☕ Starbucks’ bad Luckin

…and football leads EA to a first down

(Sherwood) Presented by Hey Snackers, This Halloween composers are dropping new singles from beyond the grave. Curators recently discovered a 200-year-old waltz likely penned by Chopin, and last month researchers found a 12-minute bop believed to be written by a tween Mozart. Call 'em tunes from the crypt. Markets slipped into the red yesterday after chip stocks slid on AMD's underwhelming guidance. Meanwhile, the US economy grew at a solid pace in the third quarter, driven by growing consumer spending. Today, investors have eyes on the Fed's fave inflation gauge. ⏯️ Press play! Nia and Jack are back with a new episode of "Snacks Mix," sharing fresh takes on the latest mega-cap earnings. Tune in on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. CAFFEINATED After a comeback, the Starbucks of China wants to enter the US with affordable coffee Good night and good Luckin… China's biggest coffee chain, Luckin Coffee, appears to have rebounded after being charged with making up sales numbers. Luckin IPO'd on the Nasdaq in 2019 but was booted from the exchange in 2020 after the SEC said it fabricated $300M+ in sales (#fakebrews). The stock lost most of its value but has made a comeback after Luckin agreed to a $180M fine and kept expanding its biz, opening thousands of new stores. Now it's said to be making moves into Starbucks' biggest market: Luckin plans to launch in the US as soon as next year, the Financial Times reported, aiming to undercut its American rival by selling drinks for as low as $2. It's bad news for Starbucks, which yesterday reported that its global same-store sales fell for a third straight quarter as folks cut back on $6 lattes. Hold my Americano… Luckin's sleek shops and affordable cups of joe (feat. deer silhouettes) helped it surpass Starbs years ago as China's biggest java chain. Now it might be coming for a piece of the US's coffee cake. Luckin has grown to 20K+ stores in China — more than double the # of Starbucks locations in the country. Starbs' same-store sales in China (its second-biggest market) plunged 14% last quarter as cautious consumers gravitated to cheaper brews. The latte legend's sales are also losing steam in the States, where traffic fell 10%. Now its new CEO (Chipotle's ex-boss) is trying for a turnaround that includes bringing back the condiment bar and not charging extra for oat milk. THE TAKEAWAY Made in China could come to brick and mortar… The US is already inundated with affordable China-made goods on ecomm sites like Amazon and in retailers like Walmart (not to mention the likes of Shein and Temu). But what isn't so common are China-based brick-and-mortar chains. If Luckin opens up shop in the US, it could threaten Starbucks and other coffee slingers by undercutting them on price.  Read this online Presented by Grayscale Meet the crypto "mini". Crypto-curious? Start small, with Grayscale's Bitcoin Mini. It's the lowest-cost1 way to gain exposure to Bitcoin in your existing brokerage account, the same way you would invest in any ETF (though brokerage fees may still apply). Just type 'BTC' to find it wherever you trade. Grayscale is a crypto-focused asset manager, meaning all of its investment funds offer different exposure to the crypto asset class through familiar investment vehicles. It's a way to get the value of crypto without switching platforms — and with over a decade of experience & 20+ funds, Grayscale is a go-to for gaining crypto exposure from your brokerage account. Think crypto, invest Grayscale. Take a closer look at the Bitcoin Mini here.2 Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ("BTC"), an exchange traded product, is not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (or the '40 Act) and therefore is not subject to the same regulations and protections as 1940 Act registered ETFs and mutual funds. Presented by Grayscale Meet the crypto "mini". Crypto-curious? Start small, with Grayscale's Bitcoin Mini. It's the lowest-cost1 way to gain exposure to Bitcoin in your existing brokerage account, the same way you would invest in any ETF (though brokerage fees may still apply). Just type 'BTC' to find it wherever you trade. Grayscale is a crypto-focused asset manager, meaning all of its investment funds offer different exposure to the crypto asset class through familiar investment vehicles. It's a way to get the value of crypto without switching platforms — and with over a decade of experience & 20+ funds, Grayscale is a go-to for gaining crypto exposure from your brokerage account. Think crypto, invest Grayscale. Take a closer look at the Bitcoin Mini here.2 Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ("BTC"), an exchange traded product, is not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (or the '40 Act) and therefore is not subject to the same regulations and protections as 1940 Act registered ETFs and mutual funds. HIKE Pigskin scores for Electronic Arts as video-game publishers add AI to their gameplans College football goes pro… Facing an industry-wide gaming slowdown, "Madden" maker Electronic Arts turned to the game it knows best to help it weather the storm: football. The publisher said its sales grew 6% last quarter as it scored a record $2.1B in net bookings (a 14% jump from last year). EA's football franchises are expected to eclipse $1B in sales this fiscal year. The company's new "College Football 25" game — already the second-best-selling sports game of all time — is leading its stat sheet. Touchdown celly: Both new player #s and total football game-play time more than doubled from last year. The other football: "EA Sports FC," the company's first soccer title after the end of a 30-year FIFA partnership, has also more than doubled its player numbers. Sim-ulating: Along with pigskin wins, EA said its decade-old "Sims 4" game added another 15M players this year. Adding AI to the playbook… Game publishers have been dabbling in genAI. EA this year said it had 100+ active AI projects, including a new partnership with Adobe that lets "College Football 25" players generate custom team logos. GenAI elements have reportedly found their way into major franchises like Microsoft's "Call of Duty," and about half of game developers said AI's being used in their workplace (which could be contributing to mass gaming layoffs). Gaming voice and motion actors represented by SAG-AFTRA have been on strike for almost 100 days over companies' use of AI. THE TAKEAWAY Sports are the ultimate IP… From keeping cable's heart beating to boosting streamers' subscription #s, to helping gaming companies through a postpandemic slump, sports are the attention economy's surest thing. It's why entertainment companies like EA — which paid nearly $13M to include real universities and players in "College Football 25" — are willing to splurge for rights. Read this online Presented by Pacaso There's Nothing Abstract About This Opportunity  Pablo Picasso revolutionized art by challenging norms. Today, Pacaso's rethinking real estate with their co-ownership model.  Pacaso's innovation has taken the hassle out of buying and maintaining a vacation property. It's been such a hit they've already earned nearly $100M in adjusted gross profits3 over the past three years. Now, you can own stock in Pacaso as they expand.4 Presented by Pacaso There's Nothing Abstract About This Opportunity  Pablo Picasso revolutionized art by challenging norms. Today, Pacaso's rethinking real estate with their co-ownership model.  Pacaso's innovation has taken the hassle out of buying and maintaining a vacation property. It's been such a hit they've already earned nearly $100M in adjusted gross profits3 over the past three years. Now, you can own stock in Pacaso as they expand.4 ON SHERWOOD The great horror renaissance: Jason Blum on how Blumhouse is still scaring up big profits at the box office  The exec behind "M3GAN" and "Paranormal Activity" talks about what's working for horror movies and what's next for the genre. (Hint: AI is terrifying.) Read more. What else we're Snackin' Meta's quarterly sales jumped 19% to $40B+ as Zuck gassed up the ways the social co is using AI to supercharge its advertising biz. It's not just the devil wearing Prada: the luxury-loafer seller bucked industry trends in Q3 with an 18% revenue surge. Sales of its trendy Miu Miu brand doubled. Eli Lilly cut its annual guidance after sales of its diabetes treatment Mounjaro and weight-loss drug Zepbound fell short as the pharma giant fulfilled back orders. Starbucks said ciao to its Oleato olive-oil drinks as its new CEO simplifies menus as part of his overhaul. China's BYD sold a record 1.1M cars in Q3, revving its revenue 24% to $28B; it's the first time the affordable EV maker has beaten Tesla's quarterly sales. Think crypto, invest Grayscale. If you're ready for crypto, Grayscale offers more than 20 different crypto funds. Explore the product suite at Grayscale.com, or search Grayscale in your investment account today. Investing involves risk and possible loss of principal.2 Ad Snack Fact of the Day Russia fined Google $2.5 decillion (with 32 zeros) Thursday PCE price index (the Fed's fave inflation gauge) Halloween Earnings expected from Uber, Peloton, Merck, Sirius XM, Estée Lauder, Kellanova, Mastercard, Altria, Norwegian Cruise Line, Roblox, Bristol Myers Squibb, Shell, Stellantis, AB InBev, Wendy's, Hyatt Hotels, Amazon, Apple, and Intel Authors of this Snacks own shares of: AMD, Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Luckin Coffee, Microsoft, Norwegian Cruise Line, Starbucks, Tesla, Uber, and Walmart Advertiser's disclosures: 1 Low cost is based on gross expense ratio at .15%. 2 Please read the prospectus carefully before investing in the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust (the "Trust"). Foreside Fund Services, LLC is the Marketing Agent for the Trust. Investing involves significant risk, including possible loss of principal. The Trust holds Bitcoin; however, an investment in the Trust is not a direct investment in Bitcoin. As a non-diversified and single industry fund, the value of the shares may fluctuate more than shares invested in a broader range of industries. Extreme volatility, regulatory changes, and exposure to digital asset exchanges may impact the value of Bitcoin and, consequently, the value of the Trust. Digital assets are not suitable for an investor that cannot afford the loss of the entire investment. 3 We calculate Adjusted Gross Profit as gross profit under GAAP adjusted for amortization of developed technology, inventory valuation adjustment in the current period, inventory valuation adjustment in prior periods and share-based compensation. Please see management discussion of the financial condition section of the offering circular for more details.  4 This is a paid advertisement for Pacaso's Regulation A offering. Please read the offering circular and related risks at invest.picasso.com. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Start-up investments are speculative and involve a high degree of risk. Those investors who cannot afford to lose their entire investment should not invest in start-ups. Companies seeking startup investment tend to be in earlier stages of development and their business model, products and services may not yet be fully developed, operational or tested in the public marketplace. There is no guarantee that the stated valuation and other terms are accurate or in agreement with the market or industry valuations. Further, investors may receive illiquid and/or restricted stock that may be subject to holding period requirements and/or liquidity concerns. DealMaker Securities LLC, a registered broker-dealer, and member of FINRA | SIPC, located at 105 Maxess Road, Suite 124, Melville, NY 11747, is the Intermediary for this offering and is not an affiliate of or connected with the Issuer. Please check our background on FINRA's BrokerCheck. Was this email forwarded to you? Don't miss out on future stories — subscribe to Snacks and get your daily dose of financial news straight to your inbox.  Craving more insights in your inbox? Subscribe to Chartr and The Wrap for quality reads. Want to dive deeper with our podcast? Catch the latest episodes of Snacks Mix on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate... 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