Robinhood Snacks - ☕️ Starbucks pulls a "BYOD"

When you're the only one who BYOD'd

 

 

Dow Jones

19,899 (-6.30%)

S&P 500

2,398 (-5.18%)

Nasdaq

6,990 (-4.70%)

Bitcoin

$5,333 (-2.33%)

10-Yr US Treasury

1.185%

Hey Snackers,

Reality TV comes back to reality: contestants on the German TV version of "Big Brother" have been secluded from the world since Feb 10th — producers finally broke the coronavirus news to them. The show (ironically, centered on people confined in a house) will go on.

US markets tanked again. The Dow lost 1.3K points and the S&P 500 fell 5% as the viral sell-off hit a new low. The Senate approved the House's 2nd coronavirus aid bill — it'll provide paid emergency leave to affected people as well as additional food, medical, and unemployment benefits.

Order

After years of prep, Walmart's online grocery biz has its big moment

THE TAKEAWAY

Coronavirus is giving e-grocery its moment... Online grocery is still in the toddler stage with early adopters. Walmart's ecommerce biz is still unprofitable, but its online sales grew 37% last year (largely thanks to groceries, and its ecommerce sites are live in 10 countries). After you try e-ordering Walmart's asparagus and cashew butter, investors think you'll stick around for the cheap socks and absurd number of locations (likely) nearby.

Buyback

Starbucks is confidently BYOD'ing — buying 40M of its own shares back

THE TAKEAWAY

Starbucks is flaunting its confidence... when no one else is. Nervous companies are cancelling buybacks and dividend payments — the biggest American banks already cancelled buybacks on growing concerns that the virus will hurt business and cash could be tight in the future. But for those who can swing it, buybacks are easier/cheaper when the stock price is low. Even mid-outbreak, Starbucks is optimistic in its:

• Stores: Starbucks has banned sipping-in but will still let you take coffee to-go or drive thru in the USA and Canada. Also, 90% of its China stores are now reopened.
• Delivery: Its new partnership with Uber Eats will be available nationwide by end of April. Nice timing.

What else we're Snackin'

• Bubi: Fox will buy streaming service Tubi for $440M to bump its streaming game and provide more reach for its ad partners
• Awkward: Tesla is ordered to shut down manufacturing at its Fremont, CA factory... 1 day after Elon said he'd "personally be at work" there
• Homey: Shares of struggling meal-kit deliverer Blue Apron soar 70% because ordering groceries takes a lot of work to turn them into dinner (and lunch and breakfast)
• Banned: Amazon forbids its warehouses from stocking nonessential items (eg, jade rollers) on virus shortages through April 5th
• SOS: Boeing asks for $60B in aid for itself and the wider US aerospace industry, looking for support from both private and public sources
• Closed: The NYSE will temporarily close its trading floor and move fully to electronic trading on March 23 after some traders tested positive for COVID-19

The Snacks Daily Podcast

Apple did something no other company has done: make a big product announcement mid-coronavirus crisis.

The most exciting part: It's (finally) killing its (really) problematic thin keyboard.

Tune into our 15-minute pod to learn why even America's most valuable company suffers mess-ups (even the Fruit has had product fails).

Snack Fact Of the Day

The beauty industry's demand for “hydrating” snail slime caused snail farming in Italy to increase by 325% from 1997-2017

Thursday

• Weekly Jobless Claims
• Earnings expected from Accenture, Cintas, Scholastic, and Olive Garden-owner Darden Restaurants

Disclosure: Authors of this Snacks own shares of Starbucks, Tesla, and Amazon and fractional shares of Apple

ID: 1124116

Robinhood Snacks newsletters and podcasts reflect the opinions of only the authors who are associated persons of Robinhood Financial LLC and do not reflect the views of Robinhood Markets, Inc. or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates. They are meant for informational purposes only, are not intended to serve as a recommendation to buy or sell any security in a self-directed Robinhood account or any other account, and are not an offer or sale of a security. They are also not research reports and are not intended to serve as the basis for any investment decision. Any third-party information provided therein does not reflect the views of Robinhood Markets, Inc., Robinhood Financial LLC, or any of their subsidiaries or affiliates. All investments involve risk and the past performance of a security or financial product does not guarantee future results or returns. Keep in mind that while diversification may help spread risk, it does not assure a profit or protect against loss. There is always the potential of losing money when you invest in securities or other financial products. Investors should consider their investment objectives and risks carefully before investing. The price of a given security may increase or decrease based on market conditions and customers may lose money, including their original investment. Robinhood Financial LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. Testimonials may not be representative of the experience of other customers and are not guarantees of future performance or success. Robinhood Financial LLC, member FINRA/SIPC.