Sony Walkman launched 43 years ago, Kohl’s stock plummets, some McDonald’s end $1 drinks

Yahoo Finance's Seana Smith, Rachelle Akuffo, and Dave Briggs discuss three stocks to watch today: Sony, Kohl's, and McDonald's.

Video transcript

RACHELLE AKUFFO: Welcome back, everyone. Triple Play is on deck, and I'm going to kick us off with my pick, mainly because I love nostalgia, and my pick is Sony. Now the Walkman came into our lives on this day back in 1979. You see the stock there relatively flat, but still in positive territory. But of course, the Walkman walked so that the iPod could run, and of course, streaming service could fly.

Now the stock is down more than 35% year to date. But these days, of course, Sony is known mostly for its audio and display technology, and of course, its PlayStation consoles. Now the company is tapping into those strengths this week, announcing its expansion beyond consoles into gaming gear for PCs, with its now new InZone brand.

Now this is going to feature a line of new headphones, as well as 4K definition monitors. Now Sony is positioning itself for the future, as the gaming market size was valued at about $213 billion in 2021. It's expected to more than double to about $550 billion by 2028. But of course, you have other tech companies like Apple nipping at their heels. So we'll have to see how they do in terms of market share.

SEANA SMITH: Yeah, and Rachelle, if they do get in and they are getting into this PC gaming hardware, it puts them also up against Lenovo, which also has a pretty solid base within this industry right now, and also Razr. So it makes sense that Sony is diversifying its business. But I like the fact that you kicked it off with nostalgia. I remember when the iPod first came out. I wasn't ready to give up my Walkman. And boy, was I wrong, because the iPod made it so much easier. But I'm happy--

RACHELLE AKUFFO: Who knew?

SEANA SMITH: --that you brought this up. Yeah, who knew? Because I remember being, like, why would you ever give up your CDs for that? But, you know, more sense.

DAVE BRIGGS: I'm just happy you two remember it.

SEANA SMITH: Of course.

DAVE BRIGGS: Usually, I'm the only one that remembers these old gadgets.

SEANA SMITH: Oh, my gosh, please.

DAVE BRIGGS: The old guy here.

SEANA SMITH: We're not as young as you make us out to be here, Dave. All right, let's switch gears here and talk about the retail sector because Kohl's announcing that takeover talks with the Vitamin Shoppe parent Franchise Group have ended. You're seeing that reflected in the shares today, adding a wave of scrapped business deals amid a tough market conditions right now. Now the retailer said that it had talks with 25 parties, but Franchise Group's bid of $60 per share left a, quote, "exclusive negotiations."

In a statement, though, Kohl's board chair Peter Boneparth wrote that, quote, "Despite a concerted effort on both sides, the current financing and retail environment created significant obstacles to reach an acceptable agreement." Shares of Kohl's today selling off on the news. You can see it off just about 20%. It was actually off over 20% in earlier trading. And Dave, really, it's complicating environment here for Kohl's that's been a retailer that's been struggling now for quite some time. And the Street's trying to figure out what exactly is next here for Kohl's.

DAVE BRIGGS: Yeah, and failure to see what's coming down the road. Go back to January, the offer-- a separate offer was $64 a share. And you look at it at 28 right now. They could have done awfully well. Then it was 60, and then they reduced it to 53. And they still can't get a deal done. And now it looks like a real estate play.

SEANA SMITH: Yeah, it does.

DAVE BRIGGS: Really, they have 1,100 different locations. And it looks like that is their road back, at least, for the time being-- a tough one. My play is MCD. McDonald's with news today inflation has come for $1 drinks. Many locations doing away with one of the fast food giant's signature deals, the $1 soft drink offer, one we all loved.

16 different restaurant co-ops voted to advertise the value menu, rather than emphasize the $1 drinks. And there is no sign of the offer on the McDonald's home page. There is still an advertisement for the $1 coffee promotion at McDonalds.com. The company says, quote, "Franchisees set prices and have the flexibility to create promotions that will drive demand locally." It is nice they have that flexibility.

A little history here from the Wall Street Journal this morning on this story. The McDonald's dollar menu actually started in 2002 with a man named Donald Trump, who was a businessman there who started in the ads, if you can remember those ones way back when. Shares of McDonald's down year to date more than 6%. But today, the biggest gainer on the Dow at the moment, up just over 2.2%. It's tough. Inflation keeps coming for all these signature deals around the country, Rachelle.

RACHELLE AKUFFO: And Dave, as you mentioned, the list of things you could get for $1 these days really, really shrinking. Remember when the Dollar Tree jumped up its prices to $1.25? I wept. And then, of course, you have these $1 drinks where you can pretty much get basically a bucket of soda for $1 at a time when people are really trying to pinch pennies. You know, inflation is high. You want to try and get the deals where you can. So sad to see that coming off the menu in some restaurants.

SEANA SMITH: I was happy, though, Dave, to hear you say that it sounds like $1 coffee-- was that right?

DAVE BRIGGS: $1 coffee's still there.

SEANA SMITH: It's still on menu for now?

DAVE BRIGGS: $1 coffee's still there.

SEANA SMITH: McDonald's $1 coffee is pretty good. It's a deal that you can't beat, so at least--

DAVE BRIGGS: Not the best coffee on the planet.

SEANA SMITH: I think it's pretty good. For $1? I'll take it any day.

DAVE BRIGGS: Hey, we still have iced tea. Arizona Iced Tea is still $0.99.

SEANA SMITH: Arizona Iced Tea, $0.99.

DAVE BRIGGS: All right? Stay strong.

SEANA SMITH: It sounds like it might only be a matter of time till that goes away, but maybe--

DAVE BRIGGS: Don't do it.

SEANA SMITH: --I'm wrong here.