🏆 Walmart’s winning

Walmart raced past predictions | BAE Systems signed its biggest deal ever | [Finimize](   TOGETHER WITH   Hi {NAME}, here's what you need to know for August 18th in 3:14 minutes.   💡 The Oracle of Omaha has a method to his magic. So join Jitta's Trawut Luangsomboon, for [How To Invest Like Warren Buffett In 2024]( on Tuesday, and discover how to spot undervalued opportunities just like Buffett does. [Get your free ticket]( Today's big stories - Walmart didn’t just step up to the plate – it hit a full-blown home run - Here’s what the world’s biggest investors bought (and ditched) last quarter – [Read Now]( - BAE Systems just inked its biggest-ever deal Shelf-Assured [Shelf-Assured] What’s going on here? Walmart was cool, calm, and collected last quarter, with some expectation-smashing [results](. What does this mean? While peers like Home Depot and Target had their ups and downs this week, Walmart strode through with confidence – and that wasn’t down to luck. Its massive grocery arm, the biggest in the US, played a huge part. And even though sales of nice-to-haves were unimpressive, cash-strapped shoppers were all over Walmart’s own-brand foods – opting for home-cooked meals over pricier dine-outs. All said, customers were both visiting stores more often and spending more too: in fact, the number of transactions swelled by 2.9% last quarter, and the average bill climbed by 3.4% to boot. All that momentum pushed same-store sales beyond forecasts, driving both revenue and earnings over target too. And to sweeten the deal, Walmart raised its annual profit outlook, sending investors into a tizzy. Why should I care? The bigger picture: Prime opportunity. Walmart’s secret weapon in the market-share battle is the Walmart+ membership. For under $100 a year, members [enjoy]( discounts and perks like free food delivery on orders over $35. And that membership isn’t just retaining customers: it’s making them spend more too. Ever since Walmart amplified its marketing efforts last year, the program’s growth has skyrocketed. And with its novelty, there’s ample room to expand – potentially giving pricier services like Amazon Prime a run for their money. Zooming out: Ad-vantage Walmart. Walmart’s [pushing]( into other areas too, but not with a new gizmo or nibble this time: it’s actually advertising. After all, the firm’s got nearly 5,000 stores across the US, and about 90% of Americans live within 10 miles of one – meaning that Walmart sees a massive daily influx of customers. Capitalizing on that, the retail giant’s planning to ramp up its in-store ad space sales. Think ads on screens, checkouts, and aisles, as well as radio spots and sample stations. You might also like: [How to work out what Walmart’s stock is really worth.]( Copy to share story: [/shelf-assured]( 🙋 [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=Shelf-Assured&utm_campaign=daily-global-18-08-2023&utm_source=email) Analyst Take The World’s Biggest Investors Just Went Shopping. Here’s The Haul. [The World’s Biggest Investors Just Went Shopping. Here’s The Haul.]( By Russell Burns, Analyst In the investing world, a whale is a company or individual with the heft and cash needed to influence [the price of an asset](. We’re talking Warren Buffett’s [Berkshire Hathaway](, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, Michael Burry’s (of “The Big Short” fame) Scion Asset Management. You get it. Now, you need to have carved out quite the career to get to [“whale” status](, which means those investors’ hunches tend to be more on the mark than most. Let’s go whale watching, then, and check out what some of [the world’s biggest investors]( bought – and dropped – in last quarter. That’s today’s Insight: [what the world’s biggest investors bought last quarter.]( [Read or listen to the Insight here]( SPONSORED BY ALLBRICKS Location, location, location If you’ve ever seen a daytime property-themed television show, you’ll know it’s all about location. And sure, [prime real estate]( will cost you a pretty penny – maybe even a few. But with Allbricks, you can [buy more manageable, smaller “bricks”]( of a variety of top-tier properties. You, then, could [buy into property and make regular income]( without the upfront deposits, interest rate worries, and property and tenant management that comes with a buy-to-let mortgage. What’s more, you’ll be making [real folks’ homeownership plans]( come true. Heck, you can even [invest in an area that matters to you]( or that you think really needs a helping hand. There’s a reason billionaires invest in property. And with Allbricks, you can [enter this time-tested asset class for just £2,000](. DisclaimerCapital at risk – Investments may go up or down. Investment decisions must be based on definitive documentation and your own independent research. Any past performance referenced is not an indicator of future performance. [Find Out More]( When you support our sponsors, you support us. Thanks for that. BAE-watch [BAE-watch] What’s going on here? The UK’s leading defense company BAE Systems [announced]( its biggest-ever deal on Thursday. What does this mean? BAE Systems is riding high, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine driving demand for its military gear to record levels. And that surge in orders has not only led BAE to up its profit predictions: it’s spurred the firm’s ambitions to grow too. See, BAE just announced that it’s buying Ball Coporation’s aerospace division for the tidy sum of $5.6 billion, winning out over investment firms and other defense names. That whopper deal will bolster BAE’s presence in the US – where it already rakes in the biggest chunk of its revenue – and see it win a Colorado-based business specializing in military and space sensors too. And as for Ball, well, this deal lets the conglomerate zero in on what it does best: being the world’s top beer can supplier. Why should I care? The bigger picture: Expensive arms race. Ever since tensions escalated in Europe, governments have been splashing out on weaponry, giving the defense sector a hefty boost. And that spending spree is also sparking some big-ticket maneuvers, defying the broader dealmaking slump. Take L3Harris Technologies, for instance, which recently shelled out $5 billion for rocket engine maker Aerojet Rocketdyne – or look at Germany, which has been [splashing out]( on air-defense systems. Put it all together, and the aerospace and defense sectors have seen the total value of deals nearing the $40 billion mark over the past year. For markets: Underwhelming UK. BAE has seen its stock jump more than 80% since the start of last year – but make no mistake, it’s an outlier in the UK landscape. After all, the slowpoke [FTSE 100]( has barely moved over that same period, and it’s even dipped so far this year. And HSBC [thinks]( it’s likely to continue to sit out the global stock rally this year, given the country’s murky economic forecast. You might also like: [Shunned, hated, and cheap: why you might want to buy UK stocks now.]( Copy to share story: [/bae-watch]( 🙋 [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=BAE-watch&utm_campaign=daily-global-18-08-2023&utm_source=email) 🪧 Forget the billboards Old-school tactics won't engage [modern investors](. Capturing the attention of clued-in whippersnappers takes something a little [more up-to-date]( – like a [promotional partnership]( with Finimize. 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