Sometimes a feller’s gotta eat a fella — The quote from the TV adaptation of the game Fallout perfectly encapsulates the dire state of the gaming industry. Gone are the boom days of the pandemic. And what’s left is a wasteland that has the industry fighting for survival. The virtual world is (no longer) your oyster: In the latest pain data point, gaming platform Roblox ($RBLX) reported first-quarter earnings yesterday that sent its stock down 21%. While its revenue surged by 22% yearly and it reached a record of 77M daily active users, slowing growth, sky-high spending, and a weak outlook over ..read more

Renewable energy investing has felt a lot like pissing in the wind over the past few years. Returns have been atrocious — but renewable energy is still gaining market share. According to Ember’s latest Global Electricity Review, renewable sources like wind, solar, and hydro now generate a record 30% of the world’s electricity, up from just 19% in 2000. Solar and wind have been the major drivers, expanding from 0.2% at the turn of the century to 13.4% of global electricity in 2023. Global electricity demand reached another record in 2023, with half of the gains coming from electric vehicles, d ..read more

After a three-year slump, the Chinese stock market is finally on a hot streak. In April, the MSCI China index, covering 85% of China’s equity market, surged by 10%. Compare that with the S&P 500, which sank 1.3% during the same period. This 20% rebound has pushed both of China’s stock markets back into bull market territory. Government stimulus is the driving force behind this boom — and restrictions placed on hedge funds’ short-selling have also likely helped. Banks have responded positively to China’s measures, with UBS re-rating China’s stock market as “overweight” and Goldman Sachs bo ..read more

Not long ago, Americans were all about the experience economy — but their heavy travel spending is starting to fall off. Yesterday, Airbnb ($ABNB) told investors to brace for lower revenue growth as North American bookings decrease, echoing similar warnings from Intercontinental Hotels ($IHG) and Marriott ($MAR), which also raised concerns this week about the state of domestic hospitality. Although Airbnb’s net income doubled year-over-year (YoY), the company anticipates only an 8-10% YoY increase in sales for the next quarter, lower than analysts’ expectations. Meanwhile, Marriott noted a “c ..read more

It’s been just over a month since Taiwan, the semiconductor mecca of the world, was rocked by a major 7.2 earthquake, and its effects are still rippling through the industry. The latest blow came from chip designer Arm ($ARM), whose earnings report yesterday caused its stock to drop by 7% after hours — as strong results were overshadowed by lower-than-expected full-year sales forecasts. Skipping Arm day: Arm, riding high on the wave of AI growth, has seen its stock double since its IPO last year. However, investors are beginning to worry that the AI-fueled market rally could be running out of ..read more

Users continue to swipe left on dating apps as Tinder sees a drop in paying users for the sixth straight quarter. Both revenue and profit fell short of expectations, with a 9% decrease in paying customers compared to the previous year — particularly struggling to attract Gen Z and female users. However, Tinder isn’t the only app facing challenges: Tinder assured investors they’ll improve their app, but analysts point to the “mixed impact of product improvement initiatives” as one reason shares keep sinking. Competitor Bumble ($BMBL) had better luck, posting a 10.2% jump in revenue from 2023 w ..read more

E-commerce platform Shopify ($SHOP) knows a thing or two about going up too far, too fast — first soaring over 385% during COVID, but plummeting by 85% shortly after. Again, yesterday, it faced its biggest intra-day decline, dropping 20% after a 124% rise in 2023. Despite surpassing sales expectations in its first-quarter earnings, Shopify warned of potential profit margin decreases due to increased marketing expenses. This news surprised analysts, who had been bullish on Shopify with the most buy ratings since 2022, and many upgraded the stock prior to the report. But if they loved it at $77 ..read more

Moderna ($MRNA) hit the jackpot by delivering what the world needed most: a ticket back to normalcy. Now, it’s aiming for another game-changer — offering hope to those battling cancer for a shot at reclaiming their lives. Two-shot wonder: With Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine no longer in high demand, sales of its only product have cratered. The latest numbers show a whopping 91% drop in revenue compared to the same quarter last year. But investors aren’t fretting over the dip; they’re already looking ahead to Moderna’s next act. Moderna’s betting on a rebound, projecting a “return to revenue growt ..read more

Gen Z, your credit score called — and it wants a better relationship. Young Americans (aged 22 to 24) are kicking off their careers with more credit card debt than earlier generations, driven by sky-high housing and food costs. By the final quarter of 2023, their average credit card balance surged to $2,834 — a jump from $2,248 back in 2013. Thanks to inflation, credit cards aren’t just a convenience anymore; they’re becoming essential. Over the last two years, rising interest rates and delinquencies have dragged down credit scores — especially for Gen Zs with scores over 720, witnessing an a ..read more

Yesterday, Apple ($AAPL) unveiled its newest iPad lineup powered by its cutting-edge M4 chip, hailed by CEO Tim Cook as an “outrageously powerful chip for AI.” Starting at $1,299, the new iPad Pro will also be the most expensive model, boasting the M4 chip’s ability to handle 38T operations per second — double that of the base M3. Smartphone manufacturers anticipate AI advancements could unlock fresh applications, enhancing security and speed. Tech companies have pushed to introduce AI-driven smartphones this year in an effort to rejuvenate sluggish device sales — which sent Apple to its firs ..read more