Food & Beverages

Capital Calls: Regulating crypto

7 Nov 2023

Concise views on global finance: The US Securities and Exchange Commission is struggling to hire digital token experts, partly because prospective recruits aren’t willing to acquiesce to the agency’s requirement that they sell their holdings in bitcoin and beyond.

Starbucks will benefit from kicking coffee habit

2 Nov 2023

When the economy slows, as is increasingly expected in the $115 bln company’s key US and China markets, consumers brew more java at home. In 2008, its profit fell 53%. Food and customized drinks are the sorts of small affordable luxuries that should now provide a better cushion.

Aussie winemaker ferments risky US deal vintage

1 Nov 2023

Treasury Wine is spending $900 mln on California’s fast-growing Daou. It’s the latest step in the Penfolds maker’s recovery from Chinese tariffs that corked a third of earnings. But listed US rivals have struggled. And the $5.5 bln buyer has suffered American hangovers before.

Capital Calls: McDonald’s resilience

30 Oct 2023

Concise views on global finance: The Golden Arches’ global same-store sales rose 9% thanks to both selective menu-price increases and smaller meals in different markets. It demonstrates the company’s ability to keep pace with disparate economies’ stretched consumers.

Smithfield US homecoming looks like pig in a poke

30 Oct 2023

China’s biggest pork firm may relist its US unit in New York. With $7.6 bln in market cap, investors don’t seem to attach much value to its 2013 buy. Moving West is a hedge against geopolitics, but a revaluation is unlikely if the Washington-Beijing relationship remains fraught.

Capital Calls: Ford, Amazon

26 Oct 2023

Concise views on global finance: The loss per car at the $45 bln automaker’s electric-vehicle unit has jumped 51% in a year. So-so earnings at the $1.2 trln e-commerce giant’s cloud division beat the even lower bar set by rival Alphabet.

Capital Calls: P&G’s pricing power

18 Oct 2023

Concise views on global finance: The $350 bln maker of Pampers diapers and Pantene shampoo charged another 7% more on average for its stable of products, but it can afford to keep squeezing shoppers because of the $1.1 trln Americans have in the bank.

Apollo may get noodle LBO thrown back in its face

12 Oct 2023

The buyout group could gobble up the UK-listed owner of the Wagamama chain for $862 mln. It looks like a good deal for the acquirer. Apollo’s decision to drop its John Wood takeover this year shows it’s no soft touch, but investors can still hold out for a better dish.

Pepsi has long way to go to win Ozempic challenge

10 Oct 2023

The $222 bln maker of Mountain Dew and Cheetos increased operating profit 14% after its seventh consecutive quarter of jacking up prices by at least 10%. Volume is slumping, however, and anti-obesity drugs are just starting to make their mark. Growth is bound to get tougher.

Polish cereal showdown goes against the EU grain

4 Oct 2023

A spat over Ukraine’s grain exports is the latest blemish on the European Union’s fraught relationship with Poland, the bloc’s sixth largest economy and biggest net recipient of EU funds. If upcoming elections push Warsaw further from Brussels, both sides have much to lose.

Retailer ‘shrink’ becomes too big to box up

3 Oct 2023

American stores lost $73 bln to theft last year, a nearly 20% rise from 2021, while Target just blamed crime for nine closures. Few chains report specifics, however, stirring doubts about anecdotal evidence. Consistent disclosure would help keep investors from getting fleeced.

Capital Calls: Food prices, Brookfield, SPAC spin

3 Oct 2023

Concise views on global finance: The cost of ingredients for the average UK meal fell 0.1% in September; the Canadian giant’s $1 bln renewables deal reflects how European green assets are getting more appealing; Singapore’s SPAC puts a new spin on blank-cheque targets.

Listing duo offers followers a cautious playbook

21 Sep 2023

Chip designer Arm and grocery delivery company Instacart have secured relatively successful stock launches, offering hope of a wider reopening of the IPO market. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists explain how cornerstone investors and lowly valuations helped.

Capital Calls: Deliveroo

14 Sep 2023

Concise views on global finance: The UK food delivery company’s shares rose 5% amid hopes of a potential deal, but a rich takeout looks unlikely.

French iced tea feud will inflame grocer wars

14 Sep 2023

Carrefour is warning customers that suppliers like Unilever are raising prices on drinks and other goods by shrinking packages. The move will keep the government on side in its war against inflation. But smarter shoppers may hunt for bargains and go to discounters Lidl and Aldi.

Grocers learn lessons of ‘greedflation’ drama

12 Sep 2023

Food-price rises are easing, which is good news for supermarkets that stand accused of profiting from consumer pain. In this Exchange podcast, Ahold Delhaize CEO Frans Muller explains why demand for own-brand goods gives the Dutch group an upper hand in supplier negotiations.

Smucker takes big fat chance on anti-obesity drugs

11 Sep 2023

The peanut butter and jelly company is paying an unhealthy $5.6 bln to buy Twinkies maker Hostess. Boss Mark Smucker makes no bones about doubling down on sweet snacks. As Ozempic and other treatments threaten demand, it’s a strategy that would work if it weren’t so expensive.

Twinkies maker will give food brands a sugar high

1 Sep 2023

Sweet-treat purveyor Hostess is mulling a sale to a conglomerate seven years after private equity firm Apollo took it public for $2.3 bln. At its current valuation, and as the pandemic sugar rush fades, there’s not much cream left for the next buyer to squeeze.

Instacart’s mixed bag has valuation opportunities

28 Aug 2023

The food delivery firm is worth far less than its high point in 2021. The cost to get new customers is rising, too. But a push to sell ads, a sensible business, could help bring its valuation close to $17 bln. As long as Instacart is reasonable, it can get its listing, finally.

Tupperware preserves lessons for Mark Zuckerberg

25 Aug 2023

The iconic food-storage company narrowly avoided collapse after becoming a meme stock. Ironically, viral buzz, often from stay-at-home moms, has been its secret sauce, just as it is for the Facebook founder’s $780 bln empire. Fickle influencers also can spoil the party.