🛻 Ford’s “hybrid” EV-olution

…and Coinbase laces up its gloves as regulators raise the stakes [Disclosures](   The F-150 with a twist (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)   Yesterday’s Market Moves   Dow Jones 32,105 (+0.23%) S&P 500 3,949 (+0.30%) Nasdaq 11,787 (+1.01%) Bitcoin $28,223 (+3.23%) Dow Jones 32,105 (+0.23%) S&P 500 3,949 (+0.30%) Nasdaq 11,787 (+1.01%) Bitcoin $28,223 (+3.23%) Hey Snackers, It’s not “Undercover Boss” but more like undercover barista boss. [Starbucks]( new CEO is throwing on the green apron after 40 hours of latte-foaming, cold-brewing training. Laxman Narasimhan said he’ll [work]( a barista shift at Starbucks once a month. US stocks ended higher yesterday after a choppy session. The techy Nasdaq led gains as more traders bet that Fed rate hikes could be winding down. Meanwhile, the central banks of the UK and Switzerland also raised rates, following the US’s lead. Juice Ford’s EV biz is losing billions, but its “hybrid” structure might keep investors charged up F-150s for days… [Ford]( has sold America’s best-selling truck for 46 years, but its electric ambitions are still loading. Yesterday the Detroit automaker said its EV unit [lost]( over $2B last year, and it forecast another $3B in losses this year. Ford’s EVs include the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning pickup. But Ford stock popped after it revealed $10B in profits from its gas-fueled cars and fleet biz. It’s the first time Ford’s given a peek into its revamped business segments (we’ll see full results when it reports in May). - Charging up: Last year Ford said it would spend $50B to set up its new electric-car division, with plans to build over 2M EVs/year by 2026. Ford [sold]( 61K+ EVs in the US last year, making it the #2 best-selling EV maker behind [Tesla](. - Breaking out: Ford’ll start reporting its financial results in three buckets: Ford Blue (classic gas and hybrid cars), Ford Model E (EVs), and Ford Pro (commercial fleets). Short circuit… Ford attributed its big EV losses to the big investments it’s making to boost production (picture: building battery factories, truck plants). But even as demand grows for its budding EV offering, production problems have made electric manufacturing even costlier than usual. Last month it halted production of its electric F-150 after a battery fire. Some analysts say Ford could be losing $9K per EV sold. Still, it has its OG cars to fall back on while it works out electric kinks. THE TAKEAWAY A hybrid biz can be stronger… By diversifying its vehicles, Ford has an advantage over pure-play EV startups: traditional cars could help sustain the company until the EV side is profitable. (FYI: It took Tesla 17 years to turn a profit.) That’s likely why Ford and [GM]( both decided not to spin off their EV units. With yesterday’s announcement, Ford wanted investors to know how healthy its core biz is while making its EV biz transparent. Stakes Coinbase said it'll fight back as regulators put the squeeze on crypto staking and listings All’s not well… that ends Wells. [Coinbase]( said Wednesday that it had received a Wells notice [warning]( from the SEC. The securities regulator is reported to be likely preparing to sue the biz over its staking program, wallet service, and some coin listings. Coinbase denied that it's offering unregistered securities and said it'll fight the SEC in court if necessary. The stakes are high: - Fee$: Coinbase makes most of its $$ from transaction fees, which could be at risk if it’s forced to pull popular coins. Now Coinbase is said to be looking into setting up an exchange overseas. - Money staker: Coinbase's [staking]( service (picture: crypto holders earning coins for helping secure the blockchain) accounts for only 3% of revenue, but is an effort to diversify from transaction fees. - A big swing: An SEC win in court could embolden regulators, setting the stage for industry-wide enforcement actions. Working overtime… to make up for lost time. After FTX’s collapse, some lawmakers accused securities regulators of being "asleep at the wheel." But now it seems the SEC has downed a double espresso. In January, the regulator charged Gemini and Genesis with offering unregistered securities. And last month the SEC settled with Kraken over claims the exchange's staking service violated securities laws. Kraken ended its staking program. THE TAKEAWAY Lines in the sand can be easily redrawn… For years regulators applied a light touch as crypto cos like Coinbase (which has been operating in the US for 10+ years) launched new products in a hazy atmosphere. Things haven't necessarily gotten clearer: even SEC commissioners are split over how to regulate crypto. Now the US crypto industry's fate may rest in the hands of the courts. NABBED The Crypto Catch-Up… 🤔 Sus… Lindsay Lohan, Jake Paul, Akon, and other celebs agreed to pay a combined $400K to [settle]( SEC charges related to their paid promotions of crypto tokens tronix and bittorrent. Accused of making the payments: Tron founder Justin Sun. 🪙 Coins… Celsius [reached]( a deal to repay its custody account customers 72% of their lost funds. When the exchange went bankrupt last year, it owed customers $4.7B but had a $1.2B hole in its balance sheet. 🌶️ Spicy… Do Kwon, the terraUSD creator who's denied being on the run, was [arrested]( yesterday in Montenegro. His algo stablecoin blew up last year, wiping out $40B in investor value and knocking crypto winter into overdrive. What else we're Snackin' - [TikTest]( Congress grilled TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew in a (messy) five-hour testimony as momentum grows in DC to ban the ByteDance-owned platform, which could upend the social-media industry. - [WiFiAI]( ChatGPT feels a (WiFi) connection: OpenAI said its chatbot can now browse the web to pull info from after 2021, in some cases. Meanwhile, media execs are [demanding]( compensation for AI’s use of their content. - [Cheery]( Cereal icon [General Mills]( saw its sales pop 13% last quarter as shoppers kept adding Cheerios and Cocoa Puffs to their carts despite inflation. Price hikes have also helped [Kellogg]( and [Kraft](. - [Spotter]( The FTC proposed a rule that would make canceling your gym membership less of a heavy lift. The provision would require companies to make it just as easy to cancel a subscription as it is to enroll. - [Braced]( [Walmart]( is laying off hundreds of employees at five e-comm fulfillment facilities as recession fears loom. Retailers have announced more than 17K job cuts so far this year. 🍪 Thanks for Snacking with us! Want to share the Snacks? Invite your friends to sign up [here](. Snack Fact Of the Day Norway has a “doomsday” seed vault with 1.2M samples [Read more]( Friday - St. Louis Fed President Bullard speaks Authors of this Snacks own shares: of Tesla, Starbucks, GM, Kraft, and Walmart ID: 2810883 Robinhood Snacks newsletters reflect the opinions of only the authors who are associated persons of Robinhood Financial LLC (Member [SIPC]( and do not reflect the views of Robinhood Markets, Inc. or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates. They are for informational purposes only, and are not a recommendation of an investment strategy or to buy or sell any security, digital asset (cryptocurrency, etc) in any account. 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 including the loss of principal and past performance does not guarantee future results. [Robinhood Terms and Conditions]( • [Disclosure Library]( • [Our Editorial Principles]( • [Contact Us]( • [FAQ]( [Manage Your Subscription Preferences](