Hey there weekday warrior,
Here’s what’s on tap today… ParaBros is fully on now, AMD stonk ripped (still not NVDA tho), and Eli Lilly is blazing into Houston like a hurricane.
Now, enjoy the next 3 minutes and 48 seconds of blue-chip news and commentary.
Keep on snapping necks and cashing checks,
PS… thanks in advance for doing your part in helping keep TWC like the Fed (think: free and independent) by checking out today’s advertising partner.
Davey Plotter and the Prisoner of Burbank
Dave Ellison: threatens to move
Robert Bonta, immediately:
Paramount Skydance $PSKY ( ▼ 2.94% ) (except who cares about Skydance) has reportedly cut a deal with Bobby Bonta to stay in California…
Nepo Davey: 1. Libs: 0.
ICYMI, Rob and a dozen other state AGs sued to block the Warner Bros $WBD ( ▲ 10.79% ) acquisition back in July, so Dave threatened to pull an Elon (think: move to TX) on October 1, which woulda cost CA ~$21B a year in economic activity.
Then all of a sudden, Bobby Backdown came to the table…
Terms: Paramount increases production spending in the US by $300M annually, keeps both the Paramount and Warner Bros. lots in LA, props up independent editorial boards for CNN and CBS News, and a few other pro-Golden State pledges.
Once California signed off, the NY, MA, CT, and MN AG holdouts all backed down…
Anyway, it’s finally looking like ParaBros have the green light to merge while Rob forever holds his peace.
Per Larry Ellison’s favorite son: “Having now addressed the State AGs’ and WGA’s concerns, we have complete clearance for this merger and look forward to putting these commitments into action.”
WBD stonk goes brrr…
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+ AMD $AMD ( ▲ 9.95% ) absolutely ripped yesterday after crossing the $1T market cap for the first time (sh*t, now Elon owes them a robe…)
The Lisa Su led tech giant is up over 180% on the year.
Oh, and the newest member of the cuatro comas club is expecting data center sales to double in 2027 (sup, Jensen).
Not that it’s a competition, but Nvidia $NVDA ( ▲ 2.3% ) sits at about $5.4T.
+ Houston, we have OBCD…
So yesterday Eli Lilly $LLY ( ▲ 1.04% ) broke ground on their new $6.5B Houston plant that’s mostly there to crank out Foundayo (think: GLP-1 pills) like an obese Walter White.
Per Dave Ricks, 1/3 of new GLP-1 pill poppers are already on it, and Novo’s ‘merican copycat is gaining market share “week over week.”
The plant is part of Lilly’s $27B US factory capex planned last year to stay on Donny Diabetes’ good side.
Everything’s bigger in Texas… except for the people, soon.
+ Put a ring on it.
Yuge news for whichever one of your d-bag friends wears a health tracker ring…
Oura filed for an IPO Monday, looking to raise up to $2.2B at about a $15B valuation.
Fine print: “The company had a net loss attributable to stockholders of $924.3 million on revenue of $1.21 billion for the nine months ended June 30, compared with a net loss of $182.8 million on revenue of $697.6 million in the corresponding period a year earlier”
Probably nothing…
The ice cream shop that makes money when it's cold
28 Wishes sells ice cream in Los Angeles. Below 70°F, sales fall about 20%. So the owners put about $20 a day into Kalshi weather markets, taking the cold side. The days that keep customers away now pay something back. See how other owners are doing it
> Meta’s Muse personal AI agent tops ChatGPT, Grok and Claude for post-launch downloads // Muse be like…
> U.S.-listed Greenland stocks surge after Trump announces security deal with Denmark // Ok, now do Canada.
> (Sunday) Apple’s Tim Cook sees Australia’s curbs on social media as ‘world-leading’ // Tim who?
> (Sunday) U.S. urges Americans to reconsider Middle East travel as Iran tensions rise // What a shame… I hear Baghdad is lovely this time of year.
> (Friday) Ryanair CEO apologizes for comparing rival European airlines to ‘rapists’ in wild rant // Whoopsies.
> (Friday) Warren Buffett steps down as Berkshire chairman, taps son Howard as replacement: ‘Father Time always wins’ // Friendly reminder: Howard is a mere 71 years old...
> (Friday) Kylian Mbappe signs with On after Nike parts ways // “Who?” - real Americans
On Friday, I asked, “Is a Sydney Sweeney commercial a net positive or net negative for a brand? (BONK in advance)”
89% of you said, “Positive. Go for it.” I’ll just save some time and give you all one big BONK here.
Here’s what some of you guys had to say (and my response in italics)…
Positive: “Never heard of them before. Now they are the most viewed video on incognito mode.” Advertising works.
Other (write-in): “What brand was that again? Didn’t see it in the ad.” Guess you have to watch it again.
Positive: “Absolutely positive, unless you’re selling blue hair dye or septum rings.” This guy knows ICP.
Other (write-in): “Net positive for the brand; net negative for humanity.” Really?
Positive: “Tiddies make stock go brrrrr.” Can confirm.
Here’s today’s question(s)…
ICYMI, Google thinks people will buy their new laptop because of Gemini, which…
How down bad do you have to be to buy a laptop from Google?
+ US stocks edged up Friday (S&P 500: +0.2%) as traders closed out a volatile week of rising yields, elevated oil, and the Fed’s first hike in three years, then ripped Monday (S&P 500: +1.5%) as AI names surged while oil and yields slipped. Vibes.
+ The 10-year yield climbed back above 5% Friday, then fell Monday to 4.95% as oil retreated and global borrowing costs eased.
+ Oil fell Friday after China (at Saudi’s request) leaned on Iran to rein in Houthi attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure, then eased Monday to a 12-day low on hopes for UN diplomacy this week and recovering Saudi shipments. Peacetime, amirite?
+ The “smart” money (prediction markets) thinks there’s an 83% chance Tesla delivers over 450k vehicles this Q. (Polymarket)
Oh, and one more thing….
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