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  • ❌ Nike Gets Rid Of CEO (Just Didn't Do It)

❌ Nike Gets Rid Of CEO (Just Didn't Do It)

+ Entire Board of Directors resigned at 23andMe

Good afternoon! Michael Jordan’s former Illinois home may finally be coming off the market after 12 (12!) years. The original $29m asking price recently dropped to ~$14.9m, and it appears that was enough to entice a buyer for His Airness’ palace, which has an inexplicable 9:19 bedroom-to-bathroom ratio.

MARKETS

  • The markets are throwing a party today, and everyone’s invited. Following the Fed’s bold interest rate cut, the Dow Jones broke past 42,000 for the first time, climbing 1.2%. The S&P 500 wasn’t far behind, up 1.7%, marking its 39th record of the year. But the Nasdaq is really leading the dance, jumping 2.5% as tech stocks steal the spotlight.

  • With optimism high that the Fed’s move could lead to a soft landing for the economy, traders are ditching defensive stocks in favor of riskier plays. The Nasdaq 100 and Russell 2000 are also getting in on the action, as Wall Street bets big on smoother days ahead.

STOCKS
Winners & Losers

What’s up 📈

  • Mobileye ($MBLY) surged 14.99% after Intel clarified it had no plans to divest its majority stake in the company.

  • Darden Restaurants ($DRI) rose 8.25% following the announcement of a multiyear collaboration with Uber for on-demand delivery, balancing out weaker-than-expected earnings and revenue.

  • MicroStrategy ($MSTR) increased 9.04% as bitcoin prices climbed over 4%, spurred by the Federal Reserve’s rate cut decision.

  • PayPal ($PYPL) climbed 6.09% after Amazon added PayPal as a payment option for its Buy with Prime feature.

  • Airbnb ($ABNB) rose 5.17%, with CEO Brian Chesky discussing the company's focus on long-term rentals (28 days or longer).

  • The following stocks didn’t have any news but they were benefiting from broader market gains after the Fed's rate cut:

  • Tesla ($TSLA) jumped 7.36%

  • Meta ($META) climbed 3.93%.

  • Nvidia ($NVDA) gained 3.97%.

  • Apple ($AAPL) ticked up 3.71%.

What’s down 📉

  • Progyny ($PGNY) plummeted 32.65% after announcing the loss of a "significant" client, which contributed to 12-13% of its revenue in recent periods.

  • Skechers ($SKX) dropped 9.62% after the company acknowledged challenges in Asian markets, particularly in China, citing worse-than-expected consumer discretionary pressures at the Wells Fargo Consumer Conference.

  • Trump Media & Technology Group ($DJT) fell 5.89% to a new post-merger low as former President Donald Trump is expected to start selling his nearly $2 billion stake in the company.

  • Deckers Outdoor Corp ($DECK) declined 3.26%.

RETAIL
Nike Shakes It Up — CEO Swap in the Works

Nike is tying its laces for a major shake-up at the top. Veteran exec Elliott Hill is making a comeback from retirement to replace CEO John Donahoe, who’s stepping down after a rocky five-year stint. The transition officially kicks off on October 14, a day after Donahoe’s last.

Nike's stock, which has slumped 25% this year, got a quick boost with an 11% surge in after-hours trading on the news. Wall Street seems ready for Hill to bring his fresh pair of kicks to the game.

Donahoe's Legacy: The DTC Pivot : Donahoe pushed Nike into direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales, shedding its partnerships with big-name retailers like Foot Locker and Macy’s in favor of e-commerce. But as the post-pandemic online shopping frenzy fizzled out, so did Nike’s ability to keep up with consumer demand. Meanwhile, upstarts like On and Hoka capitalized on the gap, leaving Nike struggling to keep pace.

Enter Elliott Hill: With 30+ years at Nike, including a stint as president of consumer and marketplace, Hill is a familiar face to Swoosh insiders. He’s expected to steer the company back toward its roots, focusing on retail partnerships and new product development—areas where Nike has stumbled recently.

Hill’s return is also a shot of morale for the company’s workforce, which has been rattled by layoffs and internal restructuring. Analysts are hopeful that his deep brand knowledge and product development savvy will help Nike regain its footing. Investors will be watching closely during Nike’s upcoming investor day in November to see if Hill can hit the ground running.

NEWS
Market Movements

BIOTECH
23andMe’s Board Walks Out: Wojcicki's Big Gamble

It’s not every day that an entire board of directors walks out, but that’s exactly what just happened at 23andMe. All seven independent board members called it quits after clashing with CEO Anne Wojcicki over her plan to take the company private. Wojcicki, who co-founded the DNA-testing giant, proposed buying out the company at 40 cents a share—but the board wasn’t feeling it, citing the lack of financial backing.

Despite the mass exodus, Wojcicki remains laser-focused on her goal, claiming 23andMe will thrive away from the short-term pressures of public markets. With the board gone, she’s now the only one steering the ship.

Remember when 23andMe was worth a cool $3.5 billion? Those days are long gone. Since going public in 2021, the company’s stock has plunged 99.9%, now sitting at a humble 34 cents a share. What happened? Turns out, once you’ve taken a DNA test, there’s not much reason to take another.

In a bid to diversify, the company tried everything from drug discovery to subscription services, but nothing has stuck. Now, Wojcicki is betting that going private will give the company the breathing room it needs to fix its business model.

What’s Next?

With the board out, Wojcicki is doubling down on her buyout plan, but it’s a gamble. Investors are waiting to see if she can pull it off or if this is just delaying the inevitable. The company’s been burning through cash and, without a new revenue stream, 23andMe might run out of time.

Wojcicki promises to bring on new independent directors soon, but will that be enough to turn things around? Stay tuned—23andMe’s future is looking uncertain.

EARNINGS
FedEx’s Bumpy Ride

FedEx shares nosedived 11% in after-hours trading after the shipping giant delivered some bad news: a weaker-than-expected quarterly profit and a softer 2025 outlook. CEO Raj Subramaniam blamed a “challenging quarter” as customers ditched priority services for cheaper shipping options. The result? FedEx’s premium Express services took a hit, leaving the company scrambling to cut costs.

Investors weren’t thrilled, and FedEx wasn’t the only one feeling the pain. UPS shares also took a 2.8% hit, adding to the market’s growing concerns about the U.S. economy post-Fed rate cut.

No Special Delivery for 2025: FedEx adjusted its full-year earnings forecast to between $20 and $21 per share—down from $22. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the company's adjusted earnings for the quarter landed at $3.60 per share, way below Wall Street’s $4.75 expectations. Ouch.

While the company’s merger of its Ground and Express units was supposed to save money, the numbers haven’t quite added up yet. But FedEx still thinks it can hit $2.2 billion in cost savings this fiscal year. Fingers crossed.

Slower, Cheaper, and Shrinking Volumes: Domestic shipping volumes dipped 3%, and with higher labor costs and fewer priority shipments, FedEx Freight took a hit too. The company is also winding down a major USPS contract, which isn’t helping matters.

Bottom line: FedEx is bracing for slow growth and belt-tightening, with revenue now expected to crawl up in the low single digits in 2025.

Calendar
On The Horizon

Tomorrow

After Wednesday’s rate-hike drama and today’s whirlwind of economic data, tomorrow’s quiet feels like a well-earned breather.

And just when you thought the action might pick up, earnings season is hitting that awkward lull between quarters—leaving us all twiddling our thumbs.

NEWS
The Daily Rundown

RESOURCES
The Federal Reserve Resource

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