As lonely as Tom Hanks in "The Terminal" |
|
|
Things that make us feel old: the 50th "Kidz Bop" album just came out, featuring covers of hits like Sabrina Carpenter's "Espresso." Their give-a-care is on vacation. 💀 The S&P 500 closed at its first record high of the year yesterday, boosted by strong earnings and news around Stargate, the $500B AI-infrastructure project. Bitcoin jumped after Cynthia Lummis, a pro-crypto senator, said she'd lead a new subcommittee on digital assets. ⚡You're a quizzard: Each correct answer in this Snacks Seven quiz earns five points for Gryffindor. Try the first q: |
|
|
Middle seat, last row… where American Airlines is mentally after earnings. The airline's stock descended 9% yesterday after it unloaded a bummer forecast: it expects a larger-than-expected loss for this quarter as its costs rise. Last quarter wasn't bad: Q4 profit surged and sales rose 5%. For the full year, it notched a record $54B in sales. But investors are focused on the flight plan and American's direction was disappointing, especially compared to that of its rivals. |
- Delta and United earlier this month gave rosier-than-expected outlooks on booming demand. Delta's longtime CEO, Ed Bastian, said he expected 2025 to be "the best financial year in our history" as global travel keeps booming.
- United unloaded a record Q4 profit that was up 64% on the year thanks to falling fuel costs. For the full year, it flew 174M passengers — also a record. Delta's Q4 profit dropped from a year earlier, but investors boosted the stock on solid sales growth and a sunny outlook.
|
Swipes in the spotlight… We're sensing a theme in airline earnings: credit-card revenue is becoming increasingly important. American's compensation from its co-branded-card deals with Citi and Barclays popped 17% from 2023, hitting $6B+ last year. Meanwhile, Delta's credit-card biz grew by about $1B last year as it pulled in $7.4B from its American Express partnership. With all the cash airlines are raking in from rewards cards and loyalty programs, flight-ticket sales aren't as front row as they used to be. |
|
|
Frills aren't so frivolous… Airlines' profit margins on credit-card partnerships are about 50% — way higher than the margins on tickets. Since 2017, American and Delta have more than 2x'd their revenue from selling airline miles to credit-card companies. When the travel boom starts to cool, it could be a cushy revenue source to fall back on. |
|
|
CEO Turned His Own Cure Into a Globally Disruptive Biotech Company |
🧪 Self-made… Facing recurrent infections with a 70% fatality rate and no available cure, Bradley Burnam decided to develop one himself. That's how Turn Therapeutics started: the $123M1 company is on a mission to deliver life-changing advancements in advanced wound care, dermatology, and vaccine delivery.2 🤝 Backed… The company Burnam built on the back of that cure just received a commitment from private equity group, GEM, to purchase up to $75 million of its stock upon a potential public listing.3 🧠 NASDAQ on their minds…Turn has just secured its Nasdaq ticker, TTRX.4 The company is inviting all investors to invest in its crowdfunding campaign: a unique opportunity to be an early investor in a company that has the potential to change the course of healing for many. Seize the Turn Therapeutics opportunity before the round closes soon.5 |
|
|
CEO Turned His Own Cure Into a Globally Disruptive Biotech Company |
🧪 Self-made… Facing recurrent infections with a 70% fatality rate and no available cure, Bradley Burnam decided to develop one himself. That's how Turn Therapeutics started: the $123M1 company is on a mission to deliver life-changing advancements in advanced wound care, dermatology, and vaccine delivery.2 🤝 Backed… The company Burnam built on the back of that cure just received a commitment from private equity group, GEM, to purchase up to $75 million of its stock upon a potential public listing.3 🧠 NASDAQ on their minds…Turn has just secured its Nasdaq ticker, TTRX.4 The company is inviting all investors to invest in its crowdfunding campaign: a unique opportunity to be an early investor in a company that has the potential to change the course of healing for many. Seize the Turn Therapeutics opportunity before the round closes soon.5 |
|
|
Second-half struggles… Yesterday EA stock plummeted 17%, one of the gaming company's steepest daily drops ever. It cut its forecast for the year, an about-face from October when it boosted its bookings outlook. The publisher laid blame on its latest soccer game, "FC 25," which got poor reviews after rolling out in September (like: "the worst game in history"). EA added that its "Dragon Age" franchise, which got a new release in October, was played by only half the # of gamers it expected. In the big leagues… EA's synonymous with sports gaming because of its lucrative licensing deals. "College Football 25" became the US's best-selling sports game ever last year, thanks to the 10K+ name, image, and likeness deals EA forged with college-football players. EA has an exclusive NFL deal for its "Madden" games, the latest installment of which saw record growth in the last fiscal year. And EA's "FIFA" is the highest-selling sports game franchise ever with 325M copies sold. But it's a different playing field now… |
- Party foul: EA's soccer games had to rebrand in 2022 after the publisher lost its right to put "FIFA" in their titles. EA had reportedly refused to double the payout for soccer's governing org, dismissing the deal as "four letters on the front of the box."
- Post-FIFA: "FC 25" is EA's second soccer game without FIFA in its title. The previous one, "FC 24," sold 5% fewer copies than "FIFA 23," but earned more profit as folks splurged on perks and players.
|
|
|
Names matter… Google searches for both "FC" games fell far below "FIFA" titles, meaning the rebrand likely dinged demand. But "FC 24" ultimately won over players, while "FC 25," which some critics called boring and unoriginal, missed all its chances to score. |
|
|
Those who train the AI models get to decide what the truth is. Read more. |
Yesterday's Big Daily Movers |
WWE parent TKO surged 6% to a record high after Guggenheim analysts hiked its price target as UFC and WWE rights deals come up for renewal. Shares of jet-engine maker GE Aerospace launched up more than 6% after stellar earnings. In the past year, its stock has nearly doubled. GameStop shares jumped as much as 5% after Keith Gill (aka "Roaring Kitty") posted a clip from "Futurama" and the song "I Will Wait for You." |
|
|
Should You Cancel Your Car Insurance? |
|
|
Should You Cancel Your Car Insurance? |
|
|
- UnitedHealthcare chose company vet Tim Noel as its new CEO after the high-profile killing of former boss Brian Thompson.
- Shein said proposed tariffs on Chinese imports shouldn't affect its basement prices. At Davos, President Trump urged businesses to build in the US to avoid tariffs.
- WBD's CNN will lay off 6% of its staff and launch a new streaming service. Its last streamer, CNN Plus, got axed after a month.
- Adidas is said to be planning to cut up to 500 employees at its Germany HQ after reporting a 19% holiday-quarter sales spike.
|
|
|
- Existing-home sales
- Consumer sentiment
- Earnings expected from Verizon, American Express, Ericsson, HCA Healthcare, and NextEra Energy
|
Authors of this Snacks own bitcoin and shares of: Delta and Warner Bros. Discovery |
Advertiser's disclosures:
1 There is no guarantee that the stated valuation and other terms are accurate or in agreement with the market or industry valuations. 2 The Company's Formula (Gx-03/Hexagen/Atopx) Has Received 510k Marketing Approval As A Medical Device Indicated For The Management Of Wounds, Burns, and Symptoms Related To Atopic Dermatitis/Eczema. The Company Is Pursuing New Drug Approval for this Formula For The Treatment of Moderate to Severe Eczema and Toenail Fungus. 3 A plan to publicly list is no guarantee that a public listing will occur. PE investment commitment is contingent upon a public listing. 4 Turn Therapeutics recently received their ticker reservation with Nasdaq (TTRX), indicating an intent to IPO in the next 24 months. An intent to IPO is no guarantee that an actual IPO will occur. 5 Please read the offering circular and related risks at StartEngine's Turn Therapeutics webpage. This is a paid advertisement for Turn Therapeutics Regulation CF Offering. This Reg CF offering is made available through StartEngine Primary, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. Investing in private company securities is not suitable for all investors because it is highly speculative and involves a high degree of risk. It should only be considered a long-term investment. You must be prepared to withstand a total loss of your investment. Private company securities are also highly illiquid, and there is no guarantee that a market will develop for such securities. |
|
|
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 |
|
|
|
