Business Strategy & Expansion - Taco Bell aims to establish a $5 billion beverage business by 2030 [1] - The company is remodeling locations into "Live Moss Cafes" to capitalize on the popularity of specialty drinks [1] - Taco Bell plans to remodel its stores into 31 Live Moss cafes in the US by the end of 2025 [4] Company Performance - Taco Bell contributes approximately 40% of Yum Brands' revenue [2] - Taco Bell's sales have increased by nearly 20% in the past three years [2] Pricing & Value Perception - Taco Bell has increased prices by about 80% over the past decade [3] - Taco Bell maintains a higher value perception among consumers making less than $50,000 [3]

Performance & Market Positioning - EVs surpass gas cars in power and speed, offering a better driving experience, yet sales in the U_S_ lag behind global figures [2] - Tesla established narrative command of EVs by creating a seminal product, shifting perceptions from mere "vegetables" to desirable "desserts" [6][9] - Automakers are adding EVs to high-performance lines, including supercars, hypercars, and racing series, extending to mainstream vehicles like trucks and SUVs [11][12] - The 9000-plus-pound GMC Hummer EV accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in 2_8 seconds, while the Porsche Macan 4S electric achieves it in under 4 seconds [13] Challenges & Obstacles to EV Adoption - EV sales declined after federal credits ended, leading automakers to reconsider all-electric futures and increase gas and hybrid production [23] - Surveys indicate that charger availability, charging time, range, and price are major concerns for mainstream EV adoption [23] - EVs, on average, sell for approximately $9,000 more than the already high overall new car price in the U_S_ [24] - Customers buying high-end EVs sometimes prefer the feel and sound of gas engines, and simulated sounds have not been well-received [26][27][28] - Charger availability, charging time, and range anxiety remain significant obstacles to wider EV adoption [29] Future Trends & Solutions - The next battleground for EV domination will be on the consumer side, with EVs designed from a blank sheet as rolling computers with centralized hardware and constantly updated software [33] - Driver education should be integrated into EVs, using sensors to assess driver reactions and adjust acceleration accordingly to enhance safety [39][40] - The industry needs to make EVs easier to live with, more affordable to own, and smart enough to manage their immense power responsibly [41]

I'm here at Shield AI getting an exclusive first look at the XBAT. It's an autonomous fighter jet that is powered by an AI system called Hivemine. Shield AI is a CNBC disruptor 50 company which is our list of the most innovative private companies that represent this new generation of AI.The company says this aircraft is a gamecher for a few reasons. The first is of course the AI. There is no pilot so it is putting less lives at risk in dangerous operations.The second is cost. Shield says this is going to be ...

I'm Sarah Eisen and I'm here inside Nike Sports Research Lab got a rare peak here at Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. Nike Secretive Lab spans more than 80,000 square feet where researchers study athletes apparel and footwear and design new innovations. >> Nicely done.>> Nike says prototypes can be built in less than an hour. >> Everything in here, this entire space is designed to let us capture data on you no matter where you go. So, we have over 400 motion capture cameras. We have over 90 96 force ...

Zillow is the most popular real estate website in the United States. The company has transformed the way people buy, sell, and rent homes, or at least dream about that kind of thing. >> We are one of the first apps on the iPhone, and that really created the category.>> Realtor. com, Zillow, some of the other aggregation sites that are out there provided an experience for consumers that wasn't there before. Zillow, what they have an advantage on is just the scale of traffic that they've got is quite substant ...

Salad chain Sweetgreen revolutionized the fast food industry when it launched in 2007, proving healthy food could be convenient and accessible. That's why it was so exciting to the consumer that there was actually a restaurant concept that offered these type of items on their menu. In 2025, it's still a lunch favorite among office workers in big cities, but looks can be deceiving.The company has been struggling ever since going public in 2021. It has never been profitable, reporting a $90 million net loss i ...

It's no secret that buying a house is expensive. The average sales price for a US home has hovered around $400,000 since the end of 2021 for most people looking to cover the cost, that means taking out a loan, and that means letting a bank pour over your financial details, your salary, bank balances, retirement accounts, all to determine how much you can afford and how risky it is to lend you the money. And if you're among the 15% of Americans who invest in digital assets, you haven't been able to include t ...

Blasting is the cheapest way for mines to fracture rock. It makes consumer goods that are manufactured from mined resources less expensive. The things that we use on a daily basis are cell phones, the roads we drive to and from, work on, the buildings that are constructed, the energy that we use to power those cars, even if it's an electric vehicle, commercial explosives are essential to that.The minerals and the things that you need to make a battery. All of those things at some point were touched by comme ...

In this quiet seaside town in northern France, thousands of miles of cables are manufactured each year and then dropped into the ocean to become the superhighway of the internet. Over 95% of international internet traffic travels from continent to continent through cables on the ocean floor that, for the most part, are no larger than a garden hose. That translates into $10 trillion a day in economic transactions that go over these cables that most people don't know exist.There are nearly a million miles of ...

Impact of Tariffs on Small Businesses - Small businesses are significantly impacted by tariffs, leading to increased supply chain complexity and costs [2][3][7] - Tariff stacking, where multiple tariffs are applied to the same product, further exacerbates cost pressures for small businesses [8] - Small businesses often have lower margins and struggle to pass increased costs onto consumers, potentially leading to layoffs [11][12] - Some small businesses have experienced revenue losses due to tariffs, impacting their ability to compete and scale [13][14] - Retaliatory tariffs from other countries, such as China and Canada, also negatively affect small business exports [24] Strategies and Challenges for Small Businesses - Small businesses are exploring alternative production locations, such as Canada and Europe, to mitigate tariff impacts, but this involves new tooling and setup costs [8][9] - Finding domestic sources for certain ingredients and materials is often not feasible due to climate or technical limitations [15][16][9] - Small businesses face challenges in managing inventory levels due to tariff uncertainties, risking overstocking or missing sales opportunities [11] - Some small businesses may need to discontinue products or close down if they cannot absorb cost increases [19] Advantages of Large Retailers - Large retailers like Walmart and Amazon have seen stock prices surge, indicating their ability to mitigate tariff costs [4] - Large retailers possess economies of scale, negotiating power with suppliers, and the ability to stockpile inventory, giving them an advantage over small businesses [21][22] - Large retailers can use portfolio pricing strategies to absorb some tariff costs while increasing prices on less sensitive products [23]