Spotify (NYSE: SPOT) announced Friday it's introducing in-app parental controls for "managed accounts" intended for listeners under the age of 13. The new feature is first rolling out as a pilot program for parents on the company's Family plan in Denmark, New Zealand and Sweden, among other select markets. The controls can prevent young users from watching videos, playing content or viewing Spotify's Canvas videos: short-form looping video content that plays alongside music on the app. Account managers can also control which artists their child is able to listen to, or block certain songs, allowing for more customizable controls outside of the Spotify Kids app. The rollout follows similar efforts from companies including Meta (NASDAQ: META), Snap (NYSE: SNAP) and YouTube (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) to help give parents more control over what their children can view on their apps.

McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) announced it will extend its $5 value meal into December in most U.S. markets in effort to bring back lower-income consumers. The value meal offers a McDouble or McChicken sandwich, small fries, four-piece chicken nuggets and a small soft drink for $5. Restaurant owners will also offer local promotions in the upcoming weeks and months in addition to the value meal, McDonald's said. Deals will also be available in the McDonald's app. “Together with our franchisees, we’re committed to keeping our prices as affordable as possible, which is why we’re doubling down with even more ways to save,” McDonald’s U.S. President Joe Erlinger said in a statement.

Stellantis (NYSE: STLA) announced Wednesday it is investing more than $406 million in three Michigan facilities to support its multi-energy strategy, its plan to adopt electrification across its products, platforms, manufacturing and supply chain. This investment will allow the automaker to manufacture both electric and gas versions of the same vehicles in the same facilities. "Gearing up to build our first-ever Ram electric truck and the range-extended version in Michigan is a meaningful moment of pride for our teams," said CEO Carlos Tavares in a statement. "With these investments supporting both Jeep and Ram, we're adding innovations to our Michigan manufacturing footprint to support a multi-energy approach that is laser-focused on customer demand." The majority of the funds will support the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant (SHAP), which will build the 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger EV truck.

Incoming Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) CEO Brian Niccol said in an open letter published Tuesday that he plans to refocus the coffee chain's U.S. business in his early days as leader, noting that the company is not "always delivering," on U.S. consumer expectations. "It can feel transactional, menus can feel overwhelming, product is inconsistent, the wait too long of the handoff too hectic," Niccol wrote in a letter addressed to customers, employees and stakeholders. "These moments are opportunities for us to do better." Niccol outlined four areas for improvement in the U.S.: morning service, it's cafes, the barista experience, and the company's branding. To improve on these areas, Starbucks plans to invest in tech to improve working conditions for employees and allow them to make drinks more efficiently, update its app and mobile ordering, and upgrade its supply chain.

Dell Technologies (NYSE: DELL) and Palantir Technologies (NYSE: PLTR) will join the S&P 500 U.S. stock index, S&P Global announced Friday, sending respective shares of both companies higher in extended trading. Dell is replacing Etsy (NASDAQ: ETSY), and Palantir will take American Airlines (NASDAQ: AAL) spot, according to S&P. Notably, this is Dell's second time joining the S&P 500, with the computer and server maker being apart of the broader market index from 1996 to 2013, when founder Michael Dell and private-equity firm Silver Lake took the company private. Dell became a public company again in 2018, and has been profitable almost every quarter since 2019. This will be Palantir's debut on the index, with the startup going public on the new York Stock Exchange in 2020 and posting quarterly profits as soon as the fourth quarter of 2022. The additions will better reflect U.S. stocks with high market capitalizations, S&P said, with the median market cap of companies on the index being over $33 billion; Dell's market cap is valued over $72 billion, while Partner is valued over $67 billion.