Permanently parked (Andrej Sokolow/Getty Images) |
|
| Hey Snackers, Kellogg CEO Gary Pilnick landed in hot milk after encouraging cash-strapped shoppers to skip the chicken parm and eat cereal for dinner. Aside from the let-them-eat-Frosted-Flakes vibe, critics pointed out that Kellogg cereal prices spiked 17% last year. Stocks dipped yesterday as the AI rally paused to cool its servers. Bitcoin hit a two-year high. And the Fed's favorite inflation gauge is expected to come in hot today, though investors fear it could further delay rate cuts. |
|
|
Fallin' far from the tree… and rollin' into a ditch. Apple is said to have axed its decade-long effort to build an iCar. It's a whimper of an end to a multibillion-dollar project that started with a bang, promising to push Apple into a new product category. The dream: a pedal-less, steering-wheel-free self-driving EV. Now Apple's reportedly planning to lay off some of the 2K people working on the vehicle and move others to AI teams. Apple's plan soured as the market shifted: |
- Bite by bite… Apple had already pared back its vision. Most recently, the goal was said to be a more traditional EV with basic driver-assist tech.
- In neutral: Tesla and GM-owned Cruise have failed to bring fully self-driving cars to the masses, too, and each has faced safety investigations. Cruise pulled its robotaxis off the road in October after one of its cars dragged a pedestrian.
|
Losing its luster… The two trends Apple was betting on for car success (self-driving + electric) have lost some shine. While EV sales grew 50%+ last year, the pace of electric growth is cooling, and carmakers have put billions of investments on ice. GM walked back its electric production targets, and Ford paused a planned $12B in EV-factory spending. Last month Hertz said it'd trim its EV fleet by 20K cars, citing slowing demand and high upkeep costs. |
|
|
 THE TAKEAWAY
|
Sometimes you gotta eat the sunk cost… before it sinks you. Despite dumping billions of dollars and years of work into its car, Apple appears to have walked away. It's following in the footsteps of other tech giants that've decided to cut their losses on big bets. Alphabet recently gutted its moonshots team, and Amazon shuttered a bunch of its cashierless Go stores. |
|
|
Unboxing the future of affordable housing |
Out-of-the-box solution: High-tech car factories like Ford's and Tesla's can output a car every minute. BOXABL is applying these principles to mass-produced housing, envisioning a future where housing is more affordable for all. |
- New tech, next-level scale: BOXABL has innovated shipping, building materials and manufacturing methods. These aren't your average buildings — and BOXABL's factories aren't, either. The company has $15M in equipment upgrades and a 3rd factory build underway.
- It's systematic… BOXABL has shipped 500+ units of the "Casita", a 361 sq. ft. house with a kitchen, bathroom, and more. But BOXABL has plans for an entire system (protected by 63 patents) where stackable rooms connect to form whole buildings.
|
|
|
Unboxing the future of affordable housing |
Out-of-the-box solution: High-tech car factories like Ford's and Tesla's can output a car every minute. BOXABL is applying these principles to mass-produced housing, envisioning a future where housing is more affordable for all. |
- New tech, next-level scale: BOXABL has innovated shipping, building materials and manufacturing methods. These aren't your average buildings — and BOXABL's factories aren't, either. The company has $15M in equipment upgrades and a 3rd factory build underway.
- It's systematic… BOXABL has shipped 500+ units of the "Casita", a 361 sq. ft. house with a kitchen, bathroom, and more. But BOXABL has plans for an entire system (protected by 63 patents) where stackable rooms connect to form whole buildings.
|
|
|
Above and Beyond Meat… Beyond Meat shares spiked 84% late Tuesday after the faux-meat maker announced plans to flip its patty biz into profitability. Its quarterly revenue fell ~8%, but the drop was less than analysts had expected. Beyond's US sales slumped by over 20%, both at grocery stores and at restaurants like McDonald's, but international sales rose. Another thing investors liked: the patty purveyor announced cost cuts that it said would trim $70M+ in operational spend. |
- Menu change: Beyond canceled the faux-jerky line it created with Pepsi, and it teased a burger that it says is healthier than its original patty, with less saturated fat.
|
Not-so-pretty patties… Alt-meat has lost its health halo for some flexitarians (part-time vegetarians), who've compared plant-patty nutrition stats to those of real meat. Some have even described Beyond's products as "ultraprocessed" and "glorified toxic dog food." Beyond has clapped back against what it calls misinformation pushed by meat lobbies. The patty maker's other problem is price: |
- Burnt: Beyond discounted its products in past years to win back sales from cheaper real meats. Still, faux-meat sales at supermarkets fell 14% from 2022 to last year.
- Flip it: Because discounts didn't work, Beyond now plans to raise some product prices and focus on combating health stigmas with its new Beyond IV patty.
- Temp check: Rival patty maker Impossible Foods laid off ~20% of its staff. Bloomberg reported that employee shares of the private company lost nearly 90% of their value from 2021 to 2022.
|
|
|
THE TAKEAWAY |
"Premium" shoppers are picky… As food prices have skyrocketed, health-conscious consumers are trying to get the most nutritious bang for their buck. They're willing to splurge on wellness foods like $7 seed-packed breads, but the perceived healthfulness has to justify the premium price. To lure customers, plant-meat makers will have to convince consumers their products are healthier, cheaper, or both. |
|
|
- Brewing: Starbucks and the union repping its workers will restart contract talks after a two-and-a-half-year standoff. Starbs will give raises to ~10K union workers and add tipping prompts for card transactions.
- Sale: Marshalls parent TJX enjoyed 13% sales growth in the holiday quarter as Americans hunted for bargains like $5 Levi's. But the Ross rival gave softer-than-expected annual guidance.
- Lux: BYD, the world's EV leader, launched a $233K sports car, a new gear for the budget-friendly co. As BYD expands across income levels, Elon Musk said Tesla aims to ship its sporty ~$200K+ Roadster next year.
- Robo: Google's boss said its Gemini AI bot is under repair to address "biased" and "unacceptable" results. Gemini's image generator was suspended after creating historically inaccurate images (like people of color in Nazi uniforms).
- Bright : First Solar, the largest US solar-panel maker, topped Q4 estimates with profit up 30%. As consumers pass on rooftop panels, First Solar benefited from larger projects with the utility sector.
|
|
|
The idea for leap year originated with Julius Caesar in 45 BC |
|
|
- Leap Day
- Earnings expected from Best Buy, Birkenstock, AB InBev, Bath & Body Works, Six Flags, Papa John's, Hormel, TD Bank, Dole, Zscaler, Fisker, and Dell
|
Authors of this Snacks own bitcoin and shares of: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Beyond Meat, GM, Starbucks, and Tesla ADVERTISER'S DISCLOSURE: BOXABL IS CONSIDERING UNDERTAKING AN OFFERING OF SECURITIES UNDER TIER 2 OF REGULATION A FOR RETAIL INVESTORS. NO MONEY OR OTHER CONSIDERATION IS BEING SOLICITED, AND IF SENT IN RESPONSE, WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. NO OFFER TO BUY THE SECURITIES CAN BE ACCEPTED AND NO PART OF THE PURCHASE PRICE CAN BE RECEIVED UNTIL THE OFFERING STATEMENT FILED BY THE COMPANY WITH THE SEC HAS BEEN QUALIFIED BY THE SEC. ANY SUCH OFFER MAY BE WITHDRAWN OR REVOKED, WITHOUT OBLIGATION OR COMMITMENT OF ANY KIND, AT ANY TIME BEFORE NOTICE OF ACCEPTANCE GIVEN AFTER THE DATE OF QUALIFICATION. AN INDICATION OF INTEREST INVOLVES NO OBLIGATION OR COMMITMENT OF ANY KIND. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE SEE REGULATION A OFFERING STATEMENT. INVESTMENTS IN PRIVATE PLACEMENTS ARE SPECULATIVE, POSSESS A HIGH LEVEL OF RISK, ARE HIGHLY ILLIQUID, AND THOSE INVESTORS WHO CANNOT HOLD AN INVESTMENT FOR AN INDEFINITE TERM SHOULD NOT INVEST. NO ASSURANCE CAN BE GIVEN THAT INVESTORS WILL RECEIVE A RETURN OF THEIR CAPITAL. PLEASE REVIEW THE PRIVATE PLACEMENT MEMORANDUM CAREFULLY BEFORE INVESTING. |
|
|
|
