Hey Snackers,
Americans are spending less on what matters to them the most: their pets, according to a recent study by Bank of America. Inflation for pet services is running a little above 4%, but the prices of pet food and treats are flat. Spending at pet stores was down 4% in April compared to the previous year, likely due to this demographic.Â
US stocks enjoyed a strong start to the shortened week after Sunday’s news that President Donald Trump delayed boosting tariffs on imports from Europe to 50%. The S&P 500 gained 2%, the Nasdaq 100 rose 2.4%, and the Russell 2000 ended up 2.5% on Tuesday.
All S&P 500 sector ETFs rose, with consumer discretionary and tech outperforming.
Semiconductor stocks broke their seven-session losing streak, with Nvidia putting in a strong advance ahead of earnings today amid reports that it has a new AI chip tailor-made for sale to China ready to enter mass production next month.
Exhibition bounces back
Movie theaters have had a rough patch getting consumers back into cinemas, but a record-setting Memorial Day weekend had investors buying up the exhibition business, with AMC theaters finishing Tuesday up nearly 24%.Â
AMC said in a press release that “from Thursday through the Monday holiday, AMC set all-time weekend records for the Memorial Day holiday for admissions revenue, food & beverage revenue, and overall revenue at its domestic locations.”
It’s not just AMC: Regal Cinemas says that it sold 2.9 million kilograms of popcorn over the weekend, or nearly 3,200 tons of the cinematic snack. Â
In terms of attendance, this was AMC’s best Memorial Day weekend since 2013.
Sure, AMC has seen better days, with its stock hitting 2025 lows ahead of its first-quarter earning release, and the stock is still down 12% year to date. But revised expectations for the summer box office have many reconsidering a business that they had otherwise left for dead in the age of streaming.Â
The Takeaway
Hear me out: we come to this place for magic. This idea is controversial, but somehow, heartbreak feels good in a place likе this. Don’t our heroes feel like thе best part of us, and stories feel perfect and powerful? Because here, they are.
He’s already IPO’d once – this time’s different
Spencer Rascoff co-founded Zillow, scaling it into a $16B real estate giant. But everyday investors couldn’t invest until after the IPO, missing early gains.
"I wish we had done a round accessible to retail investors prior to Zillow's IPO," Spencer later said.
Now he’s doing just that. Spencer has teamed up with Austin Allison, another Zillow exec, to launch Pacaso. Pacaso’s co-ownership marketplace is disrupting the $1.3T vacation home market.1 Since they launched, they’ve already surpassed $110M in gross profit and $1B in transactions.2
Unlike Zillow, you can invest in Pacaso as a private company. Pacaso’s already reserved their Nasdaq ticker: “PCSO”.3 But you don’t have to wait for a potential public listing to invest.Â
Mouse found in theater, everyone delighted
While AMC is romping thanks to the big weekend, also taking a victory lap is Disney itself, which released its live-action “Lilo & Stitch” not on Disney+ as originally planned but in movie theaters, and it’s now hundreds of millions of dollars better for it. Yes, the film was originally developed as a Disney+ original. Luckily for Disney, those plans shifted sometime around last August, when the entertainment giant announced that the film would receive a theatrical release.Â
A few months later, Disney’s “Moana 2” — a film similarly created first as a Disney+ show — debuted in theaters and went on to gross more than $1 billion worldwide.
This was a reversal for a company putting premium product on streaming first: during the height of the Covid pandemic, Disney made the direct-to-Disney+ choice for several Pixar films, including “Soul,” “Luca,” and “Turning Red.”Â
Had these titles been kept direct-to-streaming (this decade’s version of straight-to-VHS), their success would have been measured not by sales but by their ability to attract and retain Disney+ subscribers. Instead, they’ll likely still give Disney+ a boost while also scoring the company an impressive sum at the box office.
Putting the two movies in theaters was a huge financial win. That said, losing out on box office revenue is less detrimental for Disney than it would be for rivals like Warner Bros. or Comcast. Disney IP is far more valuable as a driver of merchandise and parks visits, as seen in this particularly fascinating chart from its recent revenue reports.
The Takeaway
Stitch-themed toys, clothing, and gear are a massive sales driver for Disney, with or without a film in theaters. Last year, 22 years after the original film was released, “Lilo & Stitch”-related retail sales totaled $2.6 billion.
The Best Thing We Read Today
Upstart Holdings CEO Dave Girouard on the rise of the AI lender
Upstart Holdings is OG AI. Cofounded in 2012 by ex-Google executive and current Upstart CEO Dave Girouard, the company says that for the last five consecutive quarters, more than 90% of its loans were “fully automated, with no human intervention.” Girouard told us about the year “we just got our clock cleaned” and how the company has worked hard to return to profitability.
Together with State Street Global Advisors
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From record liquidity to a 30+ year track record, find out why SPY is the world’s most traded ETF.6
Advertiser’s Disclosures:Â
6 Bloomberg Finance, L.P., as of April 30, 2025.
Before investing, consider the funds' investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. To obtain a prospectus or summary prospectus which contains this and other information, call 1-866-787-2257 or visit www.ssga.com. Read it carefully. Investing involves risk. ALPS Distributors, Inc. (fund distributor); State Street Global Advisors Funds Distributors, LLC (marketing agent).
Not FDIC Insured – No Bank Guarantee – May Lose Value
Yesterday's Big Daily Movers
Trump Media & Technology Group tumbled double digits after announcing a plan to sell stock to buy bitcoin
SoundHound AI turned up the volume after receiving an “overweight” rating, squeezing some short sellers
Temu owner PDD Holdings sank after Q1 net income missed by more than 40%
Tesla spiked even though its European sales are doing the exact opposite
What Else We're Snackin'
While retail traders may have enjoyed a fling with UnitedHealth, it doesn’t look like they’re settling down for a long-term relationship
Salesforce will buy Informatica for $8 billion in its biggest acquisition since Slack
Starting today, bags fly for $35 at Southwest
SharpLink Gaming announced $425 million in funding for its new ethereum treasury strategy, sending shares flyingÂ
Why you’re more likely to die on your birthday
Snack Fact of the Day
Fewer than 1 in 5 federal government workers spent time teleworking or working at home for pay in April, down from ~31% in the same month last year.
Today's Events
Fed meeting minutes
Earnings expected from Nvidia, Salesforce, HP, Macy’s, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Dick’s Sporting Goods
1 Pacaso estimates the U.S. market at $1.3 trillion and the European market as $500 billion. See website for further details.Â
2 For more details on the Gross Profit for 2021- 2023, please see management discussion of the financial condition section of the offering circular. For more details on the 2024 gross profit, please see the 1-K Financial Statements section.
3 Pacaso recently received their ticker reservation with Nasdaq ($PCSO), indicating an intent to IPO in the next 24 months. An intent to IPO is no guarantee that an actual IPO will occur.
4 The minimum investment is $1,037.45 when including the 3.5% investor fee. This is a paid advertisement for Pacaso’s Regulation A offering. Please read the offering circular and related risks at invest.pacaso.com.
Investing in private company securities is not suitable for all investors because it is highly speculative and involves a high degree of risk. It should only be considered a long-term investment. You must be prepared to withstand a total loss of your investment. Private company securities are also highly illiquid, and there is no guarantee that a market will develop for such securities.
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.