![_Can't funge it [Westend61 via GettyImages]_](https://cdn.robinhood.com/static_content/mwphzyq69oso/en-US/assets/files/2FQ0wEPp3lzNEcLmpGaP1l_1_GettyImages-1169335429.jpg)
Hey Snackers,
Finally, a pink frosted for each vaccine shot: Krispy Kreme is sweetening its free doughnut incentive. Customers with vax cards will receive not one, but two free doughnuts through September 5. The glazed legend has given away 2.5M doughnuts this year.
US stocks closed at fresh records yesterday, as tech companies lifted the broader market.
Sports stars and influencers embrace NFTs to unlock the next opportunity in the fan economy
Grab a Sharpie and some blockchain... NFT autographs have arrived. NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are like one-of-a-kind trading cards, but digital. Instead of living in a glass case, they live on a crypto blockchain. Today, star gymnast Simone Biles released an NFT collection with Autograph, which makes NFTs signed by athletes like Tom Brady, Derek Jeter, and Tony Hawk. Buyers can trade the tokens in DraftKings' NFT marketplace — where a Naomi Osaka Autograph NFT is currently selling for $63K.
From Taco Bell-themed art... to the internet's original source code, NFTs can be tied to any digital asset. The first NFT hit the blockchain in 2014. Since then, people have sold NFTs of tweets, songs, and even Nobel Prize patents. Over the past year:
- NFT sales soared from $13.7M in the first half of 2020 to more than $2.5B in the first half of this year — a 200X increase.
- Celebrities like Snoop Dogg, Paris Hilton, and even Edward Snowden, have all launched NFTs.
- Big brands aren't missing out on the non-fungible frenzy: Charmin rolled out a virtual toilet paper called “NFTP” (lol), Taco Bell's NFTacos sold out in 30 minutes, and Pringles sold virtual "CryptoCrisps" for $2 each — they're now selling for about $8K/tube.
NFTs may be the new merch... of the fan economy. Sports and entertainment stars mostly rely on brand sponsorships, events, and merch sales to monetize their millions of fans. NFTs give fan-favorites from Shawn Mendes to Naomi Osaka a new tool to monetize their followers with digital product sales. OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace, takes a 2.5% cut of NFT sales — a good deal compared to YouTube’s 45% cut, OnlyFans’ 20% cut, or even Substack’s 10% cut.
Zoom's growth is slowing, so it's getting crafty to help keep the Zoom Boom alive
You're on mute... Now repeat the 30-second spiel. Zoom has become a verb, a meme, and a lifestyle — but its latest earnings show the glory days may be fading. Last year, Zoom’s revenue more than quadrupled from the previous year as it led the WFH boom. Zoom's sales are still growing – but more slowly.
- Zoom's quarterly sales grew 54% from last year — down from nearly 200% growth in the previous quarter. Next quarter, it's expecting even slower growth.
- Zoom stock dropped 10% after earnings. This year, it’s down 4%, while the market-tracking S&P 500 is up 22%.
Zoom, zoom, zoom, zoom… I want you in my conference room. Zoom's growth is slowing as people return to offices and IRL events. It's also experiencing the "DPF Effect," aka: demand pulled forward. Growth that should've happened last quarter happened all at once last year. Now, Zoom's getting creative to help keep the boom going:
- Zoom-as-a-service: In March, Zoom said it would start licensing its video conferencing tech to other apps as an unbranded service. Think: dating apps and telehealth providers.
- Live events: In October, Zoom launched "OnZoom" for people to find and host paid virtual events, from live performances to yoga classes. In July, it launched "Zoom Events," for companies to host external and internal interactive events (think: large workshops).
- Customer service: In July, Zoom announced plans to buy cloud-based customer-service platform Five9 for a whopping $14.7B. Zoom sees it as a way to attract more big enterprise customers.
Zoom doesn't need to change its product... to keep growing post-pandemic. It just needs to keep expanding beyond work meetings. That’s why it’s putting its tech to work through live events and whitelabel licensing. Even with the Delta variant surging, the fully remote office life likely won’t last forever. But Zoom could thrive in a hybrid IRL-virtual future — if it offers the tools to support it.
What else we’re Snackin’
- TBD: Pfizer, BioNTech, and Moderna shares slipped while Wall Street waits for the CDC to weigh in on whether Americans should get Covid vax booster shots.
- Surge: Gas prices are rising as Hurricane Ida pummels Louisiana, shutting down a critical swath of US oil production and leaving 1M+ without power.
- BNPL: Shares of "buy now, pay later" company Affirm popped 47% after it announced a partnership with Amazon, which'll allow 'Zon shoppers to pay in installments.
- Sporty: Disney's ESPN is reportedly looking to license its brand to major sports-betting companies for at least $3B.
- McClose: McDonald's reversed its plan to reopen indoor dining at 100% of locations by Labor Day, and advised franchisees in Covid hotspots to re-close.
- Data: Shares of satellite company Globalstar soared 60% on rumors that the unreleased iPhone 13 may use satellites when out of network range.
Tuesday
- Earnings expected from NetEase and Crowdstrike
Authors of this Snacks own shares of: Moderna, Google, Amazon, Disney, and Apple
ID: 1820932