Hey Snackers,
“They will slowly expand their influence until they have complete domination over humanity” — a quote from an AI-powered Furby. Someone hooked ChatGPT up to the iconic ’90s toy, and the results are even more unsettling than the original Furby.
Stocks fell yesterday as underwhelming labor-market data fueled renewed fears of a recession. US companies added fewer jobs than expected last month, and wage growth slowed.
FYI: Markets are closed tomorrow for Good Friday, so we’ll be back in your inbox on Monday.
Walmart sets its sights on automation as the “year of efficiency” marches forward
“I’m sorry, Dave”… I might take your job. Walmart said it expects 65% of its stores to be serviced by automated distribution centers by the end of 2026. America’s largest employer also recently said it would cut 2K+ positions at its ecomm fulfillment centers.
WAL 9000: Walmart pointed to some current distribution centers as a blueprint of what’s to come. Autonomous forklifts unload trailers and track merch for sprawling warehouses, while humans step in to fix problems that require a #sentient touch.
Robo-stores: Walmart has tested self-checkout-only stores in recent years, and plans to expand its use of the Alphabot, an automated system that picks and packs grocery orders.
Big impact: Walmart, which employs 1.6M workers in 5K US stores, said the automation push would reduce the need for lower-paid roles.
The top line… is about the bottom line. As Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg said 30+ times on a recent analyst call, 2023 is “the year of efficiency.” Between mass layoffs and the shuttering of big-bet “moonshot” projects (goodbye, Google’s WiFi balloons), companies are laser focused on profit. Google is cutting back on employee laptops and even staplers, while Walmart and Amazon are leaning into machines that create custom-size packages for shipments (think: tiny box for scrunchie delivery) to cut shipping and cardboard costs.
Efficiency doesn’t have to mean cutting back… Companies aren’t axing all their billion-dollar bets — just ones that don’t seem to equal long-term cost savings. While corps like Disney and Microsoft are backtracking on high-flying bets such as the metaverse, they’re still investing in efficiency. Cases in point: Microsoft’s $10B OpenAI investment and Walmart's plans to use some of its $15B capital spending budget to lean into automation tech.
The US box office continues its rebound as night-out spending hits the town
Two tickets… one extra-large popcorn. Pandemic-battered movie-ticket sales are ready for their second act. The US box office pulled in $1.8B last quarter. While that's still down 25% from prepandemic levels (2019 had the second-highest-grossing box office ever with $11.4B in sales), it's a continuation of an upward trend. Last year, ticket sales were 34% below 2019 levels. One possible movie-night draw: more choices, from the blockbuster "Creed III" to the bear-buster "Cocaine Bear."
- Twist ending: The first-quarter box-office numbers could bode well for struggling chains like AMC and Cinemark, which reported falling sales and wider losses in the final quarter of last year. Both are expected to report next month.
Babysitters on speed dial… It's not just the multiplex benefiting from night-out spending. Live Nation said in February that concert-ticket sales for the year had already passed 50M — a 20% jump from the same time last year. Restaurants and bars have seen a bump too. Through February, diners dropped more than $187B — up 19% on the year — as Americans stomached higher prices for date-night eats. Meanwhile, babysitters are in demand. A February report from UrbanSitter, which matches parents with sitters, found rates rose 10% last year.
People aren’t working (just) for the weekend… but also for the weekday. Despite (now cooling) inflation cutting into purchasing power, entertainment and night-out spending has remained a priority for many. Plus: the average US workweek has dropped by 30+ minutes since the start of the pandemic, potentially freeing up time for midweek night-out (or anytime) splurges.
What else we’re Snackin’
Talc: Johnson & Johnson proposed to pay nearly $9B to settle lawsuits that allege its talcum baby powder caused cancer. It would be one of the largest product-liability settlements in US history.
Flex: Google said its AI-training supercomputers are faster and more climate-friendly than Nvidia’s. Nvidia shares have surged 87% this year as its chips fuel AI, but Google has flexed its own AI chips.
Extra: Sweetgreen stock fell 6% after it was served a lawsuit by Chipotle, which accused the salad chain of trademark infringement with its “Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl” (Chipotle is asking for profits from the bowl).
Test: Three colleges asked SCOTUS to block a settlement that could cancel $6B in student-loan debt for people who said the schools misled them. The court’s decision may offer clues about the broader loan-forgiveness bid.
iOut: Apple has ambitious plans to move its manufacturing away from China and Taiwan as geopolitical tensions intensify. India, which churned out 6.5M iPhones last year, could be a new production hub.
Thursday
Initial jobless claims
The Masters begins
Earnings expected from Constellation Brands and Levi
Authors of this Snacks own shares: of Apple, Google, Amazon, Disney, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Walmart
ID: 2832460