🥃 Microsoft buys into booze

Chips are still hot stuff | Delta's finally taking off again | [TOGETHER WITH]( Hi {NAME}, here's what you need to know for January 14th in 2:59 minutes. 🗣 Got a friend who won’t stop talking your ears off about their latest investments? Let us take them off your hands. We’re looking for 50 Finimizers to host 15-minute talks with investing experts. They’ll walk away with live interview training, a huge professional network, and access to our one million-plus audience. [Apply here]( Today's big stories - Chipmaking giant TSMC reported better-than-expected profit growth - One sector in particular could perform remarkably well this earnings season – [Read Now]( - Delta Air Lines' quarterly results came in ahead of expectations Stall Order [Stall Order] What’s Going On Here? TSMC [reported]( better-than-expected quarterly earnings on Thursday, and investors might've been surprised to see them arrive when the chipmaker said they would… What Does This Mean? Chipmakers would be lucky to get any downtime these days: demand for semiconductors used in everything from smartphones to cars kept soaring last quarter, with some desperate customers resorting to upfront payments to bag their stash. That might be why TSMC earned nearly $7 billion in pre-payments alone last year, helping the company grow its profit by a better-than-expected 16% last quarter – enough to hit a new quarterly record. It reckons it can keep up this relentless work ethic too: TSMC thinks its sales will grow between 15% and 20% a year going forward – as much as doubling its last forecast. Why Should I Care? Zooming in: TSMC’s splashing the cash. Those results solidify TSMC’s title as the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, but it’s not letting its guard down: the company also announced plans to spend as much as $44 billion in 2022 – up from last year’s $30 billion, and more than rival Intel’s paltry $28 billion budget. TSMC will use that money to build new plants in places like Japan and the US, in an effort to up production and stay ahead of the competition. The bigger picture: Carmakers are going it alone. That extra production should help ease shortages, but not necessarily anytime soon: the wait between ordering chips and delivering them rose 30% last month to 26 weeks – the longest on record. And carmakers – which lost $200 billion in sales because of the chip shortage last year – are tired of waiting: Tesla and General Motors have already said they’re going to develop their own chips instead, and one research firm [reckons]( half of the world’s ten biggest carmakers will be doing the same by 2025 ([tweet this](). You might also like: [How one chipmaker could become the world’s most valuable company.]( Copy to share story: [( 🙋 [Ask a question](mailto:questions@finimize.com?body=Ask us a question: Where are you writing from? Let us know and we'll mention it when we reply.&noapp=true&subject=Stall Order&utm_campaign=daily-global-14-01-2022&utm_source=email) Analyst Take Which Stocks Will Climb And Which Will Slide? [Which Stocks Will Climb And Which Will Slide?]( [Photo of Carl Hazeley] Carl Hazeley, Analyst What’s Going On Here? [Earnings season]( is a game of snakes and ladders. To come out on top, you need to find [the stocks that’ll climb](, and steer clear of those set to slide. And as companies start updating investors on how they did last quarter and during the year as a whole, we’ve looked into [which stocks are which](. Here’s a spoiler: [energy stocks]( – which have climbed 16% since the fourth quarter of 2021 – has seen the biggest increase in earnings estimates in the last few months. And since Exxon and Chevron have [led the way]( on that front, they might be attractive buys ahead of their earnings releases. So that’s today’s Insight: [the stocks, sectors, and exchange-traded funds that could elevate your portfolio](, and those that could come back to bite it. [Read or listen to the Insight here]( SPONSORED BY THE MOTLEY FOOL Get 60% off Motley Fool’s stock picks Picking stock market winners is easier said than done. There’s a knack to it, and it’s one the experts at [the Motley Fool]( have down to a fine art. That’s why the team would like to offer new members [60% off Motley Fool Stock advisor]( – a dedicated resource that’ll give you a heads-up about stocks that could be set to take off. After all, the Motley Fool recommended buying Netflix and Amazon back in the day, and taking their advice could’ve made you a pretty penny. The Motley Fool’s picks have more than [quadrupled the stock market’s return]( over the last decade, and there are plenty more yet to come. So get in while the going’s good: [get 60% off Motley Fool](. [Get 60% Off]( Battle Stations [Battle Stations] What’s Going On Here? Delta Air Lines [reported]( better-than-expected results on Thursday, even as the pandemic forces the US carrier to fight to the bitter end. What Does This Mean? Delta had a lot on its plate at the end of last year: the company paid through the nose for fuel on the back of surging oil prices, all while still going toe to toe with Covid. The fact it posted a loss for the quarter, then, mightn’t have come as a shock to investors. Nor might the airline’s admission that it’s expecting to report a loss this quarter, given the inevitable impact of Omicron on travel demand. But all credit to Delta: the company still managed to bank its highest revenue last quarter since late 2019, thanks to impressive vacation and business bookings. Its profit for the whole of 2021 came in at $280 million too – a far cry from the $12.4 billion loss it made in 2020. Delta’s even confident that Omicron cases will recede quickly this quarter, and that demand will pick back up from mid-February. Why Should I Care? For markets: Could’ve been much worse. Pay attention to Delta’s update: more major US airlines are reporting soon, and they’ll likewise have been impacted by Omicron. After all, around 11,000 flights were canceled in the last 13 days of December. But take heart: investors seemed to expect the variant to erode Delta’s bottom line much more than it did, which might be why they sent rivals United Airlines and American Airlines’ stocks up 5% and 6% respectively. Zooming out: Microsoft turns to the bottle. Delta’s not the only company with fuel on the brain: Microsoft [announced]( plans on Thursday to invest $50 million in sustainable fuel company LanzaJet’s alcohol-to-jet fuel biorefinery. That’s a very long-term speculation: renewable aviation fuel is estimated to account for less than 0.1% of global jet fuel demand. You might also like: [The highs and lows of investing in the airline industry.]( Copy to share story: [( 🙋 [Ask a question](mailto:questions@finimize.com?body=Ask us a question: Where are you writing from? Let us know and we'll mention it when we reply.&noapp=true&subject=Battle Stations&utm_campaign=daily-global-14-01-2022&utm_source=email) 💬 Quote of the day “You can’t expect to hit the jackpot if you don’t put a few nickels in the machine.” – Flip Wilson (an American comedian and actor) [Tweet this]( 🤩 Fancy this space? Lovely little spot this, isn’t it? And it just so happens to be the perfect place for you to showcase your business to our [one million engaged investors](. If you share our goal of changing the finance world for the better, then [chat to us]( about [our daily newsletter]( placements. We can’t wait to see you here soon. [Work With Us]( 🎯 On Our Radar - How to avoid the ick. 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