Beverages

Rapid grocery delivery will keep investors waiting

19 Oct 2021

Loss-making startups from Getir to Deliveroo are ferrying booze and nibbles to homes in under half an hour. Economies of scale will eventually help, although most operators will at best break even. Until delivery robots come along, shareholders will be subsidising lazy living.

Review: PepsiCo CEO memoir leaves work unfinished

8 Oct 2021

In “My Life in Full”, former boss Indra Nooyi describes fending off activists and making big acquisitions at the soda giant. She traces her path from southern India to hobnobbing with world leaders with humility. Her vision of an ethical consumer group looks far off, though.

Kweichow Moutai will take longer to sober up

16 Sep 2021

After a stock rally as fiery as its liquor, the Chinese distiller has lost some $200 bln of market value since February. The industry is facing fresh regulatory scrutiny, which could keep prices flat. A new state-picked chairman also builds a case against the top-shelf valuation.

Capital Calls: Microsoft’s buyback, Railway M&A

15 Sep 2021

Concise views on global finance: the software giant’s $60 bln stock repurchase plan is smaller than it sounds; meanwhile, a tangled takeover battle for train operator Kansas City Southern takes a messy new track.

Capital Calls: Amazon’s wage rise

14 Sep 2021

Concise views on global finance: The e-commerce giant’s salary strategy could catch on.

Capital Calls: New York City is on climate notice

2 Sep 2021

Concise views on global finance: Cities with a higher number of wealthier residents will be able to combat climate related events.

Capital Calls: Walmart plays both ends of the trade

17 Aug 2021

Concise views on the global economy: The U.S. retailer expects strong sales throughout the year despite a surge in Covid-19.

Fear of fatness fuels Pepsi’s $3.3 bln juice deal

3 Aug 2021

The maker of Mtn Dew Cake-Smash is selling seemingly healthier juices lines like Tropicana. Though he’s keeping a finger in the bottle, CEO Ramon Laguarta seems focused on flogging zero-calorie tipple to increasingly obese consumers. That’s why French LBO firm PAI got it cheap.

Capital Calls: Covid fibs, M&A flop, Hard seltzer

23 Jul 2021

Concise views on global finance: Forcing social media to take down vaccine misinformation is a good step on U.S. content rules. Meanwhile, a German real estate deal fails to get enough shareholder votes, and Boston Beer’s hard seltzer sales fizzle.

Capital Calls: Schwarzman’s double tax speak

23 Jun 2021

Concise views on global finance: The founder of Blackstone has a love-hate relationship with capital gains changes.

Capital Calls: GameStop is a SPAC now

22 Jun 2021

Concise views on global finance: The meme-stock video-game retailer has raised more cash, making it look like an overvalued cash shell.

Capital Calls: Netflix, Flackless SPAC

21 Jun 2021

Concise views on global finance: The streaming service strikes an agreement with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners; Helicopter-taxi company Blade’s phony spokesperson speaks poorly to investors.

Pizza-oven takeover may offer extra toppings

1 Jun 2021

Italy’s Ali Group is barging into America’s fast-food kitchens with gusto, throwing down $3.3 bln in cash to upset Welbilt’s agreed sale to Middleby. It’s a spicy move for an unlisted, virtually unknown family firm without fancy corporate-finance tools. And it just may work.

Capital Calls: Greensill/Bluestone

1 Jun 2021

Concise views on global finance: The collapse of the supply-chain finance group may have left the governor of West Virginia personally on the hook for $700 million.

Oatly IPO pumps fresh air into plant-based stocks

20 May 2021

The Swedish group that makes dairy substitutes out of oats surged 30% on its debut, valuing it at $13 bln. Despite heavy losses and growing competition, investors clearly believe the shift in consumption habits is more than a fad. It bodes well for other stock market hopefuls.

Capital Calls: Apollo, Microsoft

20 May 2021

Concise views on global finance: The second of the asset manager’s three founders moves on; the software firm is pulling the plug on Internet Explorer.

Capital Calls: JPMorgan, FirstGroup, Break fees

18 May 2021

Concise insights on global finance: Jamie Dimon is shuffling his deputies; the UK bus-to-rail group’s sale of its U.S. businesses to EQT has hit an investor revolt; deals involving AT&T and Canadian National Railway highlight the fees due for walking away.

AB InBev’s new CEO will inherit debt hangover

6 May 2021

The $120 bln brewer picked insider Michel Doukeris to replace Carlos Brito. He’ll lead a shift to investing in brands, away from the M&A and cost control that defined his predecessor’s 15-year tenure. Any stumbles will threaten AB InBev’s plan to halve net debt of 4 times EBITDA.

Capital Calls: Peloton, Honest Co, Office Depot

5 May 2021

Concise views on global finance: Treadmill recall leaves investors in the workout app stranded; shares in Jessica Alba’s consumer packaged goods company opened more than 30% above their IPO price; the office-supply company paper-shuffles its way to a higher valuation.

Capital Calls: Pfizer, ConocoPhillips

4 May 2021

Concise views on global finance: About $6 bln of additional earnings from Covid vaccines at the U.S. drug giant should mean more capital returned to investors; the independent oil group is offloading stock in Canada-based Cenovus it collected as part of a deal four years ago.