Major Losses

Good morning. The world’s oldest known person, Spanish supercentenarian [Maria Branyas Morera](, has died aged 117, having lived through 2 world wars and 2 pandemics. Today we’re exploring: - Track record: Action camera company GoPro is in a revenue lapse. - Major losses: More US colleges are closing their doors. - Hard cash: The cost of using an ATM has hit a record high. Have feedback for us? Just hit reply - we'd love to hear from you! TOGETHER WITH [Sponsor Logo](   In 2002, Nick Woodman, eager to find a better way to capture footage of himself surfing, envisioned a device that could help anyone get just the right angles to “go pro” (or, at least, look pro). What debuted 2 years later at a trade show, called the HERO camera, went on to become an essential in every weekend adventurer’s travel bag. Indeed, over the coming years GoPro became synonymous with action cameras, not unlike how brands like Post-it Notes and Band-Aids cornered the mindshare for their respective categories. But, GoPro’s fortunes are fading fast. On Monday, the company announced a 15% [reduction]( in its workforce as part of a broader restructuring effort to curb costs and navigate an increasingly challenging market. A decade after its initial launch, GoPro hit its peak valuation of $12 billion. Today, the company is worth a tiny fraction of that, some $200 million, with its stock down 65% in the last 12 months. The latest quarterly results offered no respite, with revenue down 23% from the previous year and operating expenses climbing by 5%. HERO to zero? It’s easy to blame the advent of better smartphone cameras for GoPro’s troubles, and they have certainly contributed to its decline, but cheaper knock-offs and competition have arguably played a bigger part, with GoPro’s revenue falling fairly consistently despite occasional boosts from new product launches. The influx of copycat products has even grabbed the attention of the U.S. International Trade Commission, which in May announced plans to [investigate]( patent infringements against GoPro’s products. Interestingly, some users on Reddit blame something else for GoPro’s financial worries: building a product so good that you [only need to buy it once](. [Read this on the web instead](   It’s an uncertain time to be a student in the US. With sky-high tuition fees, a continued wave of university [president resignations](, and the effects of mass protests at the start of the summer now calcifying into harder restrictions on campuses, undergraduates are also facing sudden college closures that threaten the completion of their degrees altogether. Indeed, a new report from the [Wall Street Journal]( outlined a surge in traditional colleges shutting down across America. From 2014 to 2023, some 529 private, non-profit four-year institutions have shut down — 3x as many as in the previous decade — including renowned establishments like New York’s 156-year-old Wells College closing their doors. Degrees of separation While several factors are at play, the major driving force is simply the strain from tuition losses, as the number of people going to college continues to [dwindle](. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, enrollment in postsecondary institutions was down 12% in 2022 from its recent 2010 peak. That’s partly due to longer-term demographic trends (America’s birthrate has been [dropping for decades](), but also because prospective students are doing napkin math and thinking: maybe the cost of a 4-year college degree just isn’t worth it. Indeed, despite a number of measures to assuage student debt, which have waived more than $168 billion in loans for ~4.8 million eligible Americans [since 2022](, the cost of college remains formidable for many. A Pew Research Center poll [published in May]( found that only 22% of American adults said that the cost of getting a college degree was worth it if someone has to take out loans; 47% said it was worth it only if you don’t need a loan, and 29% said it wasn’t worth it at all. [Read this on the web instead](   [Sponsored by Monogram]( Beyond Nasdaq…Monogram's new investment potential [Monogram (Nasdaq: MGRM)](, known for its autonomous robotic surgical systems, completed a crowd funded public offering and NASDAQ listing last year. What’s next? They just filed for FDA approval* to market and commercialize their patented AI joint replacement tech. By the year 2027, 50% of knee replacement surgeries will be robotic. Now, Monogram’s offering [a new chance for investors](: the opportunity to invest in preferred stock with an 8% dividend yield (in cash or kind). Their common stock traded at a 52-week high of $5.15**, and its closing price on 8/20 was $3.11, but the unlisted preferred stock (which is convertible into one share of common) is available for $2.25/share. ** 52-week range for MGRM is $1.53-$5.15 as of 8/20/24. [Monogram currently plans to close the Series D Preferred offering on September 12, 2024.]( [Monogram currently plans to close the Series D Preferred offering on September 12, 2024.](   Every year since the pandemic — when the last thing anyone wanted was to handle banknotes that had been thumbed by countless people before — society has moved closer to being [cashless](. Now, simply getting your hands on physical currency is coming with a heftier price tag. Indeed, ATM fees have hit a new high, according to a [Bankrate study]( released yesterday, with it costing the average American $4.77 to withdraw money from an out-of-network cash machine — $3.19 of which comes from the surcharge charged by ATM owner, on top of a $1.58 fee that’s kindly doled out by your own bank for using a non-network machine. Balance on screen This marks the 4th consecutive year that ATM fees have risen, with the overall decades-long trend largely driven by the hikes in surcharges incurred to non-bank [cardholders]( by ATM owners. However, not all machines are created equal: while the study found that the metropolitan areas with the lowest combined average ATM fees were Boston ($4.16) and Seattle ($4.34), the district with the highest combined fees for the second year in a row was Atlanta, where you’ll get charged ~$5.33 for using an out-of-network ATM. Even with steeper withdrawal charges, as well as overdraft fees also increasing by 1.7% to ~$27 this year, banks still appear to be loosening up on some other stipends: the same report outlined that average non-sufficient fund fees fell by a further 11% from last year to a record low of $17.72. [Read this on the web instead](   More Data - Face(book) value: [Axios report]( finds that each Meta employee accounted for an average $1.1 million in revenue in the first half of 2024 — a company record. - Volkswagen’s long-awaited minibus revival is [set to start at $59,995](, making it expensive and a little disappointing, per Jon Keegan. - Target’s earnings prove that [consumers just wanted lower prices](. - Mentions of “election” or “elections” on this year’s Q2 earnings calls at S&P 500 companies were nearly double that seen in the last 2 presidential [election years](. - Man in the hat: Indiana Jones’ iconic fedora from The Temple of Doom fetched $630K at [auction](. [Monogram (Nasdaq: MGRM)]( is offering the public preferred stock with an 8% yield (in cash or kind) that’s convertible to its public stock. [Learn more on their website.](*** Ad   Hi-Viz - Rash decisions: Why the [diaper industry]( needs a change. - [This map]( visualizes population density by using 1 pixel to represent every 50K people in the world. Off the charts: What company is gaining a lot of buzz on TikTok, thanks to its “unhinged” marketing efforts? [Answer below]. [Answer here.](   Thanks for stopping by! Have some [feedback](mailto:daily@chartr.co?subject=Feedback&body=Hi, I like the newsletters, but I had a thought for you...) or want to [sponsor this newsletter](mailto:advertising@sherwoodmedia.com?subject=I’m interested in advertising with Sherwood Media)?   Not a subscriber? Sign up for free below. [Subscribe](   Advertiser’s disclosures: * A filing for FDA approval is no guarantee of an actual FDA approval. *** This is a paid advertisement for Monogram Technologies Series D Preferred Stock offering. A prospectus supplement and accompanying base prospectus have been filed with the SEC. Before making any investment, you are urged to [read the prospectus supplement and accompanying base prospectus carefully]( for a more complete understanding of the issuer and the offering. The securities offered by Monogram are highly speculative. Investing in these securities involves significant risks. The investment is suitable only for persons who can afford to lose their entire investment. Investors must understand that such investment could be illiquid for an indefinite period of time. There is no existing public trading market for the Series D Preferred Stock. Monogram does not intend to apply for listing of the Series D Preferred Stock or the common stock purchase warrants on a national securities exchange or quoted on an over the counter market. 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.   [X]( [Instagram]( [Chartr Logo]( 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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