Apparently, the fastest way to grow a coffee chain is to shrink it first.

Brian Niccol's turnaround is shutting about 250 North American Starbucks (SBUX) cafés in the coming days, roughly 1% of an 18,000-store footprint, at a cost of about $300M in charges.

Management says it remains committed to growth, though its filing now calls for about 440 new openings globally this fiscal year, down from a planned 600 to 650.

US same-store sales jumped 7.9% last quarter. Starbucks would rather earn that number in fewer, better cafés.

— Brooks & The Street Sheet Team

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What: Premium card fees kept climbing. Plenty of cardholders stopped climbing with them. American Express (AXP) raised Platinum's fee by $200 last year, and the Sapphire Reserve from JPMorgan Chase (JPM) jumped from $550 to $795. Issuers now sell a middle class of plastic, priced just under the pain point.

Why: The $325 Amex Gold card is the template. Its average cardholder is 29, against 33 for Platinum, and the company's CFO called it Gen Z's “favorite product” last week. Younger cardholders have been a key driver of Amex revenue growth, including urban professionals “quite comfortable paying a card fee.”

What Else: Airlines want the same customer. Alaska Airlines (ALK) landed its Atmos Rewards Summit card at $395, figuring most consumers won't carry two $800 to $900 cards. American Airlines (AAL) and Citigroup (C) launched a $350 card last year. Capital One (COF) has worked the lane since 2021 with its $395 Venture X.

Watch: Southwest (LUV) and Chase launch a higher-end card next year, fee still undisclosed. The current Southwest lineup tops out at $229, so wherever that number lands shows how high the middle has drifted.

What: Following a legend comes with no honeymoon clause. Apple (AAPL), Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B), and Walmart (WMT) all have new CEOs: John Ternus for Tim Cook, Greg Abel for Warren Buffett, John Furner for Doug McMillon. The market is grading each one on a different curve.

Why: Each inherited a different problem. Berkshire has trailed the S&P 500 since Abel took over on Jan. 1, though an AI-crazed market is exactly when it should lag. Walmart is down about 9.5% since Furner started Feb. 1, with inflation doing much of the damage. Ternus, in the seat since Sept. 1, inherits a stock at 38x trailing earnings.

What Else: The bull cases rhyme. UBS (UBS) says Berkshire is under-earning on some $360B in cash, and Abel restarted buybacks with nearly $8B in the second quarter. BMO (BMO) makes the same under-earning call on Walmart, blaming e-commerce pressures it expects to ease. Evercore ISI (EVR) sees a better-than-expected iPhone refresh cycle.

Watch: Berkshire's next quarterly report, and whether that cash pile starts shrinking. Buffett spent decades building the trove. Abel's tenure will be judged by how he spends it.

What: Fast food's champion is paying up to keep the belt. McDonald's (MCD) will invest $8.5B by 2036 in remodels, retraining, and new menu items, including about $5B in franchisee capital support and rent relief over the next three and a half years. The leader is paying to relearn the basics.

Why: Last quarter brought McDonald's slowest growth since 2025, which management pinned on too many promotions, weak service, and a World Cup campaign that fizzled. Restaurant Brands International's (QSR) Burger King posted 8.5% US same-store sales growth, its widest lead over McDonald's in more than a decade. The stock is down 22% this year.

What Else: The menu is chasing a different eater. McDonald's pegs protein seekers at 60M Americans, plus 30M GLP-1 users, the weight-loss drug crowd. It's testing burger and chicken bowls, egg bites, and more grilled chicken, while a replacement for the “$3 and Under” value menu is in talks with franchisees.

Watch: October 5, when retraining starts for 2M employees worldwide. Starbucks (SBUX) and Burger King are running similar programs. The remodel renderings show new dining rooms. The payoff depends on the people working in them.