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| Hello Insiders! Monday’s business newsletter covers the following: - UnitedHealth Q2 earnings beat estimate
- Analysis of Threads decreasing active user count
- Worldcoin crypto project launched
Please also check out the Knowledge Hub and Quick Hits sections! If you enjoy reading this newsletter, please share it with your friends and colleagues. Shriram
p/Shriram | |
| 1 | | The second-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings reported by UnitedHealth Group beat analysts' expectations, sending the company's stock price up more than 7%. The corporation exceeded Wall Street forecasts with a net income of $5.47B, or $5.82 per share, and total revenue of $92.9B, up 16% from the previous year. More: - UnitedHealthcare, which offers insurance coverage and benefits services, saw second-quarter revenue of $70.2B, a rise of 13% from the same period the previous year.
- With the help of the purchase of Change Healthcare and an increase in the number of patients covered under value-based care arrangements, Optum, the company's other platform, saw revenue rise by almost 25% to $56.3B.
- UnitedHealth Group increased the low end of its adjusted earnings per share guidance for the entire year to $24.70 to $25.00.
- Due to an increase in senior outpatient care and elective procedures, the company's medical expense ratio grew by almost 2% to 83.2% in the quarter, although it anticipates a minor decline in the ratio for the third quarter.
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What the numbers say: For the past two weeks, Threads' number of daily active users has decreased, down to 13 million, a 70% drop from the high on July 7. According to SimilarWeb, users now spend only four minutes instead of 19 minutes on iOS and Android apps, with Android users in the U.S. seeing a fall from 21 minutes on launch day to just five minutes. Relevance: After a sign-up spike, Meta Platforms' microblogging service Threads has trouble keeping users engaged. About 200 million people are active on Twitter daily, and users spend an average of 30 minutes there daily. More Info: To enhance the user experience, Threads plans to accept multiple accounts, allow post editing, and offer a chronological feed option. By ignoring politics and hard news, Threads seeks to stand out from Twitter, and Meta's commitment to the app's success enables continued feature development and problem-solving. | | | |
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| 3 | | Worldcoin, the crypto project co-founded by Sam Altman, has debuted its technology that scans people's eyeballs to create a unique digital identity called World ID. According to CoinMarketCap, Worldcoin initially skyrocketed to $3.58 from $1.70 but has since dropped to $2.52. More: - The project is launching on the OP Mainnet blockchain and giving World ID holders Worldcoin tokens.
- Due to regulatory uncertainty, the Worldcoin token is currently unavailable in the U.S., but they have gathered over 2 million signups.
- The project has come under fire for its exploitative and misleading tactics used during signups in nations like Chile, Ghana, and Indonesia.
- Blania, the CEO of Tools for Humanity, the startup developing Worldcoin applications, stated, "aspire to increase Worldcoin's adoption throughout Asia, especially in Japan and South Korea."
- Decentralization is a fundamental component of their goal, according to Blania and Altman.
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| 4 | | Spotify is set to raise the monthly subscription price for its ad-free premium plan in the U.S. from $9.99 to $10.99. The announcement of the price increase is expected to be made next week by the leading global music streaming service. More: - In mature markets, rivals like Apple, Amazon, and YouTube have hiked their prices.
- The action is intended to increase Spotify's profitability as it comes under pressure from investors.
- In some international regions, additional price hikes are anticipated to take effect over the next few months.
- Since the beginning of the year, Spotify's stock has increased by 110%, and the business has already declared its desire to boost rates to keep up with rivals.
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| 5 | | Following a recent secondary share sale by existing investors, SpaceX's worth is anticipated to reach about $150B. With a price per share of $81, representing a 5% increase from the last secondary sale, the company plans to sell up to $750M in existing stock without raising new capital. More: - SpaceX is regarded as a "centicorn" or "hectocorn," a business valued at $1B or more, 100 times over.
- Due to its use of Falcon rockets and regular launches, the company has a near-monopoly on the U.S. satellite launch market.
- Over 1.5 million people have signed up for SpaceX's Starlink internet service, which has seen nearly 5,000 satellites launched.
- The business is spending a lot of money developing its next-generation Starship rocket; it anticipates spending approximately $2B this year.
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| 6 | | Versanis, a producer of obesity medications, will be acquired by pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly for $1.93B. With the addition of Versanis' bimagreumab medication candidate, the acquisition will enable Lilly to expand the scope of its weight loss medicines. More: - Eli Lilly's stock price increased by 3% following the acquisition announcement on Friday.
- The purchase is part of Eli Lilly's strategy to benefit from the weight loss industry's expansion, fueled by the success of Novo Nordisk's medications Wegovy and Ozempic.
- Bimagrumab, a medication by Versanis, is now being investigated in two phase 2 trials: one for individuals who are overweight or obese and another in which it is being compared against medications by Novo Nordisk.
- Eli Lilly is working on several obesity treatments, such as the weekly injection retatrutide, the obesity medication orforglipron, and a request for approval to use Mounjaro, a therapy for Type 2 diabetes, to treat obesity.
Zoom Out: - The market value of weight-loss drugs is projected to increase to $54B by 2030, placing them among the top 12 therapies globally.
- Furthermore, according to the CDC, about 40% of adults in the U.S. are obese.
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| 7 | | Quick Hits: *This is sponsored content. | | | |
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Term of the Day Headless commerce: Headless commerce is an approach to e-commerce that separates the front-end user interface from the back-end system for greater flexibility Question of the Week What's your stance on unpaid internships: valuable experience or exploitation? Join the conversation |
INSIDE BUSINESS LEADERBOARD (7 DAYS) |
 | Freelance Writer | | Shriram is pursuing Master’s in Business with Marketing at Warwick Business School. He worked as a Senior Consultant in Tech and Political Consultancies before his Masters. He is passionate about Tech, Marketing, Strategy, Anthropology and Politics. He is also the Postgraduate Ambassador for Warwick Business School. | | This newsletter was edited by Vibha Chapparike | |
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