🚘 Elon's Cybertruck has competition
![_Pickup Party in the USA [Leo Patrizi/E+ via GettyImages]_](https://cdn.robinhood.com/static_content/mwphzyq69oso/en-US/assets/files/4chNtiVJ3Qzo3TnRkqvrcr_1_GettyImages-1137791169.jpg)
Hey Snackers,
In case you've been missing Zzzs: one company is offering $1.5K for professional "Nap Reviewers." You'll have to commit to napping every day for a month (brutal).
Markets dipped yesterday, as investors retreated from shares of companies that are closely tied to the economy — aka: cyclical stocks.
Ford gives Biden a peek at the most successful car in American history (EV-style)
Cybertruck is shaking... Yesterday, President Biden visited Ford's Dearborn, Michigan plant to check out a shiny new toy: the all-electric F-150 Lightning pickup. Tonight, Ford will publicly reveal deets about the highly-anticipated EV. Spoiler from Biden, who took it for a spin: "This sucker’s quick." But there was more to Biden’s agenda than a joy ride...
- Clean energy future: Biden pitched his $174B EV plan, part of his $2.3T proposal to give US infrastructure a green makeover.
- Chip-independence: Biden also advocated to move more chip production to the US, as the auto industry struggles with a shortage.
The Madonna of metal... Ford's F-150 (non-electric) has been the best-selling vehicle in the US for 39 years straight. Ford sold nearly 800K F-Series vehicles last year, because America loves a good pickup...
- Pickup trucks accounted for half of the auto industry’s top 10 best-selling vehicles last year.
- The three best-selling vehicles were all pickups, and made up 13% of all cars sold in the US last year. GM's Chevy Silverado was #2, and Chrysler's Ram was #3.
- Wild stat: Ford's annual sales from F-150s are more than Tesla's total yearly sales of all its models.
This could be the first "EV ambassador"... Tesla gets a lot of hype, but it's not an "ambassador" for democratizing EVs across the US. CA accounts for 35% of Tesla's sales. Meanwhile, F-150 sales are strongest in red states, with Texas being its No. 1 market. Winning over F-150 owners means winning over America’s heartland — and electrifying it. That's exactly what Biden's trying to do. If F-150 owners like Lightning, it could be a turning point for EV adoption.
When streamers become studios: Amazon is reportedly in talks to buy MGM for $9B
When Bezos buys a lion... it comes with a whole movie studio. Amazon is reportedly in negotiations to purchase MGM for $9B. This would be the 'Zon's biggest move yet into entertainment. Amazon has made big investments in Prime Video, which attracted 175M viewers over the past year. But Netflix still gets most of Hollywood's spotlight. With this acquisition...
- Content: MGM has a major library. Think: 4K movie titles, from James Bond to Rocky. It also has 17K TV episodes — from The Handmaid's Tale to Real Housewives.
- Swagger: MGM is old Hollywood. Its historic name and titles would bring prestige to "newbie" Prime Video.
Coming to America... and the red carpet. Streamers are investing to become more Hollywood, less Chrome tab. In 2020, the 'Zon spent $11B on shows, movies, and music for Prime, up 40% from 2019. Netflix spent more than $17B on content last year, mostly on originals. But it's deeper than content splurges...
- Theaters: Netflix bought iconic theaters in Hollywood and NYC to premiere its Oscar-worthy films, like Roma. Last May, there were rumors that Amazon wanted to buy AMC.
- Awards: Netflix snagged 36 Oscar noms this year, the most of any studio. Disney won five, Amazon won two, and Nomadland — which premiered on Hulu — got Best Picture.
Streamers are becoming studios... In 2017, Netflix and Amazon became the first streamers to ever win Oscars (and there was pushback). Now, streamers are getting dozens of Oscar noms and spending billions on big originals. Meanwhile, studios are leaning into streaming. Think: Universal's Peacock, Warner's HBO Max, and Viacom's Paramount+ — plus, more direct-to-streaming releases.
What else we’re Snackin’
- Smarty: Walmart's sales jumped 6% last quarter. It's seeing "revenge spending" on goodies like travel gear and teeth whitener.
- Passed: The House passed a Senate bill to address the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes during the pandemic.
- Cryptout: China reiterated its ban on offering cryptocurrency services, saying crypto is damaging to the financial order.
- Homey: Home Depot's quarterly sales surged a big 31% to $37B, confirming that the House Hype is still going strong even as the US reopens.
- Burryed: Michael Burry (the guy who predicted the housing market crash in The Big Short) revealed that his firm is betting against Tesla stock.
Wednesday
- Earnings expected from Target, Lowe's, Cisco, and TJ Maxx
Authors of this Snacks own shares of: Amazon, Walmart, and Tesla
ID: 1654655