Inflation Uptick Complicates Rate Cut & Pokémon Cards a Hot Investment?

Summary

Morning Brew Daily – Episode Summary

Episode Title: Inflation Uptick Complicates Rate Cut & Pokémon Cards a Hot Investment?
Date: September 12, 2025
Hosts: Neal Freyman and Toby Howell

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the latest economic data showing persistent inflation in the US, the implications for the Federal Reserve’s upcoming decision on interest rate cuts, and the ripple effects of tariffs. The hosts also break down Hollywood’s potential blockbuster merger between Paramount and Warner Bros., explore the regulatory crackdown on pharmaceutical advertising, and end with their popular “Stock of the Week, Dog of the Week” segment—featuring Pokémon cards as a booming investment and Starbucks’ struggles to turn around its business.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. London’s Tube Strike Chaos and E-bike Boom

[00:52 – 02:12]

• London’s tube strike has created chaos, forcing commuters onto e-bikes.
  • Lime reported a 74% surge in e-bike rides compared to the prior week.
  • Toby shares his perspective on the difference between Copenhagen’s and London’s cycling cultures.
  • Memorable Quote:
    “The Danes are whipping around the streets, but you feel safe... London, on the other hand, deeply unnerving cycling culture.” — Toby Howell [01:36]
  • Humorous Reddit anecdote:
    "The amount of stunts observed today would send Tom Cruise to unemployment." — Neal Freyman [02:12]

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2. Inflation: Persistent & Complicated by Tariffs

[02:55 – 06:46]

• August CPI:
  • Consumer prices rose 0.4% from July, with an annual inflation rate at 2.9% (Fed targets 2%).
  • Core CPI up 3.1%, showing inflation in both goods and services.
• Tariffs:
  • Recent Trump administration tariffs haven’t caused “dramatic” inflation, but have nudged prices up, especially in tariff-exposed sectors: apparel, appliances, cars, shoes, toys, cosmetics, and notably furniture.
  • Coffee prices soared:
    • Up 21% year over year; roasted coffee up 21.7%—biggest jump since the 1990s.
    • Tariffs: 50% on Brazilian coffee, 20% on Vietnam, 19% on Indonesia.
  • Quote:
    “Coffee prices are through the roof.” — Neal Freyman [05:04]
• Consumer Impact:
  • “If you like a hearty breakfast, then you are certainly feeling the pinch.” — Toby Howell [05:49]
  • Despite inflation, travel remains resilient:
    • Airlines like Delta report robust Q3 revenues, indicating consumer strength.

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3. Fed’s Upcoming Rate Cut Decision

[06:46 – 07:32]

• Inflation persists, but employment data is concerning—jobless claims reached their highest since October 2021 (263,000 new applications).
• Ned:
  “That essentially trumped this inflation report... and sealed the deal for a rate cut.” — Neal Freyman [07:15]
• Stocks hit all-time highs on expectations of a rate cut.

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4. Paramount & Warner Bros.: Megamerger in the Works

[07:32 – 11:06]

• David Ellison (Skydance/Paramount) plotting a bid for Warner Bros. Discovery — a potential $41B acquisition.
• Would unite HBO Max, Paramount+, blockbuster studios (Barbie, Mission Impossible), and news giants (CNN, CBS).
• Regulatory scrutiny likely given anti-trust concerns and the administration’s focus on media.
• Quote:
  "A tie up between Paramount and Warner Bros. would be monumental." — Neal Freyman [07:54]
• Toby on strategic logic:
  • “Warner Bros. has one of the strongest, you know, roster of characters in the media game... but it’s often been looked at as sort of underutilized.” [10:02]
  • Expects other tech giants may bid; not the last volley in a media bidding war.

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5. Crackdown on Pharma Advertising

[11:06 – 13:43]

• Trump’s executive order & FDA enforcement push to close loopholes letting ads skip full disclosure of drug side effects.
• Potential impact: Lengthier and costlier ads; legal fights over First Amendment anticipated.
• Pharma is a massive ad spender—over $10B/year.
• RFK Jr.’s stance:
  • “Pharmaceutical ads hook this country on prescription drugs. We will shut down that pipeline of deception...” [12:29]
• Industry nervous: Worry new rules could make TV ads “untenable”—already side effect lists are long, and full disclosure would be even harder to pull off.

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6. Stock of the Week, Dog of the Week

[15:50 – 21:52]

Stock of the Week: Pokémon Cards

[15:50 – 19:12]

• Pokémon cards have returned 3800% since 2004, trouncing the S&P 500 and even Meta’s stock performance.
• “If your portfolio doesn’t have a smidge of jigglypuff in it, then you’re doing it wrong.” — Toby Howell [17:11]
• Scarcity, nostalgia, and pop culture driving the craze; Logan Paul’s $5.3M Pikachu illustrator card cited as a catalyst.
• Collectors appreciate Pokémon cards’ unique risk profile:
  • “Pikachu’s not going to tear his ACL or get a DUI.” — Toby Howell [18:18]
• Cautionary note: Overproduction risk, paralleling the 1980s baseball card bust.
• Kevin O’Leary compares card investing to bitcoin/gold holdings:
  “We look at it no different than our bitcoin holdings, our Ethereum holdings or gold holdings.” [19:12]

Dog of the Week: Starbucks

[19:54 – 22:46]

• Brian Nicholl’s first year as CEO has proven challenging; Starbucks stock down 9% over the year, six consecutive quarters of declining sales.
• Initiatives:
  • Removed non-dairy milk surcharge, slimmed menu, invested in tech, returned comfy furniture.
  • Trying to balance fast service (four-minute drinks) with “more personal” service.
• Toby’s grade:
  • “I would give him right around a B for now because it does feel like he's trying to do everything at once.” — Toby Howell [21:06]
• Starbucks’ best-ever sales week followed the fall menu launch and “cold foam” innovation; now aiming to capitalize on the protein trend with protein-packed drinks.
• Toby:
  • “I'm a cold foam sucker and I am willing to say it.” [22:46]

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7. Bonus Headline: Possible Evidence of Life on Mars

[23:16 – 24:00]

• NASA’s rover spots organic compounds and potential biosignatures in ancient lake bedrock.
• Quote:
  • “Carl Sagan once said, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. So far, this evidence is intriguing. It’s not necessarily extraordinary yet.” — Neal Freyman [24:00]
• NASA scientists optimistic; cautious optimism about discovering organic life on Mars.

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Notable Quotes

• “The Danes are whipping around the streets, but you feel safe… London, on the other hand, deeply unnerving cycling culture.” — Toby Howell [01:36]
• “Coffee prices are through the roof.” — Neal Freyman [05:04]
• “Pikachu’s not going to tear his ACL or get a DUI.” — Toby Howell [18:18]
• “If your portfolio doesn’t have a smidge of jigglypuff in it, then you’re doing it wrong.” — Toby Howell [17:11]
• “We look at it no different than our bitcoin holdings...” — Kevin O’Leary [19:12]
• “Carl Sagan once said, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. So far, this evidence is intriguing. It’s not necessarily extraordinary yet.” — Neal Freyman [24:00]
• “I’m a cold foam sucker and I am willing to say it.” — Toby Howell [22:46]

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Major Timestamps

• 00:52 – 02:12: London tube strike, e-bike chaos
• 02:55 – 06:46: Inflation uptick, tariff impacts, consumer sentiment
• 06:46 – 07:32: Fed’s rate cut dilemma, jobs data
• 07:32 – 11:06: Paramount/Warner Bros. merger
• 11:06 – 13:43: Pharma ad crackdown and industry reaction
• 15:50 – 19:12: Pokémon cards, new “alt asset” boom
• 19:54 – 22:46: Starbucks’ turnaround efforts and market struggles
• 23:16 – 24:00: NASA finds signs hinting at life on Mars

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This episode captures the interplay between rising prices, market optimism, shifting economic policy—and even the alternate realities of media mega-mergers and investing in Pikachus. Neal and Toby keep it brisk, witty, and insightful, perfect for anyone needing a fast, engaging briefing on business and culture.

Transcript

[A]

Indeed just dropped something huge. Career scout and talent scout. A career coach and hiring partner for both job seekers and employers. They leverage Indeed's massive pool of data to match employers and job seekers through a simple conversation. It's a smarter way to search for jobs and hire. Learn more about innovations from Indeed and why leaders trust them to make hiring simpler, faster and more efficient. Head to indeed.com brew that's indeed.com brew.

[B]

Good morning, Brew Daily Show. I'm Neal Freyman.

[C]

And I'm Toby Howell.

[B]

Today, a blockbuster merger could bring Paramount and HBO Max into the same family, which could get more awkward than the White Lotus brothers.

[C]

Ben, tired of direct to consumer drug advertisements? See if a ban is right for you. It's Friday, September 12th. Let's ride.

[B]

Good morning and happy Friday. I know a lot of you are ready for this week to be over, but any anyone living in London is downright desperate. That's because a strike by tube workers has shut down the Underground since Sunday, causing commuting chaos. Specifically, a lot of people who don't have much practice riding E bikes are now riding E bikes, leading some Londoners to compare their commutes to the Tour de France. The surge in strike lists, as they're known, has been great for the company Lime, which reported a 74% increase in total E bike trips on Wednesday morning compared to the week before. But it's been a stressful challenge for everyone else. First, even securing a Lime bike when everyone's scrambling for them, and then making sure you get to your destination safely amid the swarm.

[C]

I was just in London for that wedding and then Copenhagen right after. And it is night and day, the difference between the cycling cultures. The Danes are whipping around the streets, but you feel safe because you know everyone grew up riding a bike and they're good at it. London, on the other hand, deeply unnerving cycling culture. Wrong side of the road, minimal bike lanes, and then there's just this general sense of mayhem lurking. I can't imagine what it's like when you have people wheeling suitcases alongside them, which people did observe happening over this week because the tube is down and tons of other strike lists on the road. Just not a good time to be on two wheels.

[B]

Yeah. Tom posted on Reddit that the amount of stunts observed today would send Tom Cruise to unemployment. Good luck over there. And now a word from our sponsor. Indeed, something huge is coming. Coming. Toby lunch. No. Toby. Career scout and talent scout from Indeed. They're a career coach and hiring partner for both job seekers and employers. That leverage Indeed's massive pool of data to match employers and job seekers through a simple conversation.

[C]

So there's no lunch today?

[B]

No. Just a smarter way to search for jobs and hire.

[C]

Well. If you're hungry to learn why leaders trust Indeed to make hiring simpler, faster and more efficient, head to indeed.com/brew that's indeed.com/brew the leaves aren't falling yet, and.

[B]

Neither is inflation US consumer prices heated up for the fourth straight month in August. According to the CPI report released yesterday, inflation ticked up 0.4% from July, leading to a 2.9% annual inflation rate. Reminder the Fed targets 2% inflation. The closely watched core CPI, which strips out the most volatile elements, jumped 3.1%, showing that underlying inflation remains sticky across the economy in both goods and services. Analysts had warned that President Trump's tariffs on dozens of countries would reheat inflation this summer and into the end of the year by saddling costs on businesses that they'd pass on to consumers. So far, tariffs haven't resulted in a dramatic rise in inflation, but it hasn't been negligible either. Just look at what's happening to some of the most tariff exposed sectors. Last month, prices for apparel, appliances and new and used cars all rose. In July, furniture prices jumped nearly 1% and in June, shoes, toys and cosmetics all got a price hike. So while it's still the early innings of this tariffs impact on inflation appears to be like the coffee stain on my shirt, small but noticeable. The inflation report was also important because it was the last piece of data that central bankers will see before they huddle up for the Fed's interest rate meeting next week. Things still seem to be a go for the first rate cut in nearly a year.

[C]

Yeah, this was the sort of reading that is pretty consistent with this idea of building inflationary pressures. It's also just so annoying for the Fed because it's stuck right above their preferred target. Which was again why stocks were pretty muted yesterday. They ended up notching all time highs once more. It wasn't an egregiously high reading that would derail a rate cut. Still, you are seeing core goods of CPI grew 0.3 month over 0.3% month over month, which is the biggest monthly price growth for car goods so far this year. Price increases are being passed down to consumer goods, the stuff that you are buying every day. Stuff like groceries, gas, you know, your car repairs. That is something that is materially impacted by tariffs. It's not just a services inflation anymore. It is certainly coming to core goods.

[B]

And we're called, what is this podcast called Morning Brew Daily. So we need to talk about coffee prices because they are spiking. In August alone, the price of coffee rose 3.6%. Coffee prices are now up 21% compared to the same time last year. That's the biggest jump since the 1990s. Some of that has to do with bad harvests in Vietnam and Brazil, which are two huge exporters at the same time. There are a lot of tariffs on coffee going into the United states. There's a 50% tariff on imports from Brazil, which exports more coffee to the United States than any other country by a long shot. We got 20% tariffs on Vietnam and 19% on Indonesia. So if you're going to your local coffee shop or buying coffee grounds and you're seeing prices spiking, you know you are not imagining things. Coffee prices are through the roof.

[C]

The Ron Swanson CPI basket of goods, as I like to call it, is getting wrecked year over year. Roasted coffee was up 21.7%. Uncooked beef steaks are up 16.6%. Eggs are up 10.9%, and bacon is up 7.2%. So if you like a hearty breakfast, then you are certainly feeling the pinch. But there's also some data that shows maybe the economy is not quite as weak or as unstable as you might think, because as airfare and hotel stays are getting more expensive, which means demand is still there. We also saw Delta yesterday come out and say, like, hey, we actually feel a lot better about our Q3 revenue. It's crystallized in the 2 to 4% range. So if airlines are telling us that travel, which is one of the more price sensitive, one of the most discretionary parts of, you know, the entire inflation report is still resilient despite, you know, these higher costs and tariffs coming in, that maybe is showing that the consumer is doing a little bit better than some data might show.

[B]

So what does this mean for the Federal Reserve? They have that huge meeting coming up next week. Well, over the course of this summer, the Fed has been weighing rising inflation with a slowdown and the labor market, which makes its job so much tougher. And yesterday there was a report besides the inflation report that maybe crystallized things even more. It trumped whatever came out of the inflation report, and that was this unemployment, unemployment report which showed that new applications for weekly unemployment Benefits jumped to 200, 263,000 last week, which was the highest level since October 2021. It is further evidence that the jobs market is in a Bad place. Remember earlier this week we got those revisions that showed that last year through March there were about half of the jobs we thought were added were actually added to the economy. And that essentially trumped this inflation report which was a little higher than expected and sealed the deal for a rate cut which is why you saw stocks hit all time highs yesterday. Moving on, the Ellison family is on one right now. Just one day after his dad Larry became the richest person in the world, David is preparing an audacious move that would send Hollywood into La la land. Paramount Skydance, run by David Ellison is drawing up a majority cash bid to swallow Warner Bros. Discovery. The Wall Street Journal reported it'd be super duper expensive because Warner Bros. Market cap of $41 billion is more than double Paramounts. But they could probably afford it because this deal would be backed by the Ellison family whose patriarch is the aforementioned richest person in the world. With a net worth of $383 billion. A tie up between Paramount and Warner Bros. Would be monumental. Bringing together the parent companies of streaming services HBO Max and Paramount plus movie studios that brought you Barbie and Mission Impossible and TV news giants CNN and cbs. The bid would come at a time of major upheaval in media. Following in Comcast footsteps, Warner Bros. Recently announced plans to spl its business into two One containing the stagnating legacy television business and in the other the faster growing streaming platform and studios. Notably Ellison's play for Warner Bros. Is the entire company. He wants all of it. And will he get it? There is a long way to go as no official bid has been presented yet. If and when it does, it'll need to win approval of Warner Bros. Shareholders and will certainly be looked at by antitrust regulators. Given the magnitude of the merger and the increased scrutiny on media from the Trump administration, Ellison will likely rely on his father's close relationship with the President to help him seal what would be a blockbuster deal.

[C]

Ellison. I mean both Ellison's are on one as you so aptly put it because look at what he has done since merging with Paramount. He secured the licensing rights to the ufc. He secured a long term deal with the creators of South Park. They are in talks to acquire the Free Press which is co founded by Barry Weiss. And it's just basically been this expand at all costs. Skydance is a lot smaller. Skydance, Paramount is a lot smaller to other rivals like Comcast given its size. So trying to beef up its operations here. And the bell of the kind of media IP ball right now is Warner Bros. You are probably going to see some other bids maybe being hinted at, maybe from big tech companies saying like hey, look at this stable of IP they got here. Warner Brothers has one of the strongest, you know, roster of characters in the media game right now, but it's often been looked at as sort of underutilized. So this is perhaps the first bid that we've heard floated from Warner Brothers, but I do not think it will be the last.

[B]

Yeah, Warner Bros. Has Harry Potter, Batman, Bugs Bunny, Game of Thrones, the Lord of the Rings, Friends and the Conjuring. And their movie studio is on an absolute heater. Once they had the Minecraft movie come out in April, which reached $1 billion, they rolled out six more consecutive number one movies. HBO Max, which is the streaming service, has a million names. But overall it has been a strong business. It's profitable and growing. And yes, analysts say Paramount has launched the first volley here in this bidding war. But there will be other tech companies who want to scoop up Warner Brothers, whether it's the entire company or it's its constituent parts, which we know Warner Brothers wants to make happen by next year that that plan could go up in flames if it is acquired by Paramount or anybody else.

[C]

Moving on, you might see a lot oddly cheery couples on your TV going forwards because the White House and the FDA are cracking down on drug makers over misleading ads. On Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order calling for stepped up enforcement on pharma ad rules while the FDA has started to send out thousands of enforcement letters related to certain advertising practices. The idea is to try and close a decades old loophole that lets ads on TV only list the major side effects of a drug as long as fuller information is available somewhere else like online. Listing every side effect despite being a major bummer would also make TV ads longer and more expensive. The loophole dates back to 1997, which is coincidentally when an explosion of TV drug ads found their way onto your screens. But with the double whammy of an executive order in, the FDA's more watchful eye could bring that parade to a halt. And what a parade it has been. Drug makers spend over $10 billion a year on prescription drug ads. Pharmaceuticals is the third biggest ad category on linear TV and streaming, while estimates say the industry accounts for over 20% of all TV news advertising. Despite the increased scrutiny, your Saturday college football slate isn't going to suddenly become a drug free panacea. The rules are likely going to face First Amendment legal challenges, but still the industry is a little nervous about what side effects this could bring.

[B]

This has RFK Jr written all over it. He's been long on a warpath to get rid of TV drug ads. He said in a news release, pharmaceutical ads hook this country on prescription drugs. We will shut down that pipeline of deception and require drug companies to disclose all critical safety facts in their advertising. He likes to note that the US and New Zealand are the only wealthy countries in the world that do not sharply restrict prescription drug advertisements. The US had done that for decades until 1997 when they loosened these rules, officials fearing that they would face legal challenges over the First Amendment. And now it looks like they will face those challenges once again if they do close this loophole.

[C]

And what has the industry response been? The drug lobby has tried to say that direct to consumer ads are definitely protected under free speech. It helps, you know, patients make informed decisions. Ad agencies and execs are also kind of very nervous here because massive, massive spender of the pharma industry. They were relieved it wasn't an outright ban, but they're still worried that these disclosure rules might just make ads basically untenable on tv because already when you see a drug on tv, you, the joke is like they start listing out all these side effects and it feels so long. You're like, how is this.

[B]

It's actually an abridged version, right?

[C]

And that's an abridged version. So imagine if they listed out every single one. It's basically, not only would they just become so expensive because then you're looking at 90 second or two minute ads, which is just ridiculous, but also it's just a pain in the butt for an advertising company to say, how am I supposed to make this appealing to a consumer? So, but some people are saying, hey, we welcome it. Maybe we've, the industry has become too aggressive with their advertising. So it's a little bit of split. Definitely fears of disruption, but some just want clarity over what we actually have to say on tv. Now let's take a quick break before we come back with stock of the week. Dog of the week. This message is a paid partnership with Apple Card. I'm a person who really appreciates simplicity. And when it comes to credit card rewards, the simpler the better. That's one of the many reasons I have an Apple Card. The rewards are super straightforward. I earn up to 3% daily cash back on my everyday purchases. There are no points to calculate, no limits or deadlines. Plus it's super easy to access my card and make payments from the wallet app of my iPhone. If that sounds like the kind of simplicity you want in a credit card. Apply for Apple Card in the Wallet app on your iPhone subject to credit approval. Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs, Saksbank USA, Salt Lake City Brands terms and.

[B]

More@Apple car.com Toby didn't we find you through Indeed?

[C]

Nope, but that would have been a lot easier than agreeing to do your laundry for a month just to get an interview.

[B]

Well, all the more reason to talk about how much the world of job seeking and hiring continues to change.

[C]

You're right. Morning Brew was actually on the ground at Indeed Future Works in New Orleans.

[B]

Yep, Indeed just dropped something huge Career scout and talent scout. A career coach and hiring partner for both job seekers and employers. They leverage Indeed's massive pool of data to match employers and job seekers through a simple conversation. It's a smarter way to search for jobs and hire.

[C]

Impressive. Does this talent scout also do laundry?

[B]

Maybe next year, buddy.

[C]

Learn more about innovation from Indeed and why leaders trust them to make hiring simpler, faster, and more efficient.

[B]

Head to indeed.com brew that's indeed.com/brew.

[C]

It'S stock of the Week Dog of the Week Time the segment where Neil and I pick one stock that's jacked up on creatine and one that can't even bench 135. I won the pre show game of seeing who can bench 135the most, so I'm up first. And my stock of the week is contained within that dusty box you forgot about in your parents basement. Pokemon cards are the hottest new asset class in the investing world, outperforming the S&P 500, the Magnificent Seven, and Labubus. In fact, with returns, this good AI now stands for an IvySaur. Since 2004, Pokemon cards have returned roughly 3,800% versus 480% for the S&P 500. To put that into context, Meta, which has a new, nearly $2 trillion market cap, has only returned 1800 percent since its IPO. But modern investors don't need cash flow or dividends to pump an asset class up. These days, scarcity and nostalgia can create enough cultural relevance to generate outsized returns where fundamentals don't exist. Just as gamestop traders got bored and took on Wall street during the pandemic, other perhaps even nerdier individuals took their stimulus checks and poured them into Pokemon collecting. Logan Paul's $5.3 million Pikachu illustrator card, purchased in 2022, set against World record for most expensive card ever and ignited the frenzy even further. So yeah, they're Risky and sentiment driven. And some people might not know a Charizard from a Charmander. But that hasn't stopped a dedicated group of investors from beating Wall street soundly over the past two decades. If your portfolio doesn't have a smidge of jigglypuff in it, then you're doing it wrong.

[B]

Well, Toby, I'm already locked into the Caterpie etf, so leave me alone. This gets very intense for some investors. There's an architect in Arkansas who talked to the Wall Street Journal. He has been curating a Pokemon Pokemon collection that he likens to his investment accounts. For each of his five children, he keeps these cards in binders in a climate controlled storeroom alongside other Pokemon merchandise in his basement. And then he plans to give these binders to his children when they reach certain personal milestones, like having a, having a kid, buying a home or getting married. So people are taking this extremely seriously because Pokemon cards are valued by their quality. You can't have any defects. If you get a high rating by a third party authenticator, that can send the value skyrocketing. So it's really important to not only have a rare card, but keeping it, keep it in mint condition.

[C]

It was fascinating to hear the difference between collecting Pokemon cards versus collecting something else, like baseball cards. A lot of collectors prefer Pokemon cards because they are fictional characters. People told the Wall Street Journal, Pikachu's not going to tears ACL or get a DUI. So it is something that since these are fictional IPs, you don't have basically the, it has a durability that maybe real athletes don't. The fear though is you go back to the baseball card boom of the 80s. It was a high flying asset class. People were speaking about it just like we're speaking about it now. And then overproduction came and basically just took the floor out from underneath it. So that's always a fear that maybe, you know, they'll just start pumping out way too many Pokemon cards and they'll just lose their value. But just fascinating to see the, the differences between collecting real life athletes versus collecting something like a Pikachu or a Charizard.

[B]

Yeah. And Kevin O', Leary, Mr. Wonderful, is fully locked in on baseball cards. He just teamed up with another person to buy a Kobe Bryant Michael Jordan card. They paid $13 million, which was the record for the most expensive trading card ever sold. And he said, quote, it's going to be a part of an index that I'm going to continue to grow along with my partners. We look at it no different than our bitcoin holdings. Our Etherium holdings are gold holdings. So there's some serious investors taking a look at a piece of cardboard and then putting in somewhere safe and then saying, this is essentially like buying bitcoin or buying gold.

[C]

I like that you called that a baseball card highlighting Michael Jordan baseball career rather than a sports card.

[B]

We'll call it one of the best minor leaguers to ever do it. Okay, moving on. My doc of the week is Starbucks. This week marked one year since Brian Nicholl began as CEO to turn around the struggling company. But it's proving to be tougher than any piece of food you get at Starbucks. Last September, the vibes were high in Seattle as Nickels settled into the corner office. This guy was known as the retail Messi. He helped Taco Bell, Live Moss, then performed miracles at Chipotle following a disastrous E. Coli scandal. Surely he could take that simple syrup and add it to Starbucks brew. But so far, so okay. In the past year, Starbucks stock is down nearly 9%. And this summer it reported its sixth straight quarter of declining sales. It hasn't been for lack of action. Nickel implemented a sweeping Back to Starbucks initiative with a number of expensive projects aimed at getting customers back in the door. Those include removing a surcharge for non dairy milk, slimming down the menu from Cheesecake Factory levels, adding more technology to speed up orders, and returning comfy furniture to make Starbucks feel like a place you'd want to hang out for a while. Nicholas says those initiatives are working, but it'll take more time than one year to complete the comeback. Toby, what grade are you giving Nickel on his progress report?

[C]

I would give him right around a B for now because it does feel like he's trying to do everything at once. And some of his initiatives have inherent tension against other initiatives. He wants to speed things up. He has this new order sequencing tech. He wants people to complete drinks under four minutes and get them out to you because the big lines was a huge complaint for a lot of people. But at the same time, he wants to become more personal, wants to bring that coffee house buyback. So if you're asking baristas to both make drinks faster but then also extend a personal touch, you know, scrawl people's names on cups, those two things are going to put a ton of pressure on Barista. So I feel like he's trying to do the right things, but the, the big people who need to carry that out, the baristas feel like they're under immense Pressure right now.

[B]

Starbucks might have a little bit momentum heading into the fall. They just recorded their best ever sales week at US Company operated locations. And it's not a surprise why they they rolled out. The PS was the same week where they launched their new fall menu and they're doing some menu innovation later this month that could bring more people in the door. They're chasing the protein fad, of course. They are rolling out protein packed cold foam in September 29th. People love cold foam. One out of every seven Starbucks beverages includes cold foam. It's been a huge hit since it was launched nationwide in 2018. And now they're going to be able to add cold foam to their grande beverages from like anywhere from 19 to 26 grams of protein. And then they're also going to be offering a grande sized protein latte with up to 36 grams of protein. Toby, what do you think about going into the protein market for Starbucks?

[C]

Well, I just want to talk about cold foam for a sec because I am such a sucker for cold foam. When you go by and you see the sign with just like this huge layer, I don't even really know what it is, but it's usually sugary and delicious. If you're adding protein to that as well, I am going to be going through the door. I've been getting raspberry cold foam on top of a cold brew, which sounds disgusting, but don't knock it until you try it. I'm a cold foam sucker and I am willing to say it. Finally, let's sprint to the finish with a final headline. NASA says it may have found the clearest sign of life on Mars yet it's not quite as sexy as an alien skeleton. But a NASA rover drilled into an ancient lake bedrock and spotted strange black specks that scientists can't really explain. Tests revealed that there were organic compounds present, as well as minerals that microbes on Earth use for energy. That evidence, coupled with more evidence that showed water once ran through the rock, has scientists feeling pretty giddy again. No bipedal gray men with big eyes, but on Earth, the same patterns often form when bacteria are active in mud. Scientists are cautious, calling it a potential biosignature until the sample can be brought back to Earth. But for now, it's the strongest clue yet that Mars may have once been alive.

[B]

Wow. Carl Sagan once said, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. So far, this evidence is intriguing. It's not necessarily extraordinary yet. But Joel Hurwitz, who is the lead author of this study, he is a scientist on the perseverance Rover mission said it's better than a coin flip if you say, let's put 20 bucks on whether these rocks turn out to have biology in them, and we'll figure that out when these samples come back. He would take that bet. So pretty exciting stuff. Yes. It's not skeleton. It's not like an alien. It's literally going to be microbes. But the fact that there were microbes or organic matter at all on Mars is organic living things on Mars is a pretty exciting thing for our solar system and beyond. All right, that is all the time we have. Thanks so much for starting your morning with us. Have a wonderful Friday and an even better weekend. Before we go, if you want to score brownie points with the marketing team at your job, or if you're on the marketing team, send them our newest podcast, podcast Marketing Brew Weekly.

[C]

Marketing Brew Weekly covers everything from social campaigns to rebrands gone wrong to how brands are building their businesses.

[B]

Hosted by the team behind our hit Marketing Brew newsletter, Marketing Brew Weekly helps you level up at work and stay on top of industry trends, all in a fun, conversational style that won't put you to sleep.

[C]

So check out Marketing Brew Weekly now, wherever you get your podcast.

[B]

And if you have any thoughts or feedback on today's Morning Brew Daily show, send a note to Morning Brew Daily at Morning Broadcom. It's time to roll the credits. Emily Milian is our executive producer. Raymond Lu is our producer. Our associate producers are Olivia Graham and Olivia Lake. Hair and makeup is waiting in line at Starbucks. Come on, Brian. Devin Emery is our president, and our show is a production of Morning Brew.

[C]

Great show today, Neil. I wish you all well.

[D]

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