Suited up for the Battle Royale [Drazen/E+ via GettyImages]
Hey Snackers,
May the Fourth be with you on this fine Star Wars Day. If you really want to go full fourth, here's a recipe for adorable Baby Yoda cookies. Yourself, treat.
The Dow jumped yesterday as investors moved away from tech and into "cyclicals." These are stocks in industries that tend to do well when the economy is growing (and vice versa). Think: travel, construction, and retail.
Battle Royale... But instead of crossbows, these warriors have briefcases and JDs. Yesterday was Day #1 of the landmark trial over Apple's App Store dominance. The lawsuit was brought by Fortnite-maker Epic Games, and could seriously damage Apple's app-power. It all started in August last year, when...
Bring these lawyers some Advil... Yesterday, Epic argued that Apple has an iPhone app monopoly, and purposely locks customers into its ecosystem. Apple argued that it gets to set the rules for its own App Store, which it says are needed to ensure quality and security. Epic disagrees.
This could be Apple's make-or-break moment... The App Store created an explosion of opportunity (and $$$) for developers... but at a cost. That could change if Apple loses this suit — especially since it's facing other (related) antitrust scrutiny: last month, it got grilled by the Senate over its smartphone ecosystem power, and last week the EU charged it with allegedly abusing its control over music app distribution. CNBC estimates that Apple made $64B last year from the App Store (~30% of its annual revenue). Changes on the app side could cost it big.
Mentioned in every Vogue skincare video... La Mer's marketing team never sleeps. Estée Lauder is the beauty giant that owns brands like Bobbi Brown, La Mer, Clinique, MAC, Too Faced, and Jo Malone. Its first quarter earnings reveal a glow up from 2020.
Forgot how to do winged liner... (never really knew how). Skincare was the star of Estée's quarter, outperforming while makeup disappointed. Skincare sales soared 31%, perfume sales jumped 30%, and even hair care grew. Meanwhile, makeup dropped 11% — the only category that declined. Rival L'Oreal also reported "lacklustre" makeup sales last quarter.
Old habits die hard... so do some Covid habits. For a year, we’ve been sitting at home fresh-faced. "Big Nights Out" turned into "Big Nights In," complete with self-care rituals. Eye serum became the new eye shadow, and clean became the new cakey. Even with rebounding travel and "revenge spending," makeup is still lagging. That shows some Covid habits are sticking, even through reopenings. Amazon just had its best first quarter ever because ecomm is still growing, and Crocs posted record Q1 sales because comfort is (still) cool.
Authors of this Snacks own shares of: Apple
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