Thursday Dec.17, 2020

💨 Earth's biggest pot company

_The engagement party_
_The engagement party_

Hey Snackers,

Some sweet news to start your Thursday: over 900 cars paid for each other's meals at a Dairy Queen drive-thru in Minnesota. Who broke the chain, doe?

Yesterday, lawmakers closed in on passing a $900B Covid relief deal that includes another round of stimulus checks. Also: Bitcoin surged past $20K for the first time.

Puff

Tilray and Aphria merge to create the world's biggest cannabis company

Can you do the Can Can? Canadian cannabis icons Tilray and Aphria are combining to form Earth's largest pot company by sales. The new company will keep Tilray’s name (heated marriage decision) and will trade on the Nasdaq. Fun fact: it's basically impossible for American cannabis stocks to trade on US exchanges, since marijuana is illegal at the federal level.

  • Geographic FOMO: Canna companies don't know where legalization will strike next, so they're trying to plant their weeds wherever the green light seems likely.
  • Ameri-canna: Aphria needs to expand outside of Canada. Tilray's US biz gives it nice exposure to the American market as more states are legalizing.
  • Euro-canna: As more European countries legalize medical marijuana, Tilray and Aphria can combine their European production facilities to scale and distribute faster.

THC sippin'... Tilray and Aphria are also combining their bev businesses. Aphria acquired SweetWater Brewing Company for cannabis-infused beers like "420 Strain IPA" — Tilray partnered with Bud-maker AB InBev for CBD and THC drinks. These "beyond the leaf" products could be gateway goodies for weed to go mainstream.

Cannabis is freshman year Harry Potter... Hasn't really done much, but gets all the attention. Even after their stocks jumped on the news, Tilray and Aphria's combined market value is just ~$3.6B — for reference: Sam Adams-maker Boston Beer is worth over 3X that. Combined, Aphria and Tilray make less than $700M in sales per year — that's less than Juul's sales in 2018. So canna companies have to consolidate while they wait for more legalization.

Zuck

Facebook's mini-incubator team is working on a Cameo-style app

So, did you do it Carole?... Cameo is the startup that lets you request personalized videos from celebs. For $1.2K, you can get a happy birthday shoutout from Snoop Dogg — for $300, you can get Carole Baskin to sing "In Da Club" by 50 Cent (major cringe warning). For more context: Kevin from The Office is Cameo's top earner for 2020.

  • Cameo might be getting Zucked: Facebook is reportedly building a new Cameo-inspired tool called "Super" to let fans pay celebs for live face time. Think: live streams and Q&As.

Zuck Team 6... Super is being developed by Facebook’s "New Product Experimentation" team, which builds apps outside of FB. Their creations include: a couples app, a music collaboration app, and a meme app. None of these have broken out as a popular, standalone product. But Super could capitalize on the demand for digital celeb events.

NPE is like a mini-incubator.... It's FB's version of startup accelerator Y Combinator. Facebook's getting major heat for its Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions — creating new products internally might be a less risky route for growth than buying competitors. With this dedicated team, Facebook is basically throwing app spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. If it lands, FB will probably integrate it into its main app.

Sneak

StockX, the stock market of sneakers, steps into a $2.8B valuation

Flexing the AF1 display on Zoom... Level 3 Flex. StockX is an online marketplace for sneakerheads and fashion aficionados. The five-year-old Detroit-based startup launched with rare kicks, then expanded to streetwear, bags, and even collectible Pokemon cards (this one's a steal at $5.2K). Now it's almost a triple unicorn:

  • StockX just raised $275M at a $2.8B valuation, more than double its 2019 valuation. Celeb investors include Steve Aoki and Eminem.
  • It was profitable for the first time last quarter, when sales soared 75% from a year earlier. Wild stat: 50% of its transactions since 2016 happened over the last 12 months.

New York Sneaker Exchange... StockX calls itself "the world's first stock market for things." Makes sense, since its CEO is a former NYSE and eBay exec.

  • On a stock market (like the NYSE and the Nasdaq), supply and demand determines prices by matching buyers and sellers of a company's stock.
  • StockX mimics the stock market by posting sellers' minimum asking prices and buyers' highest bidding prices. When a bid meets the ask, the sale automatically happens.

Trust is the most valuable commodity.... and StockX gained it through verification and pricing transparency. You won't spend $700 on rare Yeezys if they could be knockoffs: StockX authenticates all products before shipping them, and only sells unworn items (except for watches). It also provides market data for listed products, including the 52-week high and low prices they sold at. That way, buyers and sellers can know if they're getting a relatively fair price, or if they should wait.

What else we’re Snackin’

  • Avo: Sweetgreen is launching its first "drive-in" restaurant (fancy speak for: drive-thru) as it expands from cities to the burbs.
  • Washy: Ultra-cheap marketplace Wish opens for trading below its IPO price — it's kind of like an online dollar store.
  • Give: Mackenzie Scott donates $4.2B to nearly 400 charities as part of her pledge to donate most of her ~$60B+ wealth.
  • Searched: A coalition of states sues Google over its allegedly manipulative and competition-crushing ad tech.
  • Splurge: Shoppers from low to high income brackets are upping their spending to treat themselves during the pandemic.

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Thursday

Authors of this Snacks own shares of: Google

ID: 1452647

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Do you want to run the State Department of McDonald’s?

A couple of days ago, a tweet making fun at McDonald’s hiring a “Manager for Diplomatic Relations” went viral.

At first glance, the idea that McDonald’s, a burger franchise known for its double quarter pounders and perfectly salted fries, is expanding its diplomatic influence with policy makers in Foggy Bottom and the world at large sounds comical. But it’s actually crucial.

There are more than 40,000 McDonald’s locations spread across 115 countries around the world, and 90% of these stores are independently owned and operated franchises that pay royalties to the parent organization to operate. Tens of thousands of franchises operated by different owners with different beliefs, priorities, and values can get complicated, fast.

As we noted in Snacks in February, McDonald’s received heavy backlash from franchisees in countries including Saudi Arabia, Oman, Jordan, Kuwait, and Pakistan after McDonald’s Israel donated thousands of free meals to IDF personnel. But it wasn’t McDonald’s, as an entity, that made the donations. It was the owner of the company’s Israel franchises, who was acting under his own volition.

There are more than 40,000 McDonald’s locations spread across 115 countries around the world, and 90% of these stores are independently owned and operated franchises that pay royalties to the parent organization to operate. Tens of thousands of franchises operated by different owners with different beliefs, priorities, and values can get complicated, fast.

As we noted in Snacks in February, McDonald’s received heavy backlash from franchisees in countries including Saudi Arabia, Oman, Jordan, Kuwait, and Pakistan after McDonald’s Israel donated thousands of free meals to IDF personnel. But it wasn’t McDonald’s, as an entity, that made the donations. It was the owner of the company’s Israel franchises, who was acting under his own volition.

Nuke stocks up on AI excitement

For most of humanity, the thought of “nuclear-powered AI” sends a shiver down the spine. But the stock market is all for it! Just check out the list of top performing S&P 500 stocks this year. Just behind established AI plays — Super Micro Computer and Nvidia, you’ll find Constellation Energy, the largest operator of nuclear plants in the U.S. NRG Energy, which also operates nuclear plants, isn’t far behind. Bloomberg reports that CEO of power distributor Exelon — which spun off Constellation in 2022 — says in the Chicago area alone, AI could drive a 900% jump in demand for energy from data centers.

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China makes Apple remove WhatsApp, Threads, Signal and Telegram from app store

In its latest move to restrict foreign tech, Beijing has ordered Apple to remove a number of popular messaging apps from its app store there, including WhatsApp, Threads, Signal and Telegram.

These apps had only been available through VPNs but were popular nonetheless, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Apple said the Chinese government asked them to remove the apps in the iPhone maker’s second biggest market over “national security concerns.” Last week, China told its state-owned telecoms to phase out the use of US chips by 2027.

Apple said the Chinese government asked them to remove the apps in the iPhone maker’s second biggest market over “national security concerns.” Last week, China told its state-owned telecoms to phase out the use of US chips by 2027.

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Business
Rani Molla
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Tesla's recall reveals just how bad Cybertruck delivery numbers have been

Thanks to a recall of Tesla’s Cybertrucks, we now know how many of them have actually been delivered: 3,878 since the EV company began releasing them to customers in November.

In its third and fourth quarter earnings report, Tesla said that its current Cybertruck production capacity was greater than 125,000 a year. Musk had previously said he expected to produce 250,000 Cybertrucks a year by 2025.

Either way, that’s a lot more than the roughly 775 it’s delivered each month so far.

The recall is over an issue with the gas pedal pad that, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says when pressed, “may dislodge, which may cause the pedal to become trapped in the interior trim above the pedal.” The cause of the issue: “unapproved” soap that the manufacturer used to aid in getting the pad on the pedal.

A Cybertruck customer this week posted a TikTok about a terrifying incident in which this happened and “held the accelerator down 100%” in his 6,000+ pound vehicle. Thanks to some quick thinking where he held down the brake and put it in park, he wasn’t injured.

This is the long-awaited Cybertruck’s second recall since it came out five months ago.

Either way, that’s a lot more than the roughly 775 it’s delivered each month so far.

The recall is over an issue with the gas pedal pad that, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says when pressed, “may dislodge, which may cause the pedal to become trapped in the interior trim above the pedal.” The cause of the issue: “unapproved” soap that the manufacturer used to aid in getting the pad on the pedal.

A Cybertruck customer this week posted a TikTok about a terrifying incident in which this happened and “held the accelerator down 100%” in his 6,000+ pound vehicle. Thanks to some quick thinking where he held down the brake and put it in park, he wasn’t injured.

This is the long-awaited Cybertruck’s second recall since it came out five months ago.

Markets

Cocoa hits $11,000

Cocoa prices are breaking records on an almost daily basis — with cocoa futures closing at (another) all-time high of $11,020 per metric ton yesterday.

That’s up 158% since the start of the year, and over 4x on the typical prices seen in 2022 — as crop production continues to fall short of demand.

Major cocoa-producing nations like the Ivory Coast and Ghana, which between them grow about two-thirds of the world’s cocoa, have seen excessive tree failure due to disease, changing weather patterns, and hot, dry conditions causing devastating droughts.

As such, consumers are starting to see the effects of the largest cocoa supply deficit in over 60 years: “shrinkflation” and reduced-cocoa recipes might soon hit your favorite chocolate bars, and Hershey stock was recently downgraded. Unfortunately, the worst may still be yet to come: the International Cocoa Organization expects production to lag behind demand by 374,000 tons for the 2023-24 season.

Cocoa prices

Major cocoa-producing nations like the Ivory Coast and Ghana, which between them grow about two-thirds of the world’s cocoa, have seen excessive tree failure due to disease, changing weather patterns, and hot, dry conditions causing devastating droughts.

As such, consumers are starting to see the effects of the largest cocoa supply deficit in over 60 years: “shrinkflation” and reduced-cocoa recipes might soon hit your favorite chocolate bars, and Hershey stock was recently downgraded. Unfortunately, the worst may still be yet to come: the International Cocoa Organization expects production to lag behind demand by 374,000 tons for the 2023-24 season.

Cocoa prices
Power

World out of balance: It costs the US 3¢ to make 1 penny

The cost of producing a US penny rose 13% in fiscal 2023 to 3.07 cents. Yes, it means that Uncle Sam loses more than 2 cents for every cent it produces. (And no, you can’t make it up on volume.)

For the record, that’s the 18th straight year the penny’s face value has been below production costs, fueling calls for abolishing the lowest value denomination coin. Canada started to phase out the penny in 2013, joining Australia, Brazil, Finland, New Zealand, Norway, and Israel, according to Smithsonian Magazine.

3.07¢