Bloomberg Intelligence Wall Street Poised for Bonus Increases in ‘Year of the Bank’
May 7, 2026
Katherine Doherty, Bloomberg News finance reporter covering Wall Street and deal activity. Michael Halen, senior restaurant and foodservice analyst on earnings and cost pressures. Geetha Ranganathan, US media analyst on streaming and corporate results. Kunjan Sobhani, senior semiconductor analyst on chips and memory trends. They discuss rising banker pay tied to deal flow and trading, restaurant earnings and beef inflation, media M&A and streaming strategy, and Arm’s mixed quarter and AI-driven memory demand.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Beverages Used To Lift Margins And Afternoon Traffic
- Beverages are high-margin focus for McDonald’s to lift afternoon traffic and margins.
- Michael Halen notes plans like Red Bull drinks and higher drink attachment to offset food comp pressure.
Beef Costs To Moderate But Still Elevated
- Beef inflation is easing from mid-teens to expected high-single-digits by year-end, easing pressure on chains.
- Michael Halen says Shake Shack is more exposed because it owns most restaurants, so costs hit its margins harder.
Drive Same‑Store Sales And Cut Operational Waste
- Improve restaurant margins by raising same-store sales and operational efficiency.
- Michael Halen points to labor efficiency gains and supply-chain/productivity moves at Shake Shack as margin levers.