TOGETHER WITH
Hey there weekday warrior. Here’s what’s on tap today… Netflix wins the Warner Bros. Discovery bidding war (for now), SpaceX can’t stop/won’t stop, and Zuck gets his retail therapy on.
Enjoy the next 3 minutes and 21 seconds of blue-chip news and commentary.
Keep on snapping necks and cashing checks,
Acquisition & chill
“Dad, what was it like before the streamers ruined cinema?”
Me:
The Succession Season 3 plot just played out in real life, you guys (think: great platform with terrible content buys great content with a terrible platform).
That’s right... in a move I’m pretty sure Ted Sarandos didn’t even see coming, Netflix $NFLX ( ▼ 3.86% ) announced Friday that it’s buying Warner Bros. Discovery $WBD ( ▲ 4.06% ) for $72B.
And since no one would touch ‘em with a 10-foot pole, WBD’s cable networks CNN and TNT will be spun off into their own company, where they can live out their remaining days like your grandpa after he broke his hip.
Wait, what about Paramount?
You might recall that Paramount $PSKY ( ▲ 6.73% ) CEO David Ellison wanted WBD more than he yearns for the love and adoration of his father. Pretty much everyone was expecting them to win the bidding war.
Paramount’s lawyers undoubtedly have the strongly-worded letter machine turnt up to 11. Of course, this time that overpriced legalese is being addressed to the Justice Department, the FTC, and literally anyone who will listen at the White House. They could step in to block the deal, or at least set it back long enough for Warner Bros. Discovery to change its mind (see: antitrust concerns).
And David Ellison & his daddy gotta be wondering how many favors they’ve saved up with Donny Politics right about now…
Still, the OG DVD slingers seem pretty confident in approval…
Per WSJ, “Netflix agreed to pay Warner Bros. a termination fee of $5.8B if the deal falls apart or fails to get regulatory approval.” That would be the biggest of all time, for the record.
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+ Initial Public Rocketing…
SpaceX is supposedly setting sky-high valuation records: $800B (up from July’s $400B valuation) and preparing to sell more insider shares on its way to a possible 2026 IPO. At least, that’s if you trust anonymous Bloomberg sources.
On Saturday, Elon denied the raise on X, though the post is uncharacteristically careful with its wording…
Either way, I think we can all agree this is all just so Elon can beat OpenAI’s record $500B valuation from October, right?
+ This corporation has been money-pit free for one zero days.
After news broke about Meta’s $META ( ▼ 0.68% ) plans to cut its Metaverse spending, Zuck went out and got his retail therapy on. The inventor of the poke is acquiring wearable startup Limitless, a company that makes an AI-powered pendant for recording conversations and taking notes (read: surveillance state).
Wait, you mean like this kind of AI-powered pendant?
+ Our long national wait for PCE is over…
September (yes, really) PCE data dropped Friday. And not that it matters, but… core PCE rose 0.2% on the month, taking the annual rate to 2.8%. That’s down slightly from August. Headline PCE increased 0.3% for the month, with the annual inflation rate at 2.8%. Odds of us getting a rate cut on Wednesday held at around 87%.
> $208 million wiped out: Yieldstreet investors rack up more losses as firm rebrands to Willow Wealth (CNBC) Live look at me realizing Yieldstreet sponsored this very newsletter back in the day…
> Google Must Limit Default Contracts to One Year, Judge Rules (Bloomberg) Remember that time everyone thought the DOJ was going to break up Google after finding it guilty of illegally monopolizing online search? Welp, its “punishment” ended up being a yuge win for its outside counsel. Google will have to renegotiate any contracts that make it the default search engine (looking at you, Apple) annually.
> Victoria’s Secret stock soars after runway ‘angels’ lend divine sales boost (NY Post) I swear, if this is the most-clicked link in this email… you’re all going to horny jail.
> It’s all about perspective…
+ US stocks “posted small gains on Friday as investors assessed a long-awaited rebound in consumer sentiment and positioned for next week’s interest-rate decision.” (Bloomberg)
+ The 10-year yield “rose on Friday as investors heard that the inflation measure most closely watched by the Federal Reserve was lower than expected in September, the most recent available because of the long government shutdown in October and November.” (CNBC)
+ Oil “edged up nearly 1% to a two-week high on Friday on increasing expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week, which could boost economic growth and energy demand, as well as geopolitical uncertainty that could limit supplies from Russia and Venezuela.” (Reuters)
+ The “smart” money (prediction markets) thinks there’s a 20% chance SpaceX will have a $1T market cap following its first day of trading… whenever that is. (Polymarket)
⏪ On Friday…
+ ServiceNow shareholders voted on the company's proposed five-for-one stock split
+ The delayed core PCE price index report for September was released
⏩ Today we’re keeping an eye on…
+ Toll Brothers reports
+ Golden Globe nominations will be announced as if tensions weren’t high enough in media right now
Friday, I asked, “What's the best drink of the weekend?”
63.6% of you said, “First one at happy hour Friday.”
Here’s what some of you guys had to say…
First one at happy hour Friday: “It always goes down so smooth.”
Other: “Coffee on Saturday morning. Hits so much different than coffee before work.”
Other: “First drink Saturday, at cocktail hour, approximately 6pm, post-workout on an empty stomach. flying high!”
First one at happy hour Friday: “I don't drink alcohol but the beginning of freedom time means the most.”
Other: “When you work from home, cracking one open at 3:02 pm, during that 3pm Friday meeting some jerk called that you have no interest in attending but you have to.”
Sunday for the 1 PM NFL games: “Beers+ Redzone is one of the most simple pleasures in life”
Here’s today’s question…
The December slump is upon us. Too early to slack off, too late to care. Which week do we start pushing projects that require effort to 2026?
Oh, and one more thing…
What did you think about today's newsletter?
Sent from my Amazon Fire Phone. Please excuse any mistakes and typos.
Does this look like the face of a guy you should take financial advice from?
No, it’s the face of an individual who is financially irresponsible/dumb enough to be talked into spending money on a family photo shoot that he could have just done with his iPhone. So, act accordingly...
This is not financial advice. Nothing in this newsletter is an investment recommendation. All content is created for entertainment, educational, or informational purposes only. Do your own research, or do yourself a favor and hire a professional.