McD's Delivers Growth while Getir Gets Out of S. Europe
Chipotle fails to deliver, eBay's still alive, Waymo cuts trucks
There’ve been so many Q2 earnings to parse through this morning, we just couldn’t decide which to highlight! Sorry for the late send - but we wanted to make sure we’ve got the best nuggets of news for you. Speaking of nuggets - McDonald’s delivered some strong results, while Chipotle left investors with indigestion. And Getir, eBay, and Waymo have some somber stories to share as well.
Today:
Digital Sales Drive Growth at McDonald’s, Not So Much at Chipotle
Getir’s Super Fast Pullback
Chart Time | Remember eBay?
Waymo Axes Trucking Ambitions
RESTAURANTS | Mickey D’s Delivers, Chipotle Does Not
McDonald’s reported its quarterly earnings, with comparable sales up an impressive 11.7% in Q2. International Developmental Licensed Markets showed particularly strong growth, with performance in a reopening China pushing that segment up 14%. Moving from burgers to burritos, Chipotle saw a less stellar quarter: comparable restaurant sales increased only 7.4%. Needless to say, Ronald’s stock is up, and whatever you call Chipotle’s weird grilled pepper logo thing’s shares are down.
The Big Picture: While the popular consensus is that McDonald’s growth is on the back of its viral “Grimace Birthday Shake,” this dichotomy points to something deeper than a purple novelty drink: digital sales and delivery. At McD’s, Digital Sales — meaning those from mobile app, delivery and kiosk — now account for a whopping ~40% of systemwide orders, up from about 1/3 a year prior. Things are going in reverse at Chipotle, where digital sales fell from 39% in Q2 2022 to 38% this year. The company’s revenue attributed to delivery order fees actually fell from $20.5M to $17.2M, less than 0.7% of total rev. The Newport Beach-based company is going to need to think of something better than a novelty beverage to fix that trend!
QUICK COMMERCE | Getir Gets Out of Southern Europe
Superfast delivery stalwart Getir confirmed it was pulling out of Spain, Italy and Portugal, in its latest round of retrenchment. The company evidently is getting close to finalizing a new funding round, albeit at the cost of reportedly cutting its valuation in half. Competitor Flink, once rumored to be folded in to its Turkish peer, has itself managed to just close a $150M new round, albeit by cutting its valuation from $3B to $1B.
The Big Picture: Getir continues to burn cash in its quest to deliver toothpaste and Snickers in 15 minutes or less; sources allege it’s still losing $100 million per month. Retrenching to the UK, US, Germany, Netherlands and Turkey means it can concentrate on the markets that account for 96% of revenue, while stanching the overall bleeding.
CHART TIME | Remember eBay?
Well, eBay also released its Q2 results today, with revenue up 5% to $2.5B, and GMV down 2% to $18.2B. While the company is touting this as “better than expected,” it’s worth stepping back to look at how far the mighty have fallen. Founded in 1995 and IPOing in ‘98, it’s arguable the site initially had an even bigger impact than Amazon in terms of moving the world towards delivery. Back when AZ was just selling dusty hardcopies, eBay’s auctioneers could get you just about anything. (Remember when whole retail business would pop up helping people to list their own junk on eBay?) The company has gone through a number of pivots — buying and selling Paypal, focusing on more Amazon-style fixed price sales by merchants — but it’s clear the company has really been treading water since it divested its payments arm in 2014.
AUTONOMY | Waymo Pumps the Brakes on Trucking Ambitions
Waymo announced it will “push back the timeline on our commercial and operational efforts on trucking, as well as most of our technical development on that business unit.” While the company claims it will still collaborate with Daimler, that sounds like a CYA statement, especially since there’s no mention of 3PL carrier and one-time partner C.H. Robinson. The Alphabet-backed company plans to concentrate its efforts on Waymo One, its Jaguar I-Pace powered ridehail service.
The Big Picture: It’s been a tough few weeks for AV logistics. TuSimple pulled out of the U.S., and American regulators are also looking less and less keen to give the green light to driver-free big rigs. That said, as Waymo One also comprises a food delivery pilot with Uber, its possible this shifting of internal resources away from the middle mile may mean more movement on the last mile…
A Few Good Links
Shein teases profitability, IPO. Kroger expands delivery in Kentucky. (Note Kroger HQ in Cincinnati is across the river from Northern KY.) Amazon Fresh cuts jobs. McDonald’s creating new CosMc’s sub-brand. Sales rise at Canadian grocer Loblaws. Safeway / Albertsons pilot wine delivery in California. Chowly shares vision. Wawa expands c-store pizza options. All Your Meals expands meal-kit operations to Toronto. Taker launches new food delivery app, Dook, in Saudi Arabia.
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