Unhappy meal
Burgers backfire at McDonald's
Good morning, diligent analysts. This is your Stock Market Rundown for November 1st, 2024. Thanks for joining me, once again. Let’s dig in:
TODAY’S TOP STORY: RISKY BITES
When you think of McDonald’s you probably think of golden fries, crispy nuggs, and that beige Big Mac sauce that’s so mysterious, yet so delicious. What you probably don’t think of are stomach cramps and projectile vomiting.
But some McDonald’s patrons got a rude surprise recently, when they were exposed to E. coli, a bacteria that can cause severe illness. The McDonald’s outbreak sickened 75 people across the US—cue the lawyers.Â
Even before this food-safety setback, the fast-food chain had been suffering from weak customer traffic. Lower-income consumers have been cutting back on household spending, including Happy Meals and Shamrock Shakes.
Food poisoning outbreaks are a longtime nuisance for restaurant chains. One of the worst was back in 2015, when Chipotle gave some customers a side order of norovirus with their barbacoa burrito. More than a thousand patrons got sick, and the FDA fined Chipotle $25 million as punishment for their extreme sloppiness.
In the recent McDonald’s case, an investigation revealed that Quarter Pounders were the contamination culprit. You might assume the beef was the problem, but nope—the bacteria was traced to yellow onions that garnished the burgers.
Turns out you were right as a kid when you refused broccoli and demanded dessert… vegetables can be extremely dangerous. Meanwhile, as far as I know, ice cream has never killed anybody.
SO WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
Comcast beat expectations thanks to $1.9 billion in revenue from Olympics advertising. Apparently race walking and synchronized swimming are must-see TV.
Samsung, the world’s biggest memory chip maker, is struggling to boost its chip business profits as it gets lapped by competitors. Lesson: winning in semiconductors with outdated AI tech is like trying to join a video call on a flip phone.
Uber’s growth slowed as demand for its ride-hailing services slumped. With inflation hitting household expenses, more people are skipping the Uber and taking the bus or subway instead… sure, it’s more crowded, but at least you don’t have to tip.
With both presidential candidates backing crypto, companies are lining up to launch new crypto products post-election. Great, grandma can buy some shitcoins in her 401K and get rugpulled.
That’s it for today, mes amis. Have a terrific weekend, and let’s circle back next week. Yours in capitalism, The Axe
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