Good Morning!
Happy Friday! We made it.
👉 Apple’s disappointing quarter 🍎
👉 SBF convicted in hours ⚖️
👉 Block beats estimates 🧱
Cheers to the weekend ahead!
APPLE: Bitter Earnings
Apple beat earnings on Thursday, but its future guidance did not sit well with investors. After the close of Thursday's trading, Apple's shares experienced a decline in after-hours trading. This occurred as the tech behemoth disclosed a downward trend in iPhone sales for the fourth quarter. The company observed a marginal revenue dip of less than 1% for the quarter and noted a 3% fall in full-year revenue compared to fiscal 2022. Additionally, Apple has indicated prospects of a subdued performance in the forthcoming holiday quarter.
Despite these trends, Apple has managed to outperform on various key metrics, including a significant year-over-year increase of 16% in services revenue, which exceeded the expectations set by Wall Street analysts. The iPhone represents about 50% of Apple's total sales, making the release of a new version a significant event for shareholders. The iPhone 15 saw a major redesign in its premium models, which now boast titanium enclosures, along with enhancements including a zoom camera lens with greater capabilities.
Source: Hardwarezone
The goal is to appeal to consumers who are increasingly keeping their existing phones for extended periods. Apple benefited from a favorable comparison to the previous year during this launch cycle, as the iPhone 14 Pro versions encountered supply issues owing to closures at Apple's production affiliates in China. Conversely, the iPhone 15 Pro was not subject to these constraints. Apple’s stock has been one of the highlights of 2023, as it is currently up 36% on the year with a market cap of over $2 trillion.
Earnings:
Revenue: $89.5B vs. $89.0B
Earnings Per Share: $1.46 vs. $1.39
🎯 GRIT TAKE:
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SBF: Guilty on All Counts
Sam Bankman-Fried, previously celebrated as a cryptocurrency wunderkind, was convicted on all charges of fraud on Thursday, following the collapse of his cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, a year earlier. This event erased the investments of thousands of its users.
The guilty verdict was handed down at approximately 7:40 p.m. Eastern Time after the federal jury in Manhattan concluded their discussions, which lasted around four hours.
As a founding member of FTX, Bankman-Fried faced multiple counts, specifically seven, including wire fraud, securities fraud, and laundering money. These charges stemmed from actions that defrauded customers of FTX and creditors of its sister hedge fund, Alameda Research.
Source: Vox
Both firms quickly collapsed in November 2022 after some of their financial liabilities were exposed. The fact that Alameda had taken billions of dollars from FTX's customers and that much of Alameda's balance sheet comprised digital currency assets it had created was central to the case against Bankman-Fried. Unnerved by disclosures about the firm's financial position, many of FTX’s customers tried to get their money back. That set off the equivalent of a bank run.
BLOCK: From Square Roots to New Heights
Block, formerly known as Square, had a great earnings report on Thursday. Their earnings beat analyst estimates in revenue and earnings per share. They showed strong growth in Cash App and Square revenue. Net revenue for the third quarter increased by 24%, reaching $5.62 billion, up from $4.52 billion in the same quarter of the previous year. Revenue from bitcoin soared to $2.42 billion, a rise from the earlier figure of $1.76 billion. Additionally, gross profit saw a 21% increase, ascending to $1.9 billion from the former $1.57 billion. Previously, the company had forecasted its full-year adjusted EBITDA to be around $1.5 billion. Still, it has revised its expectations, predicting the adjusted EBITDA will land between $1.66 billion and $1.68 billion.
Source: Seattle Times
Block anticipates its adjusted operating income for the entire year to be between $205 million and $225 million, considerably higher than the earlier estimate of $25 million. The projected full-year revenue was anticipated to be $21.54 billion. While the company did not specify its expected full-year revenue, it did forecast an adjusted operating income of $875 million for 2024.
Earnings:
Revenue: $5.62 billion vs. $5.44 billion expected
Earnings Per Share: $0.55 vs. $0.47 expected
Headlines You Need To Know: 🎙
US payrolls increased by 150,000 in October
DraftKings revenue jumps 57%
Paramount stock rises after solid earnings
UAW president is ready to take on Tesla, Elon Musk
Dall-E is so good that it is stroking an artist revolt
In the long run, investing is all about the economy
Starbucks unveils plans for 17,000 new locations
US vs. China in a more divided world economy
Amazon to close physical retail stores
This asset was bought for $19K… and sold for $110M – now you can access the market
Sponsored By: Masterworks
When a New York City real estate developer purchased an untitled painting from Jean-Michel Basquiat for $19,000 in 1983, he definitely wasn’t expecting a 5,798x return on his investment. But that's exactly what happened when he sold the work for a stunning $110,000,000 in 2017.
Now, everyday investors are unlocking access to the very same market thanks to the blue-chip art investing platform Masterworks.
Masterworks’ nearly $1 billion collection includes works by greats like Basquiat, Banksy, and Picasso. When Masterworks sells a painting – like the 16 it's already sold – investors reap their portion of the profits.
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The Credit Card Maverick
This man bought a $65 million skyscraper… on a CREDIT CARD. In 1975, Jonatan Werner used a $10,000 loan to launch a highly successful real estate business. The business is around today a well-known real estate company in North America. Werner was on the verge of buying the Royal Trust building for $65 million; he had the investment money ready but had a wild idea. He would make this multi-million dollar real estate on a credit card. Werner tells his assistant to call Royal Trust Bank and ask for authorization for this multi-million dollar purchase.
Source: Images Montreal
The bank agreed because they didn’t want to upset one of their most important clients. The wild part? Werner received a 2% cash-back discount on this transaction, so he bought the building for a $1.3 million discount.
Chart of the Day
US Commercial Real Estate
US commercial real estate prices have kept sliding
Source: Bloomberg
Real, Hard, “Liquid” Assets
Sponsored By: Vinovest
For hundreds of years, the ultra-wealthy have invested in fine wine and whiskey. Unless you had serious cash and connections, a seat at the exclusive table was off-limits.
Until now: Vinovest is democratizing these assets so anyone can diversify beyond the stock market!
Vinovest’s easy-to-use platform cuts out the middlemen and connects you with a portfolio manager who works with distilling partners to find the right assets for your unique goals and horizons.
Why whiskey?
With a 478% growth in value from 2011 to 2021, Fine Whiskey was ranked the world’s best-performing luxury asset by Knight Frank!
Want to learn more about how the industry works and how this non-correlated, shorter duration alternative investment fits with your financial goals?
*This is PAID advertising content and the disclaimer at the bottom of this email MUST be read carefully.
GRIT Meme of the Day 😂
Tag GRIT Capital on social media for a chance to be featured in our meme or Tweet of the day in our GRIT daily newsletter! 👇
Source: @gavinuf7
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