🚙 Car dealers’ digi-lemma

…and Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk’s $4B factory fix   That’s gonna leave a mark (Scott Olson/Getty Images)   Sponsored by Yesterday’s Market Moves   Dow Jones 39,112 (-0.76%) S&P 500 5,469 (+0.39%) Nasdaq 17,718 (+1.26%) Bitcoin $61,906 (+2.73%) Dow Jones 39,112 (-0.76%) S&P 500 5,469 (+0.39%) Nasdaq 17,718 (+1.26%) Bitcoin $61,906 (+2.73%) Hey Snackers, Your uncle who takes cornhole way too seriously might be the trendsetter in the family. One survey said cornhole is the [most played]( sport in the US, and it’s become a surprise TV success story. Stocks finished mixed yesterday, and the S&P 500 ended its three-day losing streak on the back of Nvidia’s [rebound]( (the chipmaker gained nearly 7% on the day). Meantime, FedEx shares surged 14% after hours following the biz’s bullish earnings. NO-WARRANTY Car dealers are forced to rely on pen and paper after cybercriminals strike another corporate target Maintenance appointment… not a good time to schedule one. About 15K car dealerships across the US and Canada are stuck in the slow lane following a series of cyberattacks last week that knocked key systems offline. The attacks targeted CDK Global, the company behind the software dealers rely on to process everyday transactions like sales, repairs, and parts orders. Dealers have switched to spreadsheets and pen and paper, slowing operations and creating a backlog of transactions that’ll likely have to be painstakingly logged into the system later. - Deflated air dancers: Dealership chains and operators including AutoNation and Penske have been affected, along with the dealers for automakers like GM, Ford, Volkswagen, and Mercedes-Benz. - New-car smell: US dealerships — pushing to meet end-of-quarter sales goals — made $1.2T in sales last year. Do you get déjà vu?... CDK said it was recovering from a “cyber ransom event.” Similar attacks have disrupted numerous industries from hospitality to healthcare. In ransomware attacks, hackers hold digital systems and data (like personal info) hostage until they get paid. [Bloomberg]( reported that CDK was planning to pay its hackers tens of millions of dollars to get back online. - UnitedHealth, the US’s largest health insurer, confirmed last month that it had paid hackers $22M after ransomware prevented some providers from filling prescriptions. - MGM, meanwhile, reportedly decided not to pay hackers who took its hotels and casinos mostly [offline]( for about nine days last year. MGM said the disruptions cost it $100M+. THE TAKEAWAY The cyberdash is all warning lights… and they’re expensive to ignore. Cybercriminals keep targeting industries that depend on outdated software (see: healthcare). The strategy may be working: last year ransomware attackers snatched a record $1.1B. The Biden admin says ransomware attacks are a national-security threat and has called for a revved-up approach to taking cybercriminals down. [Read this online]( Sponsored by Masterworks How 65,616 everyday people are taking on billionaires at their own game How has the [art investing platform Masterworks]( been able to realize a profit1 for investors with each of its 23 exits to date? Here’s an example: An exited Banksy was offered to investors at $1.039 million (and internally appraised2 at the same value after acquisition). As Banksy’s market took off, Masterworks received an offer of $1.5 million from a private collector, resulting in a 32% net annualized return1 for investors in the offering. Every artwork performs differently but overall, Masterworks assets held longer than one year have delivered median returns of 17.6%, 17.8%, and 21.5%.1 [Masterworks]( takes care of all the heavy lifting from buying the paintings, to storing them, to selling them opportunistically for you – no art experience required. How can you get involved in Masterworks' next offering?3[Use this exclusive link]( to unlock VIP access. Inject Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk is building a new $4B factory as it races to meet global demand Pumped… Ozempic and Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk said it’d [spend]( $4.1B on a new facility to help produce even more weight-loss and diabetes meds. The Danish pharma giant is building the plant to help fill and package syringes and injection pens for its popular GLP-1 medications. The 1.4M-square-foot facility, in North Carolina, is expected to be finished between 2027 and 2029. - Small supply: A boom in demand for GLP-1s like Wegovy has left lots of name brands in short supply. Now Novo plans to invest nearly $7B this year (up from $4B last year) to fill the gap. - Wide reach: Novo said yesterday that Wegovy was approved for sale as a weight-loss drug in China, which opens up the world’s second-biggest economy to the biz. FYI: China reportedly has more people with obesity than any other country. Big Pharma bulks up… More than 40% of adults in the US have obesity. One in eight US adults has taken Ozempic or another GLP-1, a recent survey suggested. It’s not just Novo dropping big bucks to up its inventory. After [doubling]( production capacity for Zepbound and its related diabetes drug, Mounjaro, Eli Lilly said last month that it would spend an additional $5.3B to build a manufacturing facility in Indiana. THE TAKEAWAY Catching lightning in a bottle is just the first step… GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy have sparked massive demand in the US and abroad. While that’s been a headache for those struggling with tight supply, it’s helped create a profit puppy for producers. Last month Morgan Stanley hiked its forecast for the global market for obesity drugs. The firm said it’s now expected to hit upwards of $144B by the end of the decade — double its earlier estimate. [Read this online]( What else we're Snackin' - [AyeAye]( Carnival reported big-wave earnings, cruising to an operating income of $560M in Q2, nearly 5X on the year. Cruises have boomed as all-inclusive pricing has won over frugal travelers. - [Incoining]( Bitcoin fell below $60K Monday after defunct exchange Mt. Gox said it’d start repaying creditors $8.5B in crypto. The company got hacked in 2014, and customers stand to regain coins that’ve skyrocketed in value. - [Botville]( Alexa isn’t the sole destination for Amazon’s AI journey. The company is reportedly planning to release a public-facing chatbot, code-named “Metis,” in September to rival OpenAI’s ChatGPT. - [Bungled]( The EU charged Microsoft with violating antitrust rules over its Teams and Office products bundle, which regulators say gave Teams an unfair advantage over rivals. Microsoft could face a fine of $21B. - [$hip]( Containerships are backed up as cargo vessels avoid the Suez Canal because of Houthi rebel attacks and the Panama Canal struggles with drought. Experts say already elevated freight prices could near pandemic highs. Snack Fact Of the Day In 2022, 94M metric tons of seafood came from farming, a higher total than wild catching (a first) [Read more]( Wednesday Authors of this Snacks own bitcoin and shares of: Amazon, Carnival, Eli Lilly, Microsoft, and Nvidia Advertiser's disclosures: ¹ The content is not intended to provide legal, tax, or investment advice. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. “Net Annualized Return” refers to the annualized internal rate of return, or IRR, net of all fees and costs, to holders of Class A shares from the primary offering, calculated from the final closing date of such offering to the date the sale is consummated. A more detailed breakdown of the Net Annualized Return calculation for each issuer can be found in the respective Form 1-U for each exit. The 3 median returns above represent the ones closest in percentage to the median of the 13 exits with holding periods over 1 year. ² Masterworks internally appraises artworks that are held by entities administered by Masterworks Administrative Services on an ongoing basis, and obtains an independent review of appraisals by a third-party appraiser on an annual basis. Appraisals are prepared in accordance with the 2020-2021 Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (“USPAP”) developed by the Appraisal Standards Board of the Appraisal Foundation, although it is noted that there are potential conflicts of interest given that some or all individual members of the appraisal committee are employees of Masterworks and Masterworks retains an ownership interest in the subject artworks as well as ownership of the Masterworks Platform. Masterworks compiles historical data from public auctions to produce metrics that we believe can be helpful in measuring and analyzing historical trends in artist markets and the historical price appreciation of specific artworks. ³ This is a paid advertisement for Masterworks Regulation A Offering. Please read the offering circular and related risks at [masterworks.com/cd](. Alternative investments are speculative, involve a substantial degree of risk, and are highly illiquid. All investments involve the risk of material or total loss. 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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