MisMatched

Good morning! “Are you still watching?” notifications could soon be heading for your inbox, with Disney reportedly planning on sending out emails to viewers who duck out [mid-season](. Today we’re exploring: - Just chilling: The S&P 500’s stayed pretty steady in 2024. - Mismatched: Activist investors want change at Tinder’s parent co. - So OP: A reminder of just how big the video game business is. Have feedback for us? Just hit reply - we'd love to hear from you! TOGETHER WITH [Sponsor Logo](   Up 20 in ‘24? The American stock market continues to climb higher, with the S&P 500 Index now just one more little uptick away from a 20% rise for 2024 — a surge that’s been about as smooth as it can be (except for this very morning ironically, with US stocks down ~1% in early trading). The chart below shows every individual day on the US stock market since 2020: so far this year, the flagship American index has only moved more than 2% in either direction once, when it gained 2.1% back in February. Indeed, the last time the index fell 2% (a common occurrence during the more volatile days of 2020 and 2022) was all the way back in early 2023. That was 512 days, or 351 trading sessions, ago. Small but mighty In recent days, the AI trade — which powered much of the gains earlier this year — has given way to a new sentiment, as investors have rewarded smaller stocks. As Luke Kawa [wrote yesterday]( “the Russell 2000 Index gained a whopping 3.5%, its fifth straight gain of 1% or more… making it the largest five-day outperformance of small caps versus the S&P 500 on record”. Ironically, tech stocks have been the laggards of the last few days. But, everything’s relative: technology is still the best performing sector of the year so far (+25% in 2024). [Read this on the web instead](   In the last 3 years, investors have had a tough time finding much love for Match Group’s stock. As the owner of Tinder, Hinge, and a swathe of other dating apps and platforms, Match is the largest online dating company in the world, valued at some $8.5 billion at the start of this week. Activist investors think it should be worth much more. It’s not me, it’s you In a letter sent to the CEO of Match [on Monday](, Managing Member of activist hedge fund Starboard Value Jeff Smith confirmed that his company had taken a 6.6% stake in Match Group and outlined the steps his firm believes it should take to realize its full (financial) potential. Shares in the company rose 7.5% after the news broke. Match Group, it should be said, is already pretty profitable. It makes the majority of its money from direct payers — people who fork out a monthly subscription for access to premium features such as unlimited likes or the ability to message before matching — and only a sliver from advertising. After all of its operating costs are accounted for, the company made a 21.5% operating margin in the first quarter of this year. Starboard thinks that number could be much higher, calling out the company’s “General & Administrative” costs as an area where expenses could shrink. What are we? Activist investors aside, the wider industry is in a pretty weird place generally. Between falling share prices, users with mismatched intentions, and the unending struggle to get more customers to cough up for premium versions, something has [gone terribly wrong with dating apps](, per J. Edward Moreno. Special Note: We have no views on the merits of Starboard’s plan for Match Group, but we have strong views that the first chart in the [open letter to the CEO]( is a [chart crime](. [Read this on the web instead](   Sponsored by BOXABL Housing needs a factory reset Automakers have efficiency figured out… Tesla and Ford factories can produce more than one car every minute. In housing, the US has an estimated shortage of ~4-7 million homes. So why haven’t we tried building houses as efficiently as cars? That’s the question BOXABL is answering with the [flagship Casita](. It’s quite literally an out-of-the-box solution that can be unpacked and stacked to make affordable, mass-produced housing — and now, BOXABL is scaling up: 🏡 600+ Casitas built and 190,000+ reservations.* 🏗️ 3 factory buildings with state-of-the-art equipment currently being installed. 🛒 Casitas selling across 12 states, [with 80+ BOXABL dealers signed](… and counting! Boxabl is [welcoming all investors]( to buy shares at $0.80 each.** [Discover more about becoming a BOXABL shareholder]( [Discover more about becoming a BOXABL shareholder](   Video games > Hollywood The trailer for a video game just hit 200 million views on YouTube. The 90-second [clip]( of Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA 6) — packed with footage from the long-awaited next installment of the iconic game franchise — broke the milestone some 7 months after it was released, as fans continue to scrutinize the teaser for clues about the game that won’t be released until fall 2025. For context, the most popular trailer for last summer’s blockbuster hit Barbie has 85 million views on YouTube, while Oppenheimer racked up 71 million views. The excitement surrounding GTA 6 is a good reminder of just how colossal the gaming industry is. Indeed, the Entertainment Software Association and Circana [reported]( that last year US consumers spent more than $57 billion on video games… roughly equivalent to the total US box office revenue for the last seven years combined. Indeed, for every dollar spent at US cinemas last year, the video game industry raked in over $6. GTA 5, which has sold more than [200 million units](, stands as one of the best-selling video games of all time. Released by Rockstar Games nearly 11 years ago, the game’s long-standing appeal has become legendary. The rise of video game streaming and gaming personalities has helped keep GTA 5 alive, with the title currently ranked as the most-watched game title on streaming platform Twitch in the last 7 days, per [TwitchTracker](. [Read this on the web instead](   More Data - The movie adaptation of J.D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy has seen a ratings boost since he was selected as Trump’s running mate, with views of the Netflix film soaring 1,179% [on Monday](. - Over 1 in 3 Americans now have a side hustle, and 32% think they’ll rely on them financially [forever](. - BlackRock now manages a record $10.65 trillion [in assets](. - Hypebeast mode: Ray-Ban owner EssilorLuxottica is buying streetwear brand Supreme for [$1.5 billion](. BOXABL is leveling up efforts to mass produce affordable housing, with [600+ “Casita”]( units already shipped. They’re welcoming accredited and retail investors to help them scale — [discover more here](. Ad   Hi-Viz - $haken: Breaking down the hidden costs behind martinis at [5 top bars](. Off the charts: Google searches for _____ reached their lowest level in June 2024? [Answer below]. [Answer here.](   Thanks for stopping by! 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Companies seeking startup investment tend to be in earlier stages of development and their business model, products and services may not yet be fully developed, operational or tested in the public marketplace. There is no guarantee that the stated valuation and other terms are accurate or in agreement with the market or industry valuations. Further, investors may receive illiquid and/or restricted stock that may be subject to holding period requirements and/or liquidity concerns.   [X]( [Instagram]( [Chartr Logo]( Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate... 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