UBER: Mixed Earnings

Uber had a mixed quarter with some negative and positive numbers. Uber's quarterly revenue saw a year-over-year increase of 11%. The company declared a net income of $221 million, equating to 10 cents a share. This is an improvement compared to the net loss of $1.2 billion, or 61 cents per share, reported in the same quarter of the previous year. For the quarter, Uber's revenue for its mobility segment was $5.07 billion, and its delivery division earned $2.93 billion. Meanwhile, the freight business saw quarterly sales of $1.28 billion, marking a 27% reduction from the revenue in the same quarter of the previous year. In the second quarter, Uber saw its monthly active platform users climb by 15% from the previous year, hitting 142 million. Over the same period, the number of trips completed on the platform rose by 25% year over year, totaling 2.44 billion.

Uber held a dominant position in the US ride-hailing market with a 74% share, with its main competitor Lyft accounting for the remaining 26%. The company has experienced expansion not only in booking numbers but also in profitability, attributed to an increase in the availability of drivers and a rise in journeys due to the back-to-school season and a resurgence in business travel.

🎯 GRIT TAKE: 

One of the main things we focus on with Uber is…upgrade to VIP to read the full GRIT take. Click below!

BILLIONAIRE: Invest In China

Billionaire Ken Griffin has said that investors need to be watching and investing in China. Griffin has said that there is much more innovation and growth in China than in other places around the world, including the United States. His companies, Citadel and Citadel Securities LLC, are broadening their presence in China. Citadel, the hedge fund, obtained a Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor license, which permits international investors to trade on mainland China's stock exchanges. Griffin cautioned that deglobalization might act as an unpredictable factor, potentially exerting a substantial influence on inflation, supply chains, and monetary policies.

Griffin anticipates an economic downturn to emerge around the mid-point of the following year, attributing this expected slowdown to the rise in interest rates that have notably affected the private sector. He also warned that the U.S. government's excessive spending might lead to an increase in the national deficit.

WEWORK: Files For Bankruptcy

WeWork is officially WeBroke. Once boasting a valuation of $47 billion, WeWork has now succumbed to financial turmoil, with a recent Monday announcement confirming its entry into bankruptcy proceedings. The company is grappling with about $16 billion in long-term lease commitments, which are currently being renegotiated. This shift to bankruptcy signifies a steep and swift decline for the office-sharing enterprise.

The bankruptcy not only marks WeWork's dramatic fall but also adds stress to commercial real estate landlords who were already facing challenges due to erratic office attendance trends during the COVID-19 pandemic. Adam Neumann, who left his CEO position in 2019 and received large payouts, has labeled the filing as "disappointing." His company's financial woes and subsequent insolvency have brought about a new and troubling phase in what was once a highly celebrated business narrative

Headlines You Need To Know: 🎙

• Voters head to polls for election day

• Central banks look to have hit peak rates

• EV makers turn to discounts to combat waning demand

• Big banks cook up new ways to unload risk

• SpaceX eyes $15 billion in 2024

• In Uruguay, a tax haven with lots of beaches and little crime

• Global rice markets are in crisis mode

• AI just negotiated a sales contract with no human present

Card Game Sensation

These guys had no friends or New Year’s Eve plans, so they created a half-billion-dollar company instead. It started in 2009. Eight high school friends in Chicago created a card game for their lame New Year’s Eve party. They wanted something different, something that matched their sense of humor. After fine-tuning the game, they put it online as a free download. But guess what? People loved it so much that they wanted to buy physical copies. In 2011, they launched a Kickstarter aiming to raise $4,000. They hit that goal in just three days and ended up with over $15,000! 

With that cash, they went from DIY to pro, making the first official game of Cards Against Humanity. It spread like wildfire. By the holiday season, it was Amazon’s number one game. They did it with zero advertising. Today, it’s a half-a-billion-dollar company that still sticks to its roots: no ads, just word of mouth.

Chart of the Day

📊 Annual Income To Afford A Home

The annual income needed to afford a median-priced home in the U.S. has soared over the last three years.

GRIT Creator of the Week 🤩

Dividend Dominator a.k.a. @thealphathought

Dividend Dominator, a.k.a. @thealphathought, is an incredibly successful Twitter and Instagram finance creator with over 100k loyal fans. He specializes in dividend investing, simplifying complex financial topics so much that a 5^th grader could understand. If you want passive income, Dividend Dominator will move you in the right direction!

He recently published an eBook, Financial Domination, a comprehensive guide informed by his early investing experiences. The eBook offers invaluable insights into various financial aspects, including crafting a well-structured budget, rebalancing your portfolio, tailoring an investment strategy that aligns with one's lifestyle, guidance on selecting optimal investment brokerages, and the effective utilization of stock screeners to sift through investment options.

Subscribe to his newsletter here 📩 and give him a follow on Instagram and Twitter! 

The author, publisher or insiders of the publisher may currently have long or short positions in the securities of the companies mentioned herein, or may have such a position in the future (and therefore may profit from fluctuations in the trading price of the securities). To the extent such persons do have such positions, there is no guarantee that such persons will maintain such positions.