🤖 Amazon’s robo-workers

…and Big Tech earnings on deck

I'm happy to do that, Dave (Jason Redmond/Getty Images)

Sponsored by

Last Week's Market Moves   Dow Jones 33,127 (-1.61%) S&P 500 4,224 (-2.39%) Nasdaq 12,984 (-3.16%) Bitcoin $29,629 (+10.36%) Dow Jones 33,127 (-1.61%) S&P 500 4,224 (-2.39%) Nasdaq 12,984 (-3.16%) Bitcoin $29,629 (+10.36%)

Hey Snackers, EDM lost one of its fastest-rising artists: Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon (aka DJ D-Sol) ditched his musical side hustle, apparently because the bank's board was concerned it was a distraction. After DJ'ing at Lollapalooza and a Chainsmokers concert, the only kind of beat Solomon can drop now is an earnings beat. Stocks fell for the week. The techy Nasdaq lost 1.5% on Friday after the 10-year Treasury yield topped 5% for the first time since 2007. Rising yields on historically safe investments like US T-bonds could put a damper on stocks as they present an alternative. Btw... Do you want to start getting Snacks daily? Or prefer to unsubscribe? Manage your subscription preferences here.

ROBOMOP

Amazon tests humanoid robots as retailers pour $$ into automation Optimus Prime membership… Amazon said it's testing humanoid bots designed to carry products around its sprawling sorting facilities. Dubbed "Digits," the robots sport legs and arms complete with hand-like manipulators. As Amazon scrambles to hire 250K workers for the holidays, it's looking for bots that are as agile as humans — but don't get tired or injured. FYI: leaked docs said Amazon may run out of US warehouse workers by next year. The retail heavyweight is also using robots to do what people can't: A bird, a plane… a drone bringing you asthma meds? Last week Amazon said it'd start using drones to deliver drugs in a Texas town. By the end of this decade, it hopes to deliver 500M packages/year by drone (ambitious).  Like HAL 9000… for sorting. Amazon recently launched a new warehouse-management system called Sequoia, which it says can cut down fulfillment time by a whopping 25%. All in on automation… Over the past decade, the # of bots made by Amazon shot to 750K from 10K. Bezos' behemoth isn't alone in its robo-fying push: Walmart said it aims to have 65% of its stores using automation by 2026, saying it could boost revenue by $130B within five years. It already has a Florida warehouse that's nearly completely automated (picture: humans supervising autonomous forklifts). On the consumer-facing side, Kroger — America's largest grocer — is experimenting with fully self-checkout stores. And yet automation's true secret sauce may still be brewing… THE TAKEAWAY Automation brings AI to the physical world… by giving a body to AI's brain. Advances in artificial intelligence could supercharge the robo spread. A Goldman Sachs report said AI + automation could affect 300M jobs — presumably including physical work like Sweetgreen salad assembly. As labor disputes intensify (see #HotStrikeSummer), companies look at bots as a way to boost efficiency and cut costs. Last month, Amazon said it'd invest up to $4B in OpenAI rival Anthropic.

Sponsored by LiquidPiston This engine's got game - Offering ends 10/24 Dream team… The innovators at LiquidPiston have spent 15 years researching and developing an engine that's up to 30% more fuel-efficient than diesel piston engines currently on the market and no bigger than the size of a basketball. Power forward… LiquidPiston is poised to disrupt a $400B market for combustion engines. With 82 patents issued and pending, LiquidPiston's applications range from military and aerospace to commercial markets like cars, drones, robots, and urban air mobility (think: flying cars). Get in the game… Investors have an opportunity to invest in this startup that's revolutionizing combustion engine technology for the first time in 150 years. Learn more about investing in LiquidPiston before the opportunity ends on 10/24.*

Events

Coming up this week Plugged in… Big Tech has made a comeback this year, and Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Amazon are expected to keep the momentum going when they drop earnings this week. Microsoft and Google topped Q2 estimates with cloud sales up 20%+. Meta saw double-digit revenue growth for the first time since 2021, and Amazon had its best quarter since lockdown-era 2020. While tech's growth still lags historical averages, profits have improved after cost-cutting (including layoffs). Now analysts are eyeing AI initiatives and cloud strength to drive demand. The swipe life… We're not talkin' Tinder. Visa and Mastercard will report after US retail sales growth smashed expectations last month as folks keep loading up their plastic. FYI: Visa and Mastercard earn a cut of every transaction. In July, Mastercard returned to profit growth as people splurged on trips and T. Swift concerts. In August, Americans' credit-card debt hit a record $1T. On Friday, American Express reported a record quarterly profit, but the stock fell 5% after it boosted provisions for customer-debt defaults.

Sponsored by Nasdaq Get inside other traders' heads… … with Nasdaq TotalView's full depth-of-book data: a real-time window into other traders' open orders across multiple prices. This insight into supply and demand at different price points can help you identify potential areas of support and resistance and set price targets. Learn more about Nasdaq TotalView.

Zoom Out

Stories we're watching If you change it… more of 'em will watch. The World Series starts Friday, winding up a season during which the MLB tried to reverse years of declines with new rules (like a 15-second pitch clock) to make games more wave-worthy. The result: attendance jumped 10% this year as 70M+ fans hit the bleachers — the highest since 2017. Average game times fell 24 mins to a near 40-year low. Media deals, including with streamers Apple and NBCUniversal, were up 26% to ~$2B. And cap-tipping plays like stolen bases hit fresh highs, driving TV ratings up 7% at midseason. Knock knock… The Justice Department could pursue an antitrust case against the US housing market's broker-commission-sharing system backed by the National Association of Realtors. Typically, sellers must fork over 5%-6% of their home sale $$ to fees, split between the buying and selling agents. Critics say it's a conflict of interest since it gives buying agents little reason to negotiate lower prices as Americans face the least affordable housing market in nearly 40 years. Untying agent fees would be seismic, lowering commissions by as much as $30B/year.

What else we're Snackin' Bars: The FCC voted to reinstate net neutrality, which could prevent internet providers like Comcast, AT&T, and Charter from charging more for higher speeds. They're expected to fight back. Float: Cruise lines like Norwegian are ramping up offerings for solo travelers (picture: cheaper rooms and singles-only lounges). A quarter of people traveling in the next six months plan to go on a solo trip.

Want your Snacks daily? The Daily Newsletter Get fresh takes on financial news every week day. Try a sample: 💪 Netflix flexes its gains • Oct 20, 2023 🛒 The store-brand surge • Oct 19, 2023 🚫 China's chip dip • Oct 18, 2023 Subscribe to the Daily

Snack Fact Of the Day Only a quarter of US households still have someone working remotely or hybrid Read more

This Week Monday: Earnings expected from Acme United and Cleveland-Cliffs Tuesday: S&P home-price index. Earnings expected from 3M, Alphabet, General Electric, Microsoft, Visa, Coca-Cola, Novartis, Snap, Spotify, and Verizon Wednesday: New-home sales. Earnings expected from Boeing, Deutsche Bank, Hilton, IBM, IMAX, Mattel, Meta, Norfolk Southern, Spirit Airlines, T-Mobile, Whirlpool, and Wyndham Hotels Thursday: US GDP and initial jobless claims. Earnings expected from Amazon, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Capital One, Chipotle, Comcast, Ford, Hasbro, Hershey, Hertz, Intel, Keurig Dr Pepper, Mastercard, Merck, Royal Caribbean, Southwest Airlines, UPS, US Steel, and Valero Friday: World Series starts. Personal spending and consumer sentiment. Earnings expected from Abbvie, Charter, Chevron, Colgate-Palmolive, Exxon, and Phillips 66 Authors of this Snacks own shares of: Amazon, Apple, Comcast, Exxon, Google, Mattel, Microsoft, Norwegian, Snap, and Walmart *Advertiser's disclosure: This is a paid advertisement for LiquidPiston's Regulation A+ Offering. Please read the offering circular and related risks at invest.liquidpiston.com.

Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate... See more Sherwood Terms and Conditions • Our Editorial Principles • Contact Us • Privacy Policy • Advertise with us Unsubscribe