💰 Inflation intensifies (feat. succulents)

Bringing home the bacon... correction: the 8% more expensive bacon. Consumer prices jumped 5.4% in June from last year, continuing to accelerate at the fastest pace since 2008. As the US economy gets more #flated, the BLS' monthly Consumer Price Index has been getting attention. The CPI measures prices of 80K common items — sounds like a snooze fest, reads like a thriller. A few gems from prices compared to a year ago:

• Women’s dresses were 16% pricier. Men's pants and shorts: +11%
• Indoor plants and flowers were up a succulent 5%
• Hotel prices jumped 17%. Car and truck rentals: +88%
• Candy and gum: +3%. Liquor at restaurants: a hard +5%
• Pet services: +5%. Your dog walker isn't complaining.

Get meta with it... Many economists believe that inflation fears are, in themselves, inflated. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell expects this inflation could be a one-time price increase as the economy rebounds (#tempflation). Supply chain and labor shortages have been driving up prices of raw materials and goods. A few examples:

• Cars: The global chip shortage caused a spike in used car and truck prices (+45%), which are responsible for a whopping one-third of the overall CPI increase.
• Flights: Airlines are dealing with a shortage of pilots and workers while demand is rebounding, leading to pricier flights (+25%).

Grills just want to have funds... Grill-maker Weber is taking its charbroiled stock public, and could seek a $6B valuation in an IPO. Weber's 70-year grilling history began with George Stephen Snr, the man who invented modern grills — and added a lid (key). By the time the 60s rolled around, if you didn't have a Weber grill at your backyard party, you didn't have a backyard party. Now, Weber is sounding less Happy Days, more Silicon Valley:

• 44: The number of times Weber used the word "disrupt" in its IPO filing.
• 12: Mentions of "installed base" — 30M grills in the US, and 50M globally.
• iGrill3: Weber's app-connected grill dongle tells you when the patty is crispy.

And a little bit of chicken grilled... BBQ'ing may be the epitome of American summer, but it's also a hallmark of pandemic socializing. The "outdoor revolution" has benefited everyone from RV companies like Winnebago and Thor, to outdoor gear companies like Yeti and Canada Goose. Now, it's helping Weber and BBQ rivals like Traeger, which also filed to go public last week.

• $1B in revenue: For the six months ended in March, Weber's sales were up 62% compared to the same period last year.
• 24% market share: One in four grills on Earth are Weber's, and it holds the top spot for American brands.

• Surge: US Covid cases have doubled in recent weeks as the Delta variant continues to spread and Americans socialize more freely.
• Banked: Chase's profit more than doubled last quarter, and Goldman's earnings blew past estimates.
• Extra: Google was fined $600M in France for allegedly violating orders to negotiate paid deals with news publishers.
• McPerks: McDonald’s franchisees are offering emergency child care and other benefits to bring workers back to the drive-thru.
• Vroomy: GM is betting on the return to office with a new, $71M campus in Southern California (ETA: 2022).
• Snacky: Pepsi's sales soared last quarter as restaurants, bars, and stadiums re-stocked its snacks. Including: Cheetos, Doritos, and Lay's.

• Earnings expected from Citi, Bank of America, BlackRock, Wells Fargo, and Delta

Authors of this Snacks own shares of: Google

ID: 1720801