💰 Oracle’s $28B health play, explained

PLUS: Starbucks resellers, explained. December 22, 2021 [The Hustle]( Need some small talk material today? In February, more people Googled “how to buy bitcoin” than “how to buy stocks.” And in 2021, people searched “how to start a business” more than they searched “how to get a job.” (P.S. We’ve got another cartoon for you down below.) Today’s rundown: - Oracle is back: …and betting big ($28B) on health care. - Poinsettias: The $1B flower that took over Christmas. - Collectible cups: How Starbucks holiday cups became a gold mine for resellers. - Around the web: Ice cream in a bag, a historical timeline of food, and more wild internet finds. Let’s do it. The big idea [Oracle]( Is Oracle back? A $28B health care acquisition is a bullish sign Oracle was founded in 1977 as a (yawn) database solutions vendor. Today, it has a market cap of $244B but has fallen far behind 2 other tech firms also launched in the mid-1970s (i.e., Apple @ $2.8T, Microsoft @ $2.5T). One big reason: It missed the cloud computing revolution, which Larry Ellison -- founder, CTO, and chairman of Oracle -- [called]( a fashion trend and “complete gibberish” in 2008. Turns out, Ellison was very wrong Revenue for global cloud computing infrastructure is projected at ~$150B for 2021. And Oracle only has a sliver of the pie, per [Statista](: - Amazon Web Services: 32% global market share - Microsoft Azure: 20% - Google Cloud: 9% - Oracle: 2% (womp, womp, womp) However, the company is moving in the right direction. Its latest quarterly earnings showed the cloud division grew [+22%]( YoY (with an $11B+ run rate). Can a big acquisition change its fortunes? Oracle announced a $28B+ deal for electronic medical records firm Cerner. Per [The Wall Street Journal](, Ellison wants to buy his way into health care. The plan makes sense: health care accounts for ~20% of US GDP, and software for medical records is a $29B+ industry that has mostly not migrated to the cloud. Oracle calls Cerner the “anchor asset” of this ambition. (It’ll also be a blow to Amazon, which is currently Cerner’s largest cloud provider.) The all-cash deal… … will be Oracle’s biggest deal ever but still needs approval. Notably, UK’s antitrust regulators are reviewing Microsoft’s recent [$16B]( acquisition of Nuance Communications, a speech recognition firm popular in health care. Winning Cerner may put Oracle’s failed [TikTok]( acquisition in the past (we still can’t believe this was a thing) and help it gain ground in the cloud race. Ellison -- the world’s 5th richest person ($120B+) -- probably likes the sound of that fashion trend. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Is+Oracle+back%3F+A+%2428B+health+care+acquisition+is+a+bullish+sign%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F12222021-Oracle%3Futm_campaign%3DWednesday%2BEmail%26utm_content%3D12222021-Oracle%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( SNIPPETS The Roblox effect: “Rec Room,” a social gaming platform built on user-generated content, [raised]( $145m at a $3.5B valuation. Alibaba’s new problem: China’s biggest online shopping influencer, Viya, was [fined]( $210m for underreporting her income. As a result, she had to shut down her account on Taobao, Alibaba’s ecommerce platform. Finance superapp: Rocket Companies, the parent company behind Rocket Mortgage, [announced]( it would acquire personal finance app Truebill for $1.3B. Edtech extravaganza: Open English, an online English school for Spanish speakers, [announced]( it would IPO in 2022, following other edtech players like Duolingo, PowerSchool, and Udemy. Update: Amazon [announced]( it would back off its cell phone ban in warehouses until further notice. The policy came under scrutiny following the death of 6 employees when an Illinois warehouse was struck by a tornado. $410k/mo. from an AC accessory: The most recent Trends report analyzes the rise in demand for air conditioning, how entrepreneurs are responding, and [niche opportunities for you to capitalize on](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Hey — enjoy getting quick updates on what you care about? Take [20 seconds]( to personalize your Snippets. Pick your preferences👇 and we’ll send you more of what you love. Boom. [Personalize my Email →]( Chart [poinsettia chart]( How the poinsettia took over Christmas The poinsettia plant is one of the most popular plants in the world, with annual sales of ~90m units and a global retail impact of nearly $1B. Every year, just after Thanksgiving, it emerges en masse at nurseries, big-box retailers, fundraisers, and holiday parties. But behind the beautiful, blood-red bracts of the poinsettia, there’s a story rife with international politics, spoiled trade secrets, and a toppled monopoly. How did this Mexican shrub become America’s best-selling holiday plant? To find out, The Hustle talked to poinsettia growers, breeders, salespeople, and historians. [Read the full story →]( Cup Chaos [Starbucks cup]( Reusable Starbucks cups are lining resellers’ pockets Sports cards, sneakers, and… Starbucks cups? Resellers are apparently making bank off devoted Starbucks collectors. For example: - In 2020, 2 resellers claimed they made [$5k]( in profit selling Starbucks holiday cups and accessories via Facebook Marketplace. - A TikTok reseller [said]( his wife sold a tumbler she bought for $20 for $165. - In 2019, resellers snapped up Halloween cups and [listed]( them for $100-$500. Meanwhile, numerous Facebook Groups are dedicated to cup hunting, including this 13.7k-member [public group]( that advertises itself as no-rules “cup chaos.” Collectors happily show off their Starbucks [hauls]( and massive cup [stashes](. But, why? Poshmark CEO Manish Chandra suggested “pandemic-triggered nostalgia.” He [told]( CNN Business that Starbucks merchandise saw a 100%+ uptick in sales on the platform in 2020. But cup collecting predates the pandemic. Thrifter Cary Williams [told]( In The Know he thinks the coffee chain just has a passionate fanbase... … Which can be a problem for baristas While [Grinch bots]( steal Christmas by gaming online retailers, Starbucks merch is only available in-store, which has led to some pretty wacky behavior. - A former barista [posted](to TikTok that resellers rummage through store cabinets and even [fight]( with employees and other resellers. - Fights have allegedly [broken out]( at Disney parks (the happiest places on Earth!) over exclusive Disney-themed Starbucks cups. - Some stores have implemented sales limits on cups to stave off resellers and save some for collectors or, you know, people who actually drink coffee out of them. BTW: If this has you curious, here’s a [comprehensive site]( entirely devoted to Starbucks mugs. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Reusable+Starbucks+cups+are+lining+resellers%E2%80%99+pockets%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F12222021-Starbucks-cups%3Futm_campaign%3DWednesday%2BEmail%26utm_content%3D12222021-Starbucks-cups%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( Podcast Crypto games and breaking down Disney We wish we could tell you Shaan made it onto the “DILFs of Disneyland” Instagram. No further comment. He and Sam dissect interesting moneymakers including crypto gaming, Disney everything, Silicon Valley swingers, and more. Watch My First Million highlights: - [Crypto gambling and gaming](: Bromatoes and [Wolf.game](. - [The Disneyland story](: A Shaan-ologue on the happy place. - [Unbundling Disney business ideas](: Try dogs and synagogues. - [Sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll](: Except Silicon Valley-style. [The CNN-WWE comparison](: A discussion about facts. [Where dreams come true →]( AROUND THE WEB 🎄On this day: In 1882, Thomas Edison [created]( the first string of Christmas tree lights. 🎷 That’s cool: The New Orleans Jazz Museum and the Rebel Babel Ensemble remixed the music of Polish composers from 1918-1939, then each musician performed it from their hometown. The result is [this video](. 🍨 How to: Did you know you can make ice cream in a bag? Apparently, it [involves]( 10-12 minutes of shaking and a little rock salt. 😆 Haha: Notchmeister is [an app]( for the new MacBook Pro. Install it to add festive lights and other effects to the controversial notch at the top of the screen. 📖 Useful: LibraryThing is [a community]( for book lovers. Catalog your books, find new ones, and connect and trade with people who have similar interests. 🍩 That’s interesting: The[Food Timeline]( shows when various foods were found, cultivated, or invented. For example, breakfast cereal has been around since 1863, while lava cake appeared in 1991. cartoon of the day [genie cartoon] Credit: Zachary Crockett & Jacob Cohen How did you like today’s email? Refer friends. Help us grow. Get cool stuff 🤠Share The Hustle with your custom referral link: [ Your referral count: 0 Today's email was brought to you by [Trung Phan](, [Jacob Cohen](, [Juliet Bennett Rylah](, [Rob Litterst](. Editing by: Jennifer “Cupboard full of Starbucks cups” Wang. 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