🍃Canopy Growth saves cannabis

Cue the "high" jokes... Canopy Growth, Earth's biggest cannabis company, whipped up a surprise Friday: Stronger-than-expected revenues and a smaller-than-expected loss. Sales were up 62% from last quarter, and operating expenses were down 14%. That combo forms a soothing CBD balm on the bruised cannabis industry:

• Canada's green wave: In October 2018, recreational weed was legalized nationwide in Canada, making Amsterdam feel Puritan.
• The Willy-Wonka-moment investor dream: By early 2019, Aurora Cannabis, Tilray, and Canopy rocketed to multi-billion dollar valuations — everyone wanted to own a piece of the legal cannabis factory, which was expected to boom.
• The buzzkill reality: Consumer demand didn't meet those sky-high expectations — and enthusiastic cannabis co's found they'd over-produced. Didn't help that the US legalization trend (11 states so far for recreational pot) seems to have stalled.
• The popped bubble: Those top Canadian pot stocks started 2020 down by ~60% from the highs they reached just a year before — Tilray's fallen nearly 90%.

Aaaand exhale... Canopy's strong earnings lifted its own stock 13% on Friday. Then it passed the fun to the right — pot peers Aurora and Tilray both jumped almost 8%, and so did smaller cannabis companies in the US and Canada.

It's like Ben & Jerry's giving up dairy... 98% of Delta's hefty carbon footprint is jet fuel, so it's announced a new bold move: Become the world's 1st carbon neutral airline by 2030. Delta's splurging $1B starting in March to get there, but the plan is mostly through carbon offsets (paying for a certificate for someone else to plant trees or install solar panels). Sustainability pressure on a majorly polluting industry just hit a fresh milestone.

Wedding bells... T-Mobile and Sprint won approval from a judge for their long-delayed merger marriage — 13 states had sued to block the mega-merger, saying it would reduce competition and lead to pricier phone bills. But the judge doesn't think it's so clear. If this decision stands, we're left with a three-opoly of major carriers: Verizon, AT&T, and the new T-Mobile.

Everybody hurts... even $1.4T Apple. On Monday, it revealed it doesn't expect to meet its 2nd quarter revenue forecasts — that's less than a month after posting its biggest quarterly profit. Ever. Coronavirus has slowed Apple's iPhone supply chain as factories shut across China. Plus, sales in China are already suffering as locals stay home instead of heading to work or shopping for new noise-cancelling AirPods.

Brand is everything... Ecommerce startup Brandless is shutting down after failing to build a brand without a brand. The Softbank-backed company tried to make products cheaper for consumers by saving on marketing costs, cutting out grocery stores, and deleting logos. But its no-frills, health-conscious go-to's ($3 organic cashew butter, cruelty-free moisturizer, etc) weren't able to compete in the crowded direct-to-consumer space where brand wins.

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• Monday: Markets were closed for Presidents Day
• Tuesday: Earnings expected from Walmart and HSBC
• Wednesday: Earnings expected from Blue Apron, DISH, Zillow, Hyatt Hotels, Boston Beer Company, Avis, The Cheesecake Factory, and Imax
• Thursday: Earnings expected from ViacomCBS, Dropbox, Domino's Pizza, and Six Flags
• Friday: Earnings expected from John Deere

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