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Monday Aug.19, 2019
Pot CEO: Profits not coming for at least 3 years
_Becoming a profitable cannabis biz takes time_
Quick reminder for interns: Send that end-of-summer, this-changed-my-life (handwritten?) thank you note to your boss.
Quick reminder for everyone: Markets suffered their 3rd straight weekly loss — blame growing worries of a global economic slowdown (this sports analogy on "the inverted yield curve" by the NYT nails it).
Highs
Who's up...
Get some oil on our backs... Southwest was a top buyer of those troubled Boeing 737 Max jetliners, and since they're grounded until at least November 2nd, Southwest is getting creative — it's adding a bunch of California-to-Hawaii flights, some for $99. There's less competition on those islands, growing tourist appreciation, and investor approval, so shares increased 3% Friday.
Feed us... While the rest of retail's bumming on tariff-boosted prices for the Made In China stuff American consumers love, Walmart is focused on food. The world's largest retailer cherished a better-than-expected $130B in revenues last quarter (FYI - that's almost double the 2nd biggest company in America). But the highlight was groceries: It now boasts 62% more online grocery shoppers than its next closest rival.
Take 3... Snap's into it. The social network's first 2 attempts at a wearable didn't work — the $150 Spectacles to record your every disappearable moment cost the company $40M in wasted frames. Now it's trying a 3rd version of its glasses for a cool $380 — it thinks the not-horrible look and 3D focused filters could move the needle.
Lows
...and who's down
Shade thrown... The guy who first reported the lies of Bernie Madoff and Enron? Now he's calling out GE. Fraud investigator Harry Markopolos claims the 127-year-old American icon is hiding $38B in losses from the books. GE believes Harry's just trying to manipulate its stock price so he can profit personally, but shares fell 10% on "the next Enron" vibes.
"Fashion miss"... Their words, not ours. Macy's dropped 18% after a series of mistakes that made an already brutal situation worse: Its new private-label athletic line got no love, it didn't sell enough warm weather goods this spring, and there aren't as many tourists in America going shopping. That all forced Macy's to put way too many clothes on sale, which dropped profits 48% from the same period last year.
This guy... Overstock's CEO. Turns out he was dating a Russian spy for 3 years. Last week he had his company issue a press release about how that got him involved in the 2016 presidential election investigation where he was interviewed by the "Men in Black." The bad look dropped the ecommerce company's stock 29% last week.
Budding
Cannabis' biggest week of the summer is a major downer for pot investors
Nice timing... Just as Woodstock festers celebrated their 50th reunion, cannabis stocks enjoyed their busiest week of the summer. Two of the biggest publicly traded pot companies revealed their earnings from the last quarter, both showing that it's hard out there for cannabis companies.
- Tilray (-27% last week): The Candian cannabis icon sold 5.6K kilos of weed (triple what it did last year), but its loss doubled. It acquired hemp-based food creator Manitoba Harvest and more recently treated itself to a CBD candy company.
- Canopy (-14% last week): Earth's biggest pot producer sold a hefty 9K kilos of weed (with revenues almost quadrupling), but it also gets more broke each quarter — losses more than quadrupled.
It's actually been a tough weed summer... Canopy's media-savvy CEO was just fired by its big new investor because he wasn't moving fast enough on CBD-infused drinks for the US market. CannTrust shares hit an all-time low after authorities seized some illegally-grown cannabis. And Sundial Growers recently IPO'd but was caught selling pot with mold.
Weed profits won't come for years... Canopy's CEO admitted that it could be half a decade before it's profitable. So pot companies are shifting their geographic strategy to find some wholesome profits.
- The US opportunity is huge, but limited — Only 11 states + DC have legalized weed, so the market is mostly limited to hemp-derived CBD creams, oils, drinks, and adorable dog treats.
- And Canada's got an oversupply problem — Even though it's legal since last fall, they're producing more up north than the people want.
- So pot companies are looking to study abroad — Tilray is building a new growing facility in Portugal and Aurora just announced a deal with the Italian government.
What else we’re Snackin’
- Work: 8 ways leaders perfectly delegate anything
- Life: 5 tricks to join the Inbox Zero lifestyle
- Money: Options, calls, and puts — what they are and how they work
- Venture: How the Museum of Ice Cream raised $40M from venture capital firms
- Crypto: New Zealand becomes the first country allowing salary payments in cryptocurrencies
- Do: Check out Virgin Galactic's luxury lounge for space tourism (no shoe/electronics removal necessary)
This Week
- Monday: Earnings from Baidu, Estée Lauder
- Tuesday: Earnings from Urban Outfitters, Home Depot, TJ Maxx
- Wednesday: 'Minutes' from the Fed's recent meeting in July. Earnings from Target, Lowe's
- Thursday: The annual Fed meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Earnings from Gap, Dick's Sporting Goods, Salesforce
- Friday: Earnings from Foot Locker, Williams-Sonoma
20190819-931112-2805924
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