Wall Street Sell Off Continues

Catch Up Quick

• Manhattan's DA says it had grounds to investigate Trump for businesses tax fraud

• Palantir updated filings, expecting 42% revenue growth this year to $1.06B

• U.S. household net worth, driven by stock prices, skyrocketed in Q2 2020

• Tesla reveals future plans to use lower-cost batteries to make a $25K vehicle

• Private equity invested $252B in 1,845 companies in the first half of 2020 (AIC)

• The NFL will fine $100K per coach & $250K per club for mask policy violations

• 156 economies signed an agreement of fair global COVID-19 vaccine deployment

• Illumina announced it’s buying cancer screening company Grail for $8B

• U.S. existing home sales in August surged to their highest level in nearly 14 years

• The FBI urges Americans to depend on authorities for election results

• The U.S. reaches 200,000 coronavirus deaths

Wednesday Insight

• Struggling brick & mortar retailers are currently hoping for the typical revenue boost lent by the holidays, as recent global events have been detrimental to the industry— the upcoming holiday shopping season could provide a clear lens to the momentum of eCommerce, in which the global health crisis has been a material catalyst

Thought of the Day

• To expand upon the aforementioned, outlining the pandemic a “catalyst” for the shift to online retail is an understatement

• For example, take a look at Nike’s earnings report yesterday

• Digital sales increased 82% from the previous period with direct sales (which really means digital given store closures) represents over 30% of total revenue

• This 30% mark is significant because it was the company’s goal to reach by 2023

• It is nothing short of monumental for long-term targets set by a Fortune 100 entity to literally be expedited by years

• For retailers, establishing a digital presence has gone from “that would be nice to have” to “if we don’t get this right, we’re done”

• You would think at least brick and mortar vendors of large items such as furniture and electronics are safe in the long term given shipping costs, etc make online sales in these segments seemingly difficult

• However, yesterday, Carvana, an online used car marketplace, reported records in operational categories during Q3 2020 as well, such as revenue and units sold

The Bottom Lines

• On Monday, we discussed the government's inability to keep up with the pace of technological encroachment

• Today we bring to light the evolution of retail on this front, in which it appears incumbents will inevitably either thrive or dive

• Tuesday’s trading session → Nike ($NKE) +13% & Carvana ($CVNA) +30%

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