Here are the takeaways from today’s Morning Brief. Sign up to receive the following in your inbox each morning:
The avalanche of profits began.
What does that mean?
You’ve probably missed many other articles that could impact your portfolio. After all, there’s more to investing life than modeling Nvidia’s (NVDA) 2050 profits or wondering whether Tesla (TSLA) will generate $10 billion in revenue from humanoid robots. .
With that in mind, here are some combos I did this week. You might (hopefully) get some food for thought.
AI meets super hot sauce: This week I was at a dinner with CEOs, and an AI analyst started talking about the serious business implications of widespread AI. I agree that there will be significant changes in the way we do business, including significant job losses.
One example of the impact of AI is Cholula hot sauce. The company’s parent company, spice maker McCormick (MKC), held an investor day this week.
“We used generative AI to actually understand where all the[hot sauce]comments were going. We knew there were Cholula lovers out there who wanted a spicier version. So we’re launching an extra hot version of Cholula in January,” McCormick CEO Brendan Foley told me on Yahoo Finance’s Market Domination Overtime.
McCormick reiterated his outlook for long-term sales growth of 4% to 6% and profit growth of 9% to 11%. Year-to-date, the stock is up 16%, compared to a 22% gain for the S&P 500 index.
You can see all the spicy parts here.
Building a 21st Century Media Company: The traditional media industry continues to be disrupted by everything from new streaming networks to creators posting on YouTube. Why else do you think Disney (DIS) announced this week that CEO Bob Iger would stay on until 2026 (he was rumored to be leaving in 2025)? He has to leave the business in a much better place than his last exit.
One such disruptor over the past 15 years is Dude Perfect. The company was founded by five friends who attended Texas A&M and became famous for trick-shot videos posted on YouTube. The company currently boasts 60.5 million subscribers and consistently churns out a wide range of content.
With a new $100 million capital infusion from Highmount Capital, Dude Perfect is gearing up for more unique programs and the construction of a new headquarters in Frisco, Texas. Do you have the responsibility to bring that vision to life? Dude Perfect’s first CEO, Andrew Yaffe, took the job a few weeks ago.
story continues
“I think people underestimate how big YouTube is,” Yaffe told me about the Google-owned (GOOG) platform on Yahoo Finance’s Open Bid podcast (video above; listen here please). “YouTube is the largest media platform in the US in terms of consumption. It’s bigger than Netflix (NFLX). And it’s growing fast. It’s also the largest outside the US. It’s huge. 34 years old It’s how people consume content.
Not huge: Google’s year-to-date stock price. The stock rose only 16%, lagging the S&P 500’s 23% rise.
Big Blue is a leading AI company. A lot gets lost during a company’s earnings release as traders focus on the numbers and some trends in the earnings release. Ultimately this is why I think companies should file reports twice a year, but that’s a discussion for another day.
One number missing from IBM’s earnings report on Wednesday (lower-than-expected consulting revenue led to a sharp drop in stock price) was $3 billion in support for AI-related projects. IBM’s veteran CFO Jim Kavanaugh said the company is working toward adding $1 billion to its backlog of AI projects each quarter.
This is a huge deal, and is consistent with Kavanaugh’s belief that we have a long way to go in building out our AI infrastructure.
“In my personal opinion, this is going to be the longest (adoption) curve we’re going to see because it’s going to be used in a lot of different industries and a lot of customers,” Kavanaugh said. Ta.
This bullish sentiment was echoed in my opening bid conversation with BofA analyst Vivek Arya this week, in which he discussed how advances in AI will require the use of nuclear power. Ta. Learn more about it and how it benefits market darling Nvidia here.
Morning Brief anchor Sheena Smith dives into IBM’s AI future with Chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna at the annual investment conference on November 12th. Want to be in the room to stop by, say hello, and chat about building wealth? Register here!
Marriott, which runs Marriott, still exists. David S. Marriott, 50, will take over the chairmanship of Marriott (MAR) from his legendary father, JW “Bill” Marriott Jr., 92, in 2022. David’s father is the chairman. Honorary — Served as Chairman for 60 years and CEO for 40 years. It’s shocking! Bill’s parents, Alice and J. Willard Marriott, founded the company in 1927 as A&W Root Beer Stand.
Suffice it to say, the younger Marriott rarely gives interviews (he travels a lot and has four kids), so it was a treat to get to spend some time with him during the opening bid.
“I spent several summers interning in kitchens, learning how to prepare food, hot food, cold food, learning how to cook on the line. And I spent summers as a bellman, making beds, I worked at the front desk,” Marriott told me about her on-the-job training.
Full chat pod drop is Monday at 8:30 a.m. ET. Be sure to tune in to Yahoo Finance or listen on your podcast platform of choice.
Marriott stock is up 111% over the past five years. Hilton (HLT) is up 155%.
David S. Marriott (left) prefers to be called David. His father is known within the company as Mr. Marriott. ·Yahoo Finance
Three times a week, I have insightful conversations with the biggest names in business and markets on opening bids. Find more episodes on our video hub. Watch on your favorite streaming service. Or listen or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
Brian Sozzi is editor-in-chief of Yahoo Finance. X Follow Sozzi on LinkedIn at @BrianSozzi. Have a tip about a deal, merger, activist situation, or more? Email brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com.
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