Daily Archives

We all want Stranger Things back… and so does Kellogg (K), apparently. The company enjoyed a 14% average growth jump in the fourth quarter of 2017 and 9.4% in the first four months of this year. This may seem random for a long-struggling brand, but analysts have a theory as to what has strangely caused the resurgence of Kellogg.

Kellogg can thank Eleven... for her waffle-loving ways. Before the show first aired, there had been a steady decline in demand for Eggo waffles. However, the seemingly forgotten (albeit delicious) breakfast item has been revived overnight. Kellogg even saw the most monthly mentions ever for the brand in October of last year – the same time Stranger Things returned to Netflix for another season.

Nothing new to see here… as most Stranger Things fanatics binged the entire seconds season months ago and the Eggos remain fully stocked in the freezer isle. So Kellogg, and the rest of us, are going to need to wait very patiently for season three – which likely won’t be out until 2019.

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Seth Rogen is a very happy man… because Canada has legalized marijuana nationwide and it is time to ramp up production. Let’s take a look at two stocks that are preparing to make some serious green.

High times for… Aurora Cannabis (ACBFF) who just announced that it closed on an investment with Choom Holdings to expand marijuana production. Aurora stock saw its share price jump 4.31%. Meanwhile, Canopy Growth (CGC) agreed to terms with Neptune Technologies & Bioresources Inc. to increase production capacity. Canopy stock also went higher, up 6.40%.

The pot enthusiasts will be busy… because we can expect more investment, deals, and consolidations to come in this growing industry. Small companies will disappear and the strongest will survive.

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Data breach, Russian mischief, and growth concerns… and Mark Zuckerberg is laughing straight to the bank. Facebook’s stock (FB) just eclipsed $200 per share for the first time in company history – up 14% in 2018. That may come as a surprise given the negative news surrounding the social media giant.

Show me the money… and that is exactly what Facebook has been doing. Analysts are expecting a revenue increase of 40% and earnings per share to grow more than 30% from a year ago. With that expectation, Wall Street is willing to forget all of that other crap – what data breach?

They also own a little app… called Instagram. And while Facebook has lost some popularity (although my 60-something year old father just proudly signed up), Instagram now has 1 billion global users. With its original Facebook platform, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, Facebook is still where every advertiser and their mother wants to be.

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No one will shut up about disruption… and neither will we. MoviePass made headlines last year for disrupting the movie theater experience by offering a $10 monthly subscription. With MoviePass, you can see one 2D movie per day and each movie can only be viewed once. AMC Stubs A-List aims to compete directly with the original disruptor.

MoviePass on steroids… is what AMC Stubs A-List looks like. For $19.95, subscribers can see up to three movies per week – book any movie, any time, including IMAX and 3D movies (all features not available with MoviePass).

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em… except AMC could actually beat them. While AMC believes they are at a sustainable price point, many question the sustainability of MoviePass because they either break-even or lose money when a subscriber uses their service. To actually make money, the company plans to give marketers access to their subscriber base for a fee.

And since it’s 2018 both companies have taken to Twitter to insult one another for all to see.

Check it out here

Maybe there are just too many… Starbucks (SBUX.O) locations because they seem to be on just about every corner in the city. The company’s stock took a hit after they announced a lowered sales forecast and the intention to scale back growth. To accomplish this, Starbucks is planning to close more than 150 stores next year and slow down the number of licensed store openings.

Not just coffee… the company will be offering more cold beverages which are now about 50% of their business. Additionally, they will be adding new lunch items to give people a reason to come after 9 o’clock in the morning.

Down, but not out… Starbucks was down as much as 3% after-hours on Tuesday and down 6% over the last twelve months. The coffee chain hopes to play to their strengths and capitalize on customer preferences to strengthen sales.

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Affordable(ish) family entertainment… and it is only getting less affordable with ticket prices climbing 20% over the past five years. However, it is the $299 admission price to attend a six-hour preview of their new attraction, Pixar Pier, that has people upset this time.

But Disney wants you to know… they are not greedy. Even with their high ticket prices, public demand is holding strong. Higher prices aim to mitigate demand and increase profits for the company. However, internal projections at Disney say that admission prices could go much higher without driving away too many customers.

It is for your own good…because the last place you want to vacation is an overcrowded Disney park. Disney hopes to use pricing and increased capacity to influence and manage park attendance on any given day.

Money saving tip: Go stand in line at the DMV – it’s not “the most magical place on Earth,” but the experience is eerily similar.

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