Drive-thru window 10-K reading…
With literally hundreds of 10Ks coming across the screen this week, it’s hard to spend too much time on any one. Instead, I find myself looking for a quick snack — something tasty and satisfying enough to help get me through the next batch of filings — the equivalent of a Big Mac and full-HFCS (it’s only real sugar in Mexico or Europe!) Coke from the drive-thru window.
Which brings me to the 10K that McDonald’s (MCD) filed on Wednesday. There were lots of interesting things in the filing. But among the things that caught our attention was the popularity of the Bacon Roll in the UK, despite the oddly named “brown sauce” that’s a featured ingredient. (Sorry — but brown sauce just doesn’t sound like something particularly tasty!) Still, the tidbit that really jumped out was this: “Open communication and transparency is especially important to European consumers.” I’ve added the emphasis, but what does that mean exactly? That Americans prefer not to know what they’re stuffing into their mouths? I mean c’mon: we don’t have something called brown sauce on our McD’s menus!
On Thursday, Coca-Cola (KO) filed its 10K which included this new Eureka statement: “Recent developments indicate that the United States economy is in recession and that the global economy is experiencing a slowdown.” We’re guessing that they’re picking up on the December announcement by the National Bureau of Economic Research that the US economy officially entered a recession in January 2008. The odd thing, however, is that Coke doesn’t mention the economy again in the nearly 160-page long filing, including what impact it may have. Perhaps they’re just waiting for the NBER to issue their next report!
Both were new disclosures at major consumer products companies — one might even call them bellwether indicators for consumer spending — and both were the about as nutritious as a visit to the drive-thru window.
Image Source: Mark Lennihan/Associated Press
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Posted in Tags: 10Ks, consumer, new disclosures |
 7 Comments » |
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February 27th, 2009 at 10:09 am
Oh c’mon now…
Brown sauce > secret sauce
February 27th, 2009 at 10:52 am
An actual British person could probably tell you better, but I believe brown sauce is considered a standard condiment, sort of like a cross between barbecue and Worcestershire sauce.
February 27th, 2009 at 11:27 am
Nice bits. Brits long known for their wonderful cuisine much like the Scots Boiled Rock soup. “First start with a rock.”
: “Open communication and transparency is especially important to European consumers.”
Might be a leftover slam at US ‘hidden’ subprime mess that
Europe for so long blamed for their own problems. Hence they
could avoid issues they didn’t want to face like lowering
interest rates or mass spending stimulus spending to create
jobs. Then again better to have a bunch of fat happy jobless
Germans loading up on Big Macs & beer than be all lean & mean
using vomit sinks to once again put all of Europe in the
infamous brown sauce.
Coke no idea. It’s the Citi of beverages. At least heard NYC seems to have ended plan to tax sugar beverages for now.
Dentists have to be happy mealers!
February 27th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Come on Michelle. This is also a country that enjoys something called blood pudding. Brown Sauce sounds quite tasty by comparison.
February 27th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
Brown sauce is a delicious condiment so called because of its color (duh). “HP sauce” is the most favorite I believe and was recently transferred to the Netherlands to be made despite much wailing and gnashing of teeth. I prefer a sauce called “Daddies” which is also brown, very tasty but contains no tomatoes, the major ingredient being molasses. Blood pudding or Black pudding is a type of sausage, again very tasty. In other less civilised parts they eat haggis, sheeps meat and herbs contained in the sheeps stomach – although nowadays it is a manufactured substitute – the stomach not the meat. Mind you, they also have “cockaleekie soup” to warm their sporrans no doubt. But then we also eat winkles but you need a pin to pull them out of their shell. I cannot get my family to eat pressed ox tongue as they believe a cow can lick its own nose. They do however seem most happy to eat eggs!
An expat missing his steak and kidney pie.
February 27th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
Richard: I clicked to leave Michele an educational comment but you had already hit the high notes. FYI as an ex-pat I no longer miss black pudding as I can buy the Spanish equivalent called morcilla at ethnic supermarkets. Delicious.
February 28th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
I had no idea people were so passionate about brown sauce! I’ve traveled quite a bit and like to think I have a pretty sophisticated palate, but color me ignorant on this one. Also: I know some people tend to measure a blog’s success by the number of comments it receives, so for now on, I know how to bring them on: mention the SEC filing, but focus on food instead. Thanks to everyone for the brown sauce education!