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A seven-meter-tall statue of Young-hee from “Squid Game" (I-Hwa Cheng/Getty Images)

The final season of “Squid Game” might be the last time Americans ever care about the Korean won

No spoilers!!!

The final season of “Squid Game” was released on Friday, and continued its perfect track record of prompting Americans to do something generally quite out of character: show interest in another country.

Google Trends data shows that searches for “Korean won” spiked after the third season of Netflix’s hit show dropped, just as they did for seasons 1 and 2.

Squid Game searches chart
Sherwood News

For reference, the brief period when martial law was declared in South Korea in early December 2024 is just the little upward wiggle you see in the chart prior to the release of the second season.

The first season of “Squid Game” was Netflix’s top show ever, with 1.65 billion hours spent watching in its first 28 days. Shares of the streaming giant are up 125% since that debut on September 17, 2021, versus a 39% rise for the S&P 500.

The macabre thriller still keeps its viewers turning from one screen to a smaller one to figure out how much Seong Gi-hun and his fellow competitors stand to make. Searches for “45.6 billion” — the total prize pool for “Squid Game” — also pop on the launch of every season.

These well-telegraphed spikes in demand create their own supply from outlets looking to game search engine optimization, which, like “Squid Game,” is a perilous endeavor that has claimed the live(lihood)s of many journalists.

…and to answer your question, it’s about $33.6 million.

Squid Game SEO Game
Source: Google Search

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Lululemon’s stretch getting tested: Stock plunges after after outlook is cut

Lululemon shares are down double digits in premarket trading after the company cut its full-year sales and profit outlook, overshadowing a Q1 beat and raising fresh concerns about the brand’s turnaround efforts.

The company now expects fiscal 2026 revenue to be flat to down 1%, compared with its prior forecast for 2% to 4% growth. Guidance for full-year diluted earnings per share was dragged down to a range of $10.95 to $11.15, below the company’s previous guidance of $12.10 to $12.30 and well below Wall Street’s estimate of $13.26.

Key numbers for Q1:

  • EPS of $1.69 vs. the $1.68 expected.

  • Revenue of $2.47 billion vs. the $2.43 billion expected.

The modest top-line beat masked a widening divergence between Lululemons geographic markets. While international revenue rose 22% overall with a 30% increase in Mainland China, the bigger problem remains North America, where revenue fell 5%.

Interim co-CEO and CFO Meghan Frank acknowledged during the earnings call that recent product rollouts underperformed. A highly anticipated yoga campaign failed to generate its expected halo effect across broader product lines.

Profitability metrics took a major hit, with gross margins contracting by 410 basis points to 54.2% due to mounting tariff costs and promotional markdowns. Operating income consequently fell 37% year over year to $276.9 million.

“We experienced spikes of negative commentary in the media and on social channels with regard to our brand, which had an impact on traffic and overall top-line performance,” Frank said during the earnings call. “And second, not all of our product launches have met our expectations. While we have had several successful launches so far this year, we have seen others as we start Q2 not generate the anticipated guest response.”

Lululemons valuation has already been steadily compressing for years. While it was once one of retails richly valued stocks, investors have been questioning whether the company can return to the double-digit growth era.

The results also arrive during a leadership transition. Lululemon announced back in April that former Nike executive Heidi ONeill is set to take over as CEO in September, with investors looking to her to revive growth in North America and restore the brands growth.

As Lululemon faces both macroeconomic pressure and brand-specific challenges, its stock has dropped around 40% year to date.

markets

US job growth skyrocketed in May, blasting past expectations

The US economy added 172,000 jobs in the month of May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday, sending 10-year Treasury yields higher.

The strong May job market surprised economists. Experts had predicted only 85,000 new jobs — just half the reported number. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%, as expected.

The job growth story is a hopeful spot for the economy as consumers continue to feel inflationary pressure from the Iran war.

Job gains were buoyed by the leisure and hospitality sector, which added 70,000 jobs, as well as local government, healthcare, and education.

Both the March and April jobs reports were revised upward, making them collectively 93,000 higher than previously reported.

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