Saturdaze and Starbucks

Good morning bros and broettes, we're always pushing the boundaries here at The Morning Bro, so we've got a fresh new A/B test of our Saturday edition for you tech-savvy folks. Not much has changed, except it's Saturday, you are well rested and you're looking extra handsome. Fuel up on that caffeine and let's dive into some cutting-edge content.

In Today's Morning 6 - 9:

• Tech Times

• Fast Food Finance

• Cultural Catchups

• Bro-Tastic Memes

Tech of the Times

Facebook and Instagram have announced that they will be ending their two-year suspension of former President Donald Trump's accounts on their platforms, stating that the ban will end "in the coming weeks." Love him or hate him, the guy knows how to work the crowd and stir emotion 🤣

Fintech startup Stripe has set a 12-month deadline for itself to go public, either through a direct listing, or pursuing a transaction on the private market. For those that are unfamiliar, Stripe is a payment services provider that lets merchants accept credit and debit cards or other payments. (If you purchased something on Amazon or Shopify, chances are you've used them) while the company has reportedly notched gross revenues of $12 billion and was EBITDA profitable in 2021, also the company, which was last valued at $95 billion, has hired Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan to help it evaluate which course of action makes the most sense for the company. 👀

Google has developed an AI system called MusicLM which can generate music in any genre from text descriptions, but it will not release the technology due to ethical concerns. MusicLM can build on existing melodies, whether hummed, sung, whistled, or played on an instrument, and create a narrative from a sequence of descriptions but it has some limitations like the distorted quality of some samples and vocals that are not up to par.

Fast Food Financials

When it comes to fast food in America, Chick-fil-A is the most efficient business model among its competitors, consistently generating over $6 million in annual revenue per store. Not only does the chain excel in financial performance, but it also garners exceptional customer satisfaction, with a staggering 95% of customers reporting satisfaction with their experience. The following graph illustrates the striking difference in revenue and the number of locations between all fast food chains in America:

What's up with Subway? According to sources, Sandwich chain Subway is reportedly exploring a sale that could value the company at over $10 billion. The chain, which has positioned itself as a healthier alternative to fast food, has seen record sales in 2021 and 2022 and has a robust franchise model with over 21,000 locations in America. Setting up a Subway franchise costs between $100k-250k, a fraction of what's needed to set up a McDonald's, but the stores also generate lower sales per store, with a typical Subway store pulling in around $440k in sales.

McDonald's may be an iconic fast food brand, but it's officially been dethroned by Starbucks as the most popular in America. With an impressive $29 billion in sales in 2022, the coffee giant far surpasses its closest competitor, McDonald's, which had $23.2 billion in sales for the same year. The fast food industry is projected to generate an astounding $350 billion in sales in 2023. By analyzing the top 50 brands by category, it becomes clear that burgers reign supreme as America's favorite food, with a staggering $92.2 billion in collective sales among the top 50 brands.

Cultural Catchups

A company has built tiny houses instead of office cubicles to keep its employees happy, which has gone viral on TikTok. A Bro's opinion - it's wild great lengths companies will go to keep their employees happy, and that all they really want is a four-day workweek and higher pay.

Disney fans are bidding thousands of dollars on items such as "authentic" water bottles, rocks, and pins from the recently closed Splash Mountain ride, with some sellers claiming the items were collected on the last day of the ride and some even including certificates of authenticity, however, the authenticity of the merchandise remains in question.

Catchy Cultural Headlines:

• Head of the Church of Scientology, David Miscavige, is reportedly "Missing" and being sought by lawyers for a child sex trafficking suit, he has evaded process servers 27 times at Scientology headquarters in Los Angeles and Clearwater, Florida over the course of four months, according to TMZ.

• The Mindful Drinking Fest, a festival in Washington D.C. that emphasizes alcohol-free drinks, drew in over 300 attendees and vendors from across the country and abroad, showing a growing trend in the movement to drink less alcohol and an explosion of new choices in nonalcoholic drinks. Is alcohol losing its luster?

• Singer Rick Astley is suing rapper Yung Gravy for interpolating his song "Never Gonna Give You Up" on "Betty (Get Money)" and alleging that Yung Gravy broke the law by impersonating Rick's voice.

• Tesla beat analyst expectations in its Q4 2022 earnings report, reporting $24.32 billion in revenue, a 37% increase from the same time frame a year prior and surpassing the $24.16 billion forecast by analysts, and profit came in at $1.19 per share, or $3.7 billion, far surpassing the analyst consensus of $1.13 earnings per share.

• Brazil and Argentina are proposing a common currency, which would link South America's largest economy to one of its weakest, however, the idea is daunting as it would likely crumble due to the economic differences between the two countries and the lack of mobility and infrastructure, and the IMF and Brazil's central bank have opposed the idea.

Bro-Tastic Memes

Thank you for reading, but more importantly, thank you for being you. We hope you found this edition informative and enjoyable. Be sure to follow us on social media for even more Culture, Tech, and Business insights and updates @TheMorningBro