Three Things (8/14)

“At some point the fundamentals have to matter.” - Amanda Agati, CIO for PNC Asset Management Group. 

WeWork woes in co-working boom

Once valued at $47 billion, WeWork now has “substantial doubt" about its long-term survival, interim CEO David Tolley last week. The co-working industry, on the other hand, continues to thrive. IWG (the second largest company in co-working) reported a 48% surge in profit for the first half of the year.  

With the retreat from old-school office culture, the pandemic turbocharged flexible workspaces. At a time when the industry is seeing its biggest wave of demand, WeWork’s demise is a cautionary tale on the consequences of mismanagement and overly ambitious targets. (Axios)

The stock market shrugs

Despite companies beating Wall Street's earnings estimates, the market appears unimpressed. Companies that have outperformed analysts' expectations have seen an average share price increase of 0.5% in the subsequent trading session, in contrast to the 10-year 1.6% average. 

Investors are being reminded that in a bubbly market, fundamentals are important. Despite economic optimism and the Federal Reserve's tactics, concerns loom over shrinking profits, sky-high bond yields, pricey valuations, and potential economic hiccups. (WSJ)

Lemon8 big break?

TikTok is supposedly cooking up a collaboration with Lemon8, another social app owned by TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance. The partnership would add a feature that allows Lemon8 users to sync their posts onto TikTok, then add sounds and music to the posts using TikTok’s editing tools. Currently, Lemon8 has 25 million downloads. 

Though the app originally debuted in March 2020, it gained popularity earlier this year, as U.S. lawmakers debated a TikTok ban. If Lemon8 can successfully leverage TikTok's superstar status, it may be poised for the limelight. (TechCrunch)