🐭 Disney's Magical Resurgence

Happy Friday!

It’s been a busy week but I’ve got you covered with the most important investing headlines.

Here are some key data bites you should know: 

• IBM is committing $500M to generative AI startups targeting business sectors, signaling a strategic shift and active VC engagement.

• Shein, the popular fash-fashion platform, is aiming for a $90B valuation in a potential U.S. IPO.

• U.S. credit card debt has reached $1.08T as higher living costs drive more persistent debt and delinquencies.

• Apple may face a €13B Irish tax bill if the EU's top court reverses its initial victory in the EU state-aid dispute case.

• SoftBank reported a $6.2B loss for the July-September quarter, marking its fourth straight loss, compounded by WeWork's bankruptcy filing.

In today’s newsletter:

• 🚕 Uber’s Earnings Visualized

• 🐝 Bumble Collapse

• 🐭 Disney+ Rebounds

Let’s dive right in!

🚕 Uber’s Earnings Visualized

Uber's Q3 results fell short of analysts’ expectation, missing the anticipated earnings per share of $0.12 with a reported $0.10, and revenue of $9.29B against the expected $9.52B. However, the company showed strong performance in gross bookings, surpassing their own guidance with $35.3B, a 21% increase year over year.

Uber reported its second consecutive quarterly profit based on its core business operations, marking a significant milestone for the company, which had previously faced profitability concerns. The company has shown resilience despite economic challenges that have led to layoffs at other tech firms, with a record 6.5M drivers and a 25% increase in trips from the previous year.

With this earnings report, Uber is eligible for inclusion in the S&P 500. For the fourth-quarter, the company is forecasting bookings to be between $36.5B - $37.5B, aligning with analysts' predictions, and anticipates adjusted EBITDA to exceed Wall Street's expectations. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi noted strong consumer activity as the company enters its peak season.

🐝 Bumble Collapse

This week, Bumble announced an unexpected leadership change, with CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd to step down and Lidiane Jones, the CEO of Salesforce’s Slack, set to take over at the start of next year. Following this announcement, the company's shares hit a record low after the company projected Q3 revenue between $272M - $278M, below the expected $285.9M. The dating app company is experiencing intense competition, but Wolfe Herd expressed confidence in Bumble's growth and future ventures beyond dating.

Bumble has struggled to find ways to have consumers pay for its services. While the company saw a surge in popularity post-pandemic, it's efforts to expand beyond dating into friendship and professional networking have not yet gained traction, leading analysts to question how the new CEO will handle these broader ambitions.

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🐭 Disney+ Rebounds

Walt Disney reported a substantial profit increase in its fiscal fourth quarter, with net income rising 63% to $264M and adjusted earnings per share increasing to $0.82, surpassing Wall Street's expectation of $0.71. Revenue grew 5% to $21.24B, thanks in part to cost-cutting measures, a 30% increase in income from its parks, and nearly 7M new Disney+ subscribers.

CEO Bob Iger confirmed that the company's streaming services are expected to be profitable by the next fiscal year’s fourth quarter. The streaming division significantly reduced its losses to $347M, down from $1.4B the previous year, and achieved increased average monthly revenue per subscriber. With a total of 150.2M paid streaming subscribers and the upcoming integration of Disney+ and Hulu, the outlook remains positive.

Notable Companies Reporting Earnings Next Week:

• Notable Companies Reporting Earnings Next Week:

  • Monday:

    • Sun Life Financial $SLF, Tyson Foods $TSN, AECOM $ACM, Monday.com $MDAY

  • Tuesday:

    • Home Depot $HD, Sea Limited $SE

  • Wednesday:

    • Cisco Systems $CSCO, TJX Companies $TJX, Palo Alto Networks $PANW, Target $TGT, JD.com $JD, XPeng $XPEV

  • Thursday:

    • Walmart $WMT, Alibaba $BABA, Applied Materials $AMAT

  • Friday:

    • BJ’s Wholesale $BJ, Atkore $ATKR

All of the companies that are reporting earnings next week can be viewed here.

Buys

• Energy Transfer ($ET)

  • Insider: Kelcy Warren (Executive Chairman)

    • # of Shares Purchased: 2,000,000

    • $ Amount: $26,860,000

    • SEC Forms: [1], [2]

• Exxon Mobil ($XOM)

  • Insider: Jeffrey Ubben (Director)

    • # of Shares Purchased: 250,000

    • $ Amount: $26,491,420

    • SEC Forms: [1]

• Enstar Group Limited ($ESGR)

  • Insider: Dominic Silvester Dominic (CEO)

    • # of Shares Purchased: 45,000

    • $ Amount: $10,223,100

    • SEC Forms: [1]

Sells

• MongoDB ($MDB)

  • Insider: Dev Ittycheria (President & CEO)

    • # of Shares Sold: 100,500

    • $ Amount: $37,687,500

    • SEC Forms: [1]

• Netflix ($NFLX)

  • Insider: Reed Hastings (Executive Chairman)

    • # of Shares Sold: 81,347

    • $ Amount: $35,412,613

    • SEC Forms: [1]

• Meta Platforms ($META)

  • Insider: Mark Zuckerberg (CEO)

    • # of Shares Sold: 84,027

    • $ Amount: $26,703,530

    • SEC Forms: [1], [2], [3]

🤝 Review of the Week