| |
| Here's your daily business briefing. - 💼 Goldman Sachs beats revenue expectations
- 🎁 Deep Dive: Taylor Swift's holiday gift business boom
- 🍔 Restaurant Brands acquires Carrols Restaurant Group
Thanks for reading! Shriram
p/Shriram | |
| 1 | | Goldman Sachs ($GS) exceeded analysts' expectations with fourth-quarter earnings of $5.48 per share and reported revenue of $11.32B, surpassing the anticipated $10.8B. Earnings for the quarter saw a 51% increase to $2.01B compared to the previous year, credited to stronger-than-expected performance in asset and wealth management. More: - Asset and wealth management revenue rose 23% to $4.39B, almost $550M more than anticipated.
- Platform solutions sales increased by 12% to $577M, just below the $612M projection.
- Revenue from equity trading exceeded estimates by 26%, reaching $2.61B.
- Fixed income revenue dropped by 24% to $2.03B, falling well below the estimated $2.53B, primarily due to weaknesses in interest rates and currency trading.
- Investment banking fees, which came in at $1.65B, dropped by 12%, aligning with the StreetAccount estimate, amid a continued industry slump in completed acquisitions late last year.
|     | |
| 2 | | 
What the numbers say: Traffic to Taylor Swift's direct-to-consumer website peaked in November 2023 at 6.318 million visitors. Facteus estimates Swift's website earned $150M to $300M this year, with Q4 alone contributing $50M to $130M, and Swift's "Eras Tour" made history by grossing over $1B, generating an estimated economic impact exceeding $10B. Relevance: Swift's popularity goes beyond concert tickets, driving substantial holiday shopping revenue with fans seeking merchandise. The impact of her "Eras Tour" extends to craft retail and online marketplaces, underscoring the broader cultural and economic implications of her success. More data: Michaels Stores saw increased demand for alphabet beads for Swift lyric bracelets during the "Eras Tour." Swift-related gifts, including vinyl records, dominated holiday wish lists. The broader cultural impact is evident in quadrupled album sales, mentions in Santa Zoom sessions, and parents bonding over Swift's music and merchandise during holiday traditions. | | | |
| A message from our sponsor, TruEra. |  | | Do you have European customers? Here's how your AI should comply! Do you use or build an AI system? Are you a US or Canadian firm doing business in Europe? Then, you need to understand the new EU AI Act! Join this expert panel discussion on the impact of the new EU AI Act on North American firms, and you will learn: - The “high-risk applications” subject to the EU AI Act, from HR and education to credit, law enforcement and critical infrastructure
- What we know about the EU AI Act law so far and what’s still ambiguous
- The core operational capabilities that firms must build to ensure compliance at scale
The panel will bring together experts from regulatory, standard-setting and operational backgrounds. Can’t make it to the live webinar on January 30? Register anyway and we’ll send you the recording. Register for webinar | |
|
| 3 | | Restaurant Brands International ($QSR) is buying Carrols Restaurant Group ($TAST), the largest U.S. Burger King franchisee, in a $1B cash deal at $9.55 per share. This acquisition, encompassing over 1,000 Burger King restaurants and 60 Popeyes locations operated by Carrols, signifies a strategic departure for Burger King, which has predominantly relied on franchising in the last decade. More: - Over the next five years, Restaurant Brands intends to renovate 600 Carrols' Burger King outlets before reselling them to franchisees.
- Carrols' ongoing cash flow will finance the company's $500M investment in the improvements.
- Burger King's turnaround plan is centered on advertising and restaurant renovation investments to increase demand and franchisee earnings.
- Carrols previewed its fourth-quarter earnings, showing a 7.2% increase in same-store sales at its Burger King outlets and a 2.9% increase in traffic.
| | | |
| 4 | | Partnering with Google Cloud, Victoria's Secret is incorporating AI and generative AI into its online shopping experience to improve search capabilities and offer personalized, inclusive product recommendations. Utilizing Google Cloud's Vertex AI platform, a generative AI virtual assistant is deployed to simulate in-store advice and assistance for tailored guidance. More: - The virtual assistant seeks to offer a dynamic conversation experience like speaking with an in-store sales associate, continually improving over time.
- Victoria's Secret ($VSCO) intends to use AI technology to enhance inventory forecasts and allow users to post and search photographs.
- Victoria's Secret will upgrade its online search bar with Google Cloud's Vertex AI Search ($GOOG) for retail to provide more personalized product recommendations based on past shopping behavior.
- The business has already included new search features that let customers look for bras based on photos and do image-based searches.
- AI will also estimate demand for various items, detect social media trends, and assess consumer mood.
| | | |
| A message from our sponsor, Modern Treasury. |  | | Building payment systems that scale with your business is critical. Customers demand timely and consistent payment experiences, but without the right architecture, businesses can fall short. Learn how to set up your payment operations stack so that your technology and processes always keep up. Download the eBook to learn: - The key elements of scalable payment operations architecture
- The critical questions to ask when architecting your payment operations
- How to build a ledger database for payments.
Download Now | |
|
| 5 | | Uber ($UBER) is shutting down Drizly, the alcohol delivery app it bought for $1.1B three years ago, with the official closure set for March 2024. Initially a standalone app, Drizly's marketplace was planned to merge into Uber's main delivery app, Uber Eats, in line with Uber's strategy to emphasize core offerings and streamline its delivery services. More: - Cornershop, Uber's grocery shopping app, was discontinued, while Drizly was shut down due to the company's decision to concentrate on its primary Uber Eats strategy.
- With a single app for groceries, alcohol, and meals, Uber hopes to streamline its goods delivery services.
- The Drizly closure comes after Uber paid $2.65B to acquire Postmates to bolster its position in the cutthroat delivery industry.
- Recent quarters have seen a resurgence for Uber's ridesharing business, with gross bookings for the third quarter exceeding the company's projections.
NOTE: Inside.com founder and CEO Jason Calacanis is an investor in Uber. | | | |
| 6 | | General Atlantic is acquiring Actis, a London-based private equity firm, to bolster its presence in sustainable infrastructure investment, increasing its assets under management to approximately $96B. With around $12.5B in assets, Actis will become General Atlantic's sustainable infrastructure arm, with financial terms undisclosed in the joint statement. More: - Aligned with the trend of significant investment firms increasing infrastructure exposure, General Atlantic's acquisition of Actis mirrors BlackRock's recent $12.5B purchase of Global Infrastructure Partners.
- Following General Atlantic's acquisition of Actis, Chairman Torbjorn Caesar will stay in charge of the company.
- The deal is anticipated to be finalized in this year's second quarter.
- General Atlantic, recognized for successful tech investments like Facebook and Uber, considers the acquisition a significant entry into sustainable infrastructure, complementing its focus on climate investing.
| | | |
| 7 | | Quick Hits: - Are you creating the unique user journeys your customers demand? You can by Mastering Personalization with AI.*
- A federal judge blocked JetBlue's $3.8B acquisition of Spirit Airlines, agreeing with the U.S. Department of Justice that the deal would reduce the availability of low-priced air tickets.
- Google, owned by Alphabet, is laying off hundreds in its advertising sales team, reflecting a broader trend of job cuts this year as companies adopt AI and automation to streamline work.
- Netflix is testing a partnership with French retailer Carrefour SA in a pilot project, mirroring Amazon.com Inc.'s model to attract more customers to its cheapest subscription tier.
- Thomson Reuters has acquired a majority stake in Pagero Group, moving closer to full control as key stakeholders, including Summa Equity, Pagero's CEO, and management team members, sell their stock to Thomson Reuters, announced on Monday.
*This is a sponsored listing. | | | |
| Upcoming Events | | MAR
7 | | Alternative investment assets to know in 2024. | | | | | | * This is a sponsored event | | | |
 | 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 | |
| |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
