Tuesday. Taco Bell’s same-store sales, meanwhile, were up 4%.

Taco Bell represents 75% of Yum! Brands profits, CEO David Gibbs told investors on Tuesday. The company as a whole missed Wall Street estimates, but investors still sent its stock rising about 2%.

Taco Bell’s success comes at a tough time for fast-food brands. Many of them raised prices over the past couple years until they hit a ceiling where customers no longer recognized them as the cheap meal they once knew. If they’re going to pay $15 for a meal, they’re going to go to the more premium chains like WingStop or Chipotle.

This summer, restaurants started rolling out value meals aimed at fixing their relationship with customers. McDonald’s introduced its $5 meal deal and its CEO, Joe Erlinger, declared to Bloomberg News in June that he is “committed to winning the value war.”

But so far, Taco Bell is wining that war. It’s the only one of its top fast-food competitors that reported same-store sales growth: Wendy’s and Burger King were virtually flat, and McDonald’s was down 1.5% as of the end of September.

Gibbs said Taco Bell’s advantage is that it “can provide a product that is a value product, that’s an innovative product, and that can help our franchisees’ margins.” In other words, you might go to Taco Bell to try the new Cheez-It tostada or because you only have $5.

“We’re very confident in Taco Bell’s ability to win in this environment relative to our peers," Gibbs said.

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Uber launches “digital tasks” in the US, paying some drivers to train AI

Beginning later this fall, US Uber drivers will be able to earn money by completing short “digital tasks” like uploading restaurant menus or recording audio samples.

CEO Dara Khosrowshahi teased the new gig income stream back in June at the Bloomberg Tech conference.

At that time, Khosrowshahi said drivers and couriers were “labeling maps, translating language, looking at AI answers, and grading AI answers.” According to Thursday’s announcement, the tasks won’t be so focused on Uber’s business, but instead on connecting workers with “companies that need real people to help improve their technology.”

Per Uber, digital tasks can be done when drivers aren’t on a trip, be it at home or when not driving, and will take only “a few minutes” each.

At that time, Khosrowshahi said drivers and couriers were “labeling maps, translating language, looking at AI answers, and grading AI answers.” According to Thursday’s announcement, the tasks won’t be so focused on Uber’s business, but instead on connecting workers with “companies that need real people to help improve their technology.”

Per Uber, digital tasks can be done when drivers aren’t on a trip, be it at home or when not driving, and will take only “a few minutes” each.

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The average price of a new vehicle in the US passed $50,000 for the first time ever in September

The average price of a new vehicle in the US surpassed $50,000 in September, according to Cox Automotive’s Kelley Blue Book.

At $50,080, that’s the highest industry average ever, reflecting the price hikes faced by new car buyers in recent years amid pandemic supply shortages, tariff-induced increases, and the high cost of EV production. The figure marks a 3.6% jump from the same month last year.

“Tariffs have introduced new cost pressure to the business, but the pricing story in September was mostly driven by the healthy mix of EVs and higher-end vehicles pushing the new-vehicle ATP into uncharted territory,” Cox executive analyst Erin Keating said. Passing the $50,000 mark was inevitable, Keating said, especially considering that the country’s bestseller is a Ford truck that “routinely costs north of $65,000.”

Year over year, new vehicle prices rose nearly 6% for GM, while Ford’s climbed 2.5%. Volkswagen new prices were up 12.5%.

As prices climb, so do delinquencies on loans to borrowers with lower credit scores. Recent data from Fitch Ratings shows the portion of subprime US auto loans 60 days or more overdue reached 6.43% in August.

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