Almighty Simon

Starbucks $SBUX CEO Brian Niccol says the company could eventually expand beyond coffee and become a multi-brand business, similar to Yum Brands, which owns Taco Bell and KFC. “Our scale provides an opportunity to go beyond just being a one-brand company.” “You put other businesses into a portfolio that can leverage the strength of Starbucks — that could be an interesting proposition, down the road.” Niccol added that he would “never say never” to acquisitions, although Starbucks remains focused on its own turnaround and doesn't need deals to meet its growth targets. The comments come weeks after Starbucks dismissed rumors of a potential Chipotle takeover.

AXT $AXTI Q3’26 EARNINGS HIGHLIGHTS 🔹 Revenue: $73.4M (Est. $66.0M) 🟢; +162% YoY 🔹 Adj. EPS: $0.41 (Est. $0.31) 🟢 🔹 Non-GAAP GM: 56.1% (Est. 43.4%) 🟢; +3,370 bps YoY 🔹 Non-GAAP Net Income: $26.8M (Est. $20.7M) 🟢 Other Q3 Metrics: 🔹 GAAP GM: 56.0%; +3,370 bps YoY 🔹 GAAP Net Income: $25.7M Key Updates: 🔹 InP Capacity: Surpassed goal to double capacity 🔹 InP Opportunity: More than quadrupled 2026 revenue opportunity Comments: 🔸 “We remain laser-focused on execution and supporting our customers as they scale, and we believe we are well positioned for transformational growth as our market continues on an extraordinary trajectory.”