Following a peaceful transition of power in the U.S. capital, major indexes across the board notched all-time highs.
Jan. 22, 2021
The Quick Fix
#DayOne — Markets reacted favorably to President Joe Biden’s plans to enact a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package.
#NetflixHits — Netflix stock skyrocketed 17% on Wednesday after the news it had passed 200 million global subscribers and could soon be cash-flow positive.
#GetYourFlirtOn — Female-forward dating app Bumble has officially filed for its IPO and could seek a valuation of up to $8 billion.
#ReadyForDelivery — Tesla started delivering locally-produced Model Y crossovers in China this week, marking an important milestone in the world’s largest electric vehicle market.
#AndFinally — Speaking of inaugurations, President Biden faced some disheartening news this week after he was told his beloved Peloton bike posed security concerns.
#DayOne
The stock market breathed a sigh of relief this week as stimulus talks progressed following the presidential inauguration.
“New president, who dis?”
The stock market hit all-time highs this week off the hope that President Joe Biden will deliver a $1.9 trillion stimulus package to help boost the economy. The 46th President of the United States believes that higher public spending overall, including increasing unemployment benefits, is a key measure to get the economy back on track. The new president will have his work cut out for him though as Wall Street also remains focused on Biden’s aggressive vaccine rollout plan, which includes a goal to deliver 100 million vaccines in his first 100 days. Straight after Biden was sworn in and Lady Gaga and J-Lo had finished their ballads, the president got right to work on the four main pillars of his strategy: control COVID-19, tackle climate change, fix the economy, and reverse Trump’s immigration policies. Wow, that list really does make my job sound easy…
Bet you didn’t know
Wednesday’s S&P 500’s increase of +1.4% was the largest Inauguration Day pop since President Ronald Reagan’s first day in 1985 — +2.3%.
#NetflixHits
The content platform that kept us entertained in 2020 reported earnings this week and boy, were investors happy.
Are you still watching?
The streaming giant that brought us ‘The Crown’ produced some royal jewels in the form of its earnings report on Tuesday. Netflix’s global subscriber addition of 8.5 million to reach 200 million total subs was not even the biggest story from the call. Instead, investors were positively salivating at the announcement that Netflix expects to be cash-flow positive after 2021 and will no longer require outside financing to help with content development. In the past, critics have said that Netflix burns through too much cash — it has borrowed more than $15 billion since 2011. But I guess the last laugh is on Netflix, which appears to have seen its massive investment in original content pay off. The company is so confident that it even brought up the topic of stock buybacks in the future. I wonder if they’ll consider reintroducing the 30-day free trial too?
Bet you didn’t know
Netflix may have smashed revenue and subscriber growth estimates, but the king of streaming fell short on earnings per share at $1.19, versus $1.39 expected.
#GetYourFlirtOn
Wall Street received news of the latest tech IPO last Friday, and this time, it’s a business trying to solve the multibillion-dollar mystery of love.
Bumble’s sweet IPO is on its way
Last week, Bumble officially filed for its IPO and rumors predict that its market debut will take place, ‘coincidentally’, around Valentine’s Day. Bumble is the latest in a long line of tech firms to go public and Wall Street predicts that the company will likely seek a valuation of between $6 billion and $8 billion. Bumble and its sister app, Badoo, have a combined base of over 42 million users — of which 2.4 million are paying members. The Austin-based dating service grew in popularity in the Tinder era by only allowing women to make the first move in conversations on its platform. This unique spin on the digital dating world seems to have worked as the company said in its IPO filing that it brought in revenue of $376 million between January and September of 2020. Start swiping investors ’cause this IPO could be the next hot single on the market.
Bet you didn’t know
In 2014, Bumble’s CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd famously left Tinder after accusing a coworker of sexual harassment before setting up her own dating app.
#ReadyForDelivery
Tesla reached an important milestone in the world’s largest electric vehicle market this week as it began deliveries for its first Shanghai-made Model Y crossovers in China.
Papa Musk’s eyes are on China
Tesla confirmed in a Twitter post on Monday that deliveries of its Model Y had begun in Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Wuhan. China was a driving force behind Tesla’s impressive delivery volume in 2020, with CEO Elon Musk dubbing the region as a “template for future growth”. China will clearly play a vital role in the company’s plans to increase vehicle sales from 500,000 in 2020 to 20 million annually over the next decade, as analysts believe that the region could account for 40% of all Tesla deliveries. The eagerly awaited Model Y debut is a big step in this plan as it is another challenger to home-grown rival NIO, which launched its ET7 sedan just over a week ago. With Tesla having already received enough orders of the Model Y to exhaust supplies for the first three months of 2021, bulls will be delighted to see Musk get 2021 off to a flying start in this vital market.
Bet you didn’t know
In February of 2018, Elon Musk launched his $100,000 Tesla Roadster into space on the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. The Roadster is still cruising around our solar system somewhere.
#AndFinally
As an adult, sometimes we have to make sacrifices for our jobs, which President Biden was made acutely aware of this week. No, we’re not talking about the extra security at his inauguration, but more importantly, the sacrifices that the new ‘leader of the free world’ will have to make to his exercise routine. Freshly elected, the president is already in the midst of a cybersecurity scandal following reports that his Peloton bike might be uninvited to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The issue with the popular exercise machine is that it’s an internet-connected device fitted with a microphone and camera that could potentially be hacked. As hackers will be eyeing weak points to access the president, the U.S. Secret Service said they have to take every measure possible to protect Biden. Speaking on his podcast, ‘Here’s the Deal’, the 78-year-old explained that he uses the machine almost every day in his home gym to stay fit during the pandemic.
Peloton: ‘For anybody that wants it’ (except the President)
Even though the chance of Biden being hacked through his Peloton is low, it’s still a risk. Security experts have warned that if hackers were to take control of the bike they might also be able to access associated technology, like an Apple Watch, and subsequently, calendar appointments. However, the 46th president may still be able to take his bike to the White House if it is stripped of its key features, including the microphone, camera, and all outside access to the device — so basically it will be a regular exercise bike with a $2,000 price tag?! Perhaps he could strap an iPad to it?
Bet you didn’t know
Michelle Obama also had a modified Peloton bike without a camera or microphone when she was First Lady. No one said it was easy at the top!
The Week In Numbers
30%
is how much cleaning and sanitizing has increased by since COVID hit, according to Procter & Gamble’s sales figures.
$2 billion
is how much Microsoft, General Motors, and Honda Motors are investing in the commercialization of self-driving vehicles through a new partnership with automated driving startup, Cruise.
$1.28 trillion
is Google’s current valuation after reports emerged that a federal judge was moving antitrust allegations to California, where the tech company is treated more leniently.
MyWallSt operates a full disclosure policy. MyWallSt staff currently holds long positions in companies mentioned above. Read our full disclosure policy here.