đź’° Ride-hail ad sales
Hey Snackers,
A pre-Valentine's Day survey suggested that liking cryptocurrency makes potential partners more attractive. The survey was conducted by Binance… the world's largest crypto exchange.
Stocks fell yesterday after news that supplier prices jumped more than expected last month. Investors worried that the Fed might keep rates higher to tamp down inflated prices.
FYI: US stock markets are closed on Monday for Presidents' Day (aka: Washington’s Birthday), so we’ll be back in your inbox on Tuesday.
Uber and Lyft see their ad businesses boom as advertisers look beyond Google and Meta
Expedia ad en route to JFK… well played. Uber said that its record revenue last quarter was driven partly by an acceleration in its ad biz. Refresher: Uber launched in-app “journey ads” in October, a few months after Lyft launched its own ad-media unit. Think: interactive tablets in cars, digital screens on top of cars, and branded logos in the app (like Oscar Mayer wienermobiles moving on the Lyft map).
Uber said it surpassed $500M in annual run rate for ads as advertisers on its platform soared. 315K companies ran ads with Uber last quarter — nearly double the # from a year earlier.
Lyft said its ad sales almost 7X’d from the previous quarter. While it didn’t break out #s or discuss its ad biz in its latest earnings, it said ad growth exceeded its goals.
Taco Tuesday gets #targeted… Uber and Lyft have data on your riding habits (weekend trips to the bar, midweek rides to yoga), which they can use to surface targeted ads. Those are highly valuable to marketers. Unlike Lyft, Uber has the benefit of a food-delivery biz, so it knows about your late-night taco cravings. And it sees plenty of room for growth, since only a fourth of companies listed on Uber Eats are advertising there. Uber’s targeting $1B in annual ad revenue by 2024.
Competition can come from unlikely sources… When it comes to digital marketing dollars, the focus has usually been on ad-reliant tech titans like Google and Meta. Now, not only are they getting competition from newer social platforms like TikTok, they’re losing market share to companies like Uber, Kroger, CVS, and Ulta, which have leveraged their trove of customer data to peddle ads (and, in some cases, just data). Last year, Google and Meta’s share of US digital ad revenue was less than 50% for the first time in a decade.
Hasbro bums on earnings as toy sales slump — but Magic helps it score its first billion-dollar brand
GI Joe no… Hasbro, the toy giant behind Monopoly, Jenga, and My Little Pony, dropped not-so-fun earnings yesterday. Its sales fell a worse-than-expected 17% last quarter, and it swung to a $128M loss after posting a profit the year before. Hasbro (like Barbie maker Mattel) struggled during the holidays as parents cut back on costlier name brands. Hasbro said toy-flation could extend the buying blues through the first half of the year.
Un-boxing: Hasbro shares are down 40% this year, and last month it laid off 15% of its workforce as it looks to cut costs and offload its TV and film biz.
Halo effect: But Hasbro had record revenue for its Marvel toys and fantasy card game “Magic: The Gathering,” and says new expansion packs could pay off in later quarters.
Bibbidi Bobbidi boost… Hasbro started the year on a sour note after losing its Disney princess licensing rights to Mattel and dropping other popular franchises like Trollz. But it had Magic to fall back on: last quarter the card game became Hasbro’s first billion-dollar brand, making up nearly a fifth of its annual revenue. Magic’s popularity has inspired video games, comic books, a Caribbean cruise, and an animated Netflix series.
A magic player can carry the team… As consumer shopping slows from its pandemic highs, companies are leveraging franchises with passionate fan bases to keep sales afloat. Hasbro’s CEO said Magic fans are “very resilient” and motivated to spend on things they really enjoy. It’s also leaning on its hit Dungeons & Dragons franchise. Still, some analysts say that player fatigue and pricey cards (think $50/pack) could hurt growth.
The Crypto Catch-Up…
🌶️ Spicy… The SEC sued TerraForm Labs, the biz behind the failed TerraUSD stablecoin, alleging it committed fraud and sold unregistered securities. TerraUSD blew up in May and erased $40B in market value.
🤖 Techy… Bitcoin NFTs (dubbed: ordinals) are picking up steam with 126K+ added since their blockchain debut last month. The project lets users store audio, images, and videos directly on the bitcoin blockchain.
🪙 Coins… After Paxos said it'd stop issuing the Binance-branded BUSD stablecoin, the coin's market cap plummeted $2B+. Rival stablecoin tether (aka: USDT) has benefited as crypto traders look for alts.
What else we’re Snackin’
HotAir: As US-China tensions heat up, China sanctioned US defense contractors Lockheed Martin and Raytheon over weapons sales to Taiwan. Earlier, the US barred Chinese companies it said were tied to China's surveillance balloon.
Shopifell: Shopify's stock dropped 16% after its quarterly guidance disappointed. Also uninspiring: execs said they’d stop reporting how many customers the company has. The e-comm biz boomed mid-pandemic but has lost steam.
FSDanger: Tesla says it’ll recall 362K+ cars after safety officials said its $15K Full Self-Driving Beta feature can cause vehicles to run stop signs and crash. Tesla says it’ll provide an over-the-air update to address the issue.
AdieuTube: Susan Wojcicki is stepping down as YouTube’s CEO after 25 years at the world's largest video platform. She’ll take on an advisory role while the chief product officer, Neal Mohan, takes the helm.
Da$H: There’s still appetite for takeout: DoorDash forecast better-than-expected profit growth for this quarter as customers stomach higher delivery costs. The stock's up almost 40% this year.
Friday
- Earnings expected from Mercedes-Benz, AMC Networks, and Deere
Authors of this Snacks own bitcoin and shares of: Disney, Uber, Tesla, Google, CVS and Shopify
ID: 2745521