Starbucks should take a page from McDonald's to get customers back in its stores

Published Fri, May 10 20242:42 PM EDT

Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street. (We're no longer recording the audio, so we can get this new written feature to members as quickly as possible.) Mixed finish: Stocks are on track for a mixed finish Friday, but they've had a solid week, with the S & P 500 gaining roughly 1.75%. After a solid open, stocks fell after the latest University of Michigan Survey of Consumers sentiment index for May hit a six-month low and the one-year inflation outlook increased to 3.5% from 3.2% last month. In addition, there may have been selling related to comments from Lael Brainard, the Director of the National Economic Council, who called for changes to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which expires next year and lowered the tax rate for corporations and individuals. Sectors dynamics: Utilities was the top-performing sector this week. Driving the group higher recently is ongoing relief in the bond market, concerns about an economic slowdown, and an emerging growth thesis around electricity demand because of data centers. Financials also did well, with Club stocks Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo trading at new 52-week highs. Materials, industrials, and consumer staples also had good weeks. The worst-performing sector this week was consumer discretionary. Value wins: McDonald's shares popped after Bloomberg reported the fast-food chain is planning to launch a new $5 meal in the United States. McDonald's missed the quarter a couple of weeks ago with sluggish same-store sales, which we viewed as a result of too many price increases. McDonald's reprioritizing value should help bring customers back and revert same-store sales to their historically higher levels. Portfolio name Starbucks should take a page out of this book, lowering its price of coffee and food to attract more customers. "All Starbucks has to do is drop the price of their great cup of Pike Place and have it ready for you and the stock works its way back to $90," Jim Cramer said. Cramer quick hits: Ford keeps drifting down on all news. Today it's the CFO bumping up to a more strategic role. Good news. But it doesn't matter. That's wrong!" The selling of Disney is starting to dry up. The company needs to settle its payment to Comcast on Hulu (See here for a full list of the stocks in Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.

Azusa, CA, Monday, April 1, 2024 - McDonalds located on Rte. 66.

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