🏰 Disney’s plus profits

…and Elon Musk goes on the ad offensive (again) Chartr/Sherwood   Yesterday's market moves Dow Jones 38,763 (-0.60%) S&P 500 5,200 (-0.77%) Nasdaq 16,196 (-1.05%) Bitcoin $55,299 (-1.34%) Dow Jones 38,763 (-0.60%) S&P 500 5,200 (-0.77%) Nasdaq 16,196 (-1.05%) Bitcoin $55,299 (-1.34%) Hey Snackers, Marvel’s “Deadpool & Wolverine,” which had the biggest debut ever for an R-rated flick, was packed with [18 cameos]( from past MCU characters. They’re back from the dead… pool. Stocks dipped and bond yields rose yesterday as investors [still felt jitters]( from Monday’s [market meltdown](. Today’s weekly jobless claims could help traders check in on a US labor market that recently saw its unemployment rate spike.   STREAM ON [Disney’s streaming biz conjures its first profitable quarter as theme parks lose their thrill]( Putting on “Moana”… for the 50th time. Investors had a clear takeaway from Disney’s expectation-beating quarterly report yesterday: entertainment’s on the up-and-up, and theme parks are not. Mickey’s streaming biz (Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+) stole the show, posting its [first-ever combined profit]( of $47M. That’s a reversal from last year’s $500M+ loss for the same quarter. Disney’s movie biz got a boost from “Inside Out 2,” which became the highest-grossing animated film. “Deadpool & Wolverine” is expected to pump up revenues this quarter. But it wasn’t all fairy-tale results… - Mouse trap: Operating income at Disney’s US theme parks fell 6% on higher expenses and flat attendance. Execs said “flattish” parks revenue will likely continue over the next few quarters. Unmagic Mountain… Amusement parks thrived after the pandemic as people sought out real-life thrills. But higher park ticket prices have steered some folks to opt for cruises and global getaways instead. Last month, Comcast said quarterly sales at its Universal theme parks sank nearly 11%. Knott’s Berry Farm parent Cedar Fair saw record Q1 revenue, but in-park spending slipped. Six Flags, which merged with Cedar Fair last month, saw Q1 revenue fall 6% on the year after it sold fewer membership passes (Six Flags reports fresh #s today). THE TAKEAWAY There’s a new Belle of the ball… Parks have long been a profit puppy for entertainment giants. Disney’s experiences segment (which includes parks and cruises) makes up over half of the co’s annual profit. But as attendance cools, media titans are focusing on juicing streaming profitability. This week Disney announced it would [hike prices]( across all three of its streamers and roll out a Netflix-esque password crackdown “in earnest” next month. [Read this online](   RATIO [X tries to solve its ad issue by suing advertisers as the platform’s problems pile up]( Posting through it… Less than a year after Elon Musk told advertisers to “go f— yourself,” his relationship with major advertisers has somehow gotten even worse. This week, X [filed]( a federal antitrust lawsuit against an ad industry coalition and four of its key members (CVS, Mars, Unilever, and Orsted). X, which has promoted itself as a home for free speech, alleged that the World Federation of Advertisers conspired to illegally boycott the platform. It was the latest update in a rocky relationship between advertisers and X since Musk’s acquisition. - @ntitrust: X called the ad coalition’s moves a “coercive exercise of market power” and stated that the revenue hit the biz suffered has made it a “less effective competitor.” - Threads: Last year, X sued Media Matters, a watchdog group, saying a report which said ads on X appeared near antisemitic content was an attempt to drive away advertisers. Another X suit, against the Center for Countering Digital Hate, was tossed in March. - A suit X didn’t file: The platform’s facing a lawsuit from journalist Don Lemon, who had his X partnership scrapped after a contentious interview with Musk. It’s what’s happening… and it’s not lookin’ good. Reports say X earned $114M in US revenue last quarter, down 53% year over year. Analysts estimate X’s global ad sales will hit ~$2B this year, less than half of its 2021 total. In June, Musk [attended]( the Cannes Lions ad festival to woo back advertisers that had left the platform over inflammatory posts and moderation concerns. At the event, Musk told advertisers that X might be “worth trying out” again. THE TAKEAWAY Power users can’t make up for lost ads… Social media companies like Meta, Snap, and X are mega reliant on ad bucks, despite attempts to diversify (think: X’s blue check subscription). But prolific posters may not be enough to bail out X, which reports say has seen its US usage fall by more than a fifth since Musk’s takeover. X’s ad-related lawsuits highlight just how vital the revenue source is. [Read this online](   ON SHERWOOD [It’s a Macbeth market: full of sound and fury, signifying nothing]( Volatility markets and credit markets are at odds. And the stock market disagrees with itself. //link.sherwoodmedia.com/click/36335029.3034485/aHR0cHM6Ly9zaGVyd29vZC5uZXdzL21hcmtldHMvaXRzLWEtbWFjYmV0aC1tYXJrZXQtZnVsbC1vZi1zb3VuZC1hbmQtZnVyeS1zaWduaWZ5aW5nLW5vdGhpbmcvP3V0bV90ZXJtPW9uc2hlcndvb2QmdXRtX3NvdXJjZT1zbmFja3MmdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249c25hY2tzXzIwMjQwODA4JnV0bV9jb250ZW50PTdjODc1OWRlNDMyZTdlNWI2OTgxNzc4NjExYWY0MGJk/65a83c0d58588007824b1371D716ea0d1[Read More.](   What else we're Snackin' - [Plugged](: Boeing is redesigning the door plug that yeeted off one of its planes this year. Regulators grilled the jet maker this week over its safety practices as it moved to ramp production back up. - [Airbnbye](: Airbnb investors checked out after the vacay rental platform gave a bummer outlook and said US demand was slowing. The stock dropped 13% as investors learned that growth was still trending down. - [Upvote](: Reddit’s adding AI-powered search after making deals with OpenAI and Google. The social platform ended Q2 with its shares up 60% from its March IPO and daily users up 51% from last year. - [Slim](: Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk reported underwhelming sales of its popular weight-loss drug Wegovy after pricey concessions to pharmacy benefit managers. It’s also dealing with more weight-drug competition. - [Shoppy](: Shopify stock surged more than 20% after the ecomm platform beat Q2 estimates and forecast strong growth. Shopify said AI tools lured more merchants to join the millions of businesses using its ecomm backbone.   Snack Fact of the Day [McDonald’s said the word “value” 90+ times in its Q2 earnings call](   Thursday - US initial jobless claims - Earnings expected from Eli Lilly, Krispy Kreme, Liberty SiriusXM, Papa John’s, Under Armour, Yeti, Hilton Grand Vacations, iHeartMedia, US Foods, Warby Parker, E.l.f. Beauty, Paramount, Sweetgreen, Expedia, Dropbox, Take-Two Interactive, Potbelly, Grindr, Expensify, and Yelp Authors of this Snacks own shares of CVS, Comcast, Disney, Reddit, Shopify, and Snap   [Instagram]( [Twitter]( [Sherwood 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... [See more]( [Sherwood Terms and Conditions]( [Our Editorial Standards]( [Contact Us](mailto:hello@snacks.robinhood.com) [Advertise With Us](mailto:advertising@sherwoodmedia.com) [Unsubscribe]( [Privacy Policy](