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Hey Snackers,
Haaland-mania is in full force in Peru, as hundreds of Peruvians have named their newborns after the Norwegian striker, according to civil registries. 468 Peruvian babies bear the name “Haaland” and 91 children are named “Erling Haaland.”Â
The S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Russell 2000 all closed lower yesterday as Taiwan Semiconductor’s increased capex projection weighed on the AI trade. Communications was the worst-performing sector, dragged down by Alphabet, followed by information technology, as traders rotated into consumer staples, health care, and real estate.
Ryan Cohen really, really wants eBay
In an appearance on Bloomberg News, GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen doubled down on his desire to buy eBay, though he declined to tweak his offer of $56 billion.Â
Cohen dissed eBay management and portrayed them as complacent, talking up his vision of eBay becoming a digital marketplace for video game items, an expansion beyond its current business as a generally solid online marketplace for real items.Â
Collectibles have long been the bread and butter for eBay, which ascended to popularity as an auction house for all manner of tchotchkes, but collectibles have lately been massive for GameStop, accounting for about 42% of revenue.Â
Cohen continued to pitch his vision for GameStop entering the authentication and grading business that has been booming lately, arguing that the physical locations of GameStop could become the IRL locations for people trying to get their trading cards priced and appraised.Â
It’s a bold vision, but it’s worth recalling that eBay rejected the proposal earlier this year, and unless Cohen’s number moves meaningfully, it’s not entirely clear what the future holds for the business.Â
The Takeaway
Indeed, whether GameStop (with, it must be noted, a $10 billion market cap) could even pull off the acquisition is a matter of no small amount of skepticism. Sure, a highly confident letter from a bank may be enough to get the conversation moving, but critics of the proposed acquisition question the sheer amount of debt that GameStop would need to take on in order to win this hypothetical auction. Still, investors in GameStop seem somewhat game to keep the conversation moving; earlier this month, shareholders gave a green light to a significant increase in authorized share count ahead of a possible purchase.Â
Snacks Shots
⚽️ France vs. England: Ancient rivals meet on the pitch in this game to figure out who goes home as the third-place team and which team goes home having lost its last game to those guys, never to live it down. Markets give France a 65% chance of winning this match.*Â
⚽️ Spain vs. Argentina: The big one! The Final! What this whole World Cup has been leading to! Spain has a 59% chance of winning this match, but Lionel Messi is impossible, and this is an Argentinian team that plays its best when the odds are against them.Â
*Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.
What else we’re Snackin’
Netflix reported earnings after the bell yesterday, forecasting Q3 earnings and revenue estimates below Wall Street's expectations. To reassure investors, the company touted live programming and use of gen AI on about 300 shows.Â
Yesterday, while most Big Tech companies fell, Apple hit its second consecutive record high. How Apple’s anti-AI strategy is similar to John D. Rockefeller’s tactics with Standard Oil.Â
The FDA approved a first-of-its-kind cholesterol pill from Merck that’s designed to help lower cholesterol levels beyond what statins alone can achieve.
OpenAI is developing a mobile, screen-free smart speaker designed to be a new type of home computer for the AI era.Â
Uber has agreed to acquire European competitor Delivery Hero in a $14.8 billion deal.
Snack Fact of the Day
42% of adults say that they rely on their parents for financial support.
Friday
Regions Financial, Truist Financial, and Fifth Third Bancorp expected to report earnings premarket.