Mohssen Assanimoghaddam/Getty Images |
Not your grandma's cookies |
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Royalty gets a raise: the UK's King Charles III is looking at a 50% pay bump of $58M this year, thanks largely to profits from wind farms. Breezy money. Stocks sank yesterday, dragged down by techies like Alphabet and Tesla. The Nasdaq lost 3.4%, its biggest drop in nearly two years. Wall Street was disappointed by big-name earnings. |
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How the cookie doesn't crumble… Cookies are the reason that swimsuit you clicked on once is still following you around the internet. They're little bits of code that track your web-browsing activity. In 2019, Google rocked the ad industry by announcing plans to kill third-party cookies in Chrome (the world's most used browser). Backlash from the $600B/year digital-ad industry — which relies on Chrome for tracking data — was intense. For over four years, Google worked on ways to transition to a no-cookie browser. This week: |
- Google said "nvm," reversing a long-planned move that had drawn intense pushback from advertisers and regulators.
- New plan: Instead of eliminating cookies, Google will prompt users to decide whether they want them turned on or off, according to the UK's antitrust regulator. FYI: users can already block cookies in Chrome settings.
- Silicone-chip cookie: About 40% of sites use tracking cookies, and Chrome is the only major browser that still supports them.
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Feed your own sweet tooth… While privacy advocates had celebrated Google's cookie-crushing plan, advertisers railed against it, saying it would only give the search giant even more of an ad-vantage. The argument: if Google eliminated third-party cookies, then advertisers would be forced to move spending to Google's ad products to get better targeting data. For years, advertisers bracing for the cookie extinction raced to collect more info on their own customers (aka: first-party data). |
- That fueled the rise of "retail media," where companies like Walmart, Kroger, CVS, and Amazon use their troves of customer data to target ads. Even non-retailers like Uber, United, and Marriott have increasingly leveraged first-party data to sell ads.
- Rally: Since Google's cookie reversal, the stock index for companies that provide ad services has spiked.
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One tweak can transform an industry… The resistance to Google's plan shows how much one change from a tech titan can roil an industry. Apple's iOS privacy change ("ask app not to track") reportedly cost social platforms around $10B when it was launched in 2021, and news-feed algorithm changes at Meta's Facebook crushed digital publishers like BuzzFeed. |
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✅ The Future of Marketing and AI Strategic Buyouts |
The AI era… Right now, new AI tech is hitting the market daily. They're not all created equal - but execs from Google and Meta have invested in RAD AI, an AI tool delivering 3.5X ROI across campaigns and marketing channels. Plus, for a limited time, investors get a 10% discount on the current round. Booked… RAD AI's booked revenue growth is equally impressive at ~3X over the last 12 months, while landing major clients like Hasbro, Skechers and Sweetgreen. In short, it's proven and working, backed by 7000+ investors and the Adobe Fund for Design. Acquisitions… Now, RAD AI is using its award-winning tech to power strategic AI buyouts (AIBOs) in small-to-medium-sized marketing agencies that need differentiation. Leadership believes AIBOs will result in material revenue and operational efficiencies, and thus, drive RAD AI shareholder value. Limited time at this round's valuation — Invest today and get a 10%* discount on your share price.** |
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✅ The Future of Marketing and AI Strategic Buyouts |
The AI era… Right now, new AI tech is hitting the market daily. They're not all created equal - but execs from Google and Meta have invested in RAD AI, an AI tool delivering 3.5X ROI across campaigns and marketing channels. Plus, for a limited time, investors get a 10% discount on the current round. Booked… RAD AI's booked revenue growth is equally impressive at ~3X over the last 12 months, while landing major clients like Hasbro, Skechers and Sweetgreen. In short, it's proven and working, backed by 7000+ investors and the Adobe Fund for Design. Acquisitions… Now, RAD AI is using its award-winning tech to power strategic AI buyouts (AIBOs) in small-to-medium-sized marketing agencies that need differentiation. Leadership believes AIBOs will result in material revenue and operational efficiencies, and thus, drive RAD AI shareholder value. Limited time at this round's valuation — Invest today and get a 10%* discount on your share price.** |
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| Making an earnings call… AT&T phoned in strong quarterly results yesterday. America's No. 2 wireless provider added 419K monthly-paying wireless subscribers (Wall Street expected 285K). AT&T's gained an edge by offering relatively affordable unlimited phone plans. Its churn rate (think: the % of people who canceled their service) was the second lowest ever for Q2. But the telecom giant's sales ticked down to $29.8B, missing expectations as slowing phone upgrades weighed on device revenue. |
- Other line: This week Verizon said it added a better-than-expected 148K monthly-paying customers. But while revenue inched up, profit slipped as upgrades slowed.
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Upgrade fatigue… Having the latest iPhone model isn't as important as it used to be (think: marginal camera upgrades). Americans are holding onto their phones for longer, and carriers have lost billions in revenue as smartphone sales sag. In May, Apple's iPhone sales sank 10%, their biggest drop since 2020. That's bad news for carriers as they usually depend on flashy new or "free"-phone promotions to lock customers into plans. Now some are upselling premium services (like: extra data, 5G speeds) to dial up profits. A recent survey found that 76% of cellphone users pay for an unlimited-data plan. |
- Fee flare: AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile have all raised prices (or added fees) this year for customers who've held onto legacy unlimited plans.
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Deals are the new devices… Wireless carriers are getting creative because their old trick of attracting customers with new phones isn't working as well. One option is bundling services and offering special deals to rope in subscribers. For example, AT&T said nearly 40% of its fiber-internet households also have wireless plans. These tactics have been driving the strongest growth in years for monthly plans. |
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Add this AI disruptor to your portfolio |
- RAD AI has achieved 3X revenue growth.
- Landed clients including Skechers and Sweetgreen + backed by Adobe Fund for Design.
- 7000 investors. $28M+ raised.
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Add this AI disruptor to your portfolio |
- RAD AI has achieved 3X revenue growth.
- Landed clients including Skechers and Sweetgreen + backed by Adobe Fund for Design.
- 7000 investors. $28M+ raised.
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- Spicy: Traders feasted on Chipotle's earnings after the burrito biz saw beefed-up visits and sales. The chain plans to open up to 315 new locations this year as fast-casual rivals report slowing sales.
- ForMagic: AMC said it's expecting a $33M loss for Q2, laying blame on last year's Hollywood strikes. But the theater chain sees signs of improvement: June box-office hauls nearly matched April and May combined.
- UnFrozen: Disney reached a tentative deal with 14K union Disneyland workers, averting what could've been the park's first strike in 40 years. Its parks-and-experiences unit drove 80% of total Q1 operating profit.
- Louis: Gucci sales fell 19% last quarter, helping to drag parent Kering's revenue down 11% as shoppers reined in designer splurges. With Chinese demand waning, luxury shares have slipped — LVMH is down 9% YTD.
- Charge: Visa swiped up solid quarterly growth, but the stock fell after the biz said consumers with lower incomes spent less. American Express also fell short as higher interest rates slowed spending.
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- Weekly jobless claims
- US GDP (Q2)
- Comic-Con
- Bitcoin Conference opens; Donald Trump expected to deliver keynote on Saturday
- Earnings expected from Keurig Dr Pepper, American Airlines, AbbVie, Hasbro, Honeywell, Southwest Airlines, AstraZeneca, Harley-Davidson, Sanofi, Stellantis, Union Pacific, Dow Chemical, TransUnion, Xerox, PG&E, and Skechers USA
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Authors of this Snacks own shares of: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, CVS, Disney, Visa, and Walmart |
Advertiser's disclosures: * A $2000 minimum investment is required to receive the discount. ** 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 CAREFULLY REVIEW THE TERMS OF THIS OFFERING, INCLUDING FEES, RISKS, AND INVESTMENT DETAILS BEFORE INVESTING. |
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Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate... See more |
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