Three Things (11/15)

“You have to cherish things in a different way when you know the clock is ticking, you are under pressure.” - Chadwick Boseman

1) Amazon to cut 10,000 workers: Amazon is set to start slashing its headcount this week, cutting approximately 10,000 jobs. The layoffs make up roughly 1% of Amazon's total workforce and 3% of its corporate employees. The layoffs follow similar-sized cuts at Meta and would be the most extensive cuts in the company's history.

Titan's Takeaway: The layoffs come at an interesting time for the e-commerce juggernaut, which has generally treaded lightly around the holiday season. The slash in headcount speaks to a darkening economic picture that is forcing even blue-chip companies to tighten their belts and shift their bets to more profitable engines of their businesses.

2) Nike Treks into the Metaverse: The shoe retailer is opening a virtual sneaker and trading store '.Swoosh' as part of the retailer's investment in the metaverse. Registration begins on November 18th, and it will include digital products that could grant access to physical items, real-life events, or the availability of products in video games.

Titan's Takeaway: Nike doesn't seem bothered by Wall Street's skepticism regarding the metaverse and appears to be diving head-first into the new technology. While use cases for the metaverse are still unclear, Nike could have an exciting product market fit. The shoe retailer has earned nearly $200 million from NFT products, a far more lucrative gambit than fashion peers Gucci and Adidas' trial in NFTs so far.

3) Black Panther Rakes in $180 Million: Disney's "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" cashed in during its opening weekend,, drawing $180 million in domestic box office sales. The sum is a record opener in November and the second-highest opening weekend for a film in 2022. The film pulled in an estimated 12.7 million moviegoers, just behind another Disney mainstay Marvel's "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," which brought in 13.7 viewers in May.

Titan's Takeaway: Representing 94% of all foot traffic at theaters over the weekend, "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" is spicing up the industry in a traditionally laggard time for theatres. We have said it before, Disney always has the added benefit of lucrative IP to fall back on compared with other streamers who have to spend to create.

Ask Titan Anything

After the encouraging CPI report today, is it a good time to deploy the reserve cash in our portfolio?

Reports were released last week that October’s consumer price index rose just 0.4% for the month and 7.7% from a year ago, its lowest annual increase since January and a slowdown from the 8.2% annual pace in the prior month. Risk on assets have moved higher as major indexes are up 4%+ on the news. The data is certainly encouraging for us at Titan and revealing about what the priorities are for the broader market - a solution for inflation. We increased net exposure prior to this move in Flagship prior to the print by initiating positions in both Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Adobe (ADBE) while adding to T-Mobile (TMUS) as well. We will continue to monitor price changes and will be cautious in the face of this market trend for our Opportunities and Offshore strategies.

Ask Titan Anything is intended to be informational in nature and does not take into account the specific objectives, financial situation, or particular needs of any specific person. Nothing in this answer should be construed as investment advice, or a recommendation to buy or sell securities.