Starbucks to close 250 North American cafes; Eli Lilly wins FDA approval for weekly insulin

The coffee chain expects about $300 million in restructuring charges from the closures and lowered its fiscal 2026 net new store opening forecast to 440 from 600 to 650. Its fiscal 2026 ends this month. Melius Research analyst Jacob Aiken-Phillips told CNBC the move is "more positive than anything," noting the affected stores were generally less profitable. He also predicted some of their sales should transfer to nearby cafes, rather than disappear or move to a competitor.

Starbucks also shuttered a group of underperforming stores last September. CNBC said the second round of closures should ultimately help margins and same-store sales as some customers shift spending to nearby locations. Shares of the coffee chain are still up about 11% this year, but have fallen 14% since late August, coinciding with a broader sell-off in consumer stocks as higher gas prices raise concerns about household spending. The pullback has erased all of the stock's strong summer performance, a stretch that included encouraging third-quarter results.

The FDA approved Eli Lilly's Onswik, a once-weekly insulin for adults with type 2 diabetes. Lilly said the treatment offers an alternative to daily long-acting insulin and could eliminate more than 300 injections a year. The approval puts Lilly on the same footing as longtime diabetes care rival Novo Nordisk, which brought the first weekly long-acting insulin to market earlier this year. The two companies have competed in the insulin market for a century, long before the rise of GLP-1s.

While the Onswik approval strengthens Lilly's diabetes portfolio, CNBC said it does not view the drug as a major needle-mover for the stock over the long term. Consensus on FactSet implies Onswik will be less than 1% of Lilly's projected 2030 sales. The main reason to own the drugmaker remains its dominant GLP-1 franchise, with additional upside potential from recent acquisitions in immunology, vaccines, cancer and mental health.

Lilly is also investing to broaden its pipeline through a research and licensing agreement with Chinese drugmaker InnoCare Pharma worth up to $3.35 billion. The deal comes as large pharmaceutical companies have increasingly looked to China for new drug candidates. As of mid-May, more than half of Big Pharma licensing deals in 2026 involved Chinese assets. Lilly shares were up more than 3% on Thursday.

U.S. stocks were mixed Thursday as Treasury yields surged and investors raised expectations for another Federal Reserve rate hike. Encouraging headlines around a potential U.S.-Iran deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz helped the major averages bounce off their morning lows. The S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite both crossed into positive territory after being down as much as 0.5% and 0.8%, respectively. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed to around 5.15%, near levels last seen in 2007, while the 30-year touched 5.458%, its highest since 2004. Brent crude rose as high as $108 a barrel. Fed funds futures implied a 68.6% chance of another rate hike in October, up from roughly 55% a week ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool. Investors were also watching Thursday's meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping for any developments around a potential aircraft order for Boeing.

Costco reports after the bell Thursday. CNBC said it will focus on the membership retailer's paid memberships and renewal rates, along with gross and operating margins. Costco has been a weak performer since its May 19 record close, down 18%. There are no major earnings reports Friday, shifting attention to the final September reading from the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment survey, due at 10 a.m. ET.