🕶️ Meta's AI Wearables Are GOOD

Good morning Investor! “The most expensive tax we pay is ignorance tax. Ignorance tax is the price we pay for not knowing what we should know by now.”

— Alex Hormozi

MARKET UPDATE

Shares of Hims & Hers Health (HIMS) took an 8% tumble on Friday, after the CEO sparked outrage and boycotts by offering campus protestors jobs for their “bravery”. We view this as a short term reaction, but let’s not forget the age old adage, all publicity is good publicity.

TODAY’S BIG HEADLINES

• Meta already makes the best AI wearables

• Airbnb is making dreams come true

• Bird flu is hitting US cattle farmers hard

• The rise of Poland and the WIG

MEGA CAPS

Meta already makes the best AI wearables😎

Hidden Behind the Glass: Remember the Google Glass and Snapchat Spectacles? Those fashion faux pas that promised so much yet delivered so little? Well, hold onto your hats because Meta has just launched what critics are hailing as the greatest AI wearable device yet. Yes, you guessed it, we’re talking about the Meta Ray-Bans.

Recent Improvements: The Meta-Ray-Ban collaboration has been turning heads faster than a catwalk model with its impressive feature set. The glasses now feature integrations which allow users to stream your favorite tunes on Apple Music using the built-in speakers, and even share your point of view with others via WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger. It’s like having a party in your glasses, and everyone’s invited!

The AI Features: But the pièce de résistance of these spectacles is the new AI feature set. Users can now tap into Meta AI with the “Vision” feature, a voice assistant powered by the Llama 3 AI model. It offers real-time translation and object identification, making it the Sherlock Holmes of eyewear. This is a very similar feature set implemented by the Rabbit R1 and Humane AI Pin. And the best part? They look just like your regular old Ray-Bans. So you can feel like Clark Kent while wielding the power of Superman.

Wall Street Wobbles: Meta shares took a tumble recently after the company reported earnings. The reason? A forecasted “meaningful” increase in spending on AI. It might be a bitter pill to swallow now, but this could be the golden goose that lays the future’s tech eggs.

REAL ESTATE & TRAVEL

Airbnb is making dreams come true🎈

Main Character Syndrome: After the viral success of Airbnb’s Barbie Malibu Dreamhouse, the company has launched a category dedicated to “special” experiences, aptly named “Icons”. It’s like Disneyland for adults, with stays including a re-creation of the X-Men mansion and the floating house from Pixar’s film Up. Who needs reality when you can live in a movie?

The Iconic Blueprint: As of May 1st, Airbnb has launched 11 “Icon” experiences. They’re either free via a lucky draw or charge a modest $100 per person. The list includes a trip to Riley’s control center in Inside Out 2, and a night in Prince’s Minneapolis Purple Rain house. You’ll get an exclusive studio session, a living room performance from Doja Cat, and even a trip with Kevin Hart to his Coramino Live Lounge speakeasy. It’s like winning the golden ticket to Willy Wonka’s factory (that might even be on this list one day).

Airbnb’s Olympic Reach: Here’s a fact that’ll make your jaw drop. Airbnb’s reach would make Michael Phelps green with envy. Co-Founder and CEO Brian Chesky recently revealed in a podcast that for every $1,500 handled worldwide, Airbnb handles at least $1. It’s no wonder, given Airbnb’s user-friendly interface and innovative approach, which leads to significantly more listings on their platform than any of their competitors such as the Booking-owned (BKNG) Vrbo.

Looking Ahead: The innovative short-term rentals company will be reporting earnings on Wednesday and expectations are sky-high. Analysts are expecting revenue growth of 13% and earnings per share growth of 22%. Interestingly, Airbnb has beaten earnings estimates in 8 out of the last 9 quarters, with the only disappointment coming in their most recent earnings call. Given the current valuation, we’re bullish on the stock. So, keep your eyes peeled and your wallets ready!

MACROECONOMICS

Bird flu is hitting US cattle farmers hard🐄

Discount on Aisle Three!: Commodity traders are sharpening their pencils and recalculating as US demand for beef takes a hit. The culprit? A rise in avian flu across the country’s cattle population. This has led to a drop in beef prices that’s bigger than a Texas-sized steak. It’s like a Black Friday sale, but for beef!

The Feathered Foe: In April, the H5N1 virus was found strutting its stuff in 34 herds of cattle across nine states. This strain of avian influenza typically doesn’t affect humans and struggles to spread from person to person. However, it can be quite deadly. According to WHO data, 889 people were infected with this virus between 2003 and 2024, resulting in a mortality rate that’s scarier than a Hitchcock movie. As you can imagine, despite the best efforts of US officials, mass anxiety has ensued, resulting in reduced demand for beef. It’s like a horror movie where the villain is a microscopic virus!

The Beefy Backstory: Just to add some context, beef is the second-most consumed meat in the US, with roughly 30 billion pounds being devoured nationwide per year. The sad part about this all is the mass culling that will be required to put an end to the spread of the virus, with a slaughter of an estimated 109,000 cattle taking place on April 1st. Reminiscent of a very morbid episode of “Extreme Makeover: Farm Edition.”

Market Movements: Fortunately, cattle futures trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) rallied on Thursday, after the US government said retail samples of ground beef tested negative for the bird flu virus. June live cattle futures rose 2.95 cents, reaching a price of 176.800 cents per pound. Markets breathed a sigh of relief after the sizable drop witnessed on Wednesday where futures fell to the lowest price since April 15, dropping more than 6% in a single day. A lot like a rollercoaster ride, but with more steak!

MACROECONOMICS

The rise of Poland and the WIG🚀

The Polish Powerhouse: One sleeping giant on the eastern side of the European continent is waking up, and its making some serious moves. Poland’s economy has experienced uninterrupted growth over three decades, the longest in European history, and was the only economy in the EU to avoid a recession during the financial crisis of 2008. That’s right, Poland hasn’t suffered a recession in 33 years! This economic transformation is now manifesting itself with a resilient currency which is increasing in value against the Dollar, the British Pound and the Euro. We’re also seeing the Polish stock market make new all-time highs. Poland seem to have been secretly sipping on some economic energy drink!

Savvy Decision Making: Several factors have driven this economic turnaround, one such factor was the shift away from being the assembly line of Europe for automobile manufacturing, and rather the hub for highly complex components such as engines, electric vehicle batteries and finished vehicles, representing an organic move up the supply chain. Additionally, Poland has become a leader in European road haulage services. For some context, 2.84% of Poland’s GDP comes from Agriculture, 28.09% comes from Industry and the remaining 58.16% is from the service sector. Thanks to its largely service-based economy, Poland is projected to achieved over 3% GDP growth for the next 5 years. As a result of this magnificent performance, the Wolrd Bank has estimated that by 2030, Poland’s GDP per capita will have surpassed the UK’s. It’s like Poland is the little engine that could, and did!

Market Movements: The WIG index, also known as the Warsaw Stock Exchange General Index, which is comprised of all companies listed at WSE Main List that meet base eligibility criteria, and overall, the WIG index is up a staggering 34% over the past twelve months, leaving the S&P 500 in the dust and matching the performance of the tech-heavy Nasdaq. While the WIG40 index takes first place with a total return of 37%. The key difference? The Polish złoty is actually up 3.6% in the same time period against the US dollar. Making the złoty the tortoise in the race, slowly but surely winning!

Investible Assets: Luckily for US investors, MSCI Poland is a great way to get exposure to Poland’s WSE through the iShares MSCI Poland ETF (EPOL) which has also returned over 37%. As for UK-based investors, there is the iShares MSCI Poland UCITS ETF USD (SPOL) which has achieved a staggering return of 40% over the past twelve months, also thanks to the Polish złoty’s increase against the British Pound.

Company Corner: There is a large community on Twitter/X who are big supporters of Polish companies Text (TXT) and Dino Polska (DNP), both of which are down big over the past twelve months, but there are also companies which have been performing very well which could be worth looking into, such as the trading platform XTrade Brokers (XTB) which is up over 40%, or the fitness club company Benefit Systems (BFT) which is up over 130%. It’s like a game of stock market bingo, and these companies are the winning numbers!

MORE NEWS

Additional market-moving events🌎

• US gets High-speed rail: Plans for the upcoming Dallas-Houston high-speed rail route have been unveiled. The railway company building out this route will be working alongside Japanese bullet train experts. This route aims to cut the travel time by 90 minutes between these two cities. (Newsweek)

• Blow to London: Another large firm has opted to move from the LSE to New York. Paddy Power and FanDuel parent company Flutter (FLTR) has opted for a listing on the NYSE. This is a move aimed at getting the company included in the major US indices. (Independent)

• Amazon-ification: Fast-fashion retailer Shein is branching out and getting into selling toys and skincare products. (Fortune)

REFERRAL PROGRAM

Get a Birthday Shoutout!🎁

You can get Free Stuff for referring friends & family to our newsletter 👇️ 

{{rp_personalized_text}}

Or copy & paste this link: {{rp_refer_url}}

Note: you’ll need to tell us your name & birthday by clicking here.

EARNINGS

This Week’s Earnings Calendar📅

OUR PICKS

Our selections performance👾

On Monday the 11th of March, we released our “two superperformers” stock picks which we believe will provide significant outperformance compared to the S&P 500.

Here’s how the two stocks have performed since then:

• Evolution AB: 1,207.00 SEK (📉-8.03%)

• Hims & Hers Health: $11.26 (📉-22.18%)

Make sure that you’re subscribed so that you don’t miss our next stock picking research report!