💸 Uber’s profit delivery

…and the SAT makes a comeback   Surge-pricing aesthetic (Mario Tama/Getty Images)   [Sponsored by]( Yesterday’s Market Moves   Dow Jones 38,677 (+0.40%) S&P 500 4,995 (+0.82%) Nasdaq 15,757 (+0.95%) Bitcoin $44,161 (+2.47%) Dow Jones 38,677 (+0.40%) S&P 500 4,995 (+0.82%) Nasdaq 15,757 (+0.95%) Bitcoin $44,161 (+2.47%) Hey Snackers, There’s a Tokyo Swift situation: the Japanese embassy [has insisted]( Taylor Swift can make it back to the US in time to attend the Super Bowl, despite her concert in Tokyo the night before. If she can’t, it'll be bad news for those who’ve [placed]( bets on which outfit she’ll wear or whether she’ll cry if the Chiefs lose. The S&P 500 set a fresh record yesterday, closing in on a 5K milestone, after better-than-expected earnings boosted stocks. Arrived Uber delivers its first annual profit since IPO’ing — after ditching a hyper-growth mentality You have arrived at your destination… after four years. [Uber]( rolled up with its first annual profit as a public company, raking in nearly $1.9B last year — and $1.4B last quarter alone. The ride-hail pioneer, which IPO’d in 2019, posted a full-year profit in 2018, but that was thanks to investments. 2023 was the first year Uber’s actually taken home $$ from its operations. In Q4, rides were Uber’s fastest-growing biz, with bookings up 29% as folks whizzed off to concerts and Taco Tuesday nights. Delivery was strong too (bookings up 19%), but Uber’s freight biz lost steam as shipping slipped. Change of MO… Before the pandemic, the modus operandi at Uber and other tech cos was growth at all costs — aka: forgoing profits to splurge on growth initiatives. Investment dollars were flooding in, letting startups burn through billions. In Uber’s case, it took the form of generous promo codes and discounts, as well as financial incentives for drivers. Uber stacked up tens of billions in operating losses over the years. Since the pandemic hit, it’s changed tack, streamlining operations: - Leanin’ out: Uber got rid of non-core businesses like self-driving cars. Last month it said it was shuttering its alcohol-delivery app, Drizly (but’ll continue delivering booze through Eats). - Cuttin’ costs: Uber laid off hundreds of workers last year, and said it’s cut back on customer promos and driver incentives. THE TAKEAWAY Cutting back ≠slowing down… Recent blockbuster earnings from tech cos like Uber and [Meta]( show that focusing on “efficiency” (ahem: profit-boosting) doesn’t mean forgoing strong revenue growth. Despite cutting expenses, Uber still saw double-digit sales growth. Its in-app ad biz has been a growth-boosting addition: active advertisers hit 550K+ last quarter — up 75% from a year earlier. Sponsored by Nasdaq Get a better view of market data Don’t fly blind: Eagle-eyed traders on the hunt for opportunities don’t just want to know where a stock’s price is, they want to know where it might be headed. To better anticipate how price might move, [Nasdaq Totalview]( provides depth-of-book data, which shows all open orders at all available prices. Trade up… Pros often use depth data to better understand the supply and demand for a security, so they can set strategic prices for their orders. Retail traders can do just the same with [TotalView]( — this professional-grade tool is available through many brokerages (like Robinhood Financial Gold). [Trade smarter with Nasdaq TotalView.]( EXTRACREDIT Dartmouth brings back standardized testing, saying it helps applicants with lower incomes Pencils down… Dartmouth became the first Ivy League school to [bring back]( standardized testing admissions requirements. It’s been four years since the pandemic shut down testing centers, prompting thousands of schools to make the SAT and ACT optional. But now, as schools reckon with questions around legacy applicants and a Supreme Court ruling against affirmative action, they’re rethinking their admissions criteria again. - Gap: Nearly 90% of students from wealthy families go to college, compared to about 65% from middle-income families and around 50% from families with low incomes. A Harvard study found that students from the top 1% of households are 2X as likely to be admitted to and attend an Ivy than applicants with similar test scores from middle-class families. - But: Dartmouth said that it found that standardized testing gives lower-income applicants a leg up. By evaluating test scores with the student’s high school in mind, it said it’s easier to identify high performers from less resourced communities. Pricey tutors and test prep… Critics of standardized testing say it favors the wealthy. Students and parents spent a record $1B on tutors, classes, and software (think: [Chegg]( Khan Academy) to prep for standardized tests in 2019. The Princeton Review’s most popular online SAT-prep course costs $2.2K. Extreme example: some parents pay up to $750K for college consultants. The actual tests cost $60 to $90 a pop, and while a limited # of fee waivers are available, wealthier students can afford to retake tests more times. THE TAKEAWAY Testing was never really optional… After colleges dropped testing requirements, applications flooded colleges like Hogwarts letters. In turn, acceptance rates dropped by a lot. Facing that tough competition, school counselors have questioned how “optional” tests really were. MIT, which also brought back tests, said high scores sweeten a student’s application, especially when they don’t have access to as many AP classes and extracurriculars. What else we're Snackin' - [Robucks]( [Roblox]( shares popped 12% after the tween-fave gaming platform reported a 30% revenue spike. User #s soared 22% on the year after it arrived on [Sony]( PlayStation and Meta’s Quest last fall. - [Más]( Taco Bell parent [Yum Brands]( earnings disappointed as the Israel-Hamas war hit its international sales. Well ahead of its busy “burrito season,” rival [Chipotle]( said sales rose as foot traffic grew by more than 7%. - [Bundley]( [Disney]( ESPN, [Fox]( and [Warner Bros.]( are pooling their sports content in hopes of creating a streaming MVP. The team-up could leave [NBCUniversal]( [Apple]( and [Amazon]( with less live-sports running room. - [F-150]( [Ford]( beat expectations as sales climbed 4% to $46B. The OG carmaker has seen success with hybrids (sales are expected to grow 40% this year) but is slowing its EV plans to match cooling demand. - [EyesOn]( [Sphere Entertainment]( the biz behind Las Vegas’ Sphere, reported $314M in revenue for its first full quarter with the venue open. It’s selling Sphere ad-space deals worth up to $2M leading up to the Super Bowl. 🍪 Thanks for Snacking with us! Want to share the Snacks? Invite your friends to sign up [here](. Snack Fact Of the Day So far this year, Tesla is the S&P 500’s worst-performing stock [Read more]( Thursday - Earnings expected from Aurora Cannabis, ConocoPhillips, Cloudflare, Expedia, Philip Morris International, Spirit Airlines, Hershey, Affirm, Take-Two Interactive, and Pinterest Authors of this Snacks own shares of: Amazon, Apple, Comcast, Disney, Uber, and Yum Brands 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... [See more]( [Sherwood Terms and Conditions]( • [Our Editorial Principles]( • [Contact Us](mailto:hellosnacks@sherwoodmedia.com) • [Privacy Policy]( • [Advertise with us](mailto:advertising@sherwoodmedia.com) [Unsubscribe](