- __[#Phygital](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/1ynCBzQDGgEJsiGkLyJv9w/articles/1Xt7kCVMDfQvV1HNDwCAk8/):__ __[Ralph Lauren](https://robinhood.com/stocks/RL/)__ and Epic Games announced a Fortnite fashion collection. The collab is *both* physical and digital, living in closets and in Fortnite avatars. It could help the preppy retailer gain younger fans.
- __[BnBest](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/4AlGzt3G5mcKHojU0cyOhI/articles/6S5Z7Rvu6WBZMnP9acC1PJ/):__ Airbnb is on top of the world (and can maybe rent you a yurt there). By embracing WFH trends, the rental platform posted its best quarter as consumers seek IRL experiences in an always-online world. 
- __[Scored](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/18Ma3zsD9SAGoOFKeiDGMH/articles/6jMEWWVI423VNgMxo70CFX/):__ __[Dick’s Sporting Goods](https://robinhood.com/stocks/DKS/)__ launched a $50M venture-capital fund to invest in sports-related startups. Corporate VC is booming, with companies from __[Google](https://robinhood.com/stocks/GOOGL/)__ to __[GE](https://robinhood.com/stocks/GE/)__ to __[J&J](https://robinhood.com/stocks/JNJ/)__ building major funds.

ICYMI

Last week's highlights...

Snacks

US stocks nosedived after President Trump said in a Truth Social post that he is considering a “mass...

Tasha Matsumoto

Editorial Operations Manager

Luke Kawa

Markets Editor

Markets

Among the many copyright infringement cases that AI companies are defending themselves against, one ...

Jon Keegan

Tech Reporter

Power

Sherwood Studios

Contributing Reporter

After eight days of consecutive positive inflows totaling just under $2 billion, spot ethereum ETFs ...

Sage D. Young

Crypto Reporter

Crypto

Lilly Endowment, a nonprofit associated with the founders of the pharmaceutical giant , has been on ...

J. Edward Moreno

Business Reporter

OpenAI has reportedly signed a letter of intent to invest up to $25 billion on “Stargate Argentina,”...

Tech

Shares of several major automakers with large footprints in China sank on Friday following President...

Max Knoblauch

Shares of rare earth metal producers soared Friday after the president published a Truth Social stat...

Matt Phillips

Senior Markets Correspondent 

More tariffs might be back on the menu. US stocks reversed lower after US President Donald Trump sai...

Subscription fatigue is hitting Americans hard in the pocket, with the average price of streaming se...

Chris Stokel-Walker

Business

Your inbox is ready

Subscribe and thrive

The most valuable pre-revenues company listed in the US, nuclear energy company , is up double digit...

Solana ETFs have been delayed  by the shutdown, but hopes are high they’ll hit the market shortly.  ...

Yaël Bizouati-Kennedy

Retail favorite  jumped, putting it on track for another record high, after announcing a deal to pro...

 fell about 9% Friday morning after the denim giant topped Q3 estimates but warned of margin pressur...

Nia Warfield

 is falling in early trading after announcing plans to raise nearly $2 billion from the sale of stoc...

, despite benefiting from an electric sales surge in recent months, is giving up on a clever account...

As parents in 2025 know, they really do grow up so fast. First words today, first Google query tomor...

Millie Giles

For months now, China has been getting increasingly defensive over its domestic industries, particul...

David Crowther

Managing Editor | Founder of Chartr

 was up as much as 2.7% on Friday after reporting a 13% year-on-year jump in its third-quarter shipm...

Claire Yubin Oh

Data Journalist

We’re now at the stage where another quarterly deliveries report from Porsche essentially means anot...

Tom Jones

Shares of  are soaring more than 25% after the company reported better-than-expected results for its...

__Buying a cherry-red smile…__ but the outlook is more matte than glossy. Beauty titans are often shielded during economic downturns thanks to the so-called lipstick effect. In gloomy times, cash-stressed consumers can’t afford big-ticket items, so they console themselves by indulging in small luxuries (think: $38 Dior Lip Glow). 

- __$20 gloss > $200 hydrafacial:__ As the US economy shrank in the first quarter, lipstick sales jumped 48% from last year (2X as fast as other beauty products). 
- __Lip*stuck*:__ But now even cosmetics giants are [struggling](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-29/-lipstick-effect-starts-fading-for-consumer-beauty-groups?sref=q3KSFp38) to cover up ugly economic effects. 

__Losing luster…__ Last week __[Estée Lauder](https://robinhood.com/stocks/EL/)__ said its quarterly makeup sales fell 10%, and it lowered its outlook on weakening demand. Rival __L’Oréal__ reported slowing growth as its profit-puppy luxe division (think: __[Prada](https://robinhood.com/stocks/PRDSY/)__, Lancôme) underperformed. FYI: Cover Girl owner __[Coty](https://robinhood.com/stocks/COTY/)__ reports next week. But while consumers are cutting back on makeup, spending *rose* more than expected in September as Americans splurged on “experiential” indulgences. 

- __Travel go-tos__ are booming. __[Airbnb](https://robinhood.com/stocks/ABNB/)__ reported its best quarter ever last week while __[Marriott](https://robinhood.com/stocks/MAR/)__ joined __[Hilton](https://robinhood.com/stocks/HLT/)__ in lifting its annual forecast. __[Booking’s](https://robinhood.com/stocks/BKNG/)__ profit more than doubled. 
- __Chains__ including Burger King, __[Starbucks](https://robinhood.com/stocks/SBUX/)__, and KFC and Taco Bell owner __[Yum Brands](https://robinhood.com/stocks/YUM/)__ had robust sales growth as Americans opened their wallets for premium items like PSLs. 
- __Big food staples__ like __[Kellogg](https://robinhood.com/stocks/K/)__, __[Pepsi](https://robinhood.com/stocks/PEP/)__, and __[Kraft](https://robinhood.com/stocks/KHC/)__ have reported strong sales this season as consumers kept stocking Frosted Flakes and Cheetos despite price hikes. Booze big shots like Smirnoff maker __[Diageo](https://robinhood.com/stocks/DEO/)__ have also proved resilient.

Passing on the $30 lip glow (Budrul Chukrut/Getty Images)

Ungloss

__Consumers are in “bite or flight” mode…__ While the economy's in stressful fight-or-flight mode, some Americans are finding solace by indulging in brand-name treats (bites) or getaways (flights). Despite broad price hikes, a lot of consumers are still shelling out for Whoppers and Airbnb glamping weekends. We might need to kiss the lipstick effect goodbye, because the seemingly “protected” categories during this downturn appear to be experience-based.

The “lipstick effect” is fading for cosmetics giants as consumers find comfort in experiential splurges

__A whole new world…__ While streaming entertainment powered __[Disney](https://robinhood.com/stocks/DIS/)__ through the pandemic, real-life entertainment is propelling growth now. Revenue for the first nine months of the year was up 28% as US parks and resorts recovered and is expected to be up 25% for the year (Disney reports tomorrow). With Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+, Disney surpassed __[Netflix’s](https://robinhood.com/stocks/NFLX/)__ total subs in August but lowered its 2024 forecast for Disney+ as growth slows. If the streamer hadn’t added 9M subs last quarter, as expected, investors might be bummed despite Disney's strong overall growth. 

__Insert (more) coins to continue...__ Gaming behemoths are struggling to beat their own high scores as the pandemic video-game boom slows. In the second quarter, NBA 2K maker __[Take-Two Interactive](https://robinhood.com/stocks/TTWO/)__ and tween fave __[Roblox](https://robinhood.com/stocks/RBLX/)__ fell short of quarterly earnings expectations after reporting fewer new gamers. Meanwhile, __[Microsoft’s](https://robinhood.com/stocks/MSFT/)__ $70B purchase of __[Activision](https://robinhood.com/stocks/ATVI/)__ — which makes Call of Duty — remains stalled in a lengthy regulatory review. Analysts expect earnings to keep falling when Take-Two and Roblox report this week, but revenues are forecast to rise as in-game spending stays strong.

Events

Coming up this week...

__“The future of [Twitter](https://robinhood.com/stocks/TWTR/)”…__ Every Twitter thread last week. ICYMI: Elon Musk now runs Twitter (in his [words](https://www.ft.com/content/b0b49bc2-9d6e-4e0d-8962-a0f60185947c): “the bird is freed”). Top execs have left the company and advertisers are [skittish](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/01/technology/elon-musk-twitter-advertisers.html). After __[GM](https://robinhood.com/stocks/GM/)__ paused Twitter campaigns, ad giant __[IPG](https://robinhood.com/stocks/IPG/)__ recommended its clients pause their spend too. Meanwhile, Elon seems focused on cutting costs and boosting *non*-ad revenue: On Friday, Twitter laid off half its employees, and over the weekend started rolling out an $8/month charge for blue check marks. There are *many* opinions about the Twitter-quisition, but only time will tell if it’ll help the embattled platform rise or [sink](https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1585341984679469056). 

__Giving mixed signals…__ US employers added 261K jobs in October, and there are roughly two open jobs for every unemployed worker (a sign the Fed’s hikes aren’t cooling the economy enough). But job growth slowed and unemployment ticked up to 3.7%. Microsoft, Netflix, __[Snap](https://robinhood.com/stocks/SNAP/)__, and __[Meta](https://robinhood.com/stocks/META/)__ are laying off employees, and __[Amazon](https://robinhood.com/stocks/AMZN/)__ and (reportedly) __[Apple](https://robinhood.com/stocks/AAPL/)__ have frozen corporate hiring. Last week __[Lyft](https://robinhood.com/stocks/LYFT/)__ and __Stripe__ also announced cuts. Non-tech industries may also slow: last week __[Ford](https://robinhood.com/stocks/F/)__ offered buyouts to underperformers.

Zoom Out

Stories we’re watching...

The “lipstick effect” fades for cosmetics giants as consumers find comfort in experiences

Last week's highlights...

Get Your News

Subscribe and thrive

Latest Stories