Hey Snackers,
$1B. As a bonus. One CEO's giving the whole thing to charity.
For the rest of us, stocks edged up as the US and China agreed to the 1st step of a trade agreement: enforcement.
TV cord-cutting's big day
Over promise, under deliver... T-Mobile followed that weak playbook by unveiling its "Un-Carrier TV" product — The wireless provider's attempt to "replace cable." Society thought it would be big. It wasn't. But the number of TV announcements Wednesday was.
Glad we DVR'd this... It's a lot to take in:
- T-Mobile: Unveiled its new video package. But it looks just like cable — For $100/month, 150 channels are powered by a remote-controlled box connected to your TV.
- Alphabet: Jacked up the price for its live YouTube TV offering from $40 to $50.
- AT&T: The not-so-proud owner of Game of Thrones is reportedly thinking of selling off HBO in Europe for cash to pay down its debt (although the company denied it was true).
- Disney: The biggest Netflix competitor is Disney+. It launches soon with TV series and movies including Star Wars and Marvel. And it announced Wednesday non-fiction will be on the menu, like delightful cooking shows (Be Our Chef).
Cable might have been better after all... The 3-digit price of T-Mobile's TV shocked us. But it shouldn't have. Hulu, Netflix, and other OG cord-cutters have raised prices over the past year. Add up all your cord-cut subscriptions and the bill looks a lot like cable did (just more passwords to memorize/mooch).
Delta rises 2% thanks to its "profit puppies"
More peanuts... Delta's quarterly profits just jumped by 31%. The stock's now up 14% this year thanks to its two profit puppies: business class and credit cards. The strong economy has flyers upgrading to the expensive seats, but we're more interested in Delta's Amex plastic partnership.
Long-term commitment... Delta just signed an 11-year extension to its American Express partnership for co-branded credit cards. That SkyMiles card is big for the airline's wallet:
- Amex pays Delta 1.25-1.50 cents per mile for the points you earn swiping your credit card.
- That's expected to add up to $7B annually with this new contract by 2023 — That's double what Delta made with the Amex deal last year.
- Now analysts estimate that 35% of Delta's profits come courtesy of all those Delta Amex cards.
"Emerging High Value Customers"... That's the Delta marketing team's over-thought term for top Millennial fliers. It wants you hooked on its loyalty program because frequent flyer programs are airlines' most profitable service. The co-branded Amex card is how it gets young travelers committed ASAP.
Amazon's climate policies challenged by 4,268+ workers
4,268 (and counting)... That's the number of Amazon employees asking CEO Jeff Bezos and the Board to be more woke. And they all signed the letter. Their demand: Amazon adopt a "company-wide climate plan" to make the ecommerce icon a better global citizen.
Good timing... Tech comrades at competitors have successfully forced their companies to change policies on sexual harassment and AI ethics. Here's what the Amazonians want:
- 100% renewable energy: Amazon's failed to set a date to achieve it. Facebook and Google have.
- Cloud for Oil & Gas: Amazon Web Services (its cloud division) has special services to help energy companies slurp out more oil from the earth.
- Political donations: The Amazonians list 68 members of Congress that get Amazon donations who are solidly against climate change action.
Sustainability is Amazon's liability... "The Everything Store" has stellar likeability ratings (2019's #2 best corporate reputation). That's despite its business model's impact on Earth. With companies held more accountable for social issues, consumers could push back on ecommerce's carbon footprint: Amazon packing one pen in a desk-sized cardboard box.
What else we’re Snackin’
- Raincheck: The EU agreed to delay Brexit from Friday to October
- Fratagonia: Budweiser parent AB-InBev unveils "Patagonia" brew (and gets promptly sued by Patagonia)
- Rebound: Victoria's Secret gets analyst praise for "modest progress": More diverse models and relaunching swimsuits
- Owned: LG files a patent for a transparent, foldable phone
- Revealed: The Fed's minutes from its March policy meeting showed the central bank doesn't plan to raise interest rates in 2019