🧸 The “kidfluencer” economy (feat. Charli D’Amelio)

Vertical dancing > vertical integration... 17-year-old Charli D'Amelio earned more last year than the CEOs of Exxon, Starbucks, McDonald's, and Delta (sorry, Ed). D'Amelio is TikTok's #1 kidfluencer, or under-18 influencer whose fans are mainly kids. While TikTok doesn't share ad revenue, last year the D'Amelio fam converted Charli's 133M following into $17.5M worth of brand deals, product promos, and a clothing line. By comparison, median pay for S&P 500 CEOs was $13M (womp).

• Kidfluencers are getting younger, with toddlers and tweens raking in more marketing $$. Like: 10-year-old Ryan Kaji, the star of toy-themed YouTube channel “Ryan’s World,” which clears his family $25M a year.
• Toddler influencers: Some of the biggest kid-driven YT channels feature toddlers. Take 3-year-old twins Taytum and Oakley Fisher, whose channel can reportedly rake in $300K/month through brand deals, sponsored posts, and ads.

"Account managed by mom"... Instead of watching “SpongeBob” on TV cut by cereal commercials, iPhone-laden kids are consuming sponsored content from young influencers they idolize (Addison Rae vs. Hannah Montana). As internet usage skews younger, corporations are putting kidfluencers at the center of their marketing strategy. Last year the global kids digital ad market was worth $1.7B.

• Mattel, Staples, and Walmart are bankrolling major endorsement deals for toddlers and tweens with large followings. Think: "First Sleepover Opening Giant Presents."
• Amazon, Walmart, and Skechers partnered with Ryan to reach kids on his 32M-strong YT channel, where he unwraps and reviews toys.

The Great Sick-Out... The fast-spreading Omicron variant has left millions of workers stuck at home, with 700K+ new cases reported in the US daily. Grocery stores are operating with half their staff and empty shelves. Starbucks, Apple, Walmart, Lululemon, Macy's, and Nike have reduced store hours or temporarily closed locations. Meanwhile, a fifth of US hospitals are severely understaffed. But Omicron appears to have peaked in the UK, and could be peaking in the US. Pfizer says its Omicron vax will be ready by March, while President Biden is preparing Americans to accept Covid as part of normal life.

“House Hunters” IRL… Home sales spiked during the pandemic as Americans took advantage of record low mortgage rates and flocked to the ’burbs. Unprecedented demand and low inventory have pushed home prices to all-time highs. This month alone, the median price of a home jumped 16% to $365K. But the Fed is expected to hike interest rates several times this year, which would lead to higher borrowing costs for home buyers. While housing price growth should start cooling, experts predict demand to stay strong.

Hold the Biscoff cookies... Airlines have canceled 20K+ flights since Christmas because of Omicron-driven staffing shortages and bad weather. Delta recently reported a $408M loss for the holiday quarter, when thousands of workers called in sick. But the airline expects to return to profitability after the first quarter of this year, and predicts business travel will bounce back in the spring. We’ll see whether United, which is expected to post a quarterly loss on Thursday, also sees clearer skies ahead.

Not so pumped... about #PumpAnxiety. Oil prices jumped 40% last year, prompting Biden to offer an extra $4.5B to help low-income Americans with winter heating costs. Oil prices could hit $125/barrel this year, up from $50 last year. Soaring gas prices have benefited Schlumberger, the world’s largest oil-tech biz (think: giant robo drills). Schlumberger posted expectation-beating profits last quarter as customers like Chevron boosted production to meet demand. Schlumberger, which reports Friday, expects higher spending on its drilling tech as production revs up.

• Spoiled: Beyond Meat has been the most shorted stock (investors bet against it), as its protein patties lose market share and the plant-based-meat industry shrinks.
• Zynger: Grand Theft Auto maker Take-Two is set to buy FarmVille parent Zynga for $12.7B in a bet on mobile games. The small screen accounts for more gaming spend than PCs and consoles combined.
• Coins: Kim Kardashian and Floyd Mayweather were sued in connection with promoting alt-coin EthereumMax in an alleged scam — which has added fuel to the push for more crypto regulation.

• Feud: “Pulp Fiction” NFT winners may have to return their digital scripts to Miramax. The months-long legal brouhaha over Quentin Tarantino’s rights underscores the uncertainty around intellectual property and digital assets.
• Phenom: The puzzle game Wordle (think: Hangman meets a crossword, without the hints) has taken the internet by storm, with legions of fans arguing over strategy. Apple’s been busy booting copycats off the App Store.
• Alarm: 2021 was Earth’s fifth-hottest year, according to EU researchers (NASA rated it the sixth). CO2 levels rebounded after pandemic drops, and the share of Americans who say they’re “alarmed” by climate change is at a high.

• Monday: Earnings expected from: Logitech
• Tuesday: Earnings expected from: Charles Schwab, Goldman Sachs, PNC Financial, JB Hunt, and Citrix
• Wednesday: Earnings expected from: UnitedHealth, Bank of America, Procter & Gamble, Morgan Stanley, and US Bancorp
• Thursday: Weekly jobless claims. Earnings expected from: United Airlines, Netflix, Union Pacific, and The Travelers Companies
• Friday: Earnings expected from: Schlumberger and Ally Financial

Authors of this Snacks own shares of: Amazon, Google, Netflix, Starbucks, Apple, Pfizer, Delta, Zynga, and Walmart

ID: 1992201