Hey Snackers,
A headline that the world doesn't need right now: "Facebook says Instagram for kids is coming."
Markets dipped yesterday as investors continued to pull back from tech stocks.
Crunchy on the outside... techy on the inside. Yum Brands is the fast-food icon that owns KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell (aka: Ken-taco-hut). Since digital orders surged during the pandemic, Yum is becoming less fry cook, more Tim Cook. It just made its second tech acquisition in less than a month:
Techy and I know it... Yum's digital sales in 2020 hit a record of $17B, up ~45% from 2019. Now it's doubling down on tech. We know that because its CFO said "omnichannel" and "frictionless" in the same sentence (describing its ordering strategy). It's also apparent in Taco Bell's futuristic makeover:
iPhone architecture is here... We've all seen apps designed for iPhone. But Taco Bell's techy restaurant is one of the first physical stores designed for iPhone. Chipotle did something similar in November with digital-only, table-free restaurants (see: Chipotlanes). As ecommerce eats everything, we'll likely see more mobile-optimized store formats. AKA: iPhone architecture.
Major throwback... The Intel sound logo when your PC turned on. Intel used to be one of the 10 most valuable companies in the world. But it lost its mojo: its current stock price is lower than it was during its peak in 2000. Intel's new boss wants to get the mojo back...
The real kicker... Intel plans to lean into making chips for other companies, too (aka: "foundry" services) — that got investors excited. Intel has primarily manufactured only its own chips. Now, it's going to use its factories for other companies' chips, too — even its competitors'. This is also a revenge move...
Intel thinks it can be Captain America... In February, President Biden signed an exec order to address critical shortages in the US supply chain — including chips. The Great Chip Shortage is shutting down American car factories and disrupting global production. But more than 80% of chip production happens in Asia. By investing $20B into US chip manufacturing instead of outsourcing to other counties, Intel hopes it can become the Captain America of chips once more.
Authors of this Snacks own shares of: Tesla, Google, Microsoft, and Apple
ID: 1578195