🚀 Boeing goes to space
Hey Snackers,
The only thing more questionable than Balenciaga’s $1.8K sneakers that look like they’ve been to hell and back: Gucci’s $1.3K umbrella… that isn’t waterproof.
Stocks rebounded yesterday after narrowly escaping a bear market on Friday. The S&P 500 gained nearly 2%, with banks like Citi and JPMorgan leading the charge. Next up: another big week for retail, with Costco, Macy’s, and Nordstrom among those reporting.
Boeing made it to space, taking one small step closer to SpaceX — and a new revenue stream
Two years behind schedule… Over the weekend, jet giant Boeing finally docked an uncrewed Starliner capsule full of cargo at the International Space Station. Refresher: in 2014, NASA chose Boeing and SpaceX as its two rocket partners after it stopped making its own shuttles. Since then Boeing has struggled while SpaceX has taken off:
- Third time’s a charm: Boeing failed in its first two attempts to send Starliners to the ISS. While the latest docking was successful, it still needs to fix some glitches before NASA crews can hitch a ride.
- (Space)X Factor: Meanwhile, privately owned SpaceX has flown five NASA missions, astronauts and all. SpaceX is reportedly raising new funding to keep its lead intact — at a valuation of $127B (twice publicly listed Boeing’s market cap).
From takeoff to liftoff… Boeing’s better known for planes of course: Boeing and Airbus produce 90% of the world’s jetliners. But Boeing’s jet biz has struggled since 2019, when it grounded its 737 MAX aircraft after a pair of fatal crashes. While Boeing has been losing market share to Airbus, it’s also invested in new divisions like its space program.
- Closer to mission control: Boeing’s moving its HQ from Chicago to the DC suburbs to be closer to regulators, lawmakers, and partners like NASA.
Space taxis aren’t as sexy as Mars colonies… but they may still rake in astronomical piles of cash. Boeing got $4.2B from NASA to become one of its launch partners. Now it’s a step closer to commercial space trips and (potentially) more multibillion-dollar contracts. But Boeing’s still lightyears behind SpaceX, which has already launched NASA missions and private space flights.
Monkeypox is spreading worldwide — and while it’s not as contagious as Covid, it’s getting the viral treatment
Viral headlines... not corona. Monkeypox is spreading in developed countries — an unusual outbreak of a rare virus typically endemic to central and western Africa, where it's mainly spread by infection from animals. Some 200 cases have been reported across a dozen countries, including the US, Australia, and several European nations.
- What it is: Monkeypox belongs to the same family of viruses as smallpox, and causes similar fluid-filled skin lesions, but symptoms are typically milder.
- Why it's spreading across continents: Health experts say the random outbreak could’ve spawned from sexual transmission at two recent raves in Europe.
- How it's spreading: Through close contact with an infected person — so far, primarily through sex. Health officials say it might also spread through infected clothes or sheets.
Not new... Monkeypox is well known, having been first detected in humans in the ’70s. President Biden said on Monday that the outbreak isn’t as concerning as Covid, softening his comment from a day earlier that "everybody should be concerned." World Health Organization officials said it’s “containable.”
- Cases have been mild so far, with no deaths reported. Most people recover within weeks without hospitalization.
- Existing vaccines for smallpox have been shown to be effective against monkeypox. Cue: shares of Emergent BioSolutions, which makes an approved smallpox vax, popped 9% yesterday.
- Also: The FDA approved a monkeypox-specific vax from Danish biotech Bavarian Nordic in 2019. Bavarian already cranked out 1.4M doses for the US.
The world is now much warier... and with good reason. It took months for countries to take Covid seriously after it first appeared in Wuhan, China. Monkeypox isn’t considered as easily transmissible, and the CDC says it has enough smallpox vaccines to jab the entire US if it came to it. But after more than two long pandemic years, virus headlines get viral treatment.
What else we’re Snackin’
- Boost: Pfizer said three doses of its Covid vaccine offer strong protection for young kids (<5). Shots for that age group — the only one still ineligible for vaccination — could be approved by summer.
- Warn: Snap shares fell 30% after the Snapchat parent said it expects to miss earnings targets for the quarter and will slow hiring. Snap blamed economic conditions that’ve “deteriorated further and faster” than anticipated.
- WFH: Zoom shares soared 16% after crushing earnings expectations, showing its ability to reduce costs as its growth slows. As “stay at home” stocks fall out of style, Zoom is benefiting from the rise of hybrid work.
- Cloud: Chipmaker Broadcom is reportedly in talks to buy cloud company VMware for $60B. Broadcom became a $200B behemoth thanks to its portfolio of smaller-chip brands, but a VMWare deal could triple its software biz.
- Bye: Starbucks is closing all its 130 Russian locations after halting operations there in March. Starbs joins Western giants like McDonald’s and Exxon, which also closed up shop in response to Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Tuesday
- Earnings expected from: Intuit, AutoZone, Best Buy, Petco, Dole, Nordstrom, Ralph Lauren, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Advance Auto Parts
Authors of this Snacks own shares of: Exxon, Snap, and Starbucks
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