| Here's your daily business briefing. - 💄 Ulta Beauty surges on sales growth
- 📦 Deep Dive: Amazon tops U.S. delivery
- 🏎️ NASCAR secures $8B TV, streaming deals
Make sure to continue reading the Quarterly Earnings Report and the Quick Hits. Shriram
p/Shriram | |
| 1 | | Ulta Beauty's Q3 revenue increased by 6% YoY, resulting in a nearly 10% rise in its shares during extended trading, while the company exceeded expectations with Q3 earnings per share at $5.07 and reported revenue of $2.49B. CEO Dave Kimbell expressed optimism for a more promotional holiday season, citing strong traffic in-store and online and calling it "off to a fantastic start." More: - Ulta Beauty's Q3 net income was $249.5M, or $5.07 per share, down from $274.6M, or $5.34 per share, in the same period last year, while comparable sales increased by 4.5% YoY.
- Ulta Beauty reported strong growth in skincare, fragrance, and bath, with double-digit increases; while makeup sales remained flat, the hair segment saw a slight decrease.
- Scott Settersten, the company's chief financial officer, announced his retirement in April, and Paula Oyibo, senior vice president of finance, will take over.
- Ulta Beauty has revised its full-year outlook, anticipating net sales of $11.10B to $11.15B and comparable sales growth between 5.0% and 5.5%, with adjusted earnings per share projected to fall from $25.20 to $25.60.
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What the numbers say: Amazon has outpaced UPS and FedEx, becoming the leading U.S. delivery business, with projections to deliver approximately 5.9 billion packages by the end of 2023. In comparison, UPS expects its domestic volume to be around 5.3 billion parcels, and FedEx reported a domestic Express and Ground parcel volume of approximately 3.05 billion for the fiscal year ending May 31, 2023. Relevance: Amazon's surpassing UPS and FedEx in parcel volumes signals a significant shift in the logistics industry, attributed to its expansive network and regionalization efforts. This milestone comes amid legal challenges, including a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit over competitive practices. More data: Amazon's delivery volume surpasses UPS and FedEx due to its end-to-end shipping model, emphasizing its route franchise program with approximately 200,000 drivers. While Amazon excels in residential delivery, UPS and FedEx maintain global coverage, leveraging relationships with customers like Amazon for higher-margin parcels. | | | |
| 3 | | NASCAR has inked new television and streaming rights agreements valued at $7.7B with partners like Amazon, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Fox, representing a 40% increase in value compared to its previous arrangements. Effective from 2025 to 2031, the seven-year agreements include partnerships with Warner Bros. Discovery's TNT, Max streaming service, Comcast's NBC Sports, Fox, Nexstar's CW Network, and Amazon Prime Video. More: - Compared to the previous agreement, Fox and NBC will air fewer races, with the races they drop being shared between Amazon Prime Video, TNT, and Max.
- The contract does not include production fees, which might increase NASCAR's overall payout.
- Warner Bros. Discovery intends to use the NASCAR rights to its advantage by providing races on TNT and Max, its direct-to-consumer platform.
- Amazon's involvement in the agreements highlights the company's expanding footprint in the sports streaming market, bringing NASCAR and the NFL's "Thursday Night Football" into one package.
- The agreements demonstrate the willingness of big media corporations to invest heavily in motorsport and the rising popularity of streaming as a means of watching races.
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| 4 | | Concerns about the current economy are shared by 96% of Americans, with over a quarter engaging in "doom spending" to cope with related stress, as reported by Intuit Credit Karma. The U.S. credit card debt has now exceeded $1T, and a study from the Intuit Prosperity Index indicates that 73% of Gen Zers prefer living in the moment over cutting expenses. More: - According to the National Retail Federation, Christmas spending is predicted to reach $966.6B, with a record 200 million shoppers between Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
- A Bank of America survey found that 53% of Gen Zers cited rising living expenses as a barrier to their financial success, illustrating the financial difficulties that high inflation has caused for younger generations.
- Financial experts highlight the advantage of time for young individuals in saving and investing, despite discouragement among this demographic.
- To navigate economic uncertainties, suggestions include automating savings, allocating income to savings, and incorporating enjoyable activities into the budget to avoid high credit card interest rates.
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| 6 | | A survey by returns services firm goTRG indicates that 59% of U.S. retailers now utilize "returnless" or "keep it" policies, a significant increase from last year's 26%. This shift is credited to retailers utilizing technology to streamline processes and reduce unnecessary expenses, with 500 executives from major retailers, including Walmart and Amazon, participating in the survey. More: - Optoro projects that American consumers will return $173B in holiday items this year, a 28% rise from last year.
- Due to transportation, sorting, and possible resale or disposal expenses, returns often cost retailers $30 or less, which affects profitability.
- The growing cost of returns has prompted nearly 90% of retailers to update their policies.
- Stores weigh the worth of the customer against many parameters, such as the cost of returns; high spenders are more likely to qualify for return-free policies.
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| 7 | | Quick Hits: - Competitors are killing your efficiency. Read how Greenhouse gained $85mil in revenue from reps who used Klue over non-Klue users.
- Children in Ghana are harvesting cocoa for Mars' M&M's and Snickers, prompting condemnation from Mars, which is fully committed to ending child labor in its supply chain.
- Ford Motor reinstated its 2023 guidance, previously withdrawn due to labor strikes, as it anticipates an $8.8B cost over the life of the new United Auto Workers union agreement, ending in April 2028.
- Denver-based VF Corp. announced the layoffs of 500 employees across all its brands, corporate functions, and geographies amid investor pressure for cost-cutting measures.
- Tesla has initiated deliveries of its highly anticipated Cybertruck, with a starting price of approximately $61,000, unveiling the vehicle's pricing and specifications.
*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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