☕️ Starbucks Says Stop Using Order Hacks

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Good Morning. This is the Investor Lookout with the daily digest.

Here’s what we got today:

  • ☕️ Starbucks Baristas Reveal a Drive-Thru Hack Might Be Slowing Down Your Order

  • 💉 Lilly Shares Take a Beating After Missing Sales Forecast

  • 🛜 Elon Musk Provides Starlink Internet to L.A. Fires Survivors

Starbucks Baristas Reveal a Drive-Thru Hack Might Be Slowing Down Your Order

Is this life hack expired? Starbucks ($SBUX) customers are using the mobile app to get their coffee faster. Its employees say that it only makes their jobs more challenging. The baristas ask customers to stop ordering coffee when pulling into the drive-thru and then requesting it moments later to skip the queue. They recount stories of venti lattes popping into the queue seconds before customers arrive at the window, forcing a frantic reshuffle of tasks. Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol envisions four-minute fulfillment times, but employees say last-minute mobile requests add another layer of chaos.

Jason Whitman/Getty Images

  • Starbucks will hold a three-hour store meeting next week for more updates.

  • One suggestion includes a separate drive-thru lane dedicated to mobile-only pickups. 

Lilly Shares Take a Beating After Missing Sales Forecast

Lilly's stock did some serious weight loss. Eli Lilly's ($LLY) stock fell 8% on Tuesday after it announced that Q4 sales of its blockbuster obesity drug Zepbound will miss Wall Street estimates. This marks the second time since Zepbound’s 2023 debut that results have failed to impress. Over in Denmark, Novo Nordisk ($NVO) felt a 3.5% pinch on the same news. Lilly had counted on a bigger inventory boost from wholesalers, but that never materialized, sending the stock to $739.23, potentially its worst single-day drop in nearly four years. The pharma giant expects $3.5 billion from Mounjaro and $1.9 billion from Zepbound, both below analyst targets.

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

  • Lilly shared a sales range of $58 billion to $61 billion for 2025.

  • Lilly’s 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio stands at 34.59.

Hope you didn’t mind lending your brand-new ride—Elon Musk borrowed freshly minted Cybertrucks to restore Starlink internet in fire-ravaged California. After wildfires destroyed an estimated 12,000 structures, Tesla ($TSLA) loaded up vehicles meant for customer deliveries and positioned them across areas like Malibu and Pasadena. Each Starlink-equipped truck provided free WiFi, while Tesla also offered housing, meals, and transport to employees who lost their homes. Musk apologized to affected Cybertruck buyers, saying they’d have replacements by the end of the week. 

FREDERIC J. BROWN—AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

  • Tesla delivered oranges, bananas, and bottled water in Cybertruck beds.

  • The company’s mobile power units were previously sent to North Carolina after Hurricane Helene.

Market Analysis For the Average Investor 🔎

#1

Consistent or smoother service could bolster Starbucks’ reputation. The meeting next week might reveal strategies that affect how the company grows or maintains consumer trust.

#2

An 8% drop suggests that investors are sensitive to drug sales forecasts. Keeping tabs on how Lilly addresses Zepbound’s slower-than-expected uptake could guide decisions.

#3

Rapid deployment of new tech (Cybertrucks and Starlink) in disaster zones can influence public perception. Investors might interpret such initiatives as signs of Tesla’s agility.

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