GeekWire Podcast Field Trip: Starbucks rebounds, Microsoft plunges, and Amazon resets

This week on the GeekWire Podcast: We hit the road for a driving tour of the week’s news, making stops at Starbucks, Microsoft, and an Amazon Fresh store in its final days.

First up, Starbucks reports its first U.S. transaction growth in about two years — and announces plans for an AI “ordering companion” that translates cravings and concepts into custom drinks. We go through a drive-thru to taste test the old-fashioned way, ordering a “banana bread latte” at the drive-through.

Then we swing by the Microsoft campus after the company beats quarterly expectations but sees its stock drop 12% in a single day. One of the reasons: investor concerns about the company’s exposure to OpenAI, which now accounts for roughly 45% of Microsoft’s contracted future cloud revenue.

Finally, Amazon is closing all of its Fresh grocery stores and Go convenience stores in the U.S., exiting its homegrown retail formats entirely. We visit a Seattle location during its clearance sale, and find a long line at a store whose original promise was no lines at all.

Upcoming GeekWire Podcast Live Event: Join us from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb 12 at Fremont Brewing for a live recording of the GeekWire Podcast with Todd Bishop and John Cook. Free for Fremont Chamber members, $15 for everyone else. Register here.