| Hey Insiders, Happy Friday. We take a look at Nike's earnings, two Supreme Court rulings and how they will affect consumers and businesses, and more. Also, we hope you'll have a better time traveling this weekend than what United Airlines has dealt with this week. Christopher
p/chris951156 | |
| 1 | | After Thursday's Supreme Court ruling against affirmative action in college applications, companies are expecting a reduction in racial diversity in the job pool of highly educated candidates. Many large companies have cited affirmative action as a help to diversify the applicant pool by providing a larger array of possible candidates with experience. More: - Many large employers have cited research suggesting that diverse teams are more creative and make better business decisions than non-diverse ones.
- Opponents of affirmative action or diversity initiatives in the workplace suggest they are ineffective and divisive.
- Numerous companies report that they will continue to utilize diversity initiatives despite the Supreme Court's ruling, but it will cause them to justify why such initiatives can increase company performance.
- "Employers have always been walking this tightrope of having targets and goals and not quotas," said Ian Carleton Schaefer, a partner in the labor and employment practice at the law firm Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton in New York. "This decision just snapped the tightrope."
|     | |
| 2 | | 
What the numbers say: Nike continues a trend of not much upward growth when it comes to YoY quarter growth in revenue. It saw just a 4.9% revenue increase YoY in its most recent earnings announcement Its most recent high in growth was in November of last year, when it saw a 17% rise in revenue from the year before. The biggest spike was based on how the company rebounded from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic until a year later, seeing a nearly 100% increase in revenue YoY. Relevance: Nike announced its fourth-quarter earnings and missed on earnings for the first time in three years. It made $12.83B in revenue, which beat projections of $12.59B. But the earnings per share came in at $0.66 compared to the projected $0.67. Sales surged in China after the company pulled back pandemic restrictions. More info: The company is also trying to find ways to raise prices across the board while offering discounts to get rid of unsold merchandise. As of this morning, the stock price was at $110, a far cry from its high two years ago of $166 in November 2021. | | | |
| 3 | | Apple's market valuation surpassed $3T on Friday, as it also saw shares hit a new record. Shares in the company rose 1.6% to $192.64, helping the Nasdaq Composite index gain 1.3%. More: - The Nasdaq Composite Index is on pace for its best first-half performance since 1983, according to Bloomberg.
- Apple is the world's most valuable listed company and only saw its market value reach $3T once before, briefly in mid-day trading on Jan. 3, 2022.
- In order to hit $3T on Friday, it would need to close at over $190.74.
- Apple's market value has rebounded 45% this year, adding nearly $1T in market cap.
- Apple is currently larger than Google parent company Alphabet and Amazon combined.
| | | |
| 4 | | A California bill that is waiting to be signed will give Hollywood movie and TV studios a lucrative tax perk. The bill would extend the state's tax incentive programs for film and TV productions for another five years and allow studios to exchange any tax credits they aren't able to use for cash. More: - The bill was passed by state legislators on Tuesday, with Gov. Gavin Newsom expected to sign it today.
- It also states that any production that receives a tax credit must obey new on-set firearm safety stipulations, seen as a direct correlation to the Rust incident involving actor Alec Baldwin.
- Studios must also aim to meet diversity hiring targets.
- The move by California is seen as a way to try and keep productions in the state, as other states like New York and Georgia are gaining shares of the film and TV production market.
| | | |
| 5 | | United Airlines has battled storms, delays, and cancellations all week ahead of one of the busiest travel holidays of the year. The issues are testing the resilience of the major airline, as its problems started last weekend in New York. More: - United blamed last weekend's issues on thunderstorms, federal air traffic control staffing shortages, and inexperience.
- But this past Wednesday saw more issues spread all over the country, more so than other airlines, making it noticeable.
- After cancelling more than a quarter of its flights on Tuesday and Wednesday, cancellations dropped to 19% on Thursday, according to FlightAware.
- Still, United cancelled 520 flights yesterday, more than any other airline.
- Already by midday Friday, United had cancelled 220 flights, as it said it was monitoring the weather in Chicago and Denver. More than 500 flights have already been delayed.
- Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg singled out United in a tweet, citing the other airlines that had made progress avoiding cancellations while United had not.
| | | |
| 6 | | The Supreme Court rejected President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness plan, voiding the White House's proposal. The ruling comes as a three-year pause on federal loan repayments is set to expire. More: - The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in opposition to Biden's plan, saying that the proposed wipeout of $430B in debt exceeded the limits of the White House's power.
- Borrowers who had hoped for a more permanent stay of loan payments must now brace how to make payments in their budgets.
- "It was too good to be true," said Rudi Petry, a 31-year-old brand strategist in Durham, North Carolina, who has $95,000 in undergraduate and graduate loans and was eligible for $20,000 in forgiveness.
- The federal student loan balance has more than doubled since 2010.
- An estimated 20 million with federal debt were expecting to have their balance completely forgiven under Biden's plan.
| | | |
| 7 | | Quick Hits: - Protect your code with help from Docker. Read our white paper to learn how to stay ahead of security threats and build a resilient tech stack.*
- Twitter is no longer letting people see the site without logging in.
- Bloomberg takes a look at how SoFi has changed from its original plan.
- The WSJ has an exclusive story on the women who were interviewing for Bill Gates' private office being asked sexually explicit questions.
- It's never been easier for your sales organization to accelerate growth. Learn how AI and more can help you sell in a whole new way.*
*This is a sponsored post. | | | |
| Upcoming Events | | JUL
12 | | Monthly Meditation guided by Nicholas Whitaker | | | | | | | JUL
13 | | #ThankfulThursdays Wellness Community Challenge | | | | | | | OCT
16 | | Meet Our Fund 5, Building and Investing in AI | | | | | | * This is a sponsored event | | | |
Term of the Day Cross-selling: Cross-selling refers to recommending similar or supplementary products to the ones a customer just purchased, or is about to purchase. Question of the Week What's your stance on employees discussing their salaries with each other? Join the conversation |
INSIDE BUSINESS LEADERBOARD (7 DAYS) |
 | Freelance Editor | | Christopher Hachey is a freelance writer and editor based in the New York City area. He has spent most of the past 15 years in newsrooms covering all kinds of topics like sports, tech, business, finance, and commerce. He's now returning to his broadcast journalism roots by diving into podcasting news. Reach out to him at chris@inside.com | | This newsletter was edited by Aaron Crutchfield | |
| |
| |
