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| Hello Insiders!! Today’s Business newsletter covers: - 🤖 Chipotle robots to make burrito bowls
- 💰 Rivian loses billions on electric truck quest
- 💼 Lilly buys Point for $1.4B
If you enjoy reading this newsletter, please share it with your friends and colleagues. Make sure to continue reading the Quarterly Earnings Report and the Quick Hits. Thank you!! Shriram
p/Shriram | |
| 1 | | Chipotle is conducting tests of a robot, developed in partnership with startup Hyphen, capable of assembling burrito bowls and salads exclusively for digital orders. Chipotle had invested in Hyphen, formerly known as Ono Food, in the previous year, and the startup currently holds a valuation of $104M. More: - Automation strives to save labor costs and boost order accuracy and speed in the restaurant business.
- Chippy, a robot that creates tortilla chips, was previously used by Chipotle as an automation test subject.
- The Hyphen robot exclusively prepares burrito bowls and salads for digital orders, efficiently dispensing ingredients while allowing employees to assemble other digital orders like tacos, quesadillas, and burritos on the same line.
- According to Chipotle, burrito bowls and salads account for almost two-thirds of all digital orders for the restaurant.
- Another restaurant brand, Sweetgreen, has already unveiled its first automated store and intends to automate every remaining establishment within five years.
Q: How will robots making burrito bowls impact restaurant efficiency and customer experience? Join the conversation here. |     | |
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What the numbers say: Rivian faced losses of $33,000 per vehicle sold in the second quarter and has already spent half of its $18B cash reserve within two years. By the end of September, the company had produced roughly 65,000 vehicles, operating its Illinois factory at less than one-third of its capacity while targeting the production of 52,000 vehicles for the current year. Despite a 70% decline in share price from its IPO price of $78, Rivian continues to navigate challenges. Relevance: Rivian struggles to match manufacturing costs to vehicle prices, primarily due to its ambitious vehicle designs and engineering, which have increased production costs. The corporation aimed to achieve gross profitability by the end of 2024, but its cash burn rate topped $1B each quarter as of June. More data: The R1T pickup truck, R1S SUV, and an electric delivery van explicitly created for Amazon are all part of Rivian's array of vehicles. Rivian made history by developing the first battery-powered truck in the business. The company had a 60% increase in sales volume during the second quarter, generating $1.1B in revenue. It is developing the R2 series, a new generation of electric SUVs that will go on sale in 2026 and might increase future revenues. | | | |
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| 3 | | Eli Lilly, the world's largest pharmaceutical company, purchased Point Biopharma for $1.4B to enhance its cancer drug offerings. Point Biopharma specializes in radioligand therapy, a precision approach that administers targeted radiation to cancer cells. More: - Eli Lilly aims to create several radioligand treatments for complex malignancies because it believes radiopharmaceuticals have potential in cancer treatment.
- Eli Lilly now has access to radioligand therapy because of the acquisition.
- The development of new medications for obesity and Alzheimer's has contributed to a 65% rise in Eli Lilly's shares over the past year.
- Lilly will purchase each share of Point for $12.50 in cash, an increase of 87% over the company's Oct. 2 closing price.
- The acquisition reflects a tactical decision to broaden Eli Lilly's oncology product line, emphasizing creating cutting-edge cancer therapies.
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| 4 | | In Q3, Tesla's sales dipped, with 435,000 deliveries, down 7% from the previous quarter's 466,000. This fell short of analysts' expectations, who had anticipated around 461,000 sales, making it challenging for Tesla to reach its full-year target of 1.8 million vehicles, necessitating a 9% Q4 sales increase. More: - Production dropped 10% compared to Q2 due to the company's production issues brought on by summer upgrade shutdowns.
- As sales fell short of output in prior quarters, some analysts have expressed concern about deteriorating demand.
- With established automakers entering the electric vehicle industry, Tesla has been forced to lower costs to boost demand.
- According to CEO Elon Musk, macroeconomic reasons, including rising interest rates, contribute to price reductions.
- The business' readiness to tolerate lower profit margins reflects its plan to increase demand in the face of competition and ramp up output in new factories.
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| 6 | | According to the Inter-American Development Bank, the coffee industry, particularly Arabica coffee, faces a substantial threat from climate change, with rising temperatures potentially shrinking the suitable coffee-growing area by 50% by 2050. Starbucks has spent over a decade developing Arabica coffee varieties that thrive in a warmer climate, focusing on higher yields and resistance to coffee leaf rust, worsened by climate change. More: - At its research facility in Costa Rica, Starbucks has identified six new coffee varieties that satisfy its requirements for flavor and taste.
- These well-researched variants could produce coffee in a two-year cycle rather than a three- or four-year cycle, increasing output.
- Starbucks and the coffee industry, in general, rely mainly on growers, who are finding it difficult to adjust to the effects of global warming on coffee crops.
- To help farmers cope with climate-related difficulties, Starbucks has also given them coffee trees and seeds resistant to leaf rust.
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Term of the Day January Effect: The January Effect is a seasonal increase in stock prices that tends to happen in January. Question of the Week Do you share details about your salary with your coworkers? Join the conversation |
INSIDE BUSINESS LEADERBOARD (7 DAYS) |
 | Freelance Writer | | Shriram is pursuing Master’s in Business with Marketing at Warwick Business School. He worked as a Senior Consultant in Tech and Political Consultancies before his Masters. He is passionate about Tech, Marketing, Strategy, Anthropology and Politics. He is also the Postgraduate Ambassador for Warwick Business School. | | This newsletter was edited by Aaron Crutchfield | |
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