Hey Snackers,
Someone call the breakfast police: Tropicana has unveiled a cereal meant to be eaten with OJ instead of milk. Some things just shouldnât be messed with.
Stocks finally staged the comeback rally theyâd been trying for, led by techies like Meta, which sent the Nasdaq up 3%. The rally came despite data showing the US economy shrank last quarter for the first time since the early days of the pandemic.
Isaac Newton would be stumped⊠This Apple just doesnât seem to fall. Yesterday the worldâs most valuable company said sales jumped more than expected last quarter â to $97B â despite ongoing supply issues, the war in Ukraine, and booming inflation. All told, it was Appleâs third-best quarter of all time. The details:
The post-pandemic slump⊠still hasnât hit Apple. Appleâs stock is still up more than double since the pandemic began, while fellow stay-at-home surgers Meta, Zoom, Peloton, and Netflix have fallen to pre-pandemic levels. But some analysts worried that Chinaâs latest lockdowns would finally put a damper on Appleâs results:
Apple isnât just a company⊠itâs an iConomy. Appleâs worth nearly $3T (or about 2% of the worldâs GDP), making it an indicator for the entire global economy. The combo of steady iDemand and Appleâs flexible supply chain offers investors hope that consumers may keep spending despite soaring prices and other economic headwinds.
Carvanaâs car-vending machine⊠is running out of quarters as the lure of cash-burning used-car companies wears off. Yesterday, private-equity giant Apollo reportedly agreed to buy $1.6B of Carvanaâs corporate debt (think: investors lend Carvana $$ through bonds, and then get paid with interest). Apolloâs coming to the rescue after Carvana struggled to raise money for an acquisition amid slowing demand for its refurbished cars sold online.
Your 2018 Honda Civic⊠is worth more than you think. Used-car sales hit record highs during the pandemic as supply shortages made new wheels hard to come by. Some models were even selling for 20% more than their new editions. Carvana made it easy for shoppers to buy online and have their cars delivered, without hassling with a dealership. But as car shopping has become more like house hunting (see: low inventory, high prices), itâs hurting demand â and not just for Carvana:
The pandemic thriver model is broken⊠and private equity wants to be the glue to fix it. From Airbnb to Carnival, PE firms have thrown lifelines to numerous companies needing quick cash to combat pandemic-fueled losses. In turn, firms like Apollo guarantee dividends for investors and a big payout down the road. Itâs worked before: Apollo's fund jumped 10% after Hertz paid back part of a $1.5B loan less than a year after getting it.
Authors of this Snacks own shares of Apple, Netflix, Twitter, Exxon, Vroom, and Moderna
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