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| 1 | | With the release of the monthly jobs report, traders took advantage of the uncertainty of whether or not the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates in June, and the Dow surged over 600 points on Friday. The Fed could leave the rates unchanged this month, but the answer is not clear-cut as of now. More: - Data showed the U.S. economy added 339,000 jobs in May, beating expectations and increasing 190,000 since last month.
- The unemployment rate did rise by 0.3%, and wage growth slowed to 0.3% from 0.4%.
- Fed-funds futures traders gave a 27.6% probability that the Fed would raise rates in June.
- The Dow Jones was up 610 points or 1.9% on Friday, and the S&P 500 jumped 1.3% for its highest since last August.
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What the numbers say: Lululemon Athletica, the athletic sportswear company, saw another increase in net revenue in its Q1 2023 earnings. The net revenue increased 24% YoY to $2B, proving that the company has been able to battle against inflation to turn profits. The Q1 revenues have been on a steady rise since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Relevance: Lululemon released its Q1 2023 earnings after market on Thursday and beat analysts' estimates by a wide margin. The company achieved a quarterly earnings per share figure of $2.28. The comparable sales growth amounted to 17% YoY on a dollar-neutral basis. A larger push to direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales helped raise profits, as it now accounts for 42% of the revenue mix. Market effect: On Friday, athletics companies saw a rise in stock prices based on Lululemon's earnings. Lululemon's shares saw a 12% increase during Friday trading, and other sportswear brands like Nike, Adidas, Deckers Outdoor, On Holding, Dick's Sporting Goods, Under Armour, and Academy Sports & Outdoors all had higher share prices. | | | |
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| 3 | | Amazon is in talks with wireless carriers about offering a low-cost or free nationwide mobile phone service plan to Amazon Prime subscribers, according to sources. The company is currently negotiating with Verizon, T-Mobile, and Dish Network to get the lowest possible wholesale price. More: - Amazon would then be able to offer Prime members wireless plans for $10 a month or perhaps even less.
- A Prime subscription in the U.S. costs $139 per year.
- The talks have been ongoing for six to eight weeks, and AT&T was involved with the talks at some point.
- Dish saw its shares jump 24% on Friday after the news leaked, while T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T's shares all dropped.
- Amazon wouldn't comment on these talks, with Amazon spokesperson Maggie Sivon stating, "We are always exploring adding even more benefits for Prime members, but don't have plans to add wireless at this time."
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| 4 | | Buy Buy Baby, the baby gear retailer that was under the parent company Bed Bath & Beyond, has drawn sale interest from multiple bidders. Bed Bath & Beyond is working to auction off its assets in an attempt to keep some part of the business alive, despite beliefs that it will be dissolved. More: - One bidder, who is unknown at the time but is being advised by Ankura Capital Advisors, wants to purchase the Buy Buy Baby banner as a going concern and keep 75% of the stores open.
- Babylist is the other bidder, and it wants to buy the trademark and domain of Buy Buy Baby.
- There hasn't been any interest in buying the banner for Bed Bath & Beyond.
- The valuation of Buy Buy Baby and its intellectual property is unclear, but in its most recent securities filing, Bed Bath and Beyond noted the intangible value of trade names and trademarks was just $13.4M.
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| A message from our sponsor, Aircall. |  | | New 2023 AI Report for Small & Medium Businesses As AI continues to transform business, we’ve been working hard to understand how it's perceived by small and medium-sized businesses worldwide. We’re thrilled to announce the release of our latest report, 'The AI Index: Understanding Small & Medium Business Sentiment Towards AI.' Our comprehensive study challenges the notion that AI is only for big players, and sheds light on some fascinating findings, including: - 63% of employees see a lack of business understanding as a major barrier to AI implementation
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- Currently, AI only accounts for 4.2 hours of workweek interactions with customers
If you want to stay ahead of the curve, this report is a must-read. Get insights into how companies like yours are adopting and assessing AI. Explore the report 
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| 5 | | Target Corp. has seen its market value plummet in recent days after pushback from customers who were against the company displaying LGBTQ-themed merchandise. Target responded by removing some of the merchandise, upsetting LGBTQ advocates. More: - Target has erased nearly $14B in market value since its earning report came out last month.
- The stock fell for nine straight days, which was the company's longest streak of daily losses since February 2000.
- Weak sales trends across multiple retailers did not help either, as the retail business is being hit by inflation.
- Grocery inflation, which helped Target in recent months, is cooling.
- Walmart has also seen a dip in its stock price, falling from a peak of $153.12 on May 11 to $146.06 on May 30 before recovering to close at $148.82 on Friday.
- Starting late last week in preparation for Pride Month in June, Target began putting out LGTBQ-themed merchandise, which certain conservative shoppers had issues with. The company acknowledged their concerns by removing the merchandise, which, in turn, angered more liberal shoppers.
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| 6 | | Netflix shareholders voted to reject lucrative pay packages for the company's executives, including co-Chief Executives Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters. The vote is nonbinding and can be overturned at the next meeting of the board of directors. More: - This is notable because a few days ago, the Writers Guild of America sent a public letter urging the shareholders to vote down the packages.
- Sarandos' package was worth up to $40M, and Peters' was worth up to $34.6M.
- The guild strike entered its fifth week, and the letter stated that Netflix writers should be paid what they're worth instead of rewarding executives. The amount was listed at $68M annually.
Zoom Out: - Last year, shareholders rejected a "Say on Pay" proposal, which led Netflix to invite 26 of them to discuss executive compensation.
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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 | |
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