The next thing you’ll hear about Daniel Jones is how the Minnesota Vikings or some other team is interested in trading for him before the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday.And the logical question a wise general manager in desperate need of a solid quarterback should be asking is: Why Daniel Jones?Why that guy?MINNESOTA VIKINGS’ SOFT BENCHING OF KYLER MURRAY LEADS TO CARSON WENTZ TAKING OVER AS NEW STARTING QBJones plays for the Indianapolis Colts now and continues to be one of the most disappointing and under-performing reasons that team has been in garage sale mode for nearly a month, as losses increased and optimism dropped off the table.The Colts lost again on Sunday, this time 27-23 to the Dallas Cowboys, and the way this game went is a testament to why Jones is fools gold at the trade deadline.SHANE STEICHEN SAYS DANIEL JONES WON’T BE BENCHED BUT COACH AND GENERAL MANAGER CHRIS BALLARD ARE IN TROUBLEJones threw an interception on the Colts’ final offensive play to seal their loss.Before that misbegotten pass, he threw an incompletion. Before that, he had an intentional grounding. And he had an incompletion before that.The Colts had the football with 1:08 to play and needed to score a touchdown and pull out a victory. But that wasn’t Dan Marino or Dan Fouts playing for the Colts.That was Daniel Jones, who, rather than comeback wins, had mostly delivered ways to lose and disappointment during his time with the Indy and the New York Giants before that.”Didn’t finish the way we want to finish,” Colts embattled head coach Shane Steichen said afterward.Of course not, coach, your quarterback is Daniel Jones to whom you committed last season as your starter before he got hurt and crashed your season. You quarterback is Daniel Jones to whom you also committed to this year before he remained healthy and still freakin’ helped crash your now 2-7 season.Steichen will probably be fired at the end of the season for his grand commitment. And there’s no telling what the next new general manager and head coach will do with Jones.COLTS FACE QUARTERBACK UNCERTAINTY AS DANIEL JONES RECOVERS FROM ACHILLES INJURYBut that’s only if Jones is still in Indy after the 4 p.m. Tuesday trade deadline.The Minnesota Vikings reached out to the Colts in recent days about acquiring Jones.That is significant proof that the Vikings have great confidence in their reputation for developing quarterbacks but are equally tone-deaf about their reputation for making massive mistakes in deciding what quarterbacks they want on their roster.THE WEEK OF THE BACKUP QB IN THE NFL KICKS OFF AS SANDERS, MILTON, MINSHEW, LOCK, AND WENTZ STARTThe idea the Vikings or any other team might think Jones is a solution to a quarterback problem rather than a multiplication of a problem is curious. Because it forgets Jones’ history of failing.Jones threw an interception this game, and it marked the fourth consecutive game he’s done that. Indeed, he’s had only one game this season in which he has not thrown an interception.And, to be fair, Jones has generally accepted responsibility for his mistakes and his role on an offense that needs to play better.But there was a moment on Sunday when Jones seemed to blame the uncertain situation the Colts find themselves in with the deadline approaching as a reason the club’s collective performance hasn’t been as good as expected.THE CRAIG CARTON SHOW–UNFILTERED, UNAPOLOGETIC AND UNMISSABLE. DOWNLOAD HIS DAILY PODCAST NOW!”There’s been so much stuff going on and distractions and different things, and we’ve got to do a better job handling it as a team, collectively executing together, as a group,” Jones said.Wait.The reason there has been so much “stuff going on” is because the club, led by Jones, has been playing poorly, which led management to begin considering the makeup of the team next year rather than the rest of this year.ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!If Jones played better and the Colts won more, there wouldn’t be “so much stuff going on,” other than winning games.”… We got to do a good job executing together,” Jones said.True. Jones may get a chance to do that on another team that will see him as improving their situation – kind of like the Colts did before this season began.FOLLOW ARMANDO SALGUERO ON X: @ARMANDOSALGUERO
Shopify just hit its numbers, and that was the problem
Shopify did almost everything Wall Street asked for in the third quarter. Investors sold the stock anyway.
Shares fell as much as 13.2% on Nov. 3 after the e-commerce platform reported results, The Motley Fool reported. Revenue rose 32% to $3.74 billion, and free cash flow hit $816 million, according to Shopify.
So why the selloff? A Deutsche Bank research report shared with TheStreet points to a problem most companies would love to have. Shopify has trained investors to expect beats, and this time the company only almost matched expectations.
Three numbers that spooked Shopify investors
Deutsche Bank analyst Bhavin Shah summed it up in a Nov. 3 note titled “3Q26 First Take; In-line quarter not enough.”
“While ~30% GMV [gross merchandise volume, which means the value of goods sold through Shopify] and revenue growth remains impressive, the lack of upside will be viewed as disappointing given (1) outperformance has been the norm and (2) the belief there could be very modest benefit from agentic commerce,” wrote Shah.
Here’s where the quarter came up short.
Merchandise volume. GMV rose about 29.5% to $119.1 billion. Wall Street expected a rise of 30.5%, to about $120.08 billion, the consensus target cited by InvestorsHub.
That’s a miss of under 1%.
Subscriptions. Subscription revenue rose 20% to $836 million, short of the $850 million expected. Shah wrote that the miss “could indicate potentially slower platform fee growth.”
Next quarter’s profit. Shah’s estimated guidance implies about $892 million in non-GAAP operating profit, versus a Wall Street consensus of $999 million. By my math, that’s roughly $107 million, or 11%, short. But these are estimates, not actual results.
Related: Morgan Stanley sees golden buying opportunity in a battered stock
None of these is a disaster on its own. Together, they broke the beat-and-raise streak investors had been paying up for.
Shah kept his Buy rating and $185 price target. The stock closed at $156.22 on Nov. 2, the note showed, so the target implied about 18% upside before the drop.
Where Shopify’s AI money is going
Non-GAAP operating profit reached $715 million, a 19.1% margin, ahead of Wall Street’s $678 million, Shah wrote–so Shopify beat that profit forecast.
The pressure shows up in costs. Infrastructure spending rose $40 million from a year earlier, including cloud hosting, infrastructure software and large language model usage. That’s up from a $37 million increase in the second quarter.
“In our view, the increase likely reflects higher platform usage and rising AI-related costs,” wrote Shah.
More Shopify:
Amazon blocks Meta’s Muse but Shopify opens the door
Shopify bets you’ll change how you shop online
Analysts rank Shopify 31 places above Apple
Shopify’s pitch is that the spending is already paying off. AI-driven traffic to Shopify stores rose 2.6 times from a year earlier, and AI orders rose 3.3 times, Shopify President Harley Finkelstein said on the Q3 earnings call.
“Agents don’t just recommend products, but they’re also buying on behalf of some of the users,” Finkelstein said.
That last part matters for you as a shopper. If an AI agent ever checks out for you on a Shopify store, treat it like any purchase you made yourself and review the cart, price and return policy first.
For investors, the catch is timing. Shopify is paying for AI today, but agent shopping hasn’t yet moved GMV enough to show up as a beat.
Shopify grew revenue 32% to $3.74 billion, but GMV missed forecasts.Diem.ph / Getty Images
Shopify is spending into the holidays
The fourth-quarter outlook gave investors something on both sides.
Revenue is guided to grow at a low-30s percentage rate, which Shah pegs at about 32% at the midpoint. Wall Street expected 30%.
Spending is the trade-off. Shopify guided operating expenses to 29% to 30% of revenue, above Wall Street’s 28%, the note showed.
CFO Jeff Hoffmeister said some third-quarter spending simply slid into the holiday quarter. “Some of the reduced spend will effectively shift to Q4, but nothing has changed about our marketing approach,” he said on the call.
Cash should hold up. Shopify guided its free cash flow margin to match the fourth quarter of 2025, which Shah puts at about $1.02 billion, ahead of Wall Street’s $984 million.
Before the call, Shah said investors would focus on four questions:
Where GMV growth is coming from, and where it’s weak
Early signs of agentic commerce in GMV and the financial model
How much Shopify plans to invest in the fourth quarter
How Shopify will make money from Sidekick, its AI assistant for merchants
My take: this looks more like a reset of expectations than a crack in the business. GMV growth in Europe and North America held steady at 30% and 28%, which Shah wrote “likely indicates momentum on key initiatives remains intact.”
The test comes next quarter. If agent-driven orders start lifting GMV, today’s AI bill will look cheap. If they don’t, that $107 million profit gap could become a pattern.
Related: Shopify’s booming sales come with a costly catch
Iran vows ‘astonishing’ strikes and lifts missile-range limit as US targets land routes
Iran lifted its self-imposed ballistic missile-range limit and threatened to unleash new, homegrown weapons that would “astonish the entire world,” within hours of the U.S. military launching a new task force aimed at choking off Tehran’s weapons shipments and illicit trade Nov. 7.Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) spokesperson Brig. Gen. Hossein Mohebbi confirmed that Iran was now abandoning its previous 2,000-kilometer, or roughly 1,240-mile, ballistic missile-range restriction, according to The Associated Press.”That restriction has been lifted for us,” Mohebbi clarified in the wake of the task force announcement.RUSSIA SECRETLY BOLSTERED IRAN’S MISSILE ARSENAL BEFORE WAR WITH US, RECORDS UNCOVER U.S. Central Command established “Task Force Iron Gate”, an initiative targeting the movement of advanced Iranian weapons systems, dual-use materials and illicit revenue across Iran’s land borders and the Caspian Sea.”Strengthening CENTCOM’s collaboration with US Interagency partners will further constrain Iran’s ability to finance terrorism, rebuild weapons factories, and replenish their military,” Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, said in a statement shared on X.According to Behnam Taleblu, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), the U.S. may now carry out “targeted strikes” against facilitators while putting “political pressure on bordering states, as well as market and sanctions pressure against institutions underwriting Iran’s illicit trade.””It speaks volumes, of course, that this effort is being stood up within CENTCOM headquarters,” Taleblu told Fox News Digital. Meanwhile, Iran’s IRGC quickly dismissed the new initiative as “wordplay,” claiming Tehran had already made preparations and coordinated with neighboring countries to withstand additional pressure, Fars News Agency reported.Mohebbi also warned that Iran was developing new weapons capable of delivering devastating blows in another confrontation with the U.S. and Israel.IRAN INSTALLS NEW WAR CHIEFS AS TEHRAN SIGNALS ‘PROLONGED CONFRONTATION,’ EXPERT WARNS”There are surprises that will be unveiled and deployed on the battlefield if a third wave of confrontation with the enemy erupts. These surprises will astonish the entire world,” Mohebbi said during a news conference in Tehran on Saturday, according to Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).”If they once again miscalculate, or if the Zionists, in pursuit of their own interests, lead the criminal United States into another miscalculation, they should know that Iran’s next blows will be even harder and will leave them crippled for years to come,” he added.Iran’s previous 2,000-kilometer limit already placed the entire Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, most of Egypt and parts of Greece and the Balkans within range.In March, Iran unsuccessfully attempted to strike the joint U.S.-British military base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, roughly 2,500 miles from the Islamic Republic.Mohebbi also claimed Iran was preparing to unveil new underground missile facilities, as Tehran seeks to shield its weapons production from future attacks.The installations, described by Iranian officials as “missile cities,” are designed to allow the IRGC to continue manufacturing weapons during wartime, according to IRNA.TRUMP’S MOAB THREAT COULD PUT IRAN’S DEEPEST BUNKERS IN AMERICA’S CROSSHAIRSThe IRGC spokesman claimed Iran’s Aerospace Force continued producing missiles and drones during recent fighting, using domestic expertise without importing foreign weapons or relying on “reverse engineering of weapons captured from the enemy.”Mohebbi also described Iran’s growing self-sufficiency in weapons production as a “very big achievement.”Taleblu meanwhile emphasized the significance of the Caspian Sea basin, saying the world’s largest lake has “turned into a two-way sanctions-busting hub for both Iran and Russia.””Iranian officials always claim self-sufficiency in their military industries,” he said.”But with domestic missile production significantly constrained due to the 40-Day War, the regime will be reliant on imports to build back, and especially at scale and at a faster rate.”This is why efforts to constrain both land and sea trade in and out of Iran are a one-two punch for the regime.”The warnings come as Washington intensified pressure on Iran’s regional trade routes, including its land crossings with Iraq, where Baghdad has reportedly resisted U.S. demands for full and broader border restrictions.According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Iraq has closed only one border crossing with Iran so far, despite reported American pressure to shut down most crossings between the two countries.FRESH ACTIVITY EMERGES AT IRAN’S DEEPLY BURIED NUCLEAR SITE AS TRUMP WARNS IRAN NOT TO ‘GET CUTE’On Sunday, the U.S. Treasury pressed Iraq to close all border crossings with Iran except for two as part of Washington’s policy of increasing economic pressure on Tehran, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said, according to Reuters.The Iraqi government had closed the al-Shayeb crossing in southeastern Iraq on Oct. 21, to review security and install equipment to prevent smuggling of prohibited materials.Iraqi political sources told Agence France-Presse that Washington had pressured Baghdad to close most Iran-Iraq border crossings to restrict trade and financial exchanges that could help Tehran withstand U.S. sanctions, ISW reported.ISW also said that Iranian Ambassador to Iraq Mohammad Kazem al-Sadegh was pressuring tribal leaders in Iraq’s Maysan province to push Iraqi officials and leaders of the Shiite Coordination Framework to reopen al-Shayeb.Al-Sadegh is reportedly a member of the IRGC’s Quds Force, which oversees the organization’s foreign operations.The institute assessed that Baghdad’s limited response likely reflects efforts to balance its relationship with Washington against the influence of Iranian-backed political factions.
Hillary Clinton Attacks ‘Trump and His Cult’ – Says the ‘Pussy Grabbed Back with All Claws’ After Democrats Sweep Midterms (VIDEO)
Twice-failed Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton gloated after the Democrats seized control of the House and Senate after last Tuesday’s midterm elections.
Clinton took a swipe at President Trump during an appearance on the “On with Kara Swisher” podcast.
Kara Swisher referenced Trump’s 2005 “grab her by the p*ssy” Hollywood Access tape that Hillary Clinton released as an ‘October surprise’ in 2016.
In October 2016, Hillary Clinton’s campaign, through the Washington Post, released a video of Trump and TV host Billy Bush having a private conversation about groupies.
“I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything…. Grab ’em by the pussy. You can do anything,” Trump told Billy Bush.
Of course, Hillary Clinton’s October surprise did not work, and Trump went on to win the 2016 presidential election in a landslide.
Kara Swisher began her post-election podcast by teeing up Hillary Clinton.
“So Madam Secretary, has the pussy finally grabbed back?” Kara Swisher asked Hillary.
Clinton chuckled, “With all claws!”
“This is a total rebuke of Donald Trump and his cult and the many wrongheaded evil policies that he’s inflicted on us and the world,” Clinton added.
“But it’s also a real tribute to Democratic candidates and the campaigns they ran and how strong they were on the main issues of affordability and corruption. We had to finally lift the poisonous cloud that Trump has put over our heads for the last ten long years, but we also have a new crop of very exciting public servants,” Hillary Clinton said.
WATCH:
The post Hillary Clinton Attacks ‘Trump and His Cult’ – Says the ‘Pussy Grabbed Back with All Claws’ After Democrats Sweep Midterms (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Jeffries signals strong backing for new effort to impeach Hegseth
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Sunday said supports renewed effort to level articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Federal Judge Orders Mamdani’s NYC To Comply With ICE Subpoena For Shelter Records
Federal Judge Orders Mamdani’s NYC To Comply With ICE Subpoena For Shelter Records
Authored by David Manney via PJ Media,New York City fought to keep shelter records from ICE, even after the federal government accepted a screening process focused on people with serious criminal histories. On November 6, Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered enforcement of the subpoena through a special master.City Hall had its objections heard. It lost.The dispute concerns a Bronx shelter and federal efforts to determine whether residents are subject to deportation. The city argued that compliance would impose an improper investigative burden and undermine its sanctuary laws. Kaplan found insufficient support for its claim that ICE’s purpose was political rather than investigative.Protecting private information is a legitimate duty. Using privacy as a reason to reject an enforceable, supervised request requires more than an administration’s dislike of the agency asking. Otherwise, every city could decide which federal responsibilities merit cooperation by consulting the mayor’s campaign platform.Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s own sanctuary order recognizes a limit. His February announcement said city information couldn’t be shared with federal immigration authorities except when required by law. His administration also promoted legal rights, privacy officers, training, and compliance procedures. The exception belongs in the discussion alongside the protections.Officials who advertise respect for legal process should explain how they’ll respond when that process produces an answer they oppose. Going to court is their right. Treating an adverse result as another occasion for political theater would serve nobody who depends on competent city government.Congress expressly authorized immigration officers to subpoena documents relevant to immigration enforcement. Federal law also permits the government to seek a district court’s help when a recipient refuses. Judicial enforcement is written into the statute. President Donald Trump didn’t invent the mechanism because New York elected a socialist mayor who dislikes his policies.Americans should expect agencies to use lawful tools and submit disputed demands to judges. They should expect local officials to raise concrete objections, then respect the resulting orders. Both expectations can operate together. A federal system needs limits on executive power and a workable way to carry out duties Congress assigned.The safeguards here give that principle practical meaning. A special master will identify residents with certain serious criminal histories and provide ICE only those names. The parties must propose appointment and compensation arrangements within 14 days. Kaplan’s ruling neither orders everyone deported nor authorizes an immediate handover of the entire shelter roster.Nothing about sleeping in a shelter establishes guilt, and a criminal history doesn’t automatically establish deportability. Those questions require their own evidence and legal proceedings. Careful enforcement should preserve those requirements while allowing investigators to obtain information they’re legally entitled to seek.My objection is to the political presumption that compassion requires making immigration enforcement harder, even when a court supervises disclosure. Shelter residents need safety, too. So do employees, neighbors, and people whose lives could be affected by an offender whom authorities have a lawful basis to investigate.Public officials can defend humane treatment without promising that municipal records will remain beyond federal reach. They can demand proper procedures without turning every completed procedure into grounds for another objection. Voters should judge the quality of those decisions by the evidence, the protections, and the law.An administration earns credibility by stating its limits honestly. Promising protection is easy. Explaining that lawful federal investigations can proceed while protecting people outside their scope takes more courage and better governance.New York had an opportunity to challenge the demand in court. Now it must follow the order unless a court changes it. City Hall should spend its next effort making supervised compliance work.Respect for legal process includes accepting its inconvenient answers.
Tyler Durden
Sun, 11/08/2026 – 18:15
Shedeur Sanders makes case to replace Deshaun Watson despite Browns’ overtime loss to Saints
For most of Sunday’s game, Shedeur Sanders looked a lot like Deshaun Watson (with regard to his play, not the … other stuff).But a few key plays, including one of the best throws of Sanders’ young career to help set up a game-tying field goal, are likely to have Browns fans demanding that the team turn the keys over to the 24-year-old son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders.CLICK HERE FOR MORE OUTKICK SPORTS COVERAGESanders finished 19-of-31 for 297 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in Cleveland’s 23-22 overtime loss to the New Orleans Saints. Those numbers look pretty good, but they also make his afternoon look quite a bit better than it actually was.Which, again, sounds a lot like Watson’s season.Sanders got his first start of the year after Watson entered the concussion protocol during the week. Watson cleared the protocol Saturday, but the Browns still made him inactive Sunday. Head coach Todd Monken had already named Sanders the starter Friday after Watson was unable to participate in team reps during the week.That gave Sanders, who started seven games as a rookie last season, another chance to prove he deserves to be the team’s starter moving forward. For much of the afternoon, he didn’t do a whole lot with it.Sanders threw for just 38 yards in the first half and was sacked five times for a loss of 37 yards on the day. He didn’t look entirely comfortable, and some of those sacks were particularly costly. Cleveland’s first two goal-to-go possessions produced three points, with Sanders taking a sack on each.SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY OUTKICK NEWSLETTERThe second of those opportunities came courtesy of a tremendous effort by Browns receiver Denzel Boston. Sanders underthrew a wide-open Boston down the sideline, but Boston adjusted to the throw, snatched it over the defender and then took it inside the Saints’ 5-yard line for a 60-yard completion.After a run went backward, Sanders took a seven-yard sack that pushed Cleveland back to the 12. The Browns settled for a field goal.With Cleveland trailing 9-6 in the fourth quarter, Sanders found KC Concepcion for a 64-yard score. It was a huge play that gave the Browns the lead with 5:21 remaining, but Concepcion was wide open on what appeared to be a blown coverage by New Orleans. Concepcion caught the pass at the Saints’ 28-yard line, then made a nice move to cut back across the field to outrun two Saints defenders into the end zone.Sanders deserves credit for finding the wide-open Concepcion and delivering a catchable ball that gave him room to work. But it was a throw that every NFL quarterback should be able to make.Cleveland then had a chance to run out the clock and win in regulation after its defense forced a punt. Sanders picked up a first down with his legs, but a holding penalty and another sack helped derail the possession. New Orleans got the ball back and scored a touchdown to take a 16-13 lead with 58 seconds left.Facing third-and-6 from his own 30 on the ensuing drive, Sanders moved outside the pocket and fired a 30-yard strike to Jerry Jeudy while taking a massive hit from Chase Young. It was easily his best throw of the afternoon and one of the best of his young NFL career. It was probably the best throw by a Browns quarterback this season, too.Sanders eventually led the Browns into position for Andre Szmyt’s 51-yard field goal, which tied the game with eight seconds remaining and forced the game to overtime.The Browns won the toss and elected to kick, something I’ve repeatedly said is the wrong decision for NFL teams. Cleveland ignored my advice, and New Orleans promptly marched 74 yards in 11 plays for a touchdown.Sanders answered by completing six of eight passes on a 67-yard touchdown drive. Harold Fannin Jr., though, deserves most of the credit for the play that brought Cleveland within a point.Fannin caught a short pass just beyond the line of scrimmage, broke multiple tackles and turned it into a 39-yard touchdown.THE CRAIG CARTON SHOW–UNFILTERED, UNAPOLOGETIC AND UNMISSABLE. DOWNLOAD HIS DAILY PODCAST NOW!Cleveland went for a two-point conversion and the win, but the New Orleans pass rush immediately pressured Sanders. He scrambled to his right before throwing an incomplete pass intended for Boston, ending the game.Boston’s catch, Concepcion’s touchdown and Fannin’s catch-and-run accounted for 163 of Sanders’ 297 passing yards. His receivers did a lot of work to make that final line look as good as it did.Before Sunday’s game, Monken said he assumed Watson would remain the starter when healthy. But Watson hasn’t exactly done enough to cement his status as the Browns’ starting quarterback.Cleveland entered Sunday at 5-3, with all five victories coming by four points or fewer. Their record has made Watson’s season look better than his actual play.Sanders showed plenty of the same problems Sunday. He also delivered a terrific throw when the Browns desperately needed one and helped put them in position to win in overtime.If the Browns are going to get uneven quarterback play no matter who starts, it’s fair to ask why the 24-year-old shouldn’t be the one getting the opportunity to develop through it.
Mountain Dew offers an exclusive holiday gift soda only at Walmart
Mountain Dew has decided to go small and it’s not shrinkflation. Yes, the PepsiCo brand has a new smaller size, but it also comes with a new smaller price tag.
“Mountain Dew just solved your stocking stuffer shortage,” the SodaSeekers Instagram page shared along with a photo of three new 7.5 ounce Mountain Dew cans being sold exclusively at Walmart.
The retailer shows the can for sale on its website and Walmart will have three exclusive flavors:
Baja Blast
Baja Blast Zero Sugar
Baja Cabo Citrus Zero Sugar
That’s not a new can size for the chain, but the cans are being sold individually for $0.50 each. That compares to a 6-pack of the Mountain Dew Citrus Pop flavor selling at Walmart.com for $5.47, or just over $0.91 each.
Target sells a 10-pack of the Citrus flavor online for $7.69, or just about $0.77 per can.
Mountain Dew and Walmart are doing something clever
Back when I ran a large toy store, Time Machine Hobby in Manchester, Conn, we remodeled our entire store layout for the Christmas season. Because, while we might close every sale on a $1,000 train set, a $400 dollhouse, or even a $60 deluxe board game, we would sell people stocking stuffers on the way out the door.
During most of the year, we actually had some items in the front below $5, but for the holiday season, $5 was a starting point, and $10 was more common, because people were going to buy, and giving them a low-cost option took money out of our cash register.
More Walmart:
Walmart faces FTC scrutiny over AI-era personalized pricing
Walmart has a new plan to solve one of its customers’ biggest problems
Walmart copies a core Costco move that also benefits customers
Walmart has a different problem. It’s a destination for groceries and Christmas shopping. It wants to sell you Christmas dinner, a new large-screen TV, and fill your stockings.
Cheap Mountain Dew cans in semi-collectible flavors allow a family to stretch its gift budget and help make sure that stockings are full.
Walmart wants to hit every possible price point and this does that with a big-name brand that has a large following, which can behave like a cult when it comes to flavors and packaging.
A soda is an indulgence most people can afford. Shutterstock
LTO beverages allow for affordable indulgence
Whether it’s Starbucks bringing back the Unicorn Frappuccino or Coca-Cola and PepsiCo rolling out new limited-time-offer (LTO) flavors, these drinks give people permission to be a little naughty.
“When something is framed as being a special opportunity — like the products we’ve been discussing — we take a license to indulge. We say, ‘OK, this Peeps Pepsi doesn’t come out all the time, so I have the right to go out and treat myself without worrying about my nutrition,” wrote Julio Sevilla, professor of marketing at the University of Georgia Terry College of Business.
That can be of greater value during challenging economic times.
RTM Nexus CEO Dominick Miserandino explained that the idea of “affordable indulgence” allows people to treat themselves without feeling like they have made a bad financial decision.
He commented to TheStreet on McDonald’s efforts to follow Starbucks, Walmart, and others into this space.
“We have an issue of economy, and I think a McDonald’s is that low entry point, and if all you want to do is have a drink and feel special, that McDonald’s entry point might be the trick,” he wrote.
More recent soda LTOs
Much like Starbucks, and now McDonald’s, shift up their beverage offerings, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Keurig Dr. Pepper do the same. These are just some of the releases that came out in 2026.
Pepsi Vanilla & Cream: Vanilla and cream-flavored Pepsi, including Zero Sugar. Launched October 19 for a limited holiday run, according to PepsiCo.
Coca-Cola Holiday Creamy Vanilla: Holiday-themed creamy vanilla Coke, introduced in November 2025, Parade reported.
Mountain Dew x Trolli Mango Pineapple Punch: Collaboration featuring mango, pineapple, and a hint of strawberry. Available from August through October, including a Walmart-exclusive promotional kit, according to a PepsiCo announcement.
Dr Pepper Creamy Coconut: Returning limited-time flavor combining Dr Pepper with coconut. Its comeback followed strong consumer demand for the 2024 release, according to a Keurig Dr Pepper press release.
A&W Root Beer Float: Limited-time root beer with a creamy vanilla profile inspired by a traditional root beer float, Keurig Dr Pepper shared.
7UP Shirley Temple: Returning for the 2026 holiday season, combining pomegranate and lemon-lime flavor, added Keurig Dr Pepper.
Related: Kroger, Albertsons, Publix have a pricing problem they can’t fix
You follow the rules for smart stock trading. But are they the right rules?
Apply the wisdom of investment pros to develop your own consistent methodology.
Israeli opposition leader Eisenkot may include Netanyahu in coalition
Israeli opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot said he is open to including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the coalition he is working to build.