🥤 Slurpee problems

…and Boeing’s big layoffs (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) A rolling hot dog gathers no sales   Presented by Hey Snackers, The US’s biggest movie is a low-budget slasher that’s [making viewers puke](. “Terrifier 3,” which cost just $2M to make, raked in more $$ this weekend than “Joker: Folie à Deux,” which cost $200M. Both flicks are about killer clowns, but only one’s laughing now. Tech stocks including Nvidia helped push the S&P 500 to its 46th [record close]( of the year yesterday. The Dow broke past 43K for the first time as investors look ahead to this week’s deluge of corporate earnings.   GULP [7-Eleven will close 444 locations as convenience stores aim for better eats]( Right-sizing the Big Gulp… Hundreds of hot-dog rollers will soon cease their eternal spinning as 7-Eleven parent Seven & I [shutters]( 444 “underperforming” stores across North America. The Slurpee legend blames six straight months of falling sales, plunging cigarette purchases, and inflation. After announcing it’s closing 3% of its 13K+ 7-Elevens in the US and Canada, Seven & I slashed its annual profit forecast by nearly half. It’s been an eventful few months for the convenience colossus. - Taquit-offer: Seven & I rejected a $39B takeover bid last month from Circle-K owner Couche-Tard. Then last week, Couche-Tard upped its offer to $47B for Seven & I’s 84K 7-Eleven stores, Speedway and Sunoco gas stations, and massive ATM network. - Playing defense: To fend off the acquisition play, Seven & I pitched investors a plan to split into two businesses. It also wants to expand fresh-food offerings in the US (its 7-Elevens in Japan are hugely popular for their grocery-like spreads). Lotto tickets and bathroom breaks… US convenience stores are struggling to win consistent customers (convenience sales fell 5% last year to $776B). They’re losing sales to value-focused national retailers like Walmart and Target, but also to smaller rivals with regional flair like Wawa and Sheetz. This year Shell announced it’ll sell off 1K of its retail locations by the end of next year, and Amazon has offloaded many of its Go convenience stores. THE TAKEAWAY You gotta evolve to grow… 7-Eleven pioneered to-go coffee and grew on the popularity of road-trip chicken rollers. But today customers are leaning toward fresher offerings like Wawa’s hoagies and Buc-ee’s brisket. That fresh-to-go model has made 7-Eleven big in Japan, and now it wants to replicate that in the US. [Read this online](   Presented by RYSE [The smart home tech now sold in 100+ Best Buy stores]( What if you could invest in promising tech startups as they launched into big-box retail? The Sharks from Shark Tank rejected an offer to buy 10% of Ring… a decision they likely regretted after Ring’s founder later appeared as a guest Shark on the show. Meet RYSE the rising smart shade tech in the smart home industry. RYSE’s founder pitched on Canada’s version of Shark Tank, Dragons’ Den and [received two offers](. Distribution deals with Best Buy contributed to Ring and Nest’s becoming industry leaders, and RYSE is mirroring their playbook with its patented smart shade tech now sold in over 100 Best Buy stores.1 Do it like the Dragons. [Invest in RYSE](.2 Presented by RYSE [The smart home tech now sold in 100+ Best Buy stores]( What if you could invest in promising tech startups as they launched into big-box retail? The Sharks from Shark Tank rejected an offer to buy 10% of Ring… a decision they likely regretted after Ring’s founder later appeared as a guest Shark on the show. Meet RYSE the rising smart shade tech in the smart home industry. RYSE’s founder pitched on Canada’s version of Shark Tank, Dragons’ Den and [received two offers](. Distribution deals with Best Buy contributed to Ring and Nest’s becoming industry leaders, and RYSE is mirroring their playbook with its patented smart shade tech now sold in over 100 Best Buy stores.1 Do it like the Dragons. [Invest in RYSE](.2   PICKET [Boeing’s laying off 10% of its workers as it struggles to land a union deal]( Still making headlines… still not in a good way. Boeing [plans]( to lay off 17K employees (from execs to frontline workers) as it deals with its first strike since 2008. 33K Boeing factory workers hit the picket line a month ago after the plane maker and unions failed to reach a new contract deal. Negotiations broke down again last week after Boeing withdrew its “best and final” offer of a 30% raise over four years, saying the union made “non-negotiable demands.” - The strike’s already cost Boeing an estimated $5B, and it could lose an extra $1B for every month it goes on. Yesterday the US acting labor secretary headed to Seattle to try to speed up a deal. - Boeing delayed the delivery of its new 777X passenger plane (which is years behind schedule), sparking backlash from Emirates, its biggest customer for widebody jets. Maxed out of problems… Boeing has [piled up]( $28B in losses since 2019, and it has $60B in debt after facing a series of debacles (recall: [the plug-door incident](). US ratings agency Moody’s warned last month that the jet maker might see its credit rating [downgraded to junk]( status, which could lead to higher interest rates on its mountain of debt. Experts say Boeing might have to borrow or issue new stock to keep operating through the strike. Its distress is spreading: Boeing suppliers have lost an estimated $900M in the first four weeks of the strike. Its customers (airlines) have racked up $285M in losses. THE TAKEAWAY It could be a long runway to recovery… Last week, Boeing’s CEO said the company’s troubles were “hard to overstate.” Union reps say the longer the strike goes on, the harder it'll be to restart production. Even if a deal is reached soon, the damage to Boeing's reputation could take longer to repair. This year the stock’s down 40%. [Read this online](   ON SHERWOOD [Why aren’t people having babies?]( Cutting across language, geography, and culture, one societal trend is beginning to loom larger than any other: falling birth rates. [Read more](.   What else we're Snackin' - VP Kamala Harris proposed an “Opportunity Agenda for Black Men” that includes [legalizing]( pot at the federal level and providing forgivable loans for entrepreneurs. - Adobe [showcased]( an AI video-generating tool that will be included in its popular Premiere video-editing software. - World Liberty Financial, the [Trump-affiliated]( crypto project, said it’d [start selling its token]( today (it’s reportedly aiming to raise $300M). - Under Starbucks’ new CEO, the chain is said to be [slashing discounts]( and promos after some bitter sales results. - After SpaceX [launched]( its Starship rocket’s fifth test flight, it caught the 20-stories-tall booster in a breakthrough for reusable-rocket tech.   Snack Fact of the Day [Since 1970, the global total fertility rate has more than halved](   Tuesday - Earnings expected from Walgreens, United Health, Johnson & Johnson, Citigroup, Bank of America, Progressive, Goldman Sachs, PNC Financial Services, Ericsson, Interactive Brokers, and J.B. Hunt Authors of this Snacks own shares of: Amazon, Nvidia, Starbucks, and Walmart Advertiser's disclosures: 1 The performance of other companies is not necessarily indicative of the prospective returns of RYSE, Inc. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. 2INVESTMENTS IN PRIVATE PLACEMENTS ARE SPECULATIVE, POSSESS A HIGH LEVEL OF RISK, ARE HIGHLY ILLIQUID, AND THOSE INVESTORS WHO CANNOT HOLD AN INVESTMENT FOR AN INDEFINITE TERM SHOULD NOT INVEST. NO ASSURANCE CAN BE GIVEN THAT INVESTORS WILL RECEIVE A RETURN OF THEIR CAPITAL. PLEASE CAREFULLY REVIEW THE [TERMS OF THIS OFFERING](, INCLUDING FEES, RISKS, AND INVESTMENT DETAILS BEFORE INVESTING. DealMaker Securities LLC, a registered broker-dealer, and member of FINRA | SIPC, located at 105 Maxess Road, Suite 124, Melville, NY 11747, is the Intermediary for this offering and is not an affiliate of or connected with the Issuer. Please check our background on FINRA's BrokerCheck.   Was this email forwarded to you? 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