Plus, Intel forms AI firm with DigitalBridge

Inside Business

For January 04, 2024

Here's your daily business briefing.

🎬 2023 U.S. box office exceeds $9B
🌍 Deep Dive: COP 28 needs more renewables
🚴‍♂️ Peloton soars with TikTok fitness partnership

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The U.S. domestic box office in 2023 surpassed $9B, the highest since the pandemic, yet it remains $2B below pre-pandemic levels. Key contributors include Greta Gerwig's "Barbie," grossing approximately $636M, and Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer," which earned $326M.

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Including the recent weekend's box office, led by "Wonka," Comscore predicts that the final total in 2023 will be slightly over $9B.
Despite some excellent numbers, box office revenue in 2023 is still 20% less than in 2019, when it hit $11.4B.
The domestic box office gross increased by about 300% compared to the pandemic's height in 2020.
As of Jan. 2, Taylor Swift's concert film "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" had taken in over $179M. Its U.S. opening weekend was the best ever for a concert film.

What the numbers say: The COP28 climate agreement entails a pledge from over 190 nations to triple wind, solar, and other renewable sources by 2030. This ambitious objective targets an annual addition of approximately 1 terawatt, reaching a total capacity of 11 terawatts by the end of the next decade, building on the 292 gigawatts added in 2022 and anticipating almost double that in the current year.

Relevance: COP28's climate deal calls for a shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy, posing challenges such as grid delays, financing costs, land conflicts, labor shortages, and political opposition to achieving ambitious goals.

More data: China, a leading global emitter, is becoming a renewable powerhouse, addressing energy security and pollution while boosting exports. Challenges include inadequate grid infrastructure, demanding increased investments and upgrades, particularly in developing nations facing funding hurdles and a growing global green skills gap.

Peloton and TikTok have joined forces to launch the "#TikTokFitness Powered by Peloton" hub on the social media platform, providing diverse fitness content. Peloton's collaboration is a strategic move to reshape its public image, attract a broader audience, and counter declining sales and profits.

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Around six months ago, Peloton changed its name to become a fitness firm "for all" and implemented a tiered pricing structure for its app.
The goal of the collaboration with TikTok is to expand on Peloton's successful relaunch by reaching a wider audience, especially younger consumers.
- Following the news, Peloton's shares increased by over 7% during morning trading.
Demand for Peloton surged during the COVID-19 outbreak but fell after gyms reopened, resulting in 30,000 fewer members and decreased earnings.
Peloton CEO Barry McCarthy is concentrating on growing the company's membership and looking for joint ventures, like those with Lululemon and TikTok, to guarantee long-term success.

Intel is creating a standalone entity, Articul8 AI, to concentrate on its artificial intelligence software endeavors, with support from backers like DigitalBridge Group. The establishment of Articul8 AI is an outcome of Intel's collaboration with Boston Consulting Group (BCG) on corporate AI technology.

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The CEO of Articul8 will be Arun Subramaniyan, who was previously employed by Intel's AI and data center division.
Articul8 AI, a private entity, will have an independent board of directors, and financial details and Intel's ownership stake have not been disclosed.
The company uses AI systems in its clients' data centers to solve issues about privacy, security, and costs associated with AI work.
Fin Capital, GS Futures, Communitas Capital, Mindset Ventures, GiantLeap Capital, and Zain Group are among the other investors in Articul8.

Zoom Out:

In October 2023, Intel announced it was spinning off its programmable chip unit into a standalone business, aiming for a public stock offering within two to three years.

Energy firm APA plans to acquire Callon Petroleum in a stock-swap deal worth about $4.5B, encompassing debt. The transaction, offering a nearly 14% premium to Callon's closing price, involves APA issuing around 70 million shares, translating to an implied equity value of approximately $2.57B.

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The goal of the deal is to improve APA's operations in the Delaware Basin and the Permian Basin, and it is anticipated that daily production will surpass 500,000 barrels of oil equivalent.
In the combined business, APA shareholders will own roughly 81%, and Callon investors will own around 19%.
Both headquartered in Houston, APA and Callon anticipate the transaction's completion in the second quarter.
Consolidation in the oil sector has been trending, with agreements such as Exxon Mobil's $59.5B purchase of Pioneer Natural Resources and Chevron's $53B acquisition of Hess.

Ocean freight rates are rising after a Maersk ship in the Red Sea faced a missile attack and attempted hijacking, leading carriers to suspend transit. Houthi militants supporting Hamas have targeted cargo vessels, causing disruptions and increased costs for companies like IKEA, Walmart, and Amazon using the Suez Canal route.

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To escape the attacks in the Red Sea, hundreds of container ships have had their routes changed around Africa's Cape of Good Hope, extending their journeys by 7 to 20 days.
Anticipating cargo diversions to avoid problems with the Red Sea, shipments from Asia to North America's East Coast soared by 55% to $3,900 per 40-foot container, while West Coast rates increased by 63% to over $2,700.
Asia-to-Europe container rates have doubled, exceeding $4,000 for North Europe and reaching $5,175 for the Mediterranean, with some carriers charging above $6,000.
Despite a notable rise, rates remain below the 2021 pandemic peaks of $14,000 for Asia to North Europe and the Mediterranean and $22,000 for Asia to North America's East Coast.

Quick Hits:

Need to close more deals faster? See 6 tips on how Calendly helps sales & marketing teams automate the meeting lifecycle and grow revenue. Read the blog.*
Next, the U.K. fashion chain, projects a strong profit of $1.2B for the next fiscal year, boosted by a surge in festive sales, marking the fifth upward revision in its forecast this year.
Xerox is cutting its workforce by 15%, restructuring leadership, and forming a global business-services unit to stabilize its core print business while increasing focus on emerging IT and digital services.
Novo Nordisk collaborates with two U.S. biotech firms to advance treatments for cardiometabolic diseases in the pharmaceutical race.
Carrefour is discontinuing sales of products like Pepsi, Lay's crisps, and 7up in four European countries due to escalating costs, underscoring pricing disputes between retailers and global food giants.

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Shriram Jeevakumar

Freelance Writer

Shriram is pursuing Master’s in Business with Marketing at Warwick Business School. He worked as a Senior Consultant in Tech and Political Consultancies before his Masters. He is passionate about Tech, Marketing, Strategy, Anthropology and Politics. He is also the Postgraduate Ambassador for Warwick Business School.

This newsletter was edited by Aaron Crutchfield

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