TOGETHER WITH
Hey there weekday warrior,
Bill Hwang is reading all the prison blogs right now.
Enjoy the next 4 minutes and 33 seconds of blue-chip news and commentary.
Keep on snapping necks and cashing checks,
+ US stocks “recovered from steep losses Wednesday ahead of Nvidia's (NVDA) earnings, a crucial litmus test for the artificial intelligence trade that could set the direction of markets for days to come.” (Yahoo! Finance)
+ The 10-year yield “rose on Wednesday as investors considered the geopolitical situation and assessed the latest economic data.” (CNBC)
+ Oil “settled lower on Wednesday after U.S. crude and gasoline stocks rose by more than expected last week, but losses were capped by worries about the intensifying war between major oil producer Russia and Ukraine.” (Reuters)
+ Bitcoin “hit a fresh record high and remained near those levels on Wednesday as President-elect Donald Trump's team is mulling whether to create a new White House role dedicated toward cryptocurrency policy, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources. ” (Investing)
+ The three most talked about stocks on WallStreetBets in the past 24 hours were: 1) Nvidia -0.7% // -2.5% after hours 2) MicroStrategy +10.0% 3) Target -21.4%
The market moves you need to know about…
– Hand up, I was today years old when I found out the “e.l.f.” in e.l.f. Beauty stands for “eyes, lips, face.” Unfortunately for the beauty company, short seller Carson Black pitched it as a short idea at the Sohn London Conference. As you probably already guessed, shares fell (2.2%) on the day.
+ Step 1: Announce partnership with AI company. Step 2: Profit. Snowflake had a better day than you. Not only did it report a big earnings beat after the close, but it also announced a multi-year partnership with Anthropic. Shares mooned 19.8% after hours.
Today’s fastest-growing software company might surprise you…
🚨Heads up! It's not the publicly traded tech giant you might expect… Meet $MODE, the disruptor turning phones into potential income generators. Investors are buzzing about the company's pre-IPO offering.1
📲Mode saw 32,481% revenue growth from 2019 to 2022, ranking them the #1 overall software company on Deloitte’s most recent fastest-growing companies list2 by aiming to pioneer "Privatized Universal Basic Income" powered by technology—not government. Their flagship product, EarnPhone, has already helped consumers earn & save $325M+.
🫴 Mode’s Pre-IPO offering1 is live at $0.25/share — 20,000+ shareholders already participated in its previous sold-out offering. There’s still time to get in on Mode’s pre-IPO raise and even lock in 100% bonus shares3… but only until their current raise closes for good. Invest in Mode before their share price changes on 11/22 (and lock in up to 2X bonus stock).*
See Advertiser’s Disclosures below.
Prison Bill
Source: Giphy
I cannot wait for the ‘Diddy, SBF, and Bill Hwang share a prison cell’ headline to drop…
Back in July, former hedge fund manager Bill Hwang was found guilty of crimes against financial institutions after nuking his family office. And yesterday a judge handed down his punishment. He’ll get 18 years in Club Fed, which is pretty damn harsh by white-collar standards.
So what did Billy Finance do?
You guys remember the Robinhood infinite money glitch? Yeah, Hwang did that… on an industrial scale.
He levered his $36B in assets up to ~$160B via loans from various banks. Now, there’s nothing illegal about leverage. But, turns out, the SEC, DOJ, and pretty much every alphabet agency frowns upon lying to said financial institutions about your exposure.
Bill got caught with his pants down when the prices of some of his holdings began to sink and banks began to issue margin calls. Other banks took notice, and also margin called his sorry a**. We all know how this movie ends…
Spoiler: he didn’t have the cash or assets to cover. And that is how a $36B house of cards collapses in roughly a week.
Of course, the last banks to figure out wtf was going on were the ones left holding the bag. In this case, Credit Suisse, which took a $5.5B loss. Probably not a coincidence that CS was acquired a few years later in a fire sale…
Desperate times call for desperate measures legal arguments
While the US Attorney’s office was seeking 21 years, Hwang was hoping he wouldn’t have to worry about dropping the soap at all. His lawyers asked that he serve no time…
And they left no stone unturned. They tried the “at least he’s not SBF” defense (seriously, Hwang’s lawyer told the judge “Mr. Bankman-Fried was literally stealing from his customers”).
They also cited Bill’s Christian faith and the $600M he’s donated to charity. And in a last-ditch effort, they reminded the judge that Hwang was worth “at most” $55.3 million. You hate to see it…
+ *Hulu, Netflix, and Max greenlight Gautam Adani scandal docuseries*
Gautam Adani, Asia’s richest man, and 7 of his homies have been indicted in the US on bribery charges. They allegedly paid Indian government officials more than $250M to secure solar energy contracts that were worth more than $2B in profits.
Before you go all “wHY is THe uS gEtTinG itS TeAm AmERicA WoRLD PoLIcE oN anD MeDdLing iN FoREigN AFFairS"? allow me to explain…
Through two companies, Adani and his pals raised money in the US via equity and debt offerings. That, ladies and gentlemen, makes it Uncle Sam’s business.
Hindenburg Research, which dropped a short report last year claiming Adami’s companies engaged in fraud and stock manipulation, be like “told ya so.”
+ “94% top line growth? Those are rookie numbers in this racket. You gotta pump those numbers up.”
At watch parties across the country, man-children armed with their dad’s Amex and an unquenchable thirst for vodka-soda-close-its watched Nvidia (-0.7% // -2.5%) obliterate the Street’s top and bottom line expectations for the most recent quarter. Oh, and current quarter sales expectations topped analyst estimates.
Still, investors hit Jensen Huang with the “I’m not mad, I’m disappointed.” Shares fell more than 2% after the report. Turns out the Street holds you to an entirely different standard when they’ve become used to growth numbers that look like area codes (see: 265% year-over-year revenue growth last quarter).
+ Target is built different. And I mean that in the worst way possible.
Target (-21.4%) just reminded everyone that not all big box retailers are built the same. A day after Walmart crushed earnings, TGT got its d*ck kicked in after a piss-poor Q3 showing. Shares cratered more than 20% after the store missed the Street’s expectations on the top and bottom lines… and slashed its full-year profit guidance.
Brian Cornell couldn’t call out suburban moms buying fewer accessories for their Stanley Cups, so he pointed to “deceleration in discretionary demand” and “some cost pressures.”
+ McDonald’s (+0.06%) won’t stop until every American has McDiabetes…
Rumor has it the burger chain plans to make its $5 meal deal a permanent fixture in 2025 as part of a ‘McValue’ (super original, you guys) push. Franchisees are also voting on whether to add a $6 ‘buy one, add one deal.’
+ Thanksgiving meals are expected to be cheaper in 2024 as turkey prices drop. Hill that I will die on: turkey is by far the worst part of Thanksgiving dinner.
+ No. 1 skill you need to run a money-making side hustle: ‘A gigantic portion of’ your success depends on it, says expert. Listen to Gary Vee podcasts.
🔥 89% of Americans say they do not consider themselves wealthy — here’s what stands in the way. Let me guess… “not having enough money.”
FYI, TWC might be compensated if you click on the links above. So, what are you waiting for? Start clicking.
⏪ Yesterday Target, Nio, TJ Maxx, and Wix reported before the bell. Nvidia, Snowflake, and Palo Alto Networks dropped earnings after the close.
⏩ Today we’re keeping an eye on…
+ Deere, PDD Holdings, and Baidu report before the bell
+ Intuit drops earnings after the close
Yesterday, I asked, “You can only eat at one fast-food/quick-service deli for the rest of your life. Which is it?”
I was not familiar with Jersey Mike's game. It won with 32.1% of the vote. There's one a quarter-mile from my house and I've never been. Perhaps that needs to change.
Wawa and Jimmy John's rounded out the top 3.
Here’s what some of you had to say (and my thoughts in italics)…
Quiznos: “3 words: Alpine Chicken Sammie”
Jersey Mike's: “Cherry pepper relish and Danny Devito? No brainer.”
Wawa: "Wawa easily surpasses any of those places for many reasons 1.) Philly Philly 2.) Coffee is awesome 3.) Herrs Potato chips 4.) Tasty Kake 5.) Their hoagies a leagues better than any other 6.) They have everything else...panini? Check. Hot dogs? Gotcha? You have no friends and your family doesnt love you? Guess what buttercup they have a whole a** thanksgiving dinner. Gimmie the wawa and I will never go hungry again." We get it, you grew up in Philly.
Firehouse: "Jersey Mike's would have gotten my vote, but no Meatball sub. Sometimes a person just needs a meatball sub."
Subway: "It's the OG”
Potbelly: “I wish I had the balls to pick Quiznos...”
Other: “Put some respect on Publix sandwich counter.”
And here’s today’s question…
Knowing what you do now, if you just graduated high school and had the opportunity to take any one of the following paths, which would it be?
Oh, and one more thing…
What did you think about today's newsletter?
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.
Advertiser’s Disclosures
1 Mode Mobile recently received their ticker reservation with Nasdaq ($MODE), indicating an intent to IPO in the next 24 months. An intent to IPO is no guarantee that an actual IPO will occur.
2 The rankings are based on submitted applications and public company database research, with winners selected based on their fiscal-year revenue growth percentage over a three-year period.
3 A minimum investment of $1,950 is required to receive bonus shares. 100% bonus shares are offered on investments of $9,950+.
4 Please read the offering circular and related risks at invest.modemobile.com. This is a paid advertisement for Mode Mobile’s Regulation A+ Offering.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Start-up investments are speculative and involve a high degree of risk. Those investors who cannot afford to lose their entire investment should not invest in start-ups. Companies seeking startup investment tend to be in earlier stages of development and their business model, products and services may not yet be fully developed, operational or tested in the public marketplace. There is no guarantee that the stated valuation and other terms are accurate or in agreement with the market or industry valuations. Further, investors may receive illiquid and/or restricted stock that may be subject to holding period requirements and/or liquidity concerns.
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.