Disney’s Metaverse

Today is Thursday, November 11, 2021.

Disney’s Metaverse Overshadows Earnings

Shares of Disney (NYSE: DIS) dropped 4.49% in after-hours trading on Wednesday after the media and entertainment giant posted negative earnings, but CEO Bob Chapek mentioned the “metaverse” during the earnings call.

Numbers: Disney reported earnings of 37 cents per share, but analysts were looking for 51 cents. The company’s revenue totaled $18.53 billion, which was also slightly below estimates.

Details: The company said there were 118.1 million Disney+ subscribers, which is below what analysts expected. The pandemic also diminished revenues for parks and caused theatrical delays.

Going Meta: During the call, Chapek said that Disney wants to create its own “metaverse” that would connect the physical and digital worlds. He later told CNBC that his vision includes Disney+ being the platform for the metaverse and it may or may not include a virtual reality headset.

Background: The metaverse is essentially an internet where people would meet via digital avatars and interact virtually.

Final Thoughts: It was unclear if Chapek really has plans for a Disney metaverse or if he is just trying to distract from Disney’s poor earnings. What is clear is that Disney+ is currently lagging behind Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX).

Notables

Notable Earnings Today: Paysafe (NYSE: PSFE), Luminar (Nasdaq: LAZR), Wix.com (Nasdaq: WIX), Tapestry (NYSE: TPR), Blink Charging (Nasdaq: BLNK), Bridgestone (OTCMKTS: BRDCY), Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE: BAM), Lordstown Motors (Nasdaq: RIDE), Siemens (OTCMKTS: SIEGY), Utz Brands (NYSE: UTZ).

Notable IPOs Today: Weave Communications, Inc. (NYSE: WEAV), Vaxxinity, Inc. (Nasdaq: VAXX), Lulu's Fashion Lounge Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: LVLU), Mynaric AG (Nasdaq: MYNA), Backblaze, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLZE), Winc, Inc. (NYSE: WBEV), HHG Capital Corporation Ordinary Shares (Nasdaq: HHGC), Tivic Health Systems, Inc. Common Stock (Nasdaq: TIVC), Kidpik Corp. Common Stock (Nasdaq: PIK), Embark Technology, Inc. Common Stock (Nasdaq: EMBK), Heartbeam, Inc. Common Stock (Nasdaq: BEAT).

Notable Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns Ending Today: ITBiometrics (Wefunder), Carlocity (Wefunder), Chaia (SMBX), Prince’s Subs (Honeycomb).

Notable Economic Events Today: N/A

Affirm Climbs Thanks to Amazon News

Shares of Affirm (Nasdaq: AFRM) increased 27.33% in after-hours trading on Wednesday due to strong earnings and an expansion of its partnership with Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN).

Background: Affirm is a Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) company that lets consumers spread out purchase costs over several months. They announced a partnership with Amazon in August.

Numbers: Revenue for Affirm reached $269 million, which was better than the projected estimate of $248 million. The number of active merchants and consumers also grew in the quarter.

Details: As part of the earnings release, Affirm announced that its partnership with Amazon is expanding. Affirm will be Amazon's only BNPL provider until January 2023 and it will be integrated into Amazon's pay digital wallet in the U.S.

Final Thoughts: The prospects look good for Affirm after Wednesday’s strong results. However, there is a dark cloud looming over the BNPL industry, especially because consumer defaults under BNPL are ticking up.

Ethereum vs. Bitcoin: Key Differences

The two most popular cryptocurrencies on the planet are Bitcoin and Ethereum. Here are three key differences between them that investors should know.

History: Bitcoin was launched in 2009 and has a larger market cap than Ethereum, which was only created in 2015.

Purpose: Whereas Bitcoin is loved by the financial community and is seen as an alternative to traditional money, the purpose of Ethereum is also technology. Ethereum plays a big role in smart contracts that are used by companies around the world.

Supply: There’s a limited supply of Bitcoin, which is capped at 21 million. Ethereum has no limited supply.

Final Thoughts: Despite their differences, both Bitcoin and Ethereum prices have experienced tremendous growth in the past year.

Trends to Watch

Look, It’s Inflation: U.S. Inflation Hit 31-Year High in October as Consumer Prices Jump 6.2% (The Wall Street Journal)

As Expected: Elon Musk Sold Tesla Stock. It Wasn’t Because of Taxes. (Barron’s)

Trouble, We Meat Again: Beyond Meat signals more pain ahead as demand slows, shares tumble 19% (Reuters)

Open Sesame: Opendoor thrives in home-flipping market Zillow just exited as earnings beat estimates (CNBC)

Big News: Rivian is America's biggest IPO since Facebook (CNN)

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