| Here's your daily business briefing. - 🏢 Honeywell buys Carrier security for $5B
- 🧱 Deep Dive: Lego's Dreamzzz Quest
- 🎫 Swift and Messi reign supreme in ticket sales
Make sure to continue reading the Quarterly Earnings Report and the Quick Hits. Thanks! Shriram
p/Shriram | |
| 1 | | Honeywell International plans to acquire Carrier Global's security business for around $5B to bolster its portfolio. The acquired business produces electronic locks for large companies, hotels, and hospitals, aligning with Honeywell's strategy to enhance its Building Automation segment and serve clients in sectors like hospitals, airports, and data centers. More: - The agreement is in line with Honeywell's goal of addressing the expanding need for cloud-based technologies, especially in the automation of buildings.
- Following the announcement, carrier shares increased by more than 5% in premarket trade, while Honeywell's stock stayed steady.
- Over the next three years, the North Carolina-based firm intends to invest a minimum of $25B through capital expenditures, dividends, mergers and acquisitions, and share buybacks.
- The deal is manageable for Honeywell, valued at around $130B, and is part of Carrier's portfolio streamlining strategy.
- In addition to paying over $13B to acquire Viessmann Climate Solutions, Carrier plans to utilize the proceeds to pay down debt.
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What the numbers say: In the five years since 2017, the toy manufacturer's revenues have doubled, reaching $9.2B last year. Lego's Dreamzzz product line, developed over four years with input from 30,000 children, is part of its annual strategy to refresh half of its 750-item toy lineup. The effort involves a nearly doubled product team, now at 2,100 members. Relevance: In 2023, Lego launched Dreamzzz as a new in-house brand to lessen dependence on licensed themes like Harry Potter and Star Wars. The move aligns with Lego's commitment to continuous innovation and creating original products, emphasizing CEO Niels Christiansen's vision for relentless innovation. More data: Lego's yearly sales of $9.2B outpace the combined revenues of rivals Hasbro and Mattel. The success of Dreamzzz will gauge Lego's ability to establish a proprietary brand independent of external franchises, with additional efforts including an animated TV show and an initial product lineup generating positive reviews and early sales. | | | |
| 3 | | StubHub's 2023 "Year in Live Experiences" report identifies Taylor Swift's "Eras Tour" as its most significant tour ever. Female artists, led by Swift, Beyoncé, and Pink, tallied 73% of total sales for the top 10 global touring artists on the platform, surpassing the combined sales of the top 10 highest-selling artists in 2022. More: - The "Eras Tour" by Taylor Swift brought in around $2.2B in revenue only from ticket sales in North America.
- Lionel Messi's transfer to Inter Miami in the summer led to a 160% boost in MLS ticket sales, making the team the most in-demand and dominating the top six games of the season on StubHub.
- The report also included that Los Angeles FC vs. Inter Miami was the most expensive MLS match ever, with average ticket prices of over $800, compared to LAFC's usual price of $145.
- With overall sales six times higher than the previous year, women's basketball Final Four tickets on StubHub showed greater demand than men's Final Four seats for the first time.
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| 4 | | Lululemon announced robust demand and a favorable beginning to the holiday shopping season in Q3, with adjusted earnings per share of $2.53, surpassing the anticipated $2.28. Revenue also slightly exceeded expectations at $2.20B, reflecting a 19% year-over-year sales increase, including a 12% growth in North America and a substantial 49% rise internationally. More: - Despite Lululemon's impressive performance, the company released a fourth-quarter holiday sales forecast that fell short of analysts' expectations, estimating sales of $3.14B to $3.17B instead of $3.18B.
- Compared to $255M, or $2 per share, during the same period last year, net income for the quarter was $249M, or $1.96 per share.
- Calvin McDonald, the CEO of Lululemon, praised Black Friday as the "single biggest day" in the company's existence and voiced hope for the upcoming Christmas season.
- As part of a new collaboration with Peloton, the business is winding down its acquisition of linked fitness company Mirror, which resulted in impairment costs of $72.1M.
- The company already declared impairment charges for the equipment totaling $443M, and these costs are on top of that.
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| 6 | | Epic Games has introduced Lego Fortnite, expanding beyond its shooting game franchise. The game allows players to craft tools and survive in a challenging virtual environment, aligning with Epic's broader strategy of creating virtual worlds for socializing and playing. More: - Epic Games is set to debut Rocket Racing, a car racing game, and Fortnite Festival, a music title, on Dec. 9, featuring The Weeknd in an online promotion.
- Launched in 2017, Fortnite achieved global popularity with its "battle royale" mode, staying relevant through frequent updates and partnerships with well-known brands such as Star Wars and Marvel Comics.
- After the nostalgic Fortnite OG edition was released last month, the game brought in a record 44.7 million players in a single day.
- Lego Group's family-holding firm Kirkbi invested $1B in Epic last year, and now Lego Fortnite joins the survival-crafting genre.
- To encourage long-term player involvement and interoperability, Epic permits digital goods and purchases to be transferred between various online experiences inside its network.
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| 7 | | Quick Hits: - Want to master Kubernetes? The Kubernetes Cookbook is a must-have guide to discover guidance on cloud architecture analytics, optimization, governance, and more.*
- Krispy Kreme aims to establish 500 "points of access" in France in the next year, encompassing additional stores, smaller kiosks, and vending machines in supermarkets.
- Leslie Berland, formerly Peloton's marketing chief, is now Verizon's Chief Marketing Officer, overseeing marketing for one of the largest ad spenders in the U.S.
- GameStop's sales fell by 9%, but CEO Ryan Cohen now has the authority to manage the company's investment portfolio in public and private markets.
- Over 1,100 recently organized DHL Express workers at the main U.S. air hub went on strike, protesting unfair labor practices and stalled contract talks.
- Toast to 2024: Key affiliate marketing trends to help your campaigns start off on the right foot in the new year. Get the free report.*
*This is a sponsored listing. | | | |
 | 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 Aaron Crutchfield | |
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