💿 Netflix’s Blockbuster moment

…and consumer spending at a crossroads   The end of an era (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)   [Sponsored by]( Yesterday’s Market Moves   Dow Jones 33,433 (-0.22%) S&P 500 4,288 (+0.01%) Nasdaq 13,308 (+0.67%) Bitcoin $27,484 (-1.77%) Dow Jones 33,433 (-0.22%) S&P 500 4,288 (+0.01%) Nasdaq 13,308 (+0.67%) Bitcoin $27,484 (-1.77%) Hey Snackers, The US housing market is slim pickings, but the lunar housing market is just getting started: NASA plans to [build]( houses on the moon using 3D printing and lunar soil. The space agency is aiming to have the celestial abodes by 2040 (perfect for people who aren’t down to earth). The tech-heavy Nasdaq ticked up yesterday after the US (barely) avoided a government shutdown over the weekend. The gov’t will stay open through at least November 17. Vault Netflix sent its last red envelope as physical media becomes a collector’s item Signed, sealed, delivered… it’s yours. [Netflix]( licked its final red envelope last week, [shuttering]( its once bustling DVD biz. In the pre-streaming era, Netflix mailed out enough discs to be USPS’s fifth-largest customer. Over 25 years, it shipped 5.2B+ DVDs to 40M subscribers — obliterating Blockbuster in the process. Now its red envelopes are going the way of Blockbuster’s laminated VHS boxes. - By the #s: This year, Netflix was sending out only about 50K DVDs/week, and red-envelope revenue was $60M through June — less than 1% of Netflix’s US streaming revenue over the same period. - Due date: none. The remaining 1M subscribers get to keep their final DVDs, like that Blockbuster copy of “The Lion King” you never returned, minus the guilt. Physical media’s extinction event… Netflix isn’t the only company tossing physical media in the scrap heap. Disney stopped putting its content on DVDs in Australia in August. Apple’s MacBooks haven’t had CD drives for more than a decade. In the gaming industry, most of Microsoft’s new-gen Xbox consoles are the disc-less Series S, and a recent leak suggested plans for a disc-less console update. 72% of Sony’s PlayStation game sales are digital downloads. And barring a HitClips resurgence, streaming’ll continue to dominate the US music industry, where it accounts for 84% of total revenue. THE TAKEAWAY Innovation can leave a lot behind… Netflix has about 4K movies available to stream — enough for a rainy weekend, but just 5% of the selection its DVD biz used to offer. Meanwhile, streamed content can be nixed by whoever hosts it. Warner Bros. pulled its hit show “Westworld” from Max, while Nintendo and Microsoft are shuttering digital storefronts for older gaming consoles — effectively ending the ability to buy some classic games. Critics of Netflix’s DVD move worry more content could be left behind. Sponsored by LiquidPiston The engine powering the technology of the future Disruptor alert… Investors looking for the next high-potential tech innovator have until 10/24 to invest in [LiquidPiston – they’re revolutionizing combustion engine technology](. Small and mighty… Today’s clunky and inefficient engines still rely on technology and thermodynamics dating back to 1876. But LiquidPiston is [disrupting a $400B market]( with an engine that’s up to 30% more efficient and up to 80% smaller than current engines of comparable power. The next-gen engine: LiquidPiston’s super-compact engines are optimal for powering emerging tech, like zero-emission cars and planes, drones, and urban air mobility (think: flying cars). The takeaway: LiquidPiston is poised to boldly build what’s never been built before. Don’t miss the chance to invest at their current price. [Learn more about LiquidPiston before the opportunity ends on 10/24.*]( YOLO Spending growth is cooling, but flashy-shopping trends paint a conflicting story Best of times, worst of times… US consumer spending may be finally hitting the brakes. Last month, the Personal Consumption Expenditure index (PCE) [grew]( a lower-than-expected 0.1% — the smallest gain since 2020. The PCE is the Fed’s favored way to gauge inflation because it covers a wider range of spending categories than the Consumer Price Index (which tracks prices for a fixed basket of items, like eggs and gas). The PCE gets its data straight from businesses, so it can more accurately reflect spending trends (for example, if shoppers are trading down to store-brand chips from pricier Lays). YOLO spending is still going strong… The slowdown in spending growth comes as Americans sit on record debt levels. But while consumers may be trading down in some areas, they still aren’t skimping on experiences: thanks to revenge travel, airlines like [United]( and [Delta]( have raked in record revenue and expect demand to continue. [Live Nation]( has seen concert sales soar as Americans shell out thousands to see Beyoncé and T. Swift. And back-to-school spending is expected to reach a record $41.4B this year, while Halloween splurges could be the biggest yet. THE TAKEAWAY Consumption is at a crossroads… On one hand, wages are rising faster than prices, yet inflation is cooling, which encourages open wallets. Plus, since the housing market is so tight, some Americans are forgoing saving for a home and using the extra cash to treat themselves instead. But spending optimism has been tempered by soaring debt, dwindling savings, and student-loan payments restarting. What else we're Snackin' - [Gate]( In its latest attempt at a comeback, Toys “R” Us is plotting an “air, land, and sea” expansion, with plans to open new stores at airports and on cruise ships (places where shopping options are limited). - [BirkenStock]( Sandal icon Birkenstock said it’s eyeing a $9.2B valuation ahead of its planned IPO next week. The comfy-shoe brand has benefited from designer collabs and a pink cameo in “Barbie.” - [Fork]( Tesla fell short of expectations with 435K car deliveries in Q3, down 7% from the previous quarter (it blamed factory downtimes). Rival Rivian beat estimates, and said it’s on track to crank out 52K EVs this year. - [Eyeball]( Sphere Entertainment stock surged 15% after its Las Vegas venue (a sphere covered in LEDs) officially opened with a U2 concert. The biz said it wants to build another Sphere, in London. - [SpecialK]( Kellogg’s spun-off cereal biz started trading as WK Kellogg. Meanwhile, Kellogg’s newly independent snacks biz, Kellanova (Pringles, Cheez-Its), is focused on capitalizing on the snacking surge. 🍪 Thanks for Snacking with us! Want to share the Snacks? Invite your friends to sign up [here](. Snack Fact Of the Day Healthcare operations account for about 8.5% of the US’s carbon footprint [Read more]( Tuesday - Job openings - Earnings expected from McCormick and Cal-Maine Foods Authors of this Snacks own shares of: Apple, Delta, Disney, Microsoft, and Tesla *Advertiser’s disclosure: This is a paid advertisement for LiquidPiston’s Regulation A+ Offering. Please read the [offering circular]( and [related risks]( at invest.liquidpiston.com. 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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