Hundreds of investing and finance newsletters hit my (and maybe your) inbox every week. This is the best of the best.
This week, we bring you
- WNBA’s $50 Million Loss
- OpenAI’s New Voice Mode Live
- Indoor Farming’s Berry Boost
- POET & Mitsubishi Lead AI Chipsets
- California Sues Exxon for Plastic
- Amazon AI Revolutionizes Selling
- 3 Stocks To Consider
Thanks for reading.
Wyatt
Table of Contents
Is WNBA’s Growth Hiding a $50 Million Crisis?
The WNBA is seeing record growth with soaring viewership and a groundbreaking $200 million media deal.
Yet, it faces a staggering $50 million loss this year—five times its usual deficit. This financial contradiction sparks concerns over accounting practices and fair revenue distribution, with players receiving just 9.3% of total income versus the NBA’s 50%.
OpenAI’s Advanced Voice Mode Finally Arrives
OpenAI launched Advanced Voice Mode for ChatGPT Plus and Teams, offering more natural and personalized AI interactions.
With Custom Instructions, Memory, and five nature-inspired voices, it promises faster, smoother conversations and improved accent understanding. However, the feature is not yet available in several regions, including the EU and UK.
Will this bring us closer to AI agents and superintelligence?
Sustainable Berry Farming Takes Root Indoors
The world’s first large-scale indoor berry farm is opening in Richmond, VA, set to produce over 4 million pounds of strawberries annually on less than an acre.
Backed by global scientists, this farm uses 97% less land and 90% less water than traditional farming, revolutionizing sustainable food production. High-quality Driscoll’s strawberries will hit stores by early 2025.
New AI chipsets from POET and Mitsubishi
POET Technologies and Mitsubishi Electric are teaming up to create integrated optical engine chipsets for pluggable transceivers, key for boosting AI and cloud computing.
This partnership targets the rising demand for advanced hardware in data centers, essential for next-gen AI. POET’s 30 patents strengthen the potential impact on AI infrastructure.
California sues Exxon over plastic waste deception
California has filed a lawsuit against Exxon Mobil, accusing the company of deceiving the public about plastic recycling.
The state alleges 92% of Exxon’s plastic waste isn’t recycled, despite green marketing.
The lawsuit aims to hold Exxon responsible for environmental harm and taxpayer cleanup costs.
Amazon’s AI Assistant for Marketplace Sellers
Amazon launched Project Amelia, an AI-powered assistant designed to help marketplace sellers manage and scale faster with real-time insights.
Integrated into Seller Central, Amelia delivers instant advice on sales and traffic. Alongside Amelia, Amazon introduced AI-powered video and image generation tools, aiming to boost seller productivity and drive business growth.
What I’m reading
I get a lot of mail asking where I find all this good stuff. Here are a few of my favorite newsletters, all of which are free to subscribe to:
Aussie-focussed market news that gives a solid non-US perspective on global finance.
Weekly newsletter covering strategy, startups, marketing, decision-making, and the mindset of founders.
One-stop shop for the day’s biggest stories in the business of sports, music, and entertainment, sent daily.
Stock ideas
Here are three of my favorites from this past week.
Analysis provided by public.com.
Remember to always DYOR.
The Children’s Place ($PLCE)
Bullish Case
- New Management: Mithaq Capital’s 54% stake and $78.6 million loan boost PLCE’s liquidity and long-term value.
- Ecommerce Growth: PLCE’s Ecommerce grew from 9% to 48.3%, with new management enhancing profitability and fixing issues.
- Historical Profitability: PLCE has a track record of generating annual net income between $53 Million and $187 Million over 14 years.
Bearish Case
- High Debt Burden: PLCE’s heavy debt and $30 million interest expenses threaten FY2024 financial stability.
- Competitive Pressure: PLCE faces strong competition from major retailers like Walmart and Target.
CompoSecure ($CMPO)
Bullish Case
- Dominant Market Position: CompoSecure holds a 70-80% market share with decades-long relationships, including an exclusive partnership with a key customer.
- Impressive Financial Performance: The company boasts 50%+ gross margins, 35%+ EBITDA margins, and high single to low double-digit topline growth.
- New Leadership: A top CEO’s family office acquisition may drive Honeywell-like gains in efficiency, service, and M&A.
Bearish Case
- Customer Concentration Risk: With two primary customers, the loss of either relationship could greatly impact revenue and market position.
- Past Promotional Concerns: The company’s crypto cold wallet theme at SPAC debut may question management’s focus.
PRA Group($PRAA)
Bullish Case
- Favorable Market Conditions: Record US credit card delinquencies are boosting supply.
- Operational Improvements: New management is enhancing pricing discipline and operational efficiency.
- Undervalued Stock: Trading at 1.1x tangible book value and 58% EV/ERC, PRA Group has significant upside potential.
Bearish Case
- Recent Financial Struggles: PRA Group posted its first loss as a public company in 2023.
- Portfolio Performance Risks: 2021-2022 Vintages’ poor performance raises doubts about the company’s debt pricing and collections.
If you write amazing content and want to be featured, please send it through for consideration.
Cheers,
Wyatt
Disclosures
- There are affiliate links above; we’ll get a couple of bucks if you take action after you click.
- Nothing above is financial advice. DYOR, you filthy animal.
