#678 - 🚘 Surprise, it's News!

Memes, Data, and the Economy

TOGETHER WITH

11 days till ASOTU CON 2024, friend.

You can get a lot done in 11 days. Things like:

  • Make sure your hotel is booked

  • Double-check that you know what agenda items you want to catch

  • Pack extra mints.

  • Oh, and, of course, buy a ticket before they are sold out. How could we forget that?

Keep Pushing Back
-Paul, Kyle, Chris & Kristi

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BUSINESS

Surprise! It’s Friday!

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Data, consumers, and quarterly reports. It should be a pretty good Friday email. Send us your favorite meme, and it will also be a good Friday. 😉

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New and Used Sales Data

As new EV sales slow, used EV sales soar, with prices dropping due to various market pressures, including Tesla's recent price cuts and consumer adoption barriers. Here are some quick details. 

  • Used EV Sales Trends:

    • 100% increase from 2022.

    • 40% increase from 2023.

  • Recurrent's Price Index:

    • Current average price: $23,787.

    • 27% year-over-year decline.

  • Market Share and Growth:

    • EVs accounted for 7.3% of total new vehicle sales in Q1 2024.

    • First quarter-over-quarter downturn since Q2 2020.

  • Consumer Barriers:

    • High new EV prices.

    • Limited model variety.

    • Charging infrastructure issues.

  • Tesla's Pricing Strategy:

    • Recent price cuts: $2,000 reduction for Model Y, X, S.

  • Federal Incentives:

    • $4,000 tax credit for used EVs under $25,000.

Carvana Too

The rising tide is lifting all ships, including vending machine-shaped ships. Carvana's shares surged 30% after reporting record first-quarter profits, marking a significant turnaround. Key metrics included a gross profit per unit of $6,432 and an adjusted EBITDA margin of 7.7%. This follows extensive restructuring focused on profitability, demonstrating robust growth potential in the used car market.

Stellantis, GM, ICE, Apple, and Consumers. 

Stellantis

Stellantis has been talking about its 2030 plans like a parrot with an echo. 

  • 100% electric passenger vehicles in Europe

  • 50% in the US 

But now that the company is talking about flexibility, saying they can accommodate both EV and ICE preferences in the same models. The company's CFO even said they are ready to revert to ICE if consumer demands shifts toward them.

Fortune Cookie: Trend chasers only catch tired legs. 

GM

Like many an android before, GM seems to be staying the course toward its electric dreams, but its choice to cut Apple CarPlay has divided the flock.

Consumers are missing Apple CarPlay, which is fair since GM's alternative, in-house solution, Ultifi Infotainment, only plays with people's patience when they want it to play sweet tunes - like this one. 

Maybe we will see options come back, but whoever decided on their next vehicle based on the radio software? (Nobody, since radio software is a whole new battle in the ongoing contest for market dominance) 

Fortune Cookie: Most great pitchers don't know how to make baseballs.

Aston Martin Q1: Dips and Dives

Aston Martin reported a larger-than-expected pretax loss in Q1, with shares dropping to their lowest since November 2022. The British carmaker's production shift to newer models like the DB12 and Vantage has impacted financials, anticipating similar performance in Q2 while maintaining 2024 forecasts.

Mercedes-Benz Q1: R(EV)enue Report

Despite a revenue drop in Q1 2024, Mercedes-Benz reports growing EV sales share, with revenues down and a significant EBIT decline. The German automaker highlights strong liquidity and disciplined market strategies, maintaining confidence in reaching its annual financial targets amid a challenging economic environment.

Giphy/ASOTU

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GIFs and memes are a language in themselves. I’d like to share some of what I’ve learned about using them.

  1. Memes have one foot in the cliche/repetitive/template and one foot in the specific thing you want to communicate. The more the well-known template matches the thing you want to say, the more powerful the impact.

  2. GIFs communicate language and tone. Until they invent 40 more punctuation, it will be hard to communicate perfectly using only small bits of written words. Some people use voice recordings, some write long emails, and some use a GIf to ensure “That’s fine!” isn’t mistaken for “That’s fine!” Ya feel me?

  3. GIFs and Memes are fun. Decorate your communication.

  4. If my regular “Hey, wanna come buy a car” texts came with a GIF or Meme, I would remember that person better. Just sayin’.

TOGETHER WITH IPACKET

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DATA & INSIGHT

Hold, Please

Giphy

Last week, the "Magnificent 7" stocks outshined expectations, lifting the S&P 500 and offsetting earlier losses. Despite headlines of a slowdown, the economy's underpinnings remain strong.

  • Savvy Investing — The enduring bull market and solid economic fundamentals suggest strategic opportunities to reallocate high cash reserves into equities and bonds.

  • GDP Deets — While headline GDP grew by only 1.6% in Q1 2024, domestic demand continued to impress, growing at 2.8%.

 

Morningstar

 

The Federal Reserve maintained its current stance on interest rates, marking the sixth consecutive meeting that it’s put a hold on any rate policy shifts.

Slow And Steady — The Fed continues to aim for a 2% inflation target, signaling a cautious approach to further slowing the economy to achieve a better balance between employment and inflation.

Looking Ahead — Initial forecasts hinted at three quarter-point rate cuts by year-end, but now, expectations have cooled to possibly just one cut. This aligns with the Fed’s careful, wait-and-see approach to avoid deepening the economic downturn, especially in vulnerable sectors.

 

Gallup

Quick Hits

  • An orangatan has been observed treating a wound with medical plants. 🦧

  • Next time you're late for work, blame Apple. A bug has prevented the alarm feature from working. ⏰

  • People are actually going back to Windows 10. The OS is currently at 70% market share as people ditch Windows 11. 🪟

History

  • 1952: The Kentucky Derby is televised nationally for the first time, on the CBS network. 🐎

  • 1978 – The first unsolicited bulk commercial email (which would later become known as "spam") is sent by a Digital Equipment Corporation marketing representative to every ARPANET address on the West Coast of the United States. 👎

  • 1984: Pink Cadillac, released by Bruce Springsteen 🎸

Thanks for reading, friend! Today is your day. Wanna know how I know? Because you're detail-oriented and patient. How else do you explain making it all the way to the bottom of this email?