__Steph Curry with the shot...__ __[Under Armour](https://robinhood.com/stocks/UAA)__'s been cooking with the sauce. The sports apparel company is trying to take its lackluster 2020 from 0 to 100 real quick... with a major celeb [partnership](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/30/under-armour-launches-a-brand-with-nba-star-steph-curry.html). 

- __Curry Brand:__ UA's new line with NBA legend Steph Curry. Expect men's shoes and clothes for sports from basketball to golf — and women's apparel eventually, too.
- __Jordan Brand:__ What UA's going for. __[Nike](https://robinhood.com/stocks/NKE)__'s Jordan brand notched record sales last quarter, and its AF1 is the most-purchased shoe of 2020 (your Insta feed knows). 

__Spice Up This House...__ UA thinks Curry could do that. It's been laser-focused on "technical performance apparel" (aka: the *opposite* of athleisure). UA reminds you of the sweat-wicking jersey you wore in track  — *not* the comfy leggings you WFH in. UA's hoping this buzzy new brand will curry favor with Gen Z.

- __Nike = #1 favorite apparel brand__ among teens for the past 10 years, according to Piper Sandler. Its stock is up 31% this year on the work(out)-from-home life. __[Lulu](https://robinhood.com/stocks/LULU)__'s up 59%.
- __UA = #1 "no longer worn" brand__ among male teens (way harsh, Tai). Its stock is *down* 24% this year because professional sports were cancelled (along with your track meet).

_Has never worn Under Armour_

Ball

__Consumers want a happy medium...__ between function and fashion. UA's brand is too intense/intimidating to be worn for your grocery speed walk. UA needs to soften its look to gain mass appeal, but it doesn't have to give up its high-quality performance bar to do that. It's a matter of style and marketing. Curry Brand could be the perfect way to go mainstream. 

Under Armour launches Steph "Curry Brand," shooting for Nike-Jordan hype

__Try funky spelling...__ for that Unicorn Status. __[Facebook](https://robinhood.com/stocks/FB)__ is buying customer service startup __Kustomer__, [reportedly](https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-nears-purchase-of-startup-in-deal-that-values-it-at-1-billion-11606750196?mod=business_lead_pos2) for more than $1B. Kustomer unifies customer interactions from multiple channels to give support reps a full picture. Think: "Cindy sent four Insta DMs, three chatbot messages, and 10 emails today — send her an apology gift card." FB already uses Kustomer to help businesses aggregate customer Qs from Messenger and Instagram. 

__WhatsInstaBook...__ Kustomer's all-in-one customer relationship service perfectly fits FB’s social ecommerce mega-app ambitions. FB has been pushing to integrate messaging and payments across its "family of apps" (FB, Insta, WhatsApp, Messenger). This acquisition could further its goal of becoming *the* "social commerce" platform (Zuck's words).

- __Shop:__ In May, Facebook [intro’d](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/7Fl0kcKPHzNEVEVwnee0Zp/articles/7GbosmnxcsEDfjk2yPdKh6/) “Shops," letting businesses set up digital storefronts across FB/Instagram. 
- __Pay:__ In August, Facebook [unified](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/5bz9qW2WXWRwJlMpsAJeyn/articles/5AHVh70VBoazvrWftCrY4n/) its payment tools under “Facebook Financial” and announced plans to integrate messaging across apps.
- __Support:__ Now, Facebook wants to offer Kustomer's platform as a perk to lure and lock in businesses. 

_The one channel Kustomer can't track you on_

Chat

__The "next billion" could be businesses...__ Facebook has 2.5B users — it's betting that its *next* billion will come from businesses. 200M businesses use FB, but now it's investing big to reach Amazon-level ecommerce status. Businesses can boost users’ time spent and ad sales (a big deal for FB, which is almost 100% ad-reliant). But they also give FB a non-ad revenue stream: FB gets a cut of each sale made on its apps.  It's even starting to [charge](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/22/facebook-to-charge-for-whatsapp-business-services.html) for WhatsApp Business services.


Facebook dives deeper into "social commerce" with a $1B customer service purchase

__Must've missed the Black Friday deals...__ Data giant __[S&P Global](https://robinhood.com/stocks/SPGI)__ is [buying](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/30/sp-global-to-buy-ihs-markit-for-44-billion-in-the-largest-deal-of-2020.html)  London-based __[IHS Markit](https://robinhood.com/stocks/INFO)__ for a mind-numbing $44B. Not only does IHS Markit take the cake for the *worst company name of all time* — it's also the priciest acquisition of 2020. 

- __Data for breakfast:__ Like __Bloomberg__ with its terminal biz, S&P Global is one of the biggest financial info sources (#finfo). 
- __Lunch:__ It gives countries and companies credit ratings, and equips analysts and fund managers with meaty financial intel. 
- __And dinner:__ It also charges for real-time visibility into its famous S&P 500 index.

__Are you a derivative?...__ Because I see you in my future. S&P wants to buy IHS to create a massive finfo force and reduce competition. But the deal still needs to be OK'd by regulators. BTW: data from companies like IHS and S&P trickles down to retail investors like us, too (in articles and financial reports).

Crunch

__Data is a competitive advantage...__ That's Wall Street's way of saying "knowledge is power." This mega-deal emphasizes the importance of big data for financial markets (and their info-obsessed financiers and trading algorithms). S&P Global stock is at an all-time high because investors know Wall Street is willing to pay up big for those insights.


This $44B acquisition is the biggest of 2020 —  it's all about the market data

Dow Jones

S&P 500

Nasdaq

Bitcoin

🏀 Under Armour's Steph Curry shot

__Set your status back to "Active"...__ Just before Thanksgiving break, news broke that __[Salesforce](https://robinhood.com/stocks/CRM)__ is in advanced talks to buy __[Slack](https://robinhood.com/stocks/WORK)__ — [according](https://www.wsj.com/articles/salesforce-has-held-talks-to-buy-slack-technologies-11606326392) to WSJ's infamous "people familiar with the matter" (#PFWTM). Slack is the office messaging app that rules your life. Salesforce is the cloud software company *obsessed* with Customer relationship management (CRM). Think: salespeople compulsively logging interactions with leads — "sent 808th cold email to CFO."

- __Slack stock soared 39%__ for the week. The deal would likely value it at more than $17B, making it Salesforce's biggest acquisition. Slack hasn't been doing as well as __[Zoom](https://robinhood.com/stocks/ZM)__ in the WFH boom. 
- __Salesforce stock dipped 4%__ on the possibility of *another* pricey acquisition. Over its 21-year history, Salesforce has leapfrogged by buying 60+ companies. 

__Joining #baby-yoda-memes channel...__ Salesforce and Slack have two things in common: they're both business-facing subscription cloud companies *and* they're both __[Microsoft](https://robinhood.com/stocks/MSFT)__ rivals. Lately, Microsoft has been aggressively expanding its Teams suite, offering Slack-like collaboration features. It also has a cloud CRM competitor called Dynamics.

- __Over the years,__ Salesforce has moved towards becoming an "all-in-one" business software provider, offering services like data analytics. 
- __This Slack-quisition__ would give it 130K+ paying Slack customers to further that goal — and gain an edge on Microsoft. 


"_Yes, we are proficient in Slack — professional Slackers._"

Slacking

__Salesforce is cementing its B2B focus...__ that's business-to-business. Microsoft has B2B *and* strong consumer-facing businesses (Microsoft Word, Xbox, LinkedIn). Even legacy B2B tech giant __[Oracle](https://robinhood.com/stocks/ORCL)__ has been showing interest in consumers with its pending __TikTok__-quisition. Salesforce tried to buy LinkedIn in 2016 (but lost to Microsoft). Four years later, it's cementing its B2B-only strategy with this potential Slack-quisition.  

Salesforce cements its B2B strategy with a possible (pricey) Slack-quisition 

__Can't wait for TwitTok and TikPin...__ __[Snap](https://robinhood.com/stocks/SNAP)__'s Stories feature has been copied by nearly every social app. Now Snap's doing some [copying](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/4FkCjpJwKORDiKy500f2ZF/articles/7088nac8X7EfcJiG7uM7Vs) of its own with a new "Spotlight" tab for endlessly scrolling viral vertical videos (#ThreeVs). Addictive "Three Vs" content is the secret sauce of __TikTok__'s wild growth. That's why __[Facebook](https://robinhood.com/stocks/FB)__ is aggressively pushing Insta "Reels" — and why Snap is shelling out $1M *each day* to  Spotlight creators. With the scrutiny around viral misinformation, Snap's moving into riskier territory. Still, the stock jumped 4% for the week and has nearly tripled this year.

__*That's sooo Fitch...*__ Your favorite place to pose with shirtless "models" in 7th grade is having a moment. __[Abercrombie & Fitch](https://robinhood.com/stocks/ANF)__ stock [soared](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/3ttBErSSQrIe79dLUPKbhc/articles/3oB8WEdGPEUvAAyPFdCtsY) last week on expectation-beating quarterly earnings. Online sales jumped 43%, and Abercrombie notched a profit thanks to cost-cutting. Interestingly: its Californian sub-brand Hollister brought in 58% of total sales. Hollister got boosted by its sub-*sub*-brand Gilly Hicks, which makes comfy loungewear and bralettes.

Highs

Who's up...

__Vax on, vax off...__ __[AstraZeneca](https://robinhood.com/stocks/AZN)__ stock dropped 5% for the week on two pieces of not-so-hot news. First, it announced that its Covid-19 vaccine was 70% effective on average. That sounds solid — until you compare it to __[Pfizer](https://robinhood.com/stocks/PFE)__ and __[Moderna](https://robinhood.com/stocks/MRNA)__'s 95% effectiveness rates. *Then*, AstraZeneca [acknowledged](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/25/business/coronavirus-vaccine-astrazeneca-oxford.html) a key mistake in its trials, which made experts  question the reliability of its data. Oxford University, which jointly made the vaccine, [says](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/27/oxford-who-scientists-more-data-needed-on-astrazenecas-covid-vaccine-trials-.html) more data is  needed to determine its efficacy and safety.

__Peace, Love...__ the Gap? Oversized hoodie legend __[Gap](https://robinhood.com/stocks/GPS)__ wasn't feeling it last week. Its stock plunged 11% on worse-than-expected quarterly earnings. Gap's Old Navy brand saw strong growth, and its athleisure brand Athleta (unsurprisingly) performed particularly well — sales soared a record 35% on the leggings life. Despite a 61% jump in online sales, Gap's profit missed estimates because it boosted marketing spend last quarter. 


Lows

...and who's down

💬  Slack's surprise acquisition news 

__First "Story Pins"...__ now this. __[Pinterest](https://robinhood.com/stocks/PINS)__ wants to be more than just an inspo board for your French chateau-style dream kitchen. It [launched](https://techcrunch.com/2020/09/23/pinterest-story-pins/#:~:text=Story%20Pins%20are%20being%20rolled,in%20iOS%2014%20design%20ideas.) a Stories feature in September, copy-catting Snapchat (then again... who hasn't?). Now, it's [getting](https://techcrunch.com/2020/11/24/pinterest-tests-online-events-with-dedicated-class-communities/) into online events:

-  __Pinterest is testing a new feature__ that lets people sign up for __[Zoom](https://robinhood.com/stocks/ZM)__ classes. It was discovered by reverse engineering pro Jane Manchun Wong (legend).
-  __Creators can reportedly use "class boards"__ to organize course materials and chat with attendees. Think: latte art designs and mindfulness meditation how-tos. 

__A pandemic pinner...__ is a pandemic winner. E-learning isn't totally new territory for Pinterest. Since lockdowns hit, teachers have used it to organize remote learning resources, from lesson plans to activities. Wild stat: during a single weekend in March, Pinterest saw more global searches and saves than *ever* in its history. And it's still #pinning:

- __Pinterest's sales__ jumped 58% last quarter, and users grew 37% to 442M.  
- __Pinterest stock__ has more than *tripled* in value this year.

Pinning

__Tech is taking over "Experiences"...__ From virtually rolling pasta with an Italian grandma to meditating with Buddhist monks from your couch — tech companies are uniquely poised to quench our pandemic thirst *to do something*. __Airbnb__ has doubled down on the virtual "Experiences" side of its biz, and even [managed](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/54qEy7poaQltD2SG2mPMOY/articles/8TNFGrCkEDFgFvXexFH0k/) to turn a profit last quarter. __[Amazon](https://robinhood.com/stocks/AMZN)__ [launched](https://techcrunch.com/2020/09/29/amazon-launches-a-virtual-tours-and-experience-platform-amazon-explore/) a copycat digital experiences product called "Amazon Explore" in September. And __MasterClass__ raised $100M in May on the success of its virtual "Edu-tainment." 


Pinterest tests virtual events with "class communities" (it's a Zoom-Airbnb mashup)

__DowThirtyThow...__ On Tuesday, the Dow index surged above the 30K milestone for the 1st time. That's a nice glow-up from March, when it was trading below 19K. 

- __[The Dow](https://learn.robinhood.com/articles/13urVTf3GSQYdsr7Eq5fHL/what-is-the-dow/)__ is a super exclusive club with fewer members than your Econ discussion group — it's made up of 30 big, publicly-traded US companies. 
- __"Blue-chip" status:__ Dow companies generally have long, profitable track records — aka: excellent reputations. __[Microsoft](https://robinhood.com/stocks/MSFT)__, __[Nike](https://robinhood.com/stocks/NKE)__, and __[Walmart](https://robinhood.com/stocks/WMT)__ are members. 

__Not the only record-breaker...__ Stocks took a major plunge into the valley of the coronavirus back in March, but now the three major indexes are at record highs. Promising vaccine [news](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/6f9hTxnuMnb4G0Vl1fQwPq/articles/7K9MWI8vplzw10q43Xy1Qo/), less political uncertainty, and renewed hopes for a second stimulus have all boosted the rally.

- __The Dow__ is up 2% from its pre-pandemic record high.
- __The S&P 500__ is up 9% from its pre-pandemic high.
- __The tech-heavy Nasdaq__ is up a whopping 33% from its pre-pandemic record. 

_The economy and the stock market_

__The stock market doesn't always mirror the economy...__ especially not the corona-conomy. While the unemployment rate is declining, more than [11M](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf) Americans are still unemployed. Last week, jobless claims [posted](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-25/u-s-jobless-claims-unexpectedly-jump-to-highest-in-five-weeks?srnd=premium&sref=q3KSFp38) their first back-to-back increases since July. Also: Americans' incomes and savings fell last month, and consumer confidence slipped more than expected *this* month. 

The Dow hits 30K for the first time ever — we're talking stock market vs. economy

📷  Pinterest does Zoom Experiences 

__*Stop trying to make Fitch happen*...__ __[Abercrombie & Fitch](https://robinhood.com/stocks/ANF)__ stock (yep, that's a thing) jumped after its earnings [beat](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/24/abercrombie-fitch-anf-earnings-q3-2020.html) Wall Street's expectations. You probably remember Abercrombie as the place where you took pictures with shirtless "models" as a middle schooler, or bought hoodies for your foreign cousin. Abercrombie stock has plunged 70% from its 2008 peak, but is up nearly 30% this week. How the moose performed last quarter: 

- __Online sales jumped 43%__, and made up nearly half of total sales in the past 12 months. 
- __Overall sales fell 5%,__ but Abercrombie managed to notch a $42M profit after cutting store and distribution expenses.

__Smells like Abercrombie in here...__ but that's an illusion. Abercrombie's sub-brand Hollister actually made up [58%](https://abercrombieandfitchcompany.gcs-web.com/static-files/70b4c209-b1a5-45fc-a1c3-f394d3ad06b3) of total sales last quarter. Hollister is the beach bum California cousin to Abercrombie's East Coast college bro. Hollister's *sub*-sub-brand Gilly Hicks boosted demand, thanks to its WFH-friendly loungewear and bralettes. Other winning sub-brands:

- __Aerie__ sales soared 34% last quarter and it posted record profits, while parent brand __[American Eagle](https://robinhood.com/stocks/AEO)__'s sales fell 11%.
- __Free People__ was __[Urban Outfitter's](https://robinhood.com/stocks/URBN)__ best-performing division last quarter and makes up over 20% of Urban's sales.
- __Old Navy__ makes up over half of __[Gap](https://robinhood.com/stocks/GPS)__'s sales.  


_Years of posing outside Abercrombie paid off_

Model

__Sub-brands are secret growth sauce...__ These "secret" subs are pulling in more $$$ and performing better than their parents. Sub-brands help companies tap into new customer segments — think Victoria's Secret PINK (casual/teen-friendly) vs. full-on sexy VS. Companies can apply learnings from their subs to help the parent — just like American Eagle intro’d new loungewear to mimic Aerie. 


Abercrombie and American Eagle win on "the brand behind the brand"

__Crispiest company name yet...__ __Toast__ is what you're using to pay for your chicken gyro at the local Greek place (don't forget to tap 20% tip). Toast's point-of-sale software and hardware is made specifically for restaurants — so it got extra burnt in 2020:

- __The Good:__ Toast's sales more than doubled in 2019 as tens of thousands of new eateries signed up. 
- __The Bad:__ When lockdowns hit in March, Toast's restaurant sales fell 80% in most markets. 
- __The Ugly:__ In April, Toast laid off half its employees (1.3K people) as restaurants shuttered. 

__Think fast...__ Toast was expected to be a big pandemic loser, but it quickly pivoted from its dine-in focus to a takeout focus. It added pandemic-friendly services like: delivery, online ordering, e-gift cards, and loans to cash-strapped eateries. It gave its customers a month of free access to digital services, helping them bounce back from dine-in closures.

- __The Comeback:__ Toast is now [reportedly](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/23/restaurant-tech-start-up-toast-worth-8-billion-in-employee-share-sale.html) valued at $8B, up from its $4.9B valuation in pre-lockdown February.


__Businesses want a Swiss Army knife solution...__ The more "all-in-one" a product is, the better. Restaurants don’t want different companies handling each business function. That's why: in addition to payment processing, Toast offers everything from sales reports, to inventory management, and payroll. Its publicly-traded rival __[Square](https://robinhood.com/stocks/SQ)__ also flaunts an all-in-one product — and its stock has more than tripled in value this year. 


Dine-tech startup Toast pulls off a pandemic pivot (and nearly doubles in value)

🦌 Abercrombie's sub-brand secret

__What's next, FleetTok?...__ Last week, __[Twitter](https://robinhood.com/stocks/TWTR)__ copied __[Snap](https://robinhood.com/stocks/SNAP)__'s Stories feature with Fleets (only four years after __[Facebook](https://robinhood.com/stocks/FB)__ copied it). ICYMI: Pinterest, LinkedIn, and YouTube *also* have Stories. And of course, Facebook/Insta also copied Snap's AR Filters (avocado crown FTW). Now, Snap is doing some copy-catting of its own with its new "Spotlight" tab.

- __This TikTok-like section of Snapchat__ serves up viral vertical videos (we're calling it: "Three Vs" content). You basically just scroll up endlessly with no escape.
- __The "Three Vs" = TikTok's not-so-secret sauce__. Viral vertical videos, paired with ridiculously addictive algorithms, helped TikTok [grow](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/24/tiktok-reveals-us-global-user-growth-numbers-for-first-time.html) from 11M US users in January 2018 to over 100M today.

__Not so Renegade, Renegade...__ Copying popular features is standard MO for social apps. And Facebook has been *aggressively* pushing vertical videos on its Tok-competitor "Reels." But Snap is doing Three Vs a bit differently:

- __Cash Giveaways:__ Snap [will](https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/23/21585513/snapchat-snap-spotlight-creators-app-update-tiktok) divvy up $1M between the most popular video creators *each day* for the rest of 2020. It's all based on views from that day. 
- __Viral For All:__ TikTok and Reels also shell out $$$ to [incentivize](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/4yRCnrt1kOAxQVj9ebbA6A/articles/49twGAQ1xwjOPMpozJPT4H/) creators, but they're more geared toward famous influencers. Snap [says](https://www.snap.com/en-US/news) you don't need a public account or a big following to make it on Spotlight.


_America's Next Top TikTok Copycat is..._

__This is new (complicated) territory for Snap...__ Before, users could only see snaps posted by friends or by publishers in the Discover tab — there was no "going viral on Snap." But with all the scrutiny around viral misinformation and hate speech on Facebook and Twitter, Snap is moving into moderation-heavy (and risky) territory. That's probably why it *isn't allowing comments* on Spotlight videos.


Snap is the latest to copy TikTok with "Spotlight" — it's all about "The Three Vs"

__'Twas the Lizzo IPO...__ __[Warner Music](https://robinhood.com/stocks/WMG)__ went public back in June as the [first](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/7nl8PEIlFGFKKefr2SL0WW/articles/17mpc7qzjYTjiqKsbEygwD/) pure-play music stock of the record label "three-oply": Warner Music, __Universal Music__, and __Sony Music__ (say "music" again). Warner signs artists, then markets and monetizes their tunes. Stars include: Lizzo, Ed Sheeran, and Cardi B. 

- __Concerts aren't happening,__ so Warner lost on tour services and merch. Buuuut: Warner's full-year earnings were essentially the same as its record-breaking 2019.
- __Music streaming made up for it.__ Warner negotiates with streamers to get paid on listens. Digital sales were up 15% last quarter on the stream-palooza, offsetting losses from the pandemic-hit side of its business. 

__When Bruno's on pandemic vacay...__ He's not dropping that 24K Magic. Before going public, Warner noted that the "absence of superstar releases" was one of the biggest risks to its biz. Its roster is stocked with Led Zeppelin and Madonna tunes, but the big money comes from *new* albums. Fresh hits from artists like Dua Lipa made up for the silence from stars like Bruno Mars. 


__Warner reflects the winners/losers of the pandemic...__  The __[Spotify](https://robinhood.com/stocks/SPOT)__ streaming side of Warner's biz is thriving, just like Spotify — the live touring side of the business is hurting, just like __[Live Nation](https://robinhood.com/stocks/LYV)__. Warner's partnerships with pandemic thrivers like __[Facebook](https://robinhood.com/stocks/FB)__, __TikTok__, and __[Snap](https://robinhood.com/stocks/SNAP)__ are [growing](https://seekingalpha.com/article/4391074-warner-music-group-corp-s-wmg-ceo-stephen-cooper-on-q4-2020-results-earnings-call-transcript) sales even *faster* than subscription streaming. Warner also hinted it's exploring new opportunities with pandemic winners like __Twitch__ (live-streamed concerts) and __[Peloton](https://robinhood.com/stocks/PTON)__ (licensing). 


Warner Music thrives on streaming, loses on concerts (it's a tale of two businesses)

 👻 Snap TikToks itself (bold move)

__Save us, Gal...__ Theaters' holiday season rests in the hands of Wonder Woman Gal Gadot — aka, Princess of Themyscira (where everyone has an Israeli accent). __[AT&T](https://robinhood.com/stocks/T)__-owned Warner Bros. is [releasing](https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/18/media/wonder-woman-1984-hbo-max/index.html) "Wonder Woman 1984" on HBO Max *and* in theaters on Christmas Day. We've seen studios sending movies straight to streaming (__Universal__ with "Trolls" and __[Disney](https://robinhood.com/stocks/DIS)__ with "Mulan") — but we've never quite seen this bold dual strategy. 

- __Warner learned its lesson with "Tenet."__ It bravely [insisted](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/8rq6xjStVvulqFP5BMmt0/articles/b8XbOfc5reKyOjOrvsVdC/) on a theatrical release for the Christopher Nolan blockbuster, but has only grossed $350M worldwide  — not enough to cover production + marketing costs.
- __It's a win for HBO Max.__ Warner's streamer has [brought](https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/22/media/hbo-max-subscriber-numbers/index.html) in a respectable 8.6M subscribers since its May launch  — but it's still far behind Disney+ (73M subs) and __[Netflix](https://robinhood.com/stocks/NFLX)__ (195M subs).

__The beginning of the end...__ of the "theatrical window." That's the period  a movie has to be exclusively in theaters before home viewing release. __[AMC](https://robinhood.com/stocks/AMC)__ already [slashed](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/6RFtJk3mnCKOO7aaL4NeV/articles/5k77brddXY731lGleLUGG4/) the window from 75 days to just 17 days for Universal films shown at its theaters. Last week, Universal [struck](https://www.goerie.com/story/entertainment/movies/2020/11/22/universal-cinemark-strike-deal-how-long-movies-stay-theaters/6327081002/) another deal with __[Cinemark](https://robinhood.com/stocks/CNK)__, shortening its window from three months to as little as 17 days, too.

_On her way to (maybe) save movie theaters_

__This will be a big test for theaters...__ AMC, the world's largest theater chain, said it'll run out of cash soon without financial rescuing. 83% of its US theaters have reopened, but attendance is down ~85% — capacity is limited, and most blockbusters have been pushed to 2021 (cough, Disney). Meanwhile, Regal Cinemas is [reportedly](https://www.wsj.com/articles/regal-cinemas-owner-in-talks-for-rescue-package-to-weather-theater-shutdowns-11605823165) looking for a lifeline to avoid bankruptcy. "Wonder Woman” will test how love for the magic theater experience stacks up against streaming.

Movie theaters' fate partly rests on Wonder Woman's (mixed) release

__*And I think it's gonna be Elon, lon time*...__ 2020 keeps getting better for Rocket Man. Fresh off a historic SpaceX launch, Elon received an S&P 500 Club invite. __[Tesla](https://robinhood.com/stocks/TSLA)__ will [join](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/rQUWmLLXMpM5qdWBv9Eap/articles/2HouhgfCwSO1yiJ7D7X3Dj/) the famous [S&P 500](https://learn.robinhood.com/articles/7kFFEUv46vmMCmMfLuNiRX/what-is-the-s-and-p-500/) index on December 21st. It tracks the stocks of the 500 most valuable US public companies — and over $11T is invested in S&P-tracking funds. Fund managers will now have to buy Tesla stock, helping shares jump 20% for the week. But skeptics think the volatile stock could bring risk to the entire index.

__The limit does not exist...__ to how many times you can retile the bathroom. Based on these recent home improvement earnings, the "House Hype" is *still* strong (going on four quarters now). __[Home Depot](https://robinhood.com/stocks/HD)__’s same-store US sales [jumped](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/20/home-depot-and-lowes-earnings-boosted-by-pandemic-induced-nesting.html) 25% last quarter, and __[Lowe's](https://robinhood.com/stocks/LOW)__ soared 30%. You were probably ordering your Peacock Blue paint online and picking up curbside — Home Depot's digital sales rose 80%, and Lowe's more than doubled. Even anti-online rebel __[TJX](https://robinhood.com/stocks/TJX)__ is [launching](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/62YXgFm2Y4dLxSTclXVyFa/articles/11N7Wk35vpjrMJatHK3j5V) an ecommerce site for its HomeGoods chain.

__Zzzs don't grow on trees...__ neither does foam for __[Casper](https://robinhood.com/stocks/CSPR)__. The direct-to-consumer mattress company's sales fell 3% last quarter, even though time spent in bed increased infinity%. Casper saw [record](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/6f9hTxnuMnb4G0Vl1fQwPq/articles/3z0smVK5BdSSxHZCpxiYqd) website traffic, aka record interest in its products. But mattresses were out-of-stock for weeks at a time due to supply chain shortages, so it couldn't cash in on demand. __[Purple](https://robinhood.com/stocks/PRPL)__, which controls its own supply chain, saw sales jump 60%. Casper stock plunged 18% for the week and is down by over half this year, while Purple has more than 3X'd.

__Darth Bezos strikes again...__  __[Amazon](https://robinhood.com/stocks/AMZN)__'s e-Pharmacy [dropped](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/54qEy7poaQltD2SG2mPMOY/articles/DOTr2WznNUgU3l27G2WGD/) this week, offering Prime members free two-day shipping and savings benefits on prescription meds. The Zon has over 110M US Prime members — that's a major "code red" to OG pharmacies, which sell hundreds of billions in prescription meds each year. For the week: __[Walgreens](https://robinhood.com/stocks/WBA)__ stock dropped 12%, and __[CVS](https://robinhood.com/stocks/CVS)__ fell 6%. __[GoodRx](https://robinhood.com/stocks/GDRX)__ plunged 18% since it's the "Expedia of prescription drugs" — Amazon's steep discounts threaten its entire value prop.


🍿 Wonder Woman's theatrical plot twist

__New app, who dis?...__ Google Pay just went from something you use when you forget your credit card to a padded money app. Five years after launching, Pay has a whopping ~150M users in 30 countries. The revamped app rolled out in the US this week. It's a three-tab story:

- __Pay:__ Tap-to-pay, peer-to-peer payments, and searchable transaction history. Google says it won't sell data or share it for ad targeting.
- __Explore:__ Shows rewards and discounts at shops. If you allow Pay to analyze your transactions, it'll also show personalized offers. Because Google doesn't know enough. 
- __Insights:__ Lets you connect your bank accounts for a spending overview, like __Mint__. You can even let Pay crawl your Gmail and Google Photos to find receipts (techy, *not* creepy).

__But wait, there's more...__ In order to make sure it's in direct competition with every other money app: Google said it'll partner with banks to offer online checking and savings accounts in 2021. But the focus is Venmo-style payments and bill-splitting — Google's betting the "network effect" of peer-to-peer will take Pay to the next level.


__Financial apps want all of you...__ Google Pay wants to achieve "all-in-one" app status, and so do other fintechs. They start with one thing, then expand.

- __Venmo__ started with peer-to-peer, now it has a debit card.
- __Cash App__ started with peer-to-peer, now it does investing.
- __Robinhood__ started with investing, now it has Cash Management (disclosure: Robinhood Snacks is owned by... Robinhood).
- __Chase__ started with banking, now it shows your credit journey.

Google goes full Venmo+, turning Pay into a franken-app for money

__Finding a $30 Michael Kors bag...__ under a pile of prom dresses. Discount legend __[TJX](https://robinhood.com/stocks/TJX)__ is the company behind the "affordable splurge" trifecta: TJ Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods. In June, TJX's CEO made a bold corona-conomy statement: "*Nothing will change*." He [said](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/2iRXx4Lo0sb4Xj39ZUGriE/articles/5k1guEZaA7mTcZAjnmvyLE/) TJX would continue to pass on ramping up online shopping, which made up just 2% of its sales.

- __TJX was set on *not* using ecommerce.__ It even shut down its websites while stores were closed. Fast-forward to November...
- __TJX is launching an ecommerce platform__ for HomeGoods, since store traffic is slow. But it's not dropping its rebellious anti-ecommerce persona...

__Treasure Hunt = still #1...__ TJX's CEO says customers still want to "feel the fabric" (beautiful). The new site is meant to complement and encourage *in*-store shopping. Shoppers love the "treasure hunt" — the joyful feeling of accomplishment after finding a $40 James Perse sweater after hours of rifling. The HomeGoods site is an *extra* way to ride the "House Hype" wave. 


_TJ Maxx's national treasure hunt_

Hunt

__For some, ecommerce is a "nice-to-have"...__ for others — like __[Lululemon](https://robinhood.com/stocks/LULU)__ — it's a make-or-break [necessity](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/7FZzguUiD8aLKkREx4vy4F/articles/26yFoNKojWP5qIVWabOU6Q/). TJX's same-store sales dipped only 5% last quarter, despite it having basically no online presence. It made $867M in profit  — more than it earned in the same quarter *last* year, and way more than the $887M it *lost* when stores were closed. __[Ross](https://robinhood.com/stocks/ROST)__ is also ecommerce-avoidant, and it [crushed](https://www.barrons.com/articles/ross-stores-stock-earnings-crush-expectations-51605823103) earnings expectations last quarter.


Anti-online rebel TJ Maxx launches an ecommerce platform 

💰 Google goes full Venmo+  

__Elon time coming...__ __[Tesla](https://robinhood.com/stocks/TSLA)__ will join the S&P 500 index on December 21st, after posting five consecutive profitable quarters. Tesla [became](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/6511HaDUMXpAxjp2bEBL6w/articles/30QY0VGpvgwP9J9BKSTkLB) eligible to join the famous index in July, after notching four straight profitable quarters for the first time in its 17-year history.

- __[The S&P 500](https://learn.robinhood.com/articles/7kFFEUv46vmMCmMfLuNiRX/what-is-the-s-and-p-500/) tracks the stocks of the 500 most valuable__ US public companies. People use it as an indicator for how the overall market is doing and can invest in S&P-tracking funds.
- __Tesla's set to become the most valuable company to *ever* join__, and will likely be the 7th largest S&P company by [market value](https://learn.robinhood.com/articles/GByCbiOluG2kcWs1AF6m5/what-is-market-capitalization/), right above Walmart (whoa).

__Welcome to Club 500...__ Over $11T is invested in mutual funds and [ETFs](https://learn.robinhood.com/articles/QkpPOCYYd2fMe76837dvG/what-is-an-exchange-traded-fund) that track the S&P 500. These funds are kind of like investment "smoothies," made up of a blend of different stocks instead of fruit (though Apple works both ways). Fund managers will now have to buy Tesla stock for their S&P smoothie, so shares have jumped 19% on the news. But these joining rallies (if they even happen) [don't](https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-teslas-addition-to-the-s-p-500-means-for-investors-11605631435) necessarily last long. 


_Elon getting ready to attend the S&P 500 Ball_

Welcome

__Tesla could shake up the S&P...__ The bigger a company's market value, the more weight it carries in the Club. That's why __Apple__, __Microsoft__, __Amazon__, __Google__, and __Facebook__ make up a whopping ~26% of the index. Tesla's market value is *double* __[Toyota's](https://robinhood.com/stocks/TM)__, even though Toyota delivered 30X more cars last year. Some analysts point to Tesla's profit-streak and record 140K deliveries last quarter as signs of maturity. But skeptics say the historically volatile stock could bring risk to the entire index. 


Tesla is joining the S&P 500 Club — we're looking at what it means for investors

__Hmmmm...__ You'd think eight months of being cooped up at home would lead to a baby boom, but experts are actually [predicting](https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-covid-baby-bust-is-bad-news-for-these-businesses-11605522600?mod=business_lead_pos5) a baby *bust*. They think the corona-conomy will lead to majorly declining birth rates. 

- __Brookings estimates US births could shrink__ by as much as 500K next year, more than 10X last year's drop (and they're already at record lows). 
- __That's bad news__ for Gerber-owner __[Nestlé](https://robinhood.com/stocks/NSRGY)__, Pampers-owner __[Procter & Gamble](https://robinhood.com/stocks/PG)__, and Huggies owner __[Kimberly-Clark](https://robinhood.com/stocks/KMB)__ (yes, the TP dispenser one). 

__Designer Diapér...__ We're nine months out from the first lockdowns, so baby businesses are strategizing. As births have slowed in the US and China over the years, consumer giants have shifted focus to premium baby items. Parents are having fewer kids, but they're spending *more* on them.

- __Kimberly-Clark__ intro'd plant-based, paraben-free Huggies that cost 5X more than the cheapest diaper (#fashion).
- __P&G__ is selling pricier Pampers that fit like pants (the khakis of diapers). It also [partnered](https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2019/07/19/p-g-launching-smart-diapers-with-help-fromgoogle.html) with Google for app-connected smart diapers.
- __Nestlé__ launched a fancy infant milk powder in June (basically oat milk). 


Bust

__When the pie shrinks, raise the price...__ The baby market is shrinking, so companies are testing how much *remaining* customers are willing to pay. To make up for sales drops, they're raising prices — like Apple did with the $1,450 iPhone in 2019. How do they justify that? By upscaling products with fancier features. No one needs a four-eyed phone or a cloud-connected diaper. But companies don't care, as long as people will pay.

With a pandemic Baby Bust looming, Huggies and Pampers go fancy-pantsy

🔑 Tesla joins the S&P 500 Club 

__*It's hereeee*...__ Amazon Pharmacy. Two years ago, __[Amazon](https://robinhood.com/stocks/AMZN)__ acquired PillPack for $1B. Pharmacies were shook, but not as shook as they were yesterday when: the Zon launched an online pharmacy, built off PillPack's biz. Starting this week, people in 45 US states can send their prescriptions to Amazon and order meds. 

- __Prime members get__ free two-day shipping and savings benefits (up to 80% off generic and 40% off brand-name meds). *And* a savings card to use at  50K pharmacies.
- __Non-Primers get__ free 5-day delivery (and a whole lot of pop-ups to join Prime). Amazon's accepting most forms of insurance, but you can pay without.

__"Code red!"...__ Overhead at CVS corporate. Amazon's entering a massive market — nearly half of Americans [take](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-08/nearly-one-in-two-americans-takes-prescription-drugs-survey) prescription drugs. In 2018, pharmacies sold [$336B](https://www.wsj.com/articles/amazon-com-adds-prescription-medicine-options-to-its-site-11605613679?mod=hp_lead_pos6) worth of prescription meds. But Amazon has over [110M](https://fortune.com/2020/01/16/amazon-prime-subscriptions/) US Prime members, which could make its ePharmacy seem more convenient (and cheaper). That's why:

- __[CVS](https://robinhood.com/stocks/CVS) and [Walgreens](https://robinhood.com/stocks/WBA) shares dropped__ 9% yesterday, and __[Rite Aid](https://robinhood.com/stocks/RAD)__ plunged 16%.
- __[GoodRx](https://robinhood.com/stocks/GDRX) stock fell__ 23% since [it's](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/4SQQIJGVDV1ZMsRwO23SPV/articles/231DSeRmMIaG6mxLu3tUCS/) "the Expedia of prescription drugs."
- __[Walmart](https://robinhood.com/stocks/WMT) stock dipped__ 2% — despite strong earnings yesterday — because it has a healthcare biz.  

e-Pill

__Brick-and-mortar could save pharmacies...__ CVS and Walgreens each have 10K+ locations across the US, and they're expanding on-site healthcare to offer what Amazon *can't*. Walgreens [dropped](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/6hhuCOY10qHk7z0tNQJNYE/articles/5aYSlp1wVeRDxLaMBqz3MY/) $1B to open hundreds of doctors offices, CVS is opening 1.5K "HealthHUBs," and Walmart offers on-site care — all to make buying prescription meds more convenient. Then again:  telehealth has surged, and Amazon's discounts could be worth a two-day wait.

Amazon launches an online pharmacy, making CVS and Walgreens stock quake

__Calm down...__ __Airbnb__ got some inspo from Genesis as it prepped its IPO [filing](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1559720/000119312520294801/d81668ds1.htm), kicking off its origin story with "*In the beginning...*" The home-sharing giant [plans](https://www.wsj.com/articles/airbnb-ipo-filing-shows-profitable-quarter-after-deep-cuts-11605564419?mod=business_lead_pos13) to go public in December under ticker symbol ABNB (STAY and CASA were too edgy). 

- __Spring quarter:__ Airbnb lost nearly $600M, almost double what it lost during the same time last year. 
- __Summer quarter:__ Airbnb made a $219M *profit* last quarter, despite sales falling 18%. 

__Nespresso machine en suite...__ 5 stars. Investors are giving Airbnb some credit. Earlier this year, Airbnb's valuation plunged to $18B as it took out high-interest loans to [cover](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/78so4bt9Fa85LcklanAFSB/articles/4O5kJlEPHTgzTTN70wvPrp/) guest refunds and $250M for hosts' losses. Then it majorly turned its desperate fate around, filed to IPO, and is expected to notch a $30B valuation. 

- __The "work from anywhere" trend__ helped, as people seeked less bedroom-like pastures. Airbnb focused on small towns after noticing an uptick in local stays.
- __Brutal cost-slashing__ was also key to the comeback — Airbnb sadly laid off 25% of its employees. It also shed noncore businesses and halved exec pay.


_Forgot the code for the Nasdaq check-in_

__Airbnb needs to think like Uber (not like Lyft)...__ Airbnb is just a sharing platform for *homes*, like Lyft is just a ride-hailing platform. Meanwhile, Uber has [become](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/1D3tkm10PGnxrVOWgEDFKP/articles/4elR6MraWRLDXQoo2e4Q99/) a platform to transport *anything* — from food, to cargo, to meds. If Airbnb becomes an "anything-sharing" platform  (think: parking spaces, storage, boats, RVs) it could protect itself from pandemic pain — it warned that the recent COVID surge could bruise bookings this quarter. 


Airbnb files to go public and reveals a profit in its big turnaround quarter

💊 Amazon launches an ePharmacy

__When you get a 90% on the test…__ and your friend immediately mentions they got a 95%. Last week, __[Pfizer](https://robinhood.com/stocks/PFE)__ and __[BioNTech](https://robinhood.com/stocks/BNTX)__ [announced](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/5gdq4YMCKXJLFy9oXr6lUV/articles/0CzIbmfTQ6Qo8bhIShm43) that their COVID-19 vaccine was more than 90% effective in final-stage trials (huge). *Yesterday*, __[Moderna](https://robinhood.com/stocks/MRNA)__ [said](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/16/moderna-says-its-coronavirus-vaccine-is-more-than-94percent-effective.html) its vaccine was more than *94%* effective, according to early results (huge-er). Moderna's vax is also easier to store, temperature-wise. But how soon could a vax get approved and start shipping?

- __Moderna plans to request emergency FDA approval__ by early December. Pfizer could seek emergency use authorization this month.
- __If Moderna gets the greenlight,__ it could start distributing in December with 20M doses ready to ship by end of year.
- __Potato, not potatoe:__ Pfizer is a 170-year-old pharma with 300+ drugs on the market. Moderna's a 10-year-old biotech that has [never](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/79biJunQ8AVseCaSA7jDwV/articles/3Kiqd7olgKIOuHwvy3lMeJ/) sold a single drug. 

__But they have one thing in common...__ Moderna and Pfizer both have mRNA vaccines, which [are](https://www.phgfoundation.org/briefing/rna-vaccines) faster and cheaper to make than traditional vaccines — but have never been approved for human use. Both have said they're planning to sell *for* profit, while some traditional vax frontrunners like __[AstraZeneca](https://robinhood.com/stocks/AZN)__ pledged to initially sell "at cost" (no profit). But Pharma isn’t the only industry that could be poised to profit...


_The big checkmate_

Distribute

__Logistics companies could benefit (big)...__ Distributing the vaccine will be a massive undertaking,  and airlines and shipping companies will likely be key to that. Providing a single dose to 7.8B people will require 8K __[Boeing](https://robinhood.com/stocks/BA)__ 747 cargo planes.  __[Delta](https://robinhood.com/stocks/DAL)__ and __[UPS](https://robinhood.com/stocks/UPS)__ are already [gearing](https://www.aviationpros.com/airlines/news/21160506/ups-delta-prepare-for-covid19-vaccine-shipments) up by expanding their cooling facilities for vaccine storage/shipment. Pharma products are one of the most profitable cargo types, so this could be a huge financial opportunity. 


Moderna makes big vax news, and logistics companies could benefit

__Googling: "How long can human go on 4 hours sleep"...__ Don't worry, __[Casper](https://robinhood.com/stocks/CSPR)__'s right there with ya. The direct-to-consumer mattress company was a unicorn before it went public back in February. Now its valuation has [dropped](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/6kMejLjAW3nUadbqAQTFJW/articles/3clvgCbPhDFEgLE19oIZVu/) from $1.1B to just over $250M (quarter-corn?). Casper lost more sleep yesterday when its stock plunged 14% after [earnings](https://ir.casper.com/news-and-events/news/news-details/2020/Casper-Reports-Third-Quarter-2020-Results/default.asp).

- __Casper's sales fell__ 3%, even though time spent in bed probably increased 1,000% (#work-from-bed). And it's still dreaming of profit. Buuut...
- __Casper saw record website traffic__ last quarter, pointing to record interest in its mattresses. People were browsing Casper.com to upgrade their  takeout-in-bed game.

__Sounds counterintuitive....__ But it makes sense. Casper's sales fail wasn't due to weak demand, but to weak *supply*. Many mattresses were out-of-stock for weeks at a time, meaning Casper couldn't ship out enough to meet demand. Casper blamed supply chain challenges like fabric and foam chemical shortages. It should really blame its lack of vertical integration:

- __Vertical integration__ is when a company owns multiple stages of production in its supply chain. __[Apple](https://robinhood.com/stocks/AAPL)__ just got more vertically integrated by ditching __[Intel](https://robinhood.com/stocks/INTC)__ to put its own Apple-made chips in Macs.


__Controlling your supply chain helps control your destiny...__  Vertical integration can help lower costs, boost profitability, and avoid situations like Casper's. Casper isn't vertically integrated. That puts it at a disadvantage compared to competitors like __[Purple](https://robinhood.com/stocks/PRPL)__, which largely controls its manufacturing and saw sales [jump](http://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0001643953/028ea4fb-bc38-454b-ab2b-007cf9984c33.pdf) 60% last quarter. Purple stock has nearly 3X'd in value this year while Casper is down by half. 