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Hey Snackers,
If you spot these creepy smiling people at a baseball game, donāt run for the hills. Paramount is promoting its horror flick āSmile 2ā by bringing the ominous grins to the real world (though one of the actors stopped smiling when a foul ball flew at him).
The S&P 500 closed at a record high for the sixth straight week as earnings continued to largely beat expectations. Meantime, strong September retail-sales data and hot job #s have tempered expectations of a large Fed rate cut next month (some traders are betting on no trim at all).Ā
š„ Quizzed up: Acing the Snacks Seven quiz is guaranteed to increase your biz-news rizz. Try the first q here:
Who teamed up with Axiom Space to design a spacesuit? (Check your answer.)
Tech titans invest in nuclear energy to fuel power-hungry AI servers
An order of fission chipsā¦ Big Tech has made a flurry of investments into nuclear power recently, breathing new life into a clean-energy source thatās been on the decline (the US has 94 working nuclear reactors, down from a peak of 112 in 1990). FYI: nuclear power generates 19% of Americaās electricity, while fossil fuels power 60%. Now Microsoft, Google, and Amazon are on the hunt for nuclear power to fuel their AI data centers as chatbots guzzle wattage.
Amazon and Google this month struck deals with startups developing small modular reactors that can be built faster for less $$. Google expects to start using them by 2030, but theyāll account for only a small fraction of its overall electricity consumption.
Constellation Energy recently said it plans to give shuttered nuclear plant Three Mile Island a $1.6B reno and restart it by 2028. Once that happens, Microsoft said itāll buy all the power it can from the plant for 20 years.
Uncle Sam too: Nuclear-tech company Holtec just secured a $1.5B loan from the Department of Energy to restart a US nuclear reactor for the first time.
What is this, a center for data?... The AI race has spiked data-center demand. There are 5K+ data centers in the US, with growth in major markets surging 25% in the first quarter from a year ago. All that buzz is helping industrial-property kingpins like Prologis and Blackstone weather a slowdown in warehouse construction. Prologis said itāll spend $8B developing data centers in the next five years. Blackstone last month bought a data-center operator for $16B.
Itās a clean-energy raceā¦ AIās electricity needs are driving up techās carbon footprint (Googleās has climbed 48% since 2019). Investing in zero-emission nuclear power could help Big Tech reach its green goals while fueling its AI goals. This summer, President Biden signed a law that aims to speed up nuclear licensing and cut fees.
Could this be the biggest disruption to Smartphones in the past 15 years? š²
š„Heads up! There's a new disruptor in smartphones: Mode Mobile. Mode can turn your phone from a cost into an income source ā and investors are watching the launch of the companyās pre-IPO offering.1
š¤³Mode saw 32,481% revenue growth from 2019 to 2022, ranking them the #1 overall software company on Deloitteās most recent fastest-growing companies list. Modeās flagship product EarnPhone, a budget smartphone, has already helped consumers earn & save $325M+.
š«“ Modeās Pre-IPO offering1 is live at $0.25/share ā 20,000+ shareholders already participated in its previous sold-out offering. Thereās still time to get in on Modeās pre-IPO raise and even lock in 100% bonus shares2ā¦ but only until their current raise closes for good. Claim this exclusive bonus while you can!3
Coming up this week
Workinā on the weekendā¦ Yesterday, Boeing and the union representing 30K+ of its factory workers reached a tentative wage-hike deal that could end a strike that started over a month ago (and is estimated to have cost Boeing $5B). The plane maker said it would lay off 10% of its staff after Moodyās warned its credit score could be downgraded to junk, meaning higher borrowing costs (Boeing already has $60B in debt). The strike halted most of Boeingās production, and the jet maker was trying to raise up to $25B to avoid a cash crunch. Now, itās hoping striking workers will approve the proposal on Wednesday (FYI: the same day it reports earnings).
The Zynfluencer effectā¦ Marlboro maker Philip Morris International, reporting tomorrow, predicted the future when in 2022 it bought the company that owns nicotine-pouch brand Zyn for $16B. PMās āsmoke-freeā products sales soared 24% in Q2, led by a 51% boost in nic pouches. And thatās while it coped with a demand-fueled Zyn shortage. PM has since invested hundreds of millions to ramp up Zyn production, even as FDA scrutiny of the pouches mounts. Seeking to grow another āsmokelessā trend, PM plans to launch IQOS heated tobacco devices in the US this year.
Stories weāre watching
Not locked inā¦ The FTC finalized its āclick-to-cancelā rule, expected to go into effect in six months. It aims to make canceling a subscription (gyms, apps) as easy as it is to sign up. Think: if you signed up online, you canāt be forced to call a number to cancel. The govāt agency said itās received thousands of complaints on cancellation headaches. The average American has about five subs that cost over $920/year combined. The FTC this year sued Adobe, accusing the co of sneaky tactics that it said made it hard for people to cancel subs.
Two weeks to goā¦ and spendinā like thereās no tomorrow. This US election szn is on pace to be the second priciest on record behind 2020ās (adjusted for inflation). OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan org that tracks money in politics, estimated that total election spending would hit $15.9B. Super PACs have supercharged that sum, with spending by groups not directly affiliated with campaigns expected to exceed $5B. Meantime, the crypto industry accounted for nearly half of corporate election spending this cycle, with pro-crypto PACs shelling out over $126M.
$1B Startup Disrupting the Retirement Industry
This Princeton grad's $1B startup4 raised $161M5 to help people plan for retirement.
If you're one of 125 million Americans over age 50 ā or a wise millennial planning ahead ā SmartAsset's no-cost tool makes it easy to find vetted financial advisors serving your area.6
What else weāre Snackinā
As hurricanes and fires increase, private equityās rushed into the $200B disaster-recovery industry, which some see as ārecession-proof.ā
The logistics industry is booming. Now corporate America is desperate for supply-chain wizards and willing to pay up.Ā
Prediction market Polymarket showed Trump leading in the POTUS race, but experts say four accounts (likely owned by one person) may have skewed the betting odds.
Appleās recent $3T valuation has spurred a series of impressive raises among smartphone innovators ā and ModeMobileās pre-IPO offeringĀ¹ is no exception. Itās now live at $0.25/share ā lock in up to 100% bonus sharesĀ² while the raise lasts.Ā³
Snack Fact of the Day
California lost 270K residents last year, the most of any US state
This Week
Monday: Earnings expected from SAP
Tuesday: NBA season begins. Earnings expected from Verizon, GM, GE, 3M, Quest Diagnostics, Lockheed Martin, Sherwin-Williams, Dennyās, Philip Morris, Norfolk Southern, Kimberly-Clark, Texas Instruments, and Canadian National Railway
Wednesday: Existing-home sales. Fed Beige Book. Earnings expected from Boeing, AT&T, Coca-Cola, Hilton Worldwide, NextEra Energy, TransUnion, Tesla, IBM, T-Mobile, Whirlpool, Mattel, and Western Union
Thursday: Initial jobless claims. New-home sales. Earnings expected from American Airlines, UPS, Southwest Airlines, Nasdaq, Boston Beer, Harley-Davidson, Honeywell, Union Pacific, Dow, Hasbro, Northrop Grumman, Ryder, Valero Energy, Skechers, and Capital One Financial
Friday: Consumer-sentiment index. Earnings expected from Colgate-Palmolive, AutoNation, and Sanofi
Sunday: F1 Mexico City Grand Prix
Authors of this Snacks own shares of: Alphabet, Amazon, GM, Microsoft, and Tesla
Advertiserās disclosure:
Ā¹ Mode Mobile currently has no formal plans for an IPO.
Ā² A minimum investment of $1,950 is required to receive bonus shares. 100% bonus shares are offered on investments of $9,950+.
Ā³ Please read the offering circular and related risks at invest.modemobile.com. This is a paid advertisement for Mode Mobileās Regulation A+ Offering.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Start-up investments are speculative and involve a high degree of risk. Those investors who cannot afford to lose their entire investment should not invest in start-ups. Companies seeking startup investment tend to be in earlier stages of development and their business model, products and services may not yet be fully developed, operational or tested in the public marketplace. There is no guarantee that the stated valuation and other terms are accurate or in agreement with the market or industry valuations. Further, investors may receive illiquid and/or restricted stock that may be subject to holding period requirements and/or liquidity concerns.
DealMaker Securities LLC, a registered broker-dealer, and member of FINRA | SIPC, located at 105 Maxess Road, Suite 124, Melville, NY 11747, is the Intermediary for this offering and is not an affiliate of or connected with the Issuer. Please check our background on FINRA's BrokerCheck.
ā“ This is a private company. There is no guarantee that the stated valuation and other terms are accurate or in agreement with the market or industry valuations. This valuation was calculated in 2021.
āµ This amount was raised in 8 rounds since 2012.
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ā· SmartAssetās services are limited to referring users to third party advisers registered or chartered as fiduciaries ("Adviser(s)") with a regulatory body in the United States that have elected to participate in our matching platform based on information gathered from users through our online questionnaire. SmartAsset receives compensation from Advisers for our services based on lead generation. SmartAsset does not review the ongoing performance of any Adviser, participate in the management of any userās account by an Adviser or provide advice regarding specific investments. We do not manage client funds or hold custody of assets, we help users connect with relevant financial advisors.