Grande Plans

Hi, today we explore: (1) Starbucks is persisting in China, (2) How nuclear energy shapes up in America, (3) Walmart's ability to move with the times. Good morning! Across the US, clashes between [student protestors]( and law enforcement escalated overnight, with over 300 arrested at New York universities. Today we're exploring: - Proactive: Starbucks is trying to force growth in China. - Not reacting: US nuclear generation is flat. - Action, reaction: How Walmart moves with the times. Have feedback for us? Just hit reply — we'd love to hear from you! TOGETHER WITH Venti frustrations Starbucks shares are down ~17% this morning, after [revealing]( that sales and net income had had dropped by 2% and 15%, respectively — largely due to same-store sales falling for the first time since 2020, particularly in China, where they were down 11% year-on-year. It turns out that Starbucks’ ability to sell coffee in China is almost as bad as some baristas' attempts to spell your name right on their cups — although, that’s not for a lack of effort or investment. Can’t get a Luckin… Starbucks’ global expansion goals have been going full steam ahead in recent years, having [reported plans]( to open the equivalent of 8 stores around the world every day until 2030, and China — with its affluent and increasingly caffeine-addicted middle class — has long been at the center of those growth efforts. However, it seems that the company’s famous green Siren still has a lot of work to do to entice Chinese customers away from local competitors like Luckin Coffee, which continues to go from [strength to strength](. Despite adding a whopping 850 stores in the country since Q2 ‘23, not to mention a [pork-flavored latte]( for Lunar New Year, Starbucks’ revenue in the region has been flatlining. In fact, if you look back 5 years, the company has nearly doubled its stores in the region. Sales over that time frame? Down 0.4%. Even so, the chain still seems convinced that China will come around to the brand, with ambitions to hit 9,000 stores in the region by 2025. Related reading: Starbucks’ untapped [investing potential](. [Read this on the web instead]( Up and atom For many Georgia residents, the opening of a new nuclear reactor this week was better late than never, though many others were left wishing they could have plumped for the "never" option. On Monday, Plant Vogtle’s Unit 4 [officially started]( commercial operation — 7 years behind schedule and, along with the Unit 3 reactor that opened last summer, racking up a total bill of $30-35B: more than double the initial budget. The reactors are the first to be built from scratch in the US for more than 30 years, making the larger Vogtle site, along with two other decades-old reactors, the nation’s largest generator of carbon-free electricity. Indeed, Georgia Power reports that it can produce more than 30 million MWh of electricity annually… which may offer little solace to some of its residential customers, who have paid $1,000 on average towards the construction. Next generation A global leader in splitting atoms for energy, America’s nuclear power [capacity]( grew two-fold in the 1980s. However, the nation's fission efforts have since slowed, with electricity generated from nuclear plateauing to a total of 775M MWh last year, according to the EIA, dwarfed by the 1.8B MWh produced by natural gas plants. Recently though, nuclear energy has been in the spotlight for its key advantages over ([increasingly available]( fossil fuels: it’s practically carbon-free and reliable for continuous power, preventing outages. Indeed, Goldman Sachs Research recently outlined nuclear as a possible solution to the mounting problem of energy-guzzling AI/data centers. Besides waste- and fallout-related fears, major drawbacks of nuclear are the vast time and budget it requires — in fact, with Vogtle as a cautionary tale, the industry has been shelving new reactor proposals in favor of revamping so-far-unproven smaller-scale designs. The question is now: does the potential long-term cost of climate change outweigh real-time, individual costs for infrastructure that could help to solve it? [Read this on the web instead]( [Sponsored by Sidebar]( Supercharge Your Career with a Personal Board of Directors The best leaders constantly strive to grow, even during the busiest times of their careers. 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[Get started with Sidebar now]( Likes: trying new things Giant corporations with 2 million+ employees aren’t known for their willingness to try new things, but Walmart has been doing its best impression of a smaller, more nimble company this week, announcing both a new private-label [food brand]( and a virtual shopping experience with immersive gaming platform [Roblox](. Dislikes: losing money On the other hand, news also broke yesterday that Walmart will be shutting down its 51 health care clinics and telehealth [services]( citing “escalating operating costs” and a "lack of profitability” at the 5-year-old initiative. This demonstrable willingness to cut ties with projects that aren’t working, and divert resources to areas that are, has been rewarded by investors: WMT shares are flirting with an all-time high, as its e-commerce business in particular continues to fly. Despite launching Walmart.com in 2000, it took 16 years and the acquisition of Jet.com for the retailer to get serious about selling online. Since then, it’s doubled down aggressively, with multiple acquisitions and website redesigns — edging ever closer to Amazon and other behemoths in the digital aisles. Indeed, Walmart's online sales over the last 5 years track on a broadly comparable trajectory to Amazon's from 2007 to 2012, growing to more than $19 billion in the latest quarter. Walmart's core US grocery division grew at a steady 7% last year, while its e-commerce segment managed 22% year-on-year growth. Although Walmart's growth is certainly less groundbreaking — online shopping isn’t exactly exciting tech anymore — it’s given the retailer a new lease of life and opened the doors to an even more lucrative source of revenue: advertising. [Read this on the web instead]( More Data • Hundreds gathered in NYC’s [Union Square Park]( over the weekend to watch a man eat an entire jar of cheeseballs — now a [TikTok]( sensation, he plans to do it again on the same day next year. • Safe hands: Since opening 30 years ago, Japan's Kansai Airport has achieved an impressive feat — not losing a single item of baggage. • [Sidebar]( your honor? In 2x 90-min meetings each month, Sidebar connects you with a high-impact peer group that pushes your career to new heights. 93% of members say the program has significantly contributed to their professional trajectory — [apply to join them here]( • Amazon's ad revenue soared by a whopping 24% last quarter, reaching a staggering $11.8 billion, after making adverts play by default on [Prime Video](. **This is sponsored content. Hi-Viz • Visual walk-through of how jam-packed [stadium]( get. Off the charts: Changpeng Zhao, another disgraced crypto exchange pioneer, was sentenced to 4 months in prison [yesterday]( — but what dominant exchange was he the founder of? [Answer below.] [Answer here](. Thanks for stopping by! Have some [feedback](mailto:daily@chartr.co?subject=Feedback&body=Hi%2C%0A%0AI%20like%20the%20newsletters%2C%20but%20I%20had%20a%20thought%20for%20you...) or want to [sponsor]( newsletter](mailto:james@sherwoodmedia.com?subject=Chartr%20NL%20Sponsorship%20Enquiry%20)? Not a subscriber? Sign up for free below. [Subscribe]( Copyright © 2024 CHARTR LIMITED, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: CHARTR LIMITED 231 Vauxhall Bridge RoadLondon, SW1V 1AD United Kingdom [Add us to your address book]( Don't want charts in your inbox anymore? Break our hearts and [unsubscribe](. [Privacy Policy](