October 23, 2024

The Appetizer

“It is obviously a difficult decision, one that has taken me some time to make.”

• Rafael Nadal as he announced his retirement, ending his career with 22 Grand Slam singles titles, the second most in men’s tennis.

Now, on to the numbers. Drum roll, please …

• $21 million: The amount Game of Thrones fans spent on memorabilia in a recent auction. After a six-minute bidding war, the Iron Throne sold for $1.49 million.
• 2,471 pounds: The weight of the winning pumpkin in an annual pumpkin-weighing contest in Northern California, where a horticulture teacher has claimed victory for four years in a row.
• 13,000: The number of cases of Minute Maid lemonade recalled by Coca-Cola after they were mistakenly labeled “zero sugar” despite containing sugar.
• 2: The number of pandas that recently arrived at Washington’s National Zoo, on loan from China.
• 30 minutes: The average amount of time per week employees spend managing their fantasy football rosters instead of working.

Dig In
Companies in the Hot Seat

Sure, we have fun when writing Bits, but we also have a much more serious day job: keeping a close eye on company earnings. Earnings season offers a front row seat to stock market trends and the broader economy.

We’re in the early stages of the third quarter earnings season, and it’s off to a mixed start. While there are more positive surprises than usual, they have not been as big as in previous quarters. Last quarter, we saw double-digit earnings growth, but this time around, analysts are seeing a 3.4% growth rate. Still, if that holds, it’ll be the fifth straight quarter of year-over-year growth for the S&P 500. Love to see it.

Looking under the hood, so far, so good. Of the 14% of S&P 500 companies that have reported, 79% beat expectations. Companies in the financials sector have had the largest surprise to the upside, while on the other hand, industrials have disappointed.

The “Magnificent Seven” are expected to report year-over-year growth of 18.1% for the quarter.

It’s going to get interesting in the weeks ahead, so maybe hit pause on fantasy football for a little bit!

Weekly Specials

After 147 years, it’s game, set, match for line judges at Wimbledon – they’re being swapped out for electronic systems. Players are all for it, for now. “If you have equipment that’s accurate, I’m sorry, you have got to go with that,” says tennis legend John McEnroe. But does anyone else remember the U.S. Open tech glitch? Sure, machines are precise, but at least humans don’t glitch.

NASA is on the hunt for alien life, launching a mission to explore Jupiter’s icy moon. The Falcon Heavy blasted off last week and is set to touch down by 2030. The price tag? A cool $5.2 billion, but with the chance of finding extraterrestrial life, it might just be worth it.

The Nobel Prize celebrates those who make the world a better place. This year, three sharp-minded economists received the award for demonstrating the importance of societal institutions for a country’s prosperity. In other words, explain why some countries thrive while others struggle.

Corporate Lunch

Sorry kids, you have school! Delta says travelers are flying to Europe more often in September and October, avoiding the busy season of July and August.

Google needs more power, and it is turning to nuclear energy company Kairos Power to help “deliver on the progress of AI.” Don’t be surprised if your computer starts glowing in the dark.

Adobe launched an AI video generator in its Premiere app. Finally, I can star in a Marvel movie.

Starbucks is doling out fewer discounts and promotions to refocus on selling pricey coffee and seasonal drinks. Charge more, make more – not a bad move.

Instagram now lets you share a digital business card for your profile. Now everyone I meet can watch me butcher a sourdough recipe and dress up my cat.

Tom Brady is putting his money on the Las Vegas Raiders with an estimated $220 million stake in the franchise. His watch auction last week must have gone great.

Amazon is having a Game Boy Color moment and will be releasing its first ever Kindle with a color screen.

Bed Bath & Beyond is getting a fresh start in The Container Store locations, fresh like an airtight cereal box available at your local Container Store.

Diversification does not ensure a profit or protect against loss.

Indices are unmanaged and are not available for direct investment.

The S&P 500 Index is a capitalization-weighted index that is generally considered representative of the U.S. large capitalization market.

Past performance is not indicative of future results.