Sobering Reality

Good morning! When life gives you lemons, get lemon-paid: Tech-savvy kids across the country are making thousands by taking card payments at [lemonade stands](. Today we’re exploring: - The $20B+ boss: Starbucks’ new CEO is a hit with investors. - Sobering up: Americans’ outlook on alcohol is changing. - Under pressure: Lab-grown diamonds continue to boom. Have feedback for us? Just hit reply - we'd love to hear from you!   The $20 billion boss After its [best ever day as a public company](, Starbucks added the equivalent value of one of America's most read newspapers (NYT $9B), the biggest name in jeans (Levi's $7B), the nation's largest cinema chain (AMC $2B), with about $3B left in change... all because it announced a burrito chain expert as its new CEO. Investors seem delighted with the news that Brian Niccol, current CEO at Chipotle and a former exec at Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, will take the reins in September, replacing Laxman Narasimhan who served as CEO for ~16 months. The 24.5% rise in SBUX's share price equated to the coffee chain’s market cap. soaring to just shy of $109 billion at the end of yesterday, as people wait to see if "[Chipotle's redeemer](" has the Schultzian credentials. But, after such a positive coronation, the new SBUX boss [has their work cut out](, with the company facing pressure from activist investors, a consumer base that’s getting [fed up with price hikes](, and a China business that [has to run just to stay still](. [Read this on the web instead](   America has changed its mind on many things over the years: politics, seat belts, cigarettes, running for fun, nerd culture, Lance Armstrong, food trucks, electric vehicles, Abercrombie & Fitch, whether we’re [about to have a recession](… and more. The latest? Alcohol. A new [Gallup survey]( reveals a growing consensus that alcohol consumption might be detrimental to our health, with 45% of respondents believing that moderate drinking, defined as one or two drinks daily, is harmful. That’s a larger share than the 43% who think it makes no difference, and the (diminishing) group who view moderate drinking as healthy — a stark contrast to the attitudes of the early 2000s. The changing perception is particularly pronounced among younger generations. A whopping 65% of 18 to 34-year-olds — a demographic once synonymous with heavy drinking — now believe moderate drinking is harmful. That’s significantly more than the 39% of those aged 55+ who share this view, and it’s opening new markets for no- or low-alcohol drinks companies like Athletic Brewing, which was recently [valued at $800 million](. What's behind this dramatic shift? So many things. Large studies, including one highlighted in the [NYTimes]( this week, as well as the rise of health-focused media, such as the [Andrew Huberman]( podcast, are talking up the dangers and damage that alcohol can cause — as are the changing demographics of [younger generations](. As the allure of alcohol diminishes, some Americans are embracing other substances, such as marijuana, for relaxation. In fact, [one study found]( that the number of daily or near-daily cannabis users has now surpassed that of frequent drinkers. [Read this on the web instead](   Pandora has posted another shining quarter, with the Danish jeweler bumping its revenue guidance for the second time [in 2024](. One part of the business that glistened in Q2? Lab-grown diamonds, sales of which rose 88% year-on-year. Although less than 1% of the company’s overall revenues, CEO Alexander Lacik expects the synthetic stones to play a much bigger part in his brand and the wider industry in the coming years. Speaking to Bloomberg, Lacik said that lab-grown diamonds are “disrupting in a big, big way”, before predicting that they will account for the “vast majority” of diamond sales in [10 years’ time](. Crowned jewels Many, including Lacik, have pointed to lab-grown diamonds being relatively easier on the planet (and much easier on the wallet) as potential reasons for their rising popularity. Back in Q1, for example, natural diamonds were almost 4x as expensive as lab-grown alternatives, according [to data]( from industry expert Paul Zimnisky. Indeed, while the eco-friendly credentials of the gems have come under more scrutiny in [recent years](, they’ve caught consumers’ attention. Data from Google Trends shows that interest in the lab-grown stones reached a peak last December, perhaps as people conducted some hurried research into Christmas gifts. Interest has even consistently outranked the search volume for natural diamonds… a word which was never really needed as a distinguishing descriptor until lab-grown started to take off. [Read this on the web instead](   More Data - King Charles III's new banknotes are commanding royal prices at auction, with notes worth £78,430 going for more than 11X face value — one rare £10 note went for [£17,000](. - Stanford University students won 39 individual medals at the Paris Olympics, enough to place 11th in the medal count, tied with Canada if it were a [country](. - Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds cement their status as Hollywood's power couple, becoming the first married pair in 34 years to top the box office in [consecutive weeks](. - Liquid Death, the $1.4B-valued water company, has partnered with Van Leeuwen to launch a limited edition Hot Fudge Sundae sparkling water, offering just 10,700 eight-packs for [purchase](.   Hi-Viz - Visualizing how the high jump and pole vault Olympic medals were [won](. Off the charts: Sportico just released its latest list of the [most valuable NFL teams](. What were the top 3? [Answer here.](   Thanks for stopping by! 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