Starbucks dropped its 2026 holiday lineup this morning, complete with a new Tiramisu Velvet Latte and a Bearista cup revival, and the brand’s real-time momentum data shows the psychological trigger landing right on cue.
By Kyle Duford · Nov 5, 2026 · 5 min read
The Morning Wire
The stories moving brands today:
Early buyers of the $2,300-plus iPhone Duo are reporting cracked inner screens and dead pixels around the hinge, and Apple is quietly routing them to AppleCare for replacements.
Alyssa Buetikofer is stepping down as McDonald's USA's marketing chief less than two years into the job, a day after the company reported falling US comparable sales.
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Celsius Holdings grew revenue 17% to $847.2 million in Q3, with Alani Nu doing the heavy lifting while the flagship Celsius brand and Rockstar both pulled back.
CVS Health will spin off its roughly 9,000 retail pharmacies into a new company called CVS Pharmacy by 2028, separating the storefronts from Aetna and Caremark after years of pressure to do exactly that.
“Every touchpoint is a vote. Customers tally them long before they tell you the result.”
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Sustainability · Nov 5, 2026
3M Puts a $7.35 Billion Price Tag on Forever Chemicals, and Spreads the Bill Through 2034The industrial giant's settlement resolves most of the personal-injury lawsuits tied to its firefighting foam, admits no wrongdoing, and still costs almost $5.8 billion up front.
M&A · Nov 5, 2026
Kraft Heinz Is Selling Maxwell House, Again, and This Time It Actually Found a BuyerAfter years of trying to unload its North American coffee business, Kraft Heinz has sold Maxwell House, Gevalia, and five other brands to private equity firm One Rock Capital Partners for $650 million, keeping a 30% stake for itself.
Campaigns · Nov 5, 2026
Glenfiddich and Aston Martin's New Scotch Costs $899. The Car Is Extra.The latest drop in Glenfiddich and Aston Martin's ongoing collaboration is a 28-year-old single malt dressed in "podium green" and copper, aged in four kinds of cask, and priced like a very nice dinner for two at the actual racetrack.
Editorial · Nov 4, 2026
Washington Just Flipped Blue. What this means for brands.Democrats won the midterms and took the House, padded the Senate past 54 seats, and flipped the Texas governor's mansion for the first time in a generation. Here's what that actually means for your brand, your budget, and the next ten weeks before any of it takes effect.
Retail · Nov 4, 2026
A Warehouse Fire Turns Coupang's Growth Story Into a $501 Million LossCoupang's third-quarter revenue grew 7%, but costs tied to a fire at its Incheon fulfillment center pushed the Korean e-commerce giant to a $501 million net loss and sent the stock lower.
