It's what happens off the field that matters in the Super Bowl
Hey Snackers,
Goldman Sachs' CEO David Solomon (aka, "DJ D-Sol," aka, the banker who drops bangers) and Elon Musk just dropped an EDM track on SoundCloud. It's called: "Don't Doubt ur Vibe." Don't u dare doubt it.
US markets had their worst week in 6 months β stocks tumbled on continued fears that coronavirus could slow economic growth.
Dear 100M American Bowl-viewers... A bunch of companies paid Fox $5.6M for the right to a 30-second commercial between the QB sneaks and butt fumbles. PR and marketing teams put extra thought into this year's Super Bowl ads to send the right message β that reveals their industries' relationship status with customers (sometimes, complicated). The highlight themes:
This is the Super Bowl for your extra attention... And your eyes and ears are worth millions. With DVR, streaming video, cord-cutting, and options to pay more for no commercials, it's incredibly hard for big brands to get noticed (you ever actually watched an Insta-story ad?). While $5.6M is a lot for 30 seconds, it's probably comparable on a per-view basis with a Facebook or a magazine ad.
Gloomy IPO season gets some sun... One Medical stock popped 47% as the membership-based healthcare co went public Friday. Its lofty goal: "Make people fall in love with their doctor's office." Kinda like what Equinox did for gyms, but for medical visits (and not as pricey). The word "delight" was mentioned 7 times in their IPO filing β that's more than the word "doctor." It's still unprofitable with 400K members, but the real opportunity is with corporate clients β Google is one of its biggest customers (and investors).
The branches are growing... Apple enjoyed its most profitable quarter ever. It was also the Fruit's first quarterly profit increase in over a year. Highlight: Wearables sales (think AirPods, watches) jumped 37%. In 365 days, Apple has added over $725B to its value (that's more than Facebook's entire value), thanks to its self-serving ecosystem: Apple's wearables and services (Apple TV+, Apple Card) all tie back to and benefit its core iPhone biz.
Smoked out of billions... Altria. The tobacco giant that makes Marlboro cigs lost an extra $4.1B on its investment in Juul β that's a total loss of $8.6B in just over a year. As smokers traded tobacco-filled paper for a vape juice-filled metal device, Altria saw Juul as the future of smoking, so it invested $12B in the startup. That "strategic" investment turned into a major fail (and massive liability). Regulators cracked on down on vaping for hooking kids with mango-tastic flavors and colorful marketing. Now Altria's paying the price.
Not so gassed up... Oil companies. Shares of oil icons Exxon and Chevron fell 4% Friday on disappointing earnings. Meanwhile, Shell hit a 3-year low on slow growth. But the real worry is coronavirus β travel demand continues to tank as it hits global health emergency status. And with reduced demand for travel, oil and gas prices have fallen. Airlines like Delta, American, and United have all suspended China flights β plus, China is big oil's major source of demand/growth.
Disclosure: Authors of this Snacks own shares of Apple, Alphabet, Beyond Meat, and Sony
ID: 1077536