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.

This week on the show, Todd Bishop and Taylor Soper hit the road for a driving tour of the 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 into custom drinks. Todd tests it the old-fashioned way, ordering a banana bread latte at the drive-through.

Then, Microsoft beats quarterly expectations but sees its stock drop 12% in a single day. The culprit? 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. Todd and Taylor 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.&nbsp;<a href="https://fremontchamberofcommercewa.growthzoneapp.com/events/Details/live-recording-the-geekwire-podcast-1626188?sourceTypeId=Hub">Register here</a>.
This week on the show, Todd Bishop and Taylor Soper hit the road for a driving tour of the news, making stops at Starbucks, Microsoft, and an Amazon Fresh store in its final days.
First up, Starbucks <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/tech-overhaul-helps-starbucks-post-first-u-s-transaction-growth-in-two-years/">reports its first U.S. transaction growth</a> in about two years &mdash; and <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/vibe-coffee-is-coming-starbucks-is-building-an-ai-powered-ordering-companion/">announces plans for an AI "ordering companion"</a> that translates cravings into custom drinks. Todd tests it the old-fashioned way, ordering a banana bread latte at the drive-through.
Then, Microsoft <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/microsoft-beats-expectations-cloud-tops-50b-as-openai-and-anthropic-deals-reshape-its-business/">beats quarterly expectations</a> but sees its stock drop 12% in a single day. The culprit? 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 <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/amazon-closing-all-amazon-fresh-and-go-stores-to-focus-on-whole-foods-and-grocery-delivery/">closing</a> all of its Fresh grocery stores and Go convenience stores in the U.S., exiting its homegrown retail formats entirely. Todd and Taylor visit a Seattle location during its clearance sale, and find a long line at a store whose original promise was no lines at all.

GeekWire brings you the week's latest technology news, trends and insights, covering the world of technology from our home base in Seattle. Our regular news podcast features commentary and analysis from our editors and reporters, plus interviews with special guests.

GeekWire reporters John Cook, Todd Bishop and guests talk about the latest tech news and trends.