| |
| Happy Friday, Insiders! Today’s Business newsletter covers: - 💎 Lab-grown diamonds surge in popularity
- 🚗 Deep Dive: New car sales strong despite high prices
- 📈 Ford hybrid sales soar
- 👖 Levi Strauss cuts sales forecast again due to inflation
Make sure to continue reading for Quarterly Earnings Report and the Quick Hits. If you enjoy reading this newsletter, please share it with your friends and colleagues. Thank you! Shriram
p/Shriram | |
| 1 | | When compared to March of last year, sales of lab-grown diamond engagement rings increased by 63%, while those of real diamond engagement rings fell by 25%. An independent diamond industry analyst stated that the average retail price of a one-carat round lab-grown diamond engagement ring is 73% less expensive than a natural diamond of the same size, cut, and clarity, which is a significant factor in why people prefer them. More: - According to the wedding planning website The Knot, millennials and Gen Z's desire for non-traditional engagement rings is also influenced by their eco-conscious mindset and ethical worries about procuring natural diamonds.
- Lab-grown diamonds account for about 7% of the specialty diamond jewelry market, up from 3% in 2020.
- Major jewelry stores are embracing lab-grown diamonds in response to consumer demand for ethical and ecological solutions, including Pandora and Signet.
- The Russian invasion of Ukraine has put pressure on the supply chain for natural raw diamonds, pushing up prices, particularly as sanctions hit Alrosa, the largest diamond mining business in the world and the source of 28% of worldwide production.
Q: How will the increasing popularity of lab-grown diamonds affect the traditional diamond industry? Join the conversation here. |     | |
| 2 | | 
What the numbers say: According to research from Cox Automotive, new car sales likely increased by over 15% in Q3, with an annualized rate of 15.4 million vehicles. The average new vehicle cost dropped from nearly $50,000 to about $47,000, and in September, the annualized selling rate exceeded 15.4 million cars, up from 13.6 million the previous year. Relevance: Despite economic headwinds like inflation and rising interest rates, there has been an increase in new automobile purchases, which is attributed to the necessity of replacing old vehicles. Pent-up demand brought on by post-COVID-19 supply difficulties is a significant sales driver. Still, a protracted United Auto Workers strike might halt this upward trend by lowering inventories and dealer incentives. More data: The UAW strike's effect on car production and limited stock for certain brands is a concern. GM is anticipated to have a robust quarter, impacting overall automaker performance and profitability. Additionally, there is a focus on vehicle affordability and consumer preferences for budget-friendly models in the U.S. market. | | | |
| |
|
| 3 | | Ford reported a 7.7% surge in third-quarter unit sales in the U.S., driven by robust demand for gas-engine pickup trucks and a significant increase in hybrid-vehicle sales (up 41.4% YoY), which outperformed electric-vehicle (EV) sales (up 14.8% YoY). While weak EV sales were partly due to a temporary plant shutdown affecting the F-150 Lightning EV pickup, the Mustang Mach-E, another electric model, experienced a 42.5% increase in sales during the quarter. More: - Jim Farley, the CEO of Ford, stressed the significance of providing a variety of electrification alternatives, including hybrids, and said that he wants to treble hybrid sales over the next five years.
- While EV sales have decreased this year, hybrid and plug-in hybrid sales have surged dramatically, climbing by 48% YoY across the sector.
- Sales of Ford's conventional gas-engine pickups were up 15.3% from the third quarter of 2022, showing no signs of slowing.
- Ford's third-quarter sales were unaffected by the United Auto Workers union strike, which was caused mainly by problems at a battery plant, but it could influence fourth-quarter earnings.
| | | |
| 4 | | Levi Strauss has lowered its annual sales outlook due to sluggish denim sales at U.S. department stores and large retailers. While the company slightly surpassed earnings per share expectations at $0.28, it fell short of revenue expectations with $1.51B in revenue, and quarterly net income dropped significantly from the previous year, plummeting from $173M to $10M. More: - The firm highlighted factors like inflation, increasing mortgage rates, and petrol prices as influencing consumer spending and resulting in lower purchases of Levi's clothing.
- Sales of value-oriented denim brands Denizen and Signature by Levi Strauss declined by double digits, indicating pressure on the value consumer market.
- Revenue from Levi's direct-to-consumer business and e-commerce climbed by 14% and 19%, respectively, YoY, thanks to double-digit growth across all brands.
- Levi wants to grow even more in international markets after seeing an excellent increase in global sales, particularly in nations like Mexico.
- The business is tentatively hopeful about the holiday shopping season and anticipates a lower promotional atmosphere than last year.
| | | |
| A message from our sponsor, Cord. |  | | Steal the secret to Figma and Notion's ascendency. Add commenting, notifications, and real-time chat to your product in a few lines of code with the Cord SDK. monday.com, BILL, and ThoughtSpot already have. You’ll get a leg up on the competition, your users will invite their teams, and stay engaged and retained. Inside.com subscribers get $2,500 off. Learn More | |
|
| |
| 6 | | Carnival, a major cruise company, reported its first profit since before the pandemic due to robust cruise demand but anticipates a larger-than-expected loss in the fourth quarter, mainly because of a nearly 30% surge in fuel costs during the third quarter. Carnival is considering implementing price increases as a substitute for fuel surcharges to offset these additional costs, although it has not yet established specific pricing goals. More: - Carnival's long-term goal is to increase fleet fuel economy, with daily fuel usage and a reduced berth capacity down approximately 16% from 2019.
- Chief Financial Officer David Bernstein said, "If crude oil prices rise beyond $70 per barrel, the firm may impose a surcharge of up to $9 per person per day; however, no such surcharges are currently anticipated."
- Carnival recorded a net profit of $1.07B for the three months that ended on Aug. 31, despite difficulties, with revenue increasing by 59.2% to $6.85B.
- Carnival's ambition to achieve investment-grade credit criteria by the end of 2026 includes reducing debt, and the company wants to conclude the year with less than $31B in debt.
| | | |
| 7 | | Quick Hits: - LiquidPiston's engines are up to 10x smaller and 30% more fuel efficient. Invest as they disrupt the $400B combustion engine market.*
- Amazon's undisclosed algorithm, 'Project Nessie,' was used to hike prices, as per redacted sections of an FTC lawsuit alleging Amazon's substantial impact on consumer pricing.
- In September, the U.S. added an unexpectedly robust 336,000 jobs, the biggest monthly gain since January, indicating continued hiring confidence despite high interest rates and economic uncertainty.
- MGM Resorts anticipates that the recent data breach it suffered will result in costs exceeding $100M, as stated in a regulatory filing.
- AMC reports over $100M in advance ticket sales for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour film, set to release on October 13.
- These are the 5 core strategies for cloud innovation that showcase how digital native businesses are harnessing cloud innovations. Read now.*
*This is sponsored content. | | | |
| Upcoming Events | | OCT
12 | | Panel discussion on cybersecurity insights for financial services companies.* | | | | | | | OCT
16 | | Meet Our Fund 5, Building and Investing in AI | | | | | | | NOV
7 | | Join the Docker AI/ML Hackathon to help shape the exciting new frontier of AI and have a chance to win cool prizes!* | | | | | | * This is a sponsored event | | | |
Term of the Day Bottom of funnel: Bottom of funnel (BOF) is a marketing term used to describe the last stage in a marketing funnel. Question of the Week Do you share details about your salary with your coworkers? 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 | |
| |
 | Build a repeatable sales process with Vouris. | |
|
 | Cord powers comments & notifications in products like monday.com and ThoughtSpot. Get $2500 off now. | |
|
| |
