Hey Snackers,
You know that feeling when you wished you owned a share of Beyoncé's Lemonade? Well, the latest IPO surprise of 2020 is... BTS — the K-Pop boy band is going public in Korea (finally).
Stocks rallied to kick off the week as the US gears up for the 1st presidential debate this evening.
Uber stock jumps 3% because London says it's "Fit & Proper"
But does this affect our rating?... Uber's experience studying abroad in London hasn't been fun — It lost its license (twice) and has been blamed for "a pattern of failures." Last November, Uber appealed so that it could keep operating royally in its biggest Euro market (3.5M riders, 40K drivers). This week it finally got a breakthrough:
- The upgrade: A London judge is granting Uber an 18-month license to officially operate (pin it up on the fridge).
- The kind words: Uber is now considered "fit and proper." Sounds nice.
Things got sketchy in-app... Uber was originally de-licensed in London because unauthorized drivers were still able to use the app (you expected Timmy in the Honda Civic, but Tammy rolled up). That happened on 15K trips. Now Uber has installed AI facial recognition to make sure Timmy is actually Timmy.
Uber's transformation is complete... The Uber of today is dramatically different than the pre-IPO Uber of years ago. Since going public in May 2019, Uber has invested in self-betterment — This big legal win in London represents a return on those investments.
- Pre-IPO Uber: Rule-breaking, international-obsessed, Travis-led, corporate drama-filled, ride hail-focused.
- Post-IPO Uber: New CEO, diversified with food delivery, quit international markets, innovatively partnered with public transportation.
With movie theaters likely closed all winter, Roku's latest device steps up
You shall pass... With the trillion dollar tech giants blocking the view, it's easy to miss Roku. The little streaming dongle company controls 43M living rooms with its smart TV tech — and yesterday it unveiled the Roku Streambar. But to get to know Roku, compare it to its top rival, Apple:
- The dongle: Roku's streaming stick starts at $50, adding Netflix, YouTube, Spotify and all the other streaming apps to any TV. Apple's equivalent "stick" (Apple TV) starts near $180.
- Market value: Apple's total stock market value is almost 100x bigger than Roku: $2T vs. $23B.
Who composed the score?... Asks nobody after finishing the movie. Still, Roku's latest device adds what the other streaming devices don't: premium sound. At $129, Streambar is a low-priced way to bring streaming to your living room while shaking the furniture with four 14-inch speakers.
Roku knows what this winter will have... no movie theaters. Picture things in 4 months: a 2nd wave of COVID and everyone stuck inside because of the cold. You won't even be able to escape to the theater to watch the latest Marvel or Star Wars flick (Disney postponed all its movies by about a year). Roku sees this and thinks Americans might love a movie theater experience at home, courtesy of Streambar.
What else we’re Snackin’
- Run: Allbirds' valuation rises to $1.7B as sustainable footwear takes its next step with $100M of fresh funding.
- Lawyer'd: 3.5K companies, including Ford, Tesla, and Home Depot, sue the Trump admin for those tariffs nobody's talking about anymore.
- Truth: Jessica Alba's Honest Co is reportedly chatting with banks about IPO-ing.
- Combine: Oil companies WPX and Devon agree to merge their shale-producing powers in a $2.6B deal
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Tuesday
- The 1st presidential debate
- Earnings expected from Micron
Authors of this Snacks own shares of Apple and Amazon
ID: 1346565