☕️ Poached

Mr. Chipotle goes to Starbucks... August 14, 2024 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( PRESENTED BY [Incogni]( Good morning. People were very intrigued by the brooding synth pop track they heard played at the Olympics closing ceremony on Sunday. After the performance, “[Nightcall]( by the French electro house artist Kavinsky became the most Shazamed song ever in a single day. The most Shazamed song of all time is still Tones And I’s “Dance Monkey,” and we are so sorry for getting that stuck in your head again. —Molly Liebergall, Sam Klebanov, Matty Merritt, Adam Epstein, Neal Freyman MARKETS Nasdaq 17,187.61 +2.43% S&P 5,434.43 +1.69% Dow 39,765.64 +1.04% 10-Year 3.852% -6.0 bps Bitcoin $60,700.16 +2.69% Starbucks $95.90 +24.50% Data is provided by *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 5:00pm ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: GOAT SportsCenter anchor Stuart Scott would be pleased, because inflation data came in as cool as the other side of the pillow yesterday. Investors were happy, too, sending stocks [soaring]( ahead of today’s release of even more inflation data. Starbucks led the way, spiking 24% after the coffee giant stole Chipotle’s CEO (more on that below).  FOOD & BEV [Starbucks poached Chipotle’s golden-touch CEO]( [Brian Niccol in front of burritos and Starbucks cups]( Parsons A seasoned restaurant executive is putting down the burrito to lead the largest coffee chain on Earth, Starbucks announced yesterday, in a surprise but welcome C-suite shake-up that electrified the green siren’s stock. It’s mister steal your boss. Chipotle will scoop its final serving of guac under six-year CEO Brian Niccol at the end of the month. He starts as Starbucks’s CEO and executive chairman on Sept. 9, [replacing]( the coffeehouse’s current leader, Laxman Narasimhan, after ~16 rough months at the helm. Investors anticipate a successful corporate makeover: - Starbucks’s stock pole-vaulted 24.5% yesterday, a record one-day gain that netted the company $21.4 billion in value and [erased]( its year-to-date losses. $SBUX hadn’t spent a day in the green since February. - Meanwhile, Chipotle logged the biggest decline in the S&P 500 yesterday, [dropping]( 7.5%. The activist investor firm Elliott Management—which has [urged]( changes at Starbucks since buying a $2 billion stake last month—applauded the move as a “transformational step,” likely toward reviving the company’s sales and operations. Starbucks execs said discussions about a new CEO didn’t involve activist investors. What Niccol inherits, and what he brings The world’s most popular coffee chain is [stumbling]( amid lower traffic: - Sales fell 2% in the US and 14% in China (its second-largest market) last quarter. - On Monday, $SBUX was down 22% from when its freshly ousted CEO took over in March 2023, defying 36% gains on the S&P 500 over the same period. - Starbucks has lowered its annual outlook twice this year. Silver bullet? In addition to masterminding Taco Bell’s “Live Más” era, Niccol rescued Chipotle from its post-E. coli sales slump and expanded online ordering before the pandemic, which helped grow the company’s market value from $8.9 billion in 2018 to $76.5 billion as of Monday. Despite price increases, Chipotle has also had better sales growth in recent quarters than other chain restaurants, including Starbucks.—ML PRESENTED BY INCOGNI [Privacy, please]( [Incogni]( Every day, data brokers profit from your sensitive info—phone number, DOB, SSN—by selling it to the highest bidder. And who’s buying it? Best case: companies that target you with ads. Worst case: scammers and identity thieves. It’s time you check out Incogni. [It scrubs your personal data]( from the web, confronting the world’s data brokers on your behalf. And unlike other services, Incogni helps [remove your sensitive information from all broker types]( including those tricky people search sites. Incogni helps you fight back and protect you from identity theft, robo calls, or scammers attacking your credit. Don’t wait: Morning Brew readers can [get 55% off Incogni today with code MORNING](. WORLD [Tour de headlines](#) [Elon Musk, UAW president Shawn Fain, and Donald Trump]UAW president Shawn Fain (middle). Getty Images The UAW filed labor charges against Trump and Musk. The former president and tech CEO’s glitchy X conversation on Monday generated millions of views—and at least one lawsuit. In a suit filed with the National Labor Relations Board, the United Auto Workers union [accused]( the two billionaires of threatening workers. During the convo, Trump praised the practice of firing workers who go on strike (which is illegal), calling Musk, who gutted Twitter in 2022 and reportedly threatened Tesla staff against unionizing, “the greatest cutter.” The charges are unlikely to have any legal ramifications, but they do serve the purpose of getting the UAW’s pro-worker message out during a crucial election season. The union endorsed Kamala Harris for president last month. Your kids go back to school soon, but their phones might not. The national effort to ban cell phones in schools got another boost yesterday when California Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote an [open letter]( to school districts, urging them to restrict the use of smartphones in class. Newsom cited evidence that excessive phone use is linked to mental health problems. Other states like South Carolina have already passed limited phone bans, while New York City—the US’ largest school system—is reportedly mulling a ban starting next year. Abortion is on the ballot in Arizona. The AZ secretary of state confirmed that a measure to establish a fundamental right to abortion in the state’s constitution received [enough signatures]( to appear on the ballot in November. Arizona joins several states like Florida and New York with similar measures, but it might be the most consequential yet, given its status as a battleground state in 2024. Democrats are hoping the abortion measure will drive up turnout for the presidential election, as well as the state’s critical Senate race. ENERGY [Accident throws wrench in offshore wind turbines]( [Wind turbine]( One of the country’s largest offshore wind farms, Vineyard Wind, is generating nothing but bad PR after a turbine broke and shards of it fell into the ocean off the coast of Massachusetts last month. Debris from the massive blade washed ashore in nearby Nantucket, known for its affluent, beach-loving second-homers. Many Nantucket residents have since [soured]( on the first commercial-scale offshore wind development in the US, which is intended to power 400,000 homes. - Federal regulators have shut down construction and power generation at the site indefinitely, pending an investigation. - Vineyard Wind’s turbine supplier, GE Vernova, said a manufacturing error caused the break. [Machine-heavy efforts]( to remove debris and dismantle the broken blade are ongoing, with Vineyard Wind saying it hopes to restart operations soon. Industry fallout In the wake of the accident, calls from environmental activists, fishers, and other offshore wind energy skeptics to delay or scrap future projects have intensified, adding to existing industry headwinds. Several offshore wind contracts along the Atlantic coast have recently been canceled amid ballooning costs and high interest rates. And the prospect of Donald Trump—who’s famously an offshore wind hater—returning to the White House looms large. But…some industry analysts say that the rare accident is merely a snag for projects like Vineyard Wind, which remain a major part of efforts to transition away from fossil fuels.—SK TOGETHER WITH BAMBOOHR [BambooHR]( A cry for help. Did you shed any tears during your first week on the job? Because nearly a quarter of new hires admit to doing so. Save new hires from unnecessary tears—create a top-notch onboarding journey with Bamboo HR’s [Onboarding Roadmap](. It’s a free, customizable four-week itinerary with all the onboarding essentials. [Get your copy](. MARKETING [The brands are mixing weird stuff again]( [Liquid Death x Van Leeuwen logos above the new collab name “hot fudge sundae.” A can of the new drink sits next to a traditional sunday dish full of water and a cherry.]( Death Another day, another chaotic brand collab banking on being the hot topic in your group chat. Two cult favorites, goth water brand Liquid Death and ice cream chain Van Leeuwen, are teaming up to [create]( a hot fudge sundae-flavored sparkling water. The canned water company will sell 10,700 eight-packs of the limited edition tallboys in its TikTok Shop, on Amazon, and at Van Leeuwen locations. The partnership marks Liquid Death’s first collaboration with another company, and Van Leeuwen’s first time releasing a product that isn’t ice cream with another company. But they aren’t strangers to working with others. Van Leeuwen has created viral ice cream flavors like ranch with Hidden Valley, mac & cheese with Kraft, and espresso with pop star Sabrina Carpenter. - Liquid Death has historically relied on stunt product marketing, like selling skateboards covered in paint mixed with Tony Hawk’s blood. - The company’s antics snagged it a $1.4 billion valuation in March after a $67 million funding round led by investors including Live Nation and actor Josh Brolin. Shock strategy. Liquid Death might be the cool new alt brand, but a weirdo collab for attention is the most traditional thing it has done. The move is straight from the “[unhinged, chronically online marketing era]( playbook of other big companies, like Crocs and Burt’s Bees.—MM STAT [Prime number: America’s Team](#) [Dallas Cowboys helmet]Ric Tapia/Getty Images The Dallas Cowboys may not have made a Super Bowl in 28 years, but it’s hard to argue with the investment: Owner Jerry Jones bought the NFL team in 1989 for $150 million, and now they’re the first pro sports franchise to be worth [more than $10 billion]( per Sportico. If you shaved $52 million off their valuation for every one of the 48 points the team gave up to the Green Bay Packers in their playoff shellacking last year, they’d still be the most valuable franchise in the NFL. The regular-season specialists generated $1.2 billion in revenue in 2023 alone, 50% more than the No. 2 Los Angeles Rams and a world record for one season. The average NFL team is now worth nearly $6 billion, up 15% from last year. NEWS [What else is brewing](#) - [Paramount]( laid off 15% of its workforce and shuttered its television studio to cut costs ahead of its planned merger with Skydance Media. - [Google]( announced a new Pixel 9 phone series that will use the company’s Gemini AI assistant. - [Russia]( was forced to pull some of its troops out of Ukraine in order to defend its borders from Ukraine’s ongoing counterattack, Ukrainian officials said yesterday. - [Ford and Mazda]( issued a warning not to drive more than 457,000 vehicles with recalled Takata airbags. - [Tropical Storm Ernesto]( is expected to become a hurricane today as it passes through the Caribbean before shifting north. RECS [Wednesday to-do list] Collect: Party like it’s 1997 with [collectible cups]( from McDonald’s, featuring Beanie Babies, Hot Wheels, and more. Clean: The best [cordless vacuums]( for when you need to tidy up before mom comes over. Watch: If you haven’t played [roofball]( yet…what are you waiting for? Trip out: An amazingly thorough atlas of [every type of mushroom]( and the colors they produce. Getting married? Connect with over 200,000 local wedding professionals—from DJs and photographers to officiants and makeup artists—through [The Knot Vendor Marketplace]( On your marks: We teamed up with [HOKA]( to send Good Work’s Dan Toomey to run the 2024 Brooklyn Mile.…Well, if he can find his way there. [Here’s how it went]( *A message from our sponsor. GAMES [The puzzle section](#) Word Search: “Iconic buildings” is the theme of today’s puzzle, but Jack totally snubbed the Bass Pro Shops in Memphis. [Play it here](. Hollywood couple trivia Last weekend, married couple Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds starred in films that ranked No. 1 and No. 2 at the box office, the first time that’s happened in 34 years. Which Hollywood couple went No. 1 and No. 2 in 1990? Hint: One of the movies was Ghost. SHARE THE BREW [Share Morning Brew]( with your friends, acquire free Brew swag, and then acquire more friends as a result of your fresh Brew swag. We’re saying we’ll give you free stuff and more friends if you share a link. One link. Your referral count: 0 [Click to Share]( Or copy & paste your referral link to others: [morningbrew.com/daily/r/?kid=a905682a]( ANSWER Bruce Willis (Die Hard 2) and Demi Moore (Ghost). Word of the Day Today’s Word of the Day is: shellacking, meaning “a decisive defeat.” Thanks to Jenny from Sacramento, CA, for the winning suggestion. Submit another [Word of the Day here](. Written by [Adam Epstein]( [Molly Liebergall]( Sam Klebanov, [Matty Merritt]( and [Neal Freyman]( Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. 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