💰 That's alota damage
Elon Musk just lost $56 billion...Big Tech releases earnings; Pakistan ex-PM gets 14-years in jail; Amazon stops $1.7B iRobot deal; RBC gets fined $63M; US drones for sale to India; and more.
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IN THIS ISSUE
🧑💻 Big Tech releases earnings
🚘 Elon loses his $56 billion payday
🇵🇰 Pakistan ex-PM gets 14-years in jail
On this day. On February 2, 1887, the first ever Groundhog Day was held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.
IMPORTANT
🛍️ Amazon stops $1.7B iRobot deal
Amazon bailed on its idea of scooping up iRobot, the creator of the Roomba vacuum, due to regulatory roadblocks and worries about competition problems. The breakup comes with a $94 million parting fee.
The original plan was to mix iRobot's tech into Amazon's smart home lineup. Now, without Amazon’s backing, iRobot had cut its labour force by over a third (33%) following the announcement.
🏦 RBC gets fined $63M
The U.S. banking regulator (the OCC) rolled out a $65 million fine on Royal Bank of Canada's American branch, City National Bank, for lack of risk management and internal controls, ordering them to fix their game plan as soon as possible.
City National Bank promised to sort things out, and hopes to swiftly address the identified issues. RBC previously invested $2.95 billion into City National to boost profits. RBC also mentioned that any losses at City National wouldn't hurt their overall brand.
🇺🇸 US drones for sale to India
The U.S. State Department has given the green light for a $4 billion deal that would allow India to purchase 31 armed MQ-9B SkyGuardian drones along with the necessary missiles and equipment, including 170 Hellfire missiles and 310 Laser Small Diameter Bombs.
India is already leasing a few MQ-9Bs for intelligence-gathering purposes at the moment, and while this approval does not guarantee a deal, it clears the road for future U.S.-India partnerships, steering away from Russia.
FINANCE
Image courtesy of Financial Times
🧑💻 Big Tech releases earnings
This week, major tech companies released their earnings. Here are the details (in US$ and in order of largest market cap):
Microsoft (MSFT) Q2 2024: Revenue: $62.0B (+18% YoY). Net income: $21.9B (+33% YoY). Earnings per share: $2.93 diluted (+33% YoY).
Apple (AAPL) Q1 2024: Revenue: $119.6B (+2% YoY). Net income: $27.0B (+8% YoY). Earnings per share: $2.18 diluted (+16% YoY).
Alphabet (GOOGL) Q4 2023: Revenue: $86.31B (+14% YoY). Net income: $20.7B (+52% YoY). Earnings per share: $1.64 diluted (+56% YoY).
Amazon (AMZN) Q4 2023: Revenue: $170.0B (+17% YoY). Net income: $10.6B (+35,233% YoY). Earnings per share: $1.00 diluted (+3,233% YoY).
Meta (META) Q4 2023: Revenue: $40.1B (+25% YoY). Net income: $14.0B (+201% YoY). Earnings per share: $5.33 diluted (+203% YoY).
🏓 Amer Sports goes public
Amer Sports, the Finnish company behind Wilson tennis racket and Arc’teryx, just went public on the NYSE raising $1.37 billion at $13.40/share (valuing the company at $6.3 billion).
Here are the details (per annum):
Debt of $2.1 billion.
Revenue of $3.05 billion (+30% YoY).
Net income of -$113.9 million.
(Note: Amer has not made a single profit since 2020, and even after increasing their revenue by +30% year over year, their net loss increased 10%.)
BUSINESS
Image courtesy of Yahoo! Finance
🚘 Elon loses his $56 billion payday
A judge from the Delaware Chancery Court just voided Elon Musk's whopping $55.8 billion executive pay plan for Tesla, calling it "not entirely fair."
The court is now putting the pressure on Tesla's Board of Directors to prove they went through a fair process in deciding how much Musk should pocket. The judge decided the board didn't do a good job, especially when it came to negotiating over Musk's paycheck.
💰 EBay pays up big time
EBay is shelling out $59 million to settle claims with the U.S. Department of Justice, who said they didn't do enough to stop criminals from buying machines on their platform to make fake drugs.
The criminals allegedly used those machines to create fake pills, which in turn, added the opioid epidemic. Even though eBay is playing innocent, they've agreed to amp up their rules, bring in new measures, and keep the Justice Department in the loop for three years as part of the deal.
POLITICS
Image courtesy of Asif Hassan/Afp/Getty Images
🇵🇰 Pakistan ex-PM gets 14-years in jail
Imran Khan, the ex-Prime Minister of Pakistan, just got slapped with a 14-year prison sentence and a 1.5 billion Pakistani rupee (US$5.3 million) fine as a result of graft charges (misuse of power and money). On top of that, he's banned from getting back into any office for another decade.
His wife, Bushra Bibi, got slapped with the same 14-year sentence for illegally selling off state gifts during Imran's time in charge.
🇺🇸 Trump ordered to pay $83.3M
Former U.S. President Donald J. Trump has been ordered by a New York jury to cough up $83.3 million for dragging journalist E. Jean Carroll’s name in the mud in 2019.
The verdict includes $18.3 million for compensatory damages and $65 million in punitive damages. Trump is facing four criminal cases with 91 felony counts, maintains his innocence, and plans to appeal this case calling it a 'witch hunt.'
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— Jacob
📚 Book of the Week
Note: I don’t recommend books that I haven’t read or that I would never read. The books I recommend are books I have already read or that I will eventually read.
Same as Ever — Morgan Housel
Book Description:
Every investment plan under the sun is, at best, an informed speculation of what may happen in the future, based on a systematic extrapolation from the known past.
Same as Ever reverses the process, inviting us to identify the many things that never, ever change.
With his usual elan, Morgan Housel presents a master class on optimizing risk, seizing opportunity, and living your best life. Through a sequence of engaging stories and pithy examples, he shows how we can use our newfound grasp of the unchanging to see around corners, not by squinting harder through the uncertain landscape of the future, but by looking backwards, being more broad-sighted, and focusing instead on what is permanently true.
By doing so, we may better anticipate the big stuff, and achieve the greatest success, not merely financial comforts, but most importantly, a life well lived.
As of Jan 31, 2024, (resulting from my Amazon.ca Associates account being terminated) I do not earn any affiliate commissons from the links below.