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☆ AMC can build Dreamhouse on Barbenheimer buzz
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Anita Ramaswamy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

AMC Entertainment (AMC.N), the struggling movie theater chain wrestling with a meme-stock hangover, saw its busiest day since 2019 this past Saturday. The company needs cash to survive, and this weekend might add enough fantasy to help it. AMC has refiled to try again, and in some ways, Barbenheimer helps. The biggest risk to the movie theater business was that it would never return to pre-pandemic levels. AMC Entertainment, one of the U.S.’s largest theater chains, recorded over 7 million moviegoers in attendance over that weekend.

Persons: Barbie, “ Oppenheimer ”, Adam Aron, Aron, –, “ Barbie ”, “ Oppenheimer, ”, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Sharon Lam Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Warner Bros, Comcast, Universal Pictures, AMC Entertainment, Monday, AMC, Malibu, Thomson Locations: Barbenheimer, Delaware

☆ Coinbase is a crypto conundrum, squared
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Anita Ramaswamy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Shares in Coinbase got a major boost after money management behemoth BlackRock (BLK.N) applied to launch a bitcoin-backed exchange-traded fund this month with Coinbase as its custodian. Coinbase shares are up nearly 54% in July, handily beating the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC), which rose 4%. Price targets range widely: analysts polled by Refinitiv think Coinbase is worth anywhere from $8 billion to nearly $50 billion. Coinbase investors would therefore be unwise to count on a judge delivering Coinbase a win. Given bitcoin’s current $584 billion market capitalization, that suggests $74 billion of ETFs would not be much of a stretch.

Persons: Brian Armstrong, Coinbase, behemoth BlackRock, –, Gary Gensler, there’s, Goldman Sachs, Cowen, Refinitiv, Armstrong, Sam Bankman, Larry Fink, Charles Schwab, doubters, Ripple, John Foley, Streisand Neto Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Securities and Exchange, Nasdaq, SEC, Citigroup, Commodity Futures, BlackRock, Bank, New York Mellon, Interactive, Securities and Exchange Commission, Thomson Locations: Washington, United States, U.S

☆ Meme investors could spoil AMC’s next act
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

AMC is already fighting another lawsuit over its attempt to convert preferred stock into common shares, a novel scheme to avoid getting investors’ approval for share sales. It fits with other forays since AMC became a retail-favorite meme stock – like buying into a gold miner – that seem to disregard conventional governance niceties. Attracting a rush of retail traders means there are plenty of investors to call foul. If their push against the preferred stock gambit succeeds, AMC could struggle to raise new funds, which bodes poorly for repaying its $5 billion in debt. It turns out that, for a meme stock’s final act, the audience starts throwing tomatoes.

Persons: Adam Aron, Kevin Barnes, Barnes ’, Anita Ramaswamy, Xavier Niel’s, Jonathan Guilford, Sharon Lam Organizations: YORK, Reuters, AMC, Twitter, Xavier Niel’s GAM, Commonwealth Games, Thomson

☆ Seed funding valuations sprout a bubble
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Anita Ramaswamy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Their need for new cash was nearly three times higher than the available supply last quarter, according to the report. Companies raising seed rounds in today’s market might command higher prices in part because they are better prepared. But it’s unlikely that today’s cohort of seed-stage startups is so markedly superior to predecessors that it warrants record high prices. A newfound focus on seed companies could just be VCs’ latest justification for keeping the tech bubble afloat. Median valuations for venture rounds in startups at all other stages captured by the report have fallen this year relative to their 2022 levels.

Persons: PitchBook, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Sharon Lam Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Venture, National Venture Capital Association, Carta, Tiger Global, Thomson

☆ Winklevoss twins take strike two with crypto hype
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Anita Ramaswamy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Winklevii, as they came to be known after “The Social Network” movie debuted, are suing another former friend – crypto baron Barry Silbert. That indicates some investors still believe in crypto even if they’ve lost faith in its former stars. Much like social media, the Winklevii seem to be on the losing end of the crypto streak, too. Follow @AnitaRamaswamy on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSOn July 7, cryptocurrency exchange Gemini sued Digital Currency Group, the parent company of now-bankrupt crypto lender Genesis, seeking over $1.1 billion. Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss claimed in a July 7 Twitter post that DCG and Silbert were partially responsible for losses affecting thousands of Gemini users.

Persons: Tyler, Cameron Winklevoss, Mark Zuckerberg, Barry Silbert, Silbert, DCG, they’ve, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Sharon Lam Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Facebook, Social Network, Digital Currency Group, Gemini, Wall Street, Fidelity, Twitter, Genesis’s, Thomson Locations: bitcoin, BlackRock, U.S

☆ AI hype embellishes Il Makiage IPO
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Anita Ramaswamy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, July 6 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Oddity Tech has a sparkly foundation for its upcoming initial public offering. The Israeli beauty company home to the Il Makiage and SpoiledChild brands is highlighting the artificial intelligence behind its makeup and machine learning algorithms that help consumers pick the right shades. These features should help put a dewy gloss on the valuation before the hype eventually fades. His company sells concealers and eye shadows directly to shoppers online and touts that its technology teams account for 40% of headcount. AI also powers Revela, a biotechnology firm it bought in April that develops new molecules for cosmetics and skincare.

Persons: Boss Oran Holtzman, Revela, It’s, Estee Lauder, Child, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Sharon Lam Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Nasdaq, Coty, Tech, Allen, Co, Thomson Locations: Israeli, Cava

☆ Canada is calling Meta’s bluff
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

If Australia is any guide, Meta’s intended blackout will likely be short-lived. Meta has insisted it is unfair to expect the company to pay publishers when it drives traffic to their websites. Lawmakers are pushing for similar rules in Meta’s home state of California and in the U.S. Congress. Meta says it makes 40% of its revenue, which was $117 billion last year, in the U.S. and lists Australia and Canada among its most significant regions. If Canada calls Meta’s bluff, the tech giant may just as easily fold against Uncle Sam.

Persons: Meta, Mark Zuckerberg’s, Uncle Sam, Anita Ramaswamy, Jennifer Saba, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Facebook, Google, U.S . Congress, Meta, Twitter, Siemens, Telecom Italia, Vivendi, Intel, Thomson Locations: Canada, Australia, California, U.S

☆ Reddit’s golden geese foul up its IPO plans
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Anita Ramaswamy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

It’s a wrinkle in Reddit’s plan to go public, and a sign that plan is premature. And unlike counterparts elsewhere, Reddit’s mods are unpaid. Researchers at Northwestern University estimate that Reddit’s mods perform at least $3.4 million worth of labor annually. Some third-party apps using Reddit content make money, which an owner of the still-unprofitable Reddit would probably prefer to share. A bigger target is artificial intelligence companies such as OpenAI that create value by scraping Reddit’s forums to hone their own products.

Persons: Steve Huffman, Willing, Huffman’s, Huffman, John Foley, Streisand Neto Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Northwestern University, Starbucks, Twitter, Thomson

☆ Cava IPO comes in a little too hot
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The company’s IPO raised $318 million, about $30 million more than it had expected a few days earlier, to fuel its expansion. And just in time for the afternoon lunch rush, its shares opened on the New York Stock Exchange at nearly double its IPO price. That implies Cava’s valuation is close to $5 billion, over twice the amount private investors ascribed it in 2021. Cava is a lot like Sweetgreen – neither are profitable, and both have a similar number of stores. But Cava now trades at more than five times its theoretical annualized sales based on the first quarter, much higher than the 1.4 times Sweetgreen commands.

Persons: Cava, copycats, Anita Ramaswamy, John Foley, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: YORK, Reuters, New York Stock Exchange, Twitter, Corporate, Thomson Locations: Crunchbase, Cava

☆ London crypto move is a sign of desperate times
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK/LONDON, June 12 (Reuters Breakingviews) - UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is eager to bring some Silicon Valley glitz to London. Now venture capital investor Andreessen Horowitz is setting up its first non-US office in the British capital, to focus on blockchain and cryptocurrencies. The then-finance minister in 2021 declared as “fantastic” the decision by Deliveroo (ROO.L) to list its shares in London. Despite Sunak’s call for the UK to “embrace new innovations” like the blockchain, Britain’s appetite for crypto remains uncertain. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Andreessen Horowitz, Binance, Sunak, Deliveroo, “ gosh, Bobby Kotick, Anita Ramaswamy, Karen Kwok, Stellantis, Peter Thal Larsen, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Coinbase, Stanford University, Chips, Activision Blizzard, Twitter, Brookfield, Thomson Locations: London, U.S, Teck, China

☆ Binance charges are a last gasp for crypto
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Anita Ramaswamy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

NEW YORK, June 5 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Binance founder Changpeng Zhao doesn’t have much to look forward to. The SEC alleges that Binance knowingly helped U.S. customers trade illegally on its exchange. Binance, in a blog post, trotted out a familiar crypto defense: The SEC, which has been vague on how cryptocurrency should be regulated, is beyond its reach. In March, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed similar charges against the company. Follow @AnitaRamaswamy on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSThe U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is suing Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume.

Persons: Changpeng Zhao doesn’t, Zhao, –, Sam Bankman, Fried, Binance, Gary Gensler, FTX, Changpeng Zhao, Richard Teng, Coindesk, Teng, Zhao “, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Sharon Lam Organizations: YORK, Reuters, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, U.S . Commodity Futures Trading Commission, U.S . Federal Trade Commission, U.S . Commodities Futures, Commission, Thomson Locations: United States, U.S

☆ Meta becomes cross-border tech mascot
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Anita Ramaswamy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, May 22 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Meta Platforms (META.O) is acting as a Big Tech mascot in a cross-border decision about the transfer of data. The $1.3 billion fine is a drop in the bucket for Meta, which has over $40 billion in its cash coffers. The decision, handed down from the Irish Data Protection Commission, gives Meta until October to completely cease moving data from Europe to the United States. Rather, the tension between data and the cross-border watchdogs can become more troubling for U.S.-based Big Tech. The decision gives Meta five months to stop transferring users’ data to the United States.

☆ Crypto-silence is precious for Gensler's SEC
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

But he has taken several enforcement actions against crypto firms alleging that they are selling unregistered securities, and the SEC is considering suing Coinbase. Think from Gensler's perspective, though, and there's little upside in breaking the silence. Accept that digital assets are not securities after all, and he would look foolish for not saying so sooner. Yet state definitively that they are securities, and Gensler would have to show his reasoning, opening the SEC up to more costly legal battles that it could lose. Complain as they may, Gensler's foes may just have to accept that sometimes, no answer is an answer.

☆ Meta has a kid problem
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Anita Ramaswamy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

His company Meta Platforms (META.O) landed in hot water with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission for the third time on Wednesday over its handling of younger users’ data. Monetizing them is difficult, as other social media platforms have shown. The other is Meta hasn’t been able to reinvent itself such that it can capture new and younger users anyway. Meantime Meta’s user growth has been slowing, which has eroded its market share in social media ads. Those concerns aren’t totally unique to Zuckerberg’s company, as several state lawmakers across the United States are debating legislation that would restrict kids’ social media use.

☆ Fuddy-duddy Meta has a kid problem
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Anita Ramaswamy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

☆ Tech groupthink could hinder AI competition
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, May 1 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Everyone wants a piece of OpenAI, the startup behind artificial intelligence-powered chatbot ChatGPT. Now that OpenAI has the support of venture capital’s biggest names, that norm will make life harder for smaller challengers - especially given the steep costs of training AI models and how stretched venture funding is now. Rivals could look to the other tech goliaths; competitor Anthropic, backed by Microsoft nemesis Google, recently completed a similarly sized fundraise. By planting its flag in Silicon Valley early, OpenAI may have won a lasting edge in the AI race. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Meta is younger dog learning newer new tricks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Anita Ramaswamy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, April 26 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Meta Platforms (META.O) is a full generation younger than its Big Tech peers, and it’s looking pretty fresh, too. The company's first-quarter profit announced on Wednesday beat analysts’ expectations, sending shares of the $530 billion company up 12% in after-market trading. A 3% year-over-year boost in revenue, the first such increase the company has had in a while, was a pleasant surprise. In order to grow ads 26%, the company had to slice the average price per ad by 17%. Operating expenses jumped 10% from the same period last year, giving the company a 25% operating margin for the quarter.

☆ Data-hungry AI models could help Reddit valuation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Anita Ramaswamy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Reddit’s data, as it benefits AI models, may be just the catalyst that it needs. Reddit plans to introduce a new revenue stream to supplement what it already earns from advertising. While Alphabet, say, won’t want to sell data to Microsoft, Reddit is going to be willing to create a competitive market. And on that basis, it would need to get just 40 customers to nearly double the $350 million revenue it made in 2021. It would take some mind-bending when Reddit tries sell shares to public investors.

☆ David’s needs bachelorettes, not just brides
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, April 18 (Reuters Breakingviews) - With marriage rates on the decline, David’s Bridal has once again tied itself in a knot. Last time this happened in 2018, David’s courted a group of lenders led by Oaktree to save it. loadingFunding for nuptial-related companies has been on the decline since, as has business at David’s. Modern brides are opting for cheaper casual and secondhand dresses over fancy getups, but they appear more reticent to compromise on pre-wedding soirees. It suggests perhaps that David's fresh start should embrace an old saying, with a twist: always the bachelorette, never the bride.

☆ Chegg pitches itself as an AI middleman
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, April 17 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Educational software company Chegg (CHGG.N) is trying to stay one step ahead of artificial intelligence. With its stock down 40% since ChatGPT’s November release, Chegg has a new plan to act as an intermediary between students and AI. To that end, Chegg on Monday announced a partnership with ChatGPT developer OpenAI to build a virtual tutor, CheggMate. With awareness of AI proliferating, schools will face pressure to adapt; Chegg could fashion itself as a safer way to do so. Other companies with domain-specific databases may follow suit, rebranding themselves as middlemen to avoid being made obsolete by AI.

☆ Apple awkwardly pushes into buy-now-pay-later
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, March 29 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Apple (AAPL.O) is late to the buy-now-pay-later party. If anyone can help validate the product, it’s Apple, but times are considerably tougher. Apple will be well-versed in these risks, but a bigger crackdown is probably coming. What’s more, shifting consumer sentiment and a cooling economy could hurt demand and increase the risk of bad loans. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Bitcoin is a solution looking for a problem
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Anita Ramaswamy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Since his Miami proclamations, bitcoin’s price has fallen by nearly 40%, though in the last few weeks after Silicon Valley Bank’s failure it has had a resurgence. At first glance, his prediction seems wildly optimistic but directionally reasonable – bitcoin has surged by over 35% since SVB’s collapse on March 10. What’s more, bitcoin may never have surpassed $60,000 to reach its highest-ever price level in 2021 had the Fed not kept interest rates consistently low. It’s the prospect of lower rates – not the lack of government stability – that is opening the door to riskier bets like those on bitcoin. Gold is a tangible asset, unlike bitcoin, and that’s precisely what makes it an inflation hedge.

☆ All’s fair in love and stablecoins
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, March 22 (Reuters Breakingviews) - If a stablecoin isn’t first, it’s last, as Circle has learned this month. The company that issues USDC lost its peg to the dollar earlier this month because of worries about the $3.3 billion it held at Silicon Valley Bank. Though Circle recovered the funds from the bank, customers pulled $6 billion from it, according to Bloomberg. Circle Chief Executive Jeremy Allaire, in contrast, does regular rounds in Washington and has argued for regulation. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Ryan Reynolds flexes as corporate convert
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, March 20 (Reuters Breakingviews) - For Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds, dealmaking may be more lucrative than Deadpool. One more transaction like this, and Reynolds could find that he has a real future outside of the acting biz. For Mint, Reynolds has described the marketing strategy as “scrappy”, and he has done some catchy things, like appearing alongside T-Mobile’s chief executive in a video announcing the deal and leaving voicemails for customers. Showing success outside of the lifestyle category – in mobile – is validation for the actor, but a differentiating factor might have been Reynolds’ ownership stake in Mint. Converting that stake into a lucrative deal, twice, suggests that Reynolds could be more than just a pretty face.

☆ Where is Silicon Valley's J. Pierpont Morgan?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Anita Ramaswamy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

After withdrawals lashed the banking system in 1907, financier J. Pierpont Morgan corraled his peers into using their own money to calm the crisis. The contrast with Silicon Valley – which is also embroiled in the ongoing firestorm – couldn’t be more stark. Startup and technology firms’ cash crunch precipitated the fall of Silicon Valley Bank and its parent SVB Financial (SIVB.O), which in turn sparked panic in the financial system. Silicon Valley is fragmented and built on an individualistic ethos. Real, toothsome regulation might force Silicon Valley’s great minds to realize how interconnected their ecosystem is.

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