Here Is Why Investors Are Talking Auto Stocks, Starbucks Corporation (SBUX) on Friday

US stocks were spurred higher today after better-than-expected manufacturing data. The S&P 500 index topped the 2,100 psychological level, while the Dow briefly climbed above the 18,000 level by midday.

Automotive and car-related stocks are also making headlines today. US auto sales for the month of June came out better than expected and the industry is on course to setting a record for the first six months of the year, supported by low gasoline prices and easy credit. Let’s take a look at the main car makers and also find out how Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) has angered some of its employees.

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Autopilot Still Not Safe

Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) has made headlines today for the wrong reasons. Federal highway safety regulators are investigating a fatal crash that involved a Tesla Model S running in Autopilot mode. Following the collision with a truck, the driver of the Tesla vehicle was killed. The company has defended itself, stating that customers are required to give “explicit acknowledgement” that the Autopilot technology is still new and under development, and that drivers still have to have their hands on the wheel at all times. Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares opened 2.8% lower this morning but have quickly regained most of the ground lost in pre-market trading. The popularity of Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) among the funds followed by Insider Monkey rose significantly during the first quarter, as the number of long positions reached 39 at the end of March, up from 29 a quarter before.

Cost Cutting Measures Anger Employees

Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX)‘s cost cutting measure are being heavily criticized by their employees. An online petition created by one of its employees claims the company’s work hours reductions are having a negative impact on employee morale and are hurting customer service. Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) has recently introduced technology that allows customer to order and pay using their smartphones. On top of that, the company is using clever algorithms to determine labor needs in each location based on business trends. According to Starbucks spokeswoman Jaime Riley, the company’s CEO Howard Schultz has already spoken with the author of the petition and is looking into the matter. Hedge fund interest in Starbucks cooled down during the quarter, as the number of funds from our database with long positions in Starbucks dropped to 52 from 61 registered at the end of December.

Turn the page to find out more about June auto sales and Hertz’s new partnership.

Sales Surpass Expectations

Shares of Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) are trending higher this morning as the company reported a major boost in June US sales of trucks and SUVs. The company’s total sales rose by 6.4% to 240,109 units. Truck sales were up by 24% to 96,354 units, with SUV sales up by 7% and cars down by 12%. “Strong customer demand has helped us continue growing our truck leadership position, further widening the gap with our nearest competitor versus last year,” said Mark LaNeve, Ford’s VP of U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service. Shares are currently trading at $12.87, up by 2.3% from yesterday’s closing price. At the end of the first quarter, 33 of the funds in our database were invested in Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F), down from 39 three months earlier.

Mixed Results From GM

Another US motoring giant is heading up this morning on sales data: General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) reported a 1.2% increase in US retail sales to 209,295 units sold to individual customers. Total sales, however, slumped by 1.6% to 255,210 vehicles. The main reason behind this development is that GM is cutting down on sales of rental cars, which are less profitable. “Our reduction in daily rental deliveries, disciplined incentive spending and well-managed inventories are showing real benefit in the residual values of our latest launched vehicles,” commented Kurt McNeil, U.S. VP of Sales Operations. Warren Buffett‘s Berkshire Hathaway is still holding on this investment in General Motors Company (NYSE:GM), which amounts to exactly 50 million shares as reported in Berkshire Hathaway’s latest 13F filing.

New Partnership

Shares of Hertz Global Holdings Inc (NYSE:HTZ) are up by 2% this morning, after the company announced it had raised approximately $2 billion from the spinoff of its equipment rental business. The company said it plans to use the funds to repay some of its debt. Hertz Global Holdings Inc (NYSE:HTZ) has also announced the buyback of up to $395 million worth of its own shares. In other news, Hertz has teamed up with Uber and Lyft as it looks to ramp up the revenue from its older fleet. Uber and Lyft drivers will be able to rent 2-3 years old models for up to several weeks or even months. Rather than sell the cars it removes from the daily-rental rotation, Hertz has now decided to rent them out to hailing services, hoping it will prove to be a more profitable strategy. Corporate raider Carl Icahn is still betting big on Hertz Global Holdings Inc (NYSE:HTZ), as his fund, Icahn Capital LP, continues to hold 63.7 million shares as noted in its latest quarterly report.

Disclosure: none.