🌏 Delta and the fast food race in the sky

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Delta and other airlines are bringing fast food to the sky. And now they’re racing to be the first to crack how to make fries work thousands of feet up in the air.

… Meanwhile, airline stocks are in for a bit of ‘pain.’ Airlines and analysts warn that the industry could face pressure from declining consumer and corporate confidence and tariff fears.

GM reported a strong first quarter of sales. But automakers are bracing for new tariffs hitting the industry this week.

Eli Lilly is cracking down on Zepbound copycats. The pharma giant just sued two compounding pharmacies for making off-brand versions of Zepbound.

OpenAI is now bigger than McDonalds. The maker of ChatGPT is valued at $300 billion, worth more than Chevron, PepsiCo, and Starbucks.

Intel is breaking up. CEO Lip-Bu Tan said the company is spinning-off some of its non-core businesses.

Chipotle’s seven-year avocado hunt

When Trump threatened tariffs on Mexican imports, the food industry braced for supply chain chaos — but not Chipotle.

The company spent seven years diversifying its avocado sources beyond Mexico, which supplies 90% of the U.S. market.

Today, about half of its avocados still come from Mexico, but it also sources from Colombia, Peru, Brazil, and Guatemala. And the rest of Central America is on its radar for future expansion.

How many pounds of avocados does Chipotle source annually? Quartz’s Francisco Velasquez has the details.

Trump is losing the world’s popularity contest

Goldman Sachs economists warn that President Donald Trump’s trade war and unpopular policies abroad are hurting American tourism and sparking boycotts, which could slow U.S. economic growth.

Based on past declines in U.S. favorability — like the Iraq War and Trump’s first term — economists estimate a 0.2% to 0.3% drag on GDP.

Meanwhile, Canada could benefit as consumers shift to its domestically-made products.

“Although small, this headwind provides an additional reason why U.S. GDP growth will likely underperform consensus expectations in 2025,” Joseph Briggs and Megan Peters wrote.

What industry will be hit the most and by how much? Quartz’s Josh Fellman breaks it down.

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Our best wishes on a safe start to the day. Send any news, comments, airplane fries, or avocados to [email protected]. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Bruce Gil and Kevin Ryan.