The Latest Winners and Losers: Diving Into the EV, AI, and Cannabis Industries
- Fisker’s Bankruptcy Filing – Fisker, an electric vehicle startup, filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday, June 17, 2024. In 2023, the company earned $273 million in revenue but sustained a $940 million net loss. Fisker currently owes $850 million to two different groups of bondholders (source: Reuters).
- Money Please? – KKR, a global investment firm, is seeking $20 billion in investor funding to open a new North America private equity fund. KKR had $578 billion in assets under management at the end of March 2024 (source: Reuters).
- Surrendering Sales – Philip Morris, the producer of nicotine product Zyn, halted all online sales in the United States following a subpoena from the District of Columbia on June 17, 2024. The subpoena relates to the sale of flavored Zyn products, which were banned in October 2022 (source: Bloomberg).
- New Package – United Parcel Service (UPS) announced the sale of its Coyote Logistics business unit to RXO, Inc. for $1.025 billion. UPS originally bought Coyote Logistics for $1.8 billion in 2015 (source: Reuters).
- Grant Galore – On June 21, 2024, the Mine Safety and Health Administration, a branch of the U.S. Department of Labor, announced the allocation of $10.5 million in grant funding to provide mine safety training across the nation. Eligible organizations may be able to receive up to 80% funding of project costs with grant money (source: U.S. Department of Labor).
- AI Expansion – Nvidia signed a deal to deploy its artificial intelligence technology to Ooredoo data centers in five Middle Eastern countries. This is their first large-scale launch to Middle Eastern countries since Washington halted the export of U.S. chips to the region (Yahoo News).
- Novo’s Newest Investment – In May 2024, Novo Nordisk, a drug manufacturer, announced a $6.5 billion investment in its popular product lines, Ozempic and Wegovy. The FDA approved Ozempic on December 5, 2017. Novo Nordisk’s U.S. ADR stock price ended May 2024 at $135.28, which is significantly higher than the average price of $25 at the beginning of 2018 (source: Google Finance).
- Growing an Enterprise – Aurora Cannabis Inc., a company that sells a variety of cannabis products, reported strong fiscal year results for the period ended March 31, 2024. Net revenue increased 21% and adjusted gross margin increased 49% from March 31, 2023 to March 31, 2024. Aurora Cannabis Inc. also experienced a 40% growth in international medical cannabis in Q4 alone (source: The Motley Fool).
- Big Boston Win – On Monday, June 17, 2024, the Boston Celtics won their 18th championship, which is the most championships recorded by a franchise (source: The New York Times).
- Debut Highs and Lows – Bridgerton Season 3, a Netflix series based on Julia Quinn’s romance novels about the Bridgerton family, racked in 45.1 million opening views. However, many viewers are upset about deviations away from the book, with a petition to alter the storyline reaching over 32,000 signatures in a matter of days (source: Variety).
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