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Greetings N2K reader!

Bob Epstein won last week’s world famous News Haiku™ competition with this gem about the gambling scandal rocking the NBA:

Congrats, Bob, and to everyone who entered. Here’s your gif!

Your poems make my day almost as much as Ian McShane made my mum’s Sunday evenings when he was in the BBC TV show “Lovejoy” (much to my dad’s chagrin).

The theme of this week’s world famous News Haiku™ competition is that Nvidia is the first ever company worth $5 trillion. Email me your entry by noon Eastern on Thursday! I’m excited about it already. Now, let’s talk about the news you need to know!

—Matt Davis, Need2Know Chedditor

News You Need2Know

• Amazon hoists Wall Street toward another winning w …

• Disney content has gone dark on YouTube TV

• Airlines urge congress to end government shutdown

• Netflix announces 10-for-1 stock split

• OpenAI lays groundwork for potential $1 trillion I …

What’s the stock market up to, eh?

$SPX ( ▲ 0.18% ) $DJI ( ▼ 0.4% ) $NDX ( ▲ 0.47% )

Companies mentioned in today’s newsletter

$AMZN ( ▲ 4.72% )  $DIS ( ▼ 0.44% )  $GOOGL ( ▲ 0.73% )  $DAL ( ▲ 2.27% )  $UAL ( ▲ 2.35% )  $NFLX ( ▼ 2.14% ) OpenAI

Amazon hoists Wall Street toward another winning week and month

Wall Street celebrated another triumphant week, powered significantly by Amazon's $AMZN ( ▲ 4.72% ) stellar performance. The retail giant jumped 11.2% on Friday following quarterly earnings far surpassing analysts' expectations. Andy Jassy, the CEO, highlighted the resurgence of its cloud-computing business, saying growth "has reaccelerated back to a pace it hasn’t seen since 2022." With a market valuation of approximately $2.4 trillion, Amazon's stock surge played a pivotal role in pushing the S&P 500 up 0.6%, recouping losses from Thursday’s dip.

This marks the S&P 500’s third consecutive winning week and its sixth straight month in the green—its longest monthly streak since 2021. Elsewhere on Wall Street, Reddit $REDDIT.X ( ▼ 5.9% ) soared 16% after exceeding earnings expectations, while Coinbase $COIN ( ▼ 3.26% ) gained 9.1% following impressive results. Netflix $NFLX ( ▼ 2.14% ) rose 3.8% after announcing a 10-for-1 stock split — on which more below.

About 10 years ago I did day trading for a bit, and started the day writing down why I’d make a given trade. If you’d asked me in April if I thought markets would be up for six straight months, I’d have laughed you out of the room, which goes to show…it’s not timing the market. It’s time in the market. #NotFinancialAdvice

Song of the day: Florence and the Machine, ‘Everybody Scream’

Released on Halloween, here’s a fawning review from Stereogum:

I still think Kate Bush did exorcismic builds better, but you know…it’s still good!

Disney content has gone dark on YouTube TV

Disney content has disappeared from YouTube TV after the companies failed to reach a new licensing deal. This is particularly annoying for those of us, like me, who like to watch ESPN on YouTube TV. Good job I already have a Hulu subscription and a separate ESPN subscription because I’m a sucker, I guess? I never met a major media company I didn’t want to give all my money to.

The conflict has left YouTube TV subscribers without access to major networks like ESPN and ABC. As a result, “essential” sports programming, including college football matchups, NBA, and NFL games, as well as other news and entertainment offerings, is now unavailable.

The disagreement centers on cost and licensing terms, and not, say, YouTube commenters dissing Bob Iger’s haircut. YouTube TV claims that Disney proposed terms “too costly, resulting in higher prices and fewer choices” for subscribers. The streaming service accuses Disney of using "the threat of a blackout on YouTube TV as a negotiating tactic" and suggests the move benefits Disney's own streaming products like Hulu + Live TV and Fubo.

Disney, on the other hand, argues that YouTube TV is unwilling to pay fair rates for its channels, choosing “to deny their subscribers the content they value most.” The entertainment giant has also accused Google of "using its market dominance to eliminate competition and undercut the industry-standard terms we’ve successfully negotiated with every other distributor."

For those looking to watch Disney's sports programming, options include subscribing to the company's own platforms like ESPN, Hulu, Disney+, and Fubo, although these come with additional costs. YouTube TV subscribers will receive a $20 credit if Disney content remains unavailable "for an extended period." Don’t hold your breath.

Both companies acknowledge the disruption is frustrating and are committed to finding a resolution. So it’s a bit like the government shutdown.

Today on the ‘gram: Powered by Nvidia…

Post of the day: “Backlash”

Quote of the Day

Airlines urge congress to end government shutdown

The ongoing government shutdown has drawn sharp criticism from major airlines, including Delta $DAL ( ▲ 2.27% ) , United $UAL ( ▲ 2.35% ) , and American Airlines $AAL ( ▲ 1.68% ) , as air traffic controllers miss their first full paychecks.

Delta called on senators to “immediately pass a clean continuing resolution” to reopen the government. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said “the shutdown is putting stress on the economy,” while highlighting the strain on holiday travel. Similarly, American Airlines warned of increasing delays and cancellations: “A prolonged shutdown will lead to more delays and cancellations — and the American people, especially during the busy holiday season, deserve better.”

“Every day the shutdown continues, the National Airspace System becomes less safe than it was the day before,” said Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.

But whose fault is the shutdown? Let us know in today’s poll 👇🏻

Should you check your 401(k) today?

👍️ 

Oh yes, goody goody!

Netflix announces 10-for-1 stock split

The move, set to reset the streaming giant’s share price, comes as Netflix $NFLX ( ▼ 2.14% ) shares have surged to over $1,000 apiece following three years of remarkable growth.

Existing shareholders as of November 10 will receive nine additional shares for each one they hold, with the stock beginning to trade at its adjusted price on November 17.

In a statement, Netflix noted the split is aimed at “resetting the market price of the Company's common stock to a range that will be more accessible to employees who participate in the Company's stock option program.” Netflix's stock is up 42% over the past year alone.

While stock splits like these aim to attract smaller investors, some remain skeptical about their overall financial impact, especially with the availability of fractional trading on most brokerage platforms. As Warren “All You Can Eat” Buffett famously observed, a split merely offers investors “more shares at a lower price, while the value of their holding does not change at all.”

OpenAI lays groundwork for potential $1 trillion IPO

OpenAI, the groundbreaking AI company behind something called “ChatGPT,” is reportedly preparing for an initial public offering that could value the company at up to $1 trillion.

The move follows a major restructuring aimed at reducing OpenAI’s reliance on Microsoft $MSFT ( ▼ 0.36% ) and positioning itself to capitalize on public markets. CEO Sam Altman acknowledged the likelihood of going public during a recent livestream: “I think it’s fair to say it is the most likely path for us, given the capital needs that we’ll have,” he said.

OpenAI expects its annualized revenue run rate to hit $20 billion by year-end. But substantial losses persist as it invests heavily in AI infrastructure. With public stock, OpenAI could potentially raise trillions in capital to fund its AI ambitions.

Poll of the day: Let’s play the blame game!

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