Hey Snackers,
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella just snagged a 66% raise — probably for sealing 20 acquisition deals already in 2019 for the tech legend.
Markets are just happy a Brexit deal was reached between leaders of the EU and UK, but parliamentary approval is still needed for an "orderly" Brexit on October 31st.
Venmo launches a credit card... because it's the Tim Tebow of PayPal
Treat yo' self... PayPal's Venmo is launching a physical credit card. Details on perks and rewards are light (cashback for brunch, taxi, and pizza, please @Venmo), but technically PayPal isn't a bank — so it isn't flying solo to launch this thing:
- What you don't see: Synchrony — The Utah-based bank covers the behind-the-scenes elements of credit card transactions.
- What you do see: Venmo — your monthly payments and daily latté splurges all appear in the Venmo app, even if you swipe the Venmo-branded plastic.
PayPal should request $$$ from Venmo... It's owned the peer-payment app since 2013. Now Venmo boasts 40M users who publicly/charmingly shame friends to pay them back. But Venmo's $300M annual revenues still aren't profitable, despite 3 consistent money-makers:
- Cash-just-sitting-there: The cash you leave in your Venmo account is invested by Venmo, so it earns money off your money.
- Debit card fees: Since launching a debit card, Venmo takes a small fee from the merchant each time you swipe (aka an "interchange fee").
- Impatient humans: You can pay extra for Venmo to transfer money into your bank account faster.
Venmo's kinda like football legend Tim Tebow... People love it, but it's not conventionally business successful. QB Tebow won a Heisman, yet hasn’t really found success as a pro in the NFL, MLB, or on TV. Like those NFL teams, PayPal's a fan of Venmo’s raw talent, but hasn't found the best use for it yet. By launching a debit card, merchant payments, and (now) a credit card, Venmo's hoping to finally find its profitable role on the team.
Ford partners with Amazon & VW to tackle electric's biggest problem: charging stations
Corporate codenames are sweet... "Team Edison" is the group of Fordies trying to take America's oldest car company into the future with electric. They've been busy:
- Last year, Ford committed $11B to electric car development, pledging to sell a majority of electric cars by the end of 2022 (bold goal considering it's mostly gas-powered F-150 trucks now).
- Next month it's unveiling a Mustang-inspired electric SUV (our hearts are RPM-ing with excitement).
- Yesterday it introduced North America's largest electric vehicle charging network (more on that below).
Nana lives 250 miles away... and your e-car only has battery for 200. That's one of the main concerns of would-be electric car buyers, according to Ford. Range anxiety. So it's giving Ford drivers a ton of new charging stations to soothe the worries.
- The network: 12K charging stations and 35K charge plugs.
- The pass: FordPass is an app that shows drivers the many places they can charge up in the network.
- The price: Free for 2 years. After that you'll have to pay up to fill up.
Ford's not a company, it's a modern family... To survive against tech-endowed Tesla and catch up in the race for electrification, it's partnering up — hard. Most of this charging network is handled by others:
- Volkswagen's subsidiary "Electrify America" will build out thousands of the public charging stations for FordPass members.
- Amazon is side-hustling to install home-charging setups for electric cars, and Ford's collaborating.
Airbnb's financial information was just revealed — and it's giving 5 stars to Marketing
Clean sheets, charming view, easy to find wifi password... Airbnb wasn't planning on hosting you to view its financial information. But it is. Tech website The Information got the scoop on the private company — here are the numbers to know from its 1st quarter:
- Revenue rose 31%
- Expenses jumped 47%
- Its loss more than doubled
Stick this last number up on a billboard... Marketing expenses saw the biggest jump — a 58% increase to pay for some creative stuff. Airbnb now boasts its own physical magazine (like, real paper) and video documentaries. But the Marketing Dept is getting more money for 2 reasons:
- Big spenders: Travel rivals Booking and Expedia dropped $10B combined last year to market themselves — Airbnb is on track to spend $1.5B or more.
- Pre-IPO: Airbnb plans to IPO in 2020, and if its ad campaigns work, then its user numbers will grow. It really wants to look good day #1 on public markets.
Airbnb now looks like Obi-Wan Kenobi... It’s the unicorns’ only hope. For all of 2019's horned stallions IPO'ing, Uber, Lyft, Peloton, Slack, and more have all underperformed. Airbnb is the last large elder unicorn left to go public — and investors hope it can reverse the under-performing IPO trend (ideally by showing some profits).
What else we’re Snackin’
- Jacked: Powerbar-owner BellRing Brands jumps 18% in its IPO to deliver "convenient nutrition"
- adjö: Domino's exits from 4 European countries, including 3 Scandinavian ones
- Bites: SmileDirectClub's SmileShops were shockingly raided in an organized move by California's Dental Board — so SmileDirect is suing for intimidation
- Disliked: Facebook drops out of the top 10 in the "Best Global Brands" report
- TBD: Saudi Aramco — Earth's biggest and most profitable company — just delayed its IPO plans (would've been one of the biggest public offerings in history)
Friday
- Earnings from Coca-Cola and American Express
Disclosure: Authors of this Snacks own shares of Tesla, Amazon, Volkswagen, and options of SmileDirectClub.
ID: 986433