🎙 Twitter's pod-cquisition

...and Alibaba feels the heat [Disclosures]( Trolls World Tour, or Twitter Audio Spaces? Yesterday’s Market Moves Dow Jones 30,392 (+0.55%) S&P 500 3,727 (+0.71%) Nasdaq 12,819 (+0.95%) Bitcoin $34,258 (+9.21%) Dow Jones 30,392 (+0.55%) S&P 500 3,727 (+0.71%) Nasdaq 12,819 (+0.95%) Bitcoin $34,258 (+9.21%) Hey Snackers, There's no immunity to love: a nurse was about to administer his boyfriend's Covid vaccine, when he [found]( an engagement ring taped on his arm. Stocks jumped as US investors awaited election results from key Georgia races, which will determine which party controls the Senate. Podular Twitter buys "social podcasting" app Breaker to help build its audio platform Nano vibes... Podcasts are as old as the 2004 iPod — the term is actually a mashup of "iPod" and "broadcast." But the Big Pod Boom came more recently: global monthly podcast listeners grew from 287M in 2016 to 1B+ in 2020 — and they're [expected]( to hit 1.85B in 2023. Audio streamers can profit more from pods than from songs, since they don't have to give record labels a cut. That's partly why: - [Spotify]( has shelled out $700M+ over the past two years to buy pod-related companies like The Ringer and Parcast. - [Apple]( the pod OG, is [reportedly]( amping up efforts to produce Apple-original podcasts. It now hosts over [1M]( podcasts, nearly double from 2018. - [Amazon]( is snatching up podcast network Wondery to make Amazon Music more pod-pular. @ me (in my ears)... Now [Twitter]( is [buying]( social pod app Breaker, which lets users comment on episodes and follow friends. The actual Breaker app is getting shut down this month, and Twitter is getting Breaker's staff and tech (so: more like an acquihire). It'll use the fresh talent to help with its new audio-based social project, "Twitter Spaces." Because we can't wait to hear Twitter out loud. THE TAKEAWAY Podcasting needs a social breakthrough... Podcasts have communities of listeners, but they're one-way convos. You have to go to a social network (cough, like Twitter) to try to engage. Barely $1B/year is spent on pod ads, because targeting on pods is way less precise than social targeting. If Twitter's audio Spaces can can bring social + pods together, that could significantly boost ad sales both for pods and for Twitter. Baba Alibaba's Jack Ma may not be missing, but his companies are feeling the heat Phew... [Alibaba]( stock jumped ~6% yesterday on news that its multibillionaire founder Jack Ma is [reportedly]( just lying low — not missing. Ma hasn't been seen in public since November, when he missed an appearance on... his own TV show. Ma went from being the only guy who [couldn't]( land a job at KFC, to one of the most well-known businessmen in the world — with a $650B company to boot (Alibaba, aka: "Amazon of China"). But now his "babies" are in trouble... - Ant: In November, Ma's huge fintech Ant Group was set to go public in the largest IPO ever. Unrelated: Ma publicly [criticized]( Chinese regulators for essentially killing innovation. Related: Chinese regulators indefinitely [suspended]( Ant's IPO (#squashed). - Baba: Last month, China [launched]( an anti-monopoly probe targeting Alibaba, which owns 33% of Ant. B(old) choice of words... China was likely not thrilled to have its financial regulations referred to as "an old people's club" — which Ma [reportedly]( did at that fateful conference in Shanghai. But comments like that aren't illegal, and can't be the basis for a suspended IPO or an investigation... Or can they? THE TAKEAWAY Chinese companies' #1 stakeholder = the Chinese gov’t... Alibaba has over 750M customers, and Ant has over 1B users. This story is a reminder that no matter how huge a company gets, China doesn't necessarily need to justify itself to reign it in. If anything, the massive scale of those companies can make China even more keen on keeping a hand on the wheel: [according]( to Chinese officials, Beijing is trying to shrink Ma's empire and potentially take a larger stake in his businesses. What else we're Snackin' - [Choco]( Snack legend [Mondelez]( (see: Oreos, Ritz) agrees to buy fancy paleo chocolate maker Hu at a reported $340M valuation. - [Bubu]( [FuboTV]( stock soared after the sports streamer announced expectation-beating (preliminary) quarterly sales after a days-long sell-off. - [Shift]( [GM]( US sales fell nearly 12% in 2020, but jumped nearly 5% last quarter — good sign for the auto industry after a terrible 2020. - [Streamy]( [ViacomCBS]( strikes a distribution deal with [Disney]( Hulu that'll make 14 channels, including Nickelodeon, available on Hulu + Live TV. - [Depart]( Bloomingdale's owner [Macy's]( is shuttering 45 more locations this year, as part of its three-year store closure plan. 🍪 Thanks for Snacking with us! Want to share the Snacks? Invite your friends to sign up [here](. The Snacks Daily Podcast In 2019, Popeyes launched Chicken Sandwich War I with its spicy chicken legend. Now, Chicken Sandwich War II is upon us... - Shake Shack just dropped its Korean-style Fried Chick'n Sandwich. - McDonald’s is reloading its buns with three new chicken sandwiches. [Tune in]( to find out why this could signal the end of ad-pocalypse. Snack Fact Of the Day [The Michelin Guide for restaurants was created by the Michelin tire brothers to encourage road trips]( Wednesday - Weekly jobless claims - Earnings expected from [Walgreens]( and [Constellation Brands]( Authors of this Snacks own shares of: Apple ID: 1467967 Robinhood Snacks newsletters and podcasts reflect the opinions of only the authors who are associated persons of Robinhood Financial LLC and do not reflect the views of Robinhood Markets, Inc. or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates. They are meant for informational purposes only, are not intended to serve as a recommendation to buy or sell any security in a self-directed Robinhood account or any other account, and are not an offer or sale of a security. They are also not research reports and are not intended to serve as the basis for any investment decision. Any third-party information provided therein does not reflect the views of Robinhood Markets, Inc., Robinhood Financial LLC, or any of their subsidiaries or affiliates. All investments involve risk and the past performance of a security or financial product does not guarantee future results or returns. Keep in mind that while diversification may help spread risk, it does not assure a profit or protect against loss. There is always the potential of losing money when you invest in securities or other financial products. Investors should consider their investment objectives and risks carefully before investing. The price of a given security may increase or decrease based on market conditions and customers may lose money, including their original investment. Robinhood Financial LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. Testimonials may not be representative of the experience of other customers and are not guarantees of future performance or success. Robinhood Financial LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. [Robinhood Terms and Conditions]( • [Disclosure Library]( • [Our Editorial Principles]( • [Contact Us]( • [FAQ]( [Manage Your Subscription Preferences](