Chipotle's Avocado Worries Could Be Yours Too
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Welcome to CFO Briefing, a newsletter devoted to corporate finance and what leaders need to know. This week, I talk to Adam Rymer, Chipotle's new CFO, about tariffs, avocados and more, and take a closer look at the recent increase in convertible bonds.
But first, here's some other news that caught my eye:
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CNBC
2 hours ago
- CNBC
Older student loan borrowers face high delinquency rates as Trump administration ramps up collections
More older student loan borrowers are struggling to pay their monthly bill, as the Trump administration ramps up its collection efforts. Nearly 1 in 5 — or roughly 18% — of student loan borrowers who are 50 and older became "seriously delinquent," or 90 days or more late on their payments, in the second quarter of 2025, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The rate for that age group was closer to 10% in 2019. For comparison, closer to 8% of student loan borrowers between the ages of 18 and 29 became seriously delinquent during that time frame, and around 11% of those aged 30 to 39 did. "Being delinquent on student loan debt is difficult for people who are approaching their retirement years," said Lori Trawinski, director of finance and employment at AARP. "People end up having to make extremely difficult choices," Trawinski said. Some of the repayment troubles may stem from older Americans borrowing more than they can afford for their children's college education, experts say. Other people run into financial difficulties after returning to school later in life and then not accessing the career opportunities they'd hoped for. More from Personal Finance:Trump floats tariff 'rebate' for consumersStudent loan forgiveness may soon be taxed againStudent loan borrowers — how will the end of the SAVE plan impact you? Tell us Whatever the reason, falling behind on your education debt may quickly have more financial consequences. Earlier this summer, the Trump administration announced that it would soon resume collection activity against student loan borrowers who aren't making their payments. This comes after a nearly five-year period during which student loan holders were shielded from the consequences of missing their bills, a policy that began at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Here's what older borrowers in the red need to know. There are key differences between student loan delinquency and default. While becoming delinquent for 90 days or more on your student loans can show up on your credit report and lower your score, the more severe consequences of federal collection activity don't usually start until you're more than 270 days late and eventually fall into default, said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz. Meanwhile, private lenders typically consider student borrowers in default after 120 days without a payment, he said. Delinquent student loan borrowers have time to get current, said certified financial planner Douglas Boneparth, president of Bone Fide Wealth in New York. "For those struggling, the first step is to explore all available federal repayment options, especially income-driven repayment plans, which can significantly lower monthly payments and prevent default," said Boneparth, who is also a member of the CNBC Financial Advisor Council. You can try to find a repayment plan with monthly bills you can afford at The so-called Income-Based Repayment plan is one of what may be a dwindling number of manageable repayment options left to borrowers, after recent court actions and the passage of President Donald Trump's tax and spending bill. That legislation phases out several other repayment plans. There are tools from the Education Department to help you determine how much your monthly bill would be under different plans. Struggling borrowers can also see if they're eligible to pause their payments, such as through a forbearance or economic hardship deferment — though it's important to check if your debt will accrue interest during the reprieve. "Requesting a temporary forbearance can buy time, but ideally, borrowers should aim for an affordable, sustainable payment plan rather than stop-gap measures," Boneparth said. Older student loan borrowers who are behind on their payments received some good news earlier this summer: The Department of Education has paused its plan to garnish defaulted borrowers' Social Security benefits. Normally, Social Security recipients can see their checks reduced by up to 15% to pay back their defaulted student loan. An Education Department spokesperson told CNBC in an email Tuesday that the department has not offset any Social Security benefits since restarting collections on May 5 and has paused future Social Security offsets. Still, older borrowers should take steps to get their debt out of delinquency as quickly as possible and avoid becoming at risk for more punishing collection activity, said AARP's Trawinski. While the Trump administration said in June that it was pausing Social Security offsets, "what they did not do is issue a formal rule or regulation saying they won't do so in the future," Trawinski said. As a result, she said, "there's an expectation that they will at some point resume those garnishments." For those older borrowers who are still working, the Education Department can also garnish up to 15% of your disposable, or after-tax, pay, toward a defaulted student loan, Kantrowitz said. "We anticipate wage garnishment to begin later this summer," a spokesperson for the Education Department told CNBC on Aug. 5.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Meet the Robots Making Your Restaurant Meal
Key Points Robots are taking on repetitive kitchen tasks and doing them fast. At Chipotle, a machine now preps avocados in under 30 seconds. Sweetgreen's high-tech kitchen cranks out hundreds of bowls an hour. In many cases, robots fill roles restaurants can't keep staffed. The best bots work alongside people, not instead of you cut, core, and peel an avocado in under 30 seconds? Even if you could, would you want to? Probably not, especially if you're one of the thousands of people who've sustained an avocado-related knife injury in the past couple of decades. Still, the guac must go on. Last year at Chipotle, employees prepped over 5 million cases — nearly 130 million pounds — of avocados. But in September, at one Southern California Chipotle location, a robot stepped in to help. The Autocado has one job, and it does it well. It can process up to 25 pounds of avocados at a time, cutting, coring, and peeling a single avocado in approximately 26 seconds. Once the bot finishes its work, human employees can make the guacamole in half the time it used to take. By automating this tedious, time-consuming — and, at times, dangerous — task, employees spend less time slicing and more time assisting guests. Related: Chipotle's Avocado Machine Is Finally Making Its Debut — But it Swears It's Not Taking Human Jobs Efficient robots help restaurants. They're fast and consistent, making pizzas, mixing salads, and working the deep fryer. Bots act as baristas, quickly crafting espresso drinks, and as servers, ferrying plates to and from tables inside busy dining rooms. Sidewalk-friendly robots will even deliver an Uber Eats order to your front door. The obvious implication — that robots replace human workers — is marginally true. But often, says Jessica Kramer, a hospitality industry investor and adviser, 'It's replacing people that the restaurant can't find.' The average restaurant employee works at a job for a little over three months, according to data from restaurant scheduling service 7shifts. Related: The Best, Most Nutritious Airport Meal Comes From...a Vending Machine? Sweetgreen opened its first automated restaurant, dubbed the Infinite Kitchen, outside of Chicago in 2023. It resembles a giant walk-in salad vending machine, equipped with a series of large tubes programmed to dispense perfect portions of prepared ingredients into bowls. It can finish an order in as little as five minutes. Human employees add finishing touches too delicate or tricky for a dispenser, including, funnily enough, avocado, sliced by hand — the old-fashioned way. By the numbers, the Infinite Kitchen is, frankly, killing it. The robot-assisted restaurants produce up to 500 bowls per hour. They require fewer employees to run, so the company saves on labor costs. Inside, customers tend to spend more money per order, making these stores more profitable than their traditionally staffed counterparts. Early data suggests employees at these stores are happier, quitting less frequently. 'Team members at Infinite Kitchen locations have shared positive feedback about the work environment, noting a strong sense of balance and efficiency,' says Sweetgreen CEO Jonathan Neman. The chain's restaurant managers are excited to experience it, too, he adds. After the success of the first location, Sweetgreen opened 11 more, building new stores in cities including Seattle and Huntington Beach, California, and renovating a few existing locations, including one in the center of Manhattan. Related: Danny Meyer Claims AI and Human Hospitality Can Peacefully Coexist Watching robots toil in public can feel dystopian. But there's also a certain thrill to watching new technology perform physical tasks that previously only a human could do. 'I definitely see people enjoying interacting with a robot,' Kramer says. They want to watch it work or even pose for photos with it. The roving, wide-eyed delivery robots from Serve Robotics might be the most photogenic of them all. The all-electric bots, resembling large coolers on four wheels, can carry four 16-inch pizzas. They can travel 48 miles on one charge and operate in temperatures up to 113°F. The bots have already delivered tens of thousands of Uber Eats orders in Los Angeles. One even enjoyed a starring role in the John Mulaney Netflix comedy special, Everybody's in L.A., in 2024. Similar robots are rolling around in cities including Houston and Chicago and on college campuses across the country. Of course, not every bot makes the cut. Chili's tested a handful of robot servers in some locations but ditched the program after a couple years. Kernel, a vegan concept from the Chipotle founder Steve Ells, received a ton of buzz for its star employee: a custom-built bot tasked with moving food around the kitchen and in and out of ovens. And yet, it closed its first and only location in February, just a year after opening. According to the National Restaurant Association, just 9% of operators plan to devote resources to restaurant robots in 2025. But for the ones that do, robots that complement a human workforce — not replace it — are the goal. 'If an employee can be taught to use a robot, you introduce a level of consistency from the get-go that can really benefit the guest,' Kramer says. Related: Tinfoil Swans Podcast Read the original article on Food & Wine
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Yahoo
Chipotle and Cava put rivalry on pause with $25 million bet on restaurant automation
Fast-casual competitors Chipotle Mexican Grill and Cava Group are coming to the table together to invest in the future of restaurant technology. Hyphen, a foodservice platform that automates culinary operations—including meal production at assembly stations—has raised $25 million in funding led by Chipotle's Cultivate Next venture fund, which invested $15 million in July 2024, and Cava, which has just contributed $5 million with an additional $5 million commitment subject to terms. 'This new funding from two of the most iconic brands in the fast-casual industry is a testament to the impact Hyphen's team and technology are having on restaurant operations,' said Stephen Klein, CEO and co-founder of Hyphen, in the announcement released Tuesday. Chipotle is a previous investor in Hyphen, but this marks Cava's first major investment in automation. 'I certainly see a lot of opportunity at Hyphen,' Cava CFO Tricia Tolivar told Fortune. Cava's co-founder and CEO Brett Schulman and the leadership team believe technology should enhance the human experience, not replace it, 'and Hyphen's equipment does just that,' Tolivar said. Cava has considered Hyphen and similar concepts for months and is confident this partnership is a wise move, she added. 'Chipotle is in the fast-casual space and sees this investment in a similar way, and we're happy to be able to partner with them,' Tolivar said. Chipotle specializes in Mexican-inspired dishes, featuring beans, rice, salsa, and guacamole, while Cava focuses on Mediterranean flavors such as hummus, tzatziki, feta, fresh vegetables, and grains. Both offer grilled meats and compete for brand loyalty among consumers who value fresh ingredients and customizable, build-your-own meals. At Cava's restaurants, Hyphen will be used for what Tolivar describes as the 'second-make line'—an area in the back of the house where team members prepare all bowls and pitas for digital orders (delivery and pickup) separately from in-restaurant guests. Hyphen's system will allow team members to prepare a bowl or pita on top, while automatically producing additional bowls on the bottom from the same ingredients, boosting speed and throughput, she explained. The technology also aims to improve digital order accuracy. 'Most importantly, it's really about making our team members' lives easier,' she added. Cava is still in the testing phase, so it will be a few months before the technology is deployed in restaurants, Tolivar said. The company reported on Tuesday for its fiscal second quarter ended July 13 that Cava revenue grew 20.3% year over year to $278.2 million. About 37% of sales in the quarter were digital, Tolivar said. Second-quarter, same-restaurant sales grew 2.1%, while the company opened a net 16 new restaurants, bringing the total to 398—a 16.7% year-over-year increase. As for Chipotle, in November, Scott Boatwright became the permanent CEO, following the departure of Brian Niccol, who is now the chief executive at Starbucks. This story was originally featured on Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
