Sky thrills
Taking to the air
Good morning, jet jockeys. This is your Stock Market Rundown for July 29th, 2024. Thanks for being my co-pilot today. Let’s take off:
TODAY’S TOP STORY: AERIAL ANTICS
When you think “airshow”, you probably visualize a sunny August day with the Blue Angels flying in delta formation, to the delight of spectators below.
But the Farnborough International Airshow, which was held last week, isn’t entertainment—it’s serious business. Over 74,000 visitors make the trek to Hampshire in the United Kingdom to attend the biennial show, where billions in aviation deals get done on a handshake.
Farnborough has been a big event in the aviation calendar since 1948—planes such as the Concorde and the Lockheed Martin F-35 had their debuts there. These days, innovations getting showcased include hydrogen and hybrid-electric aircraft propulsion systems. Sounds experimental… I’ll stick with jet fuel for my next flight to Boca Raton, thanks.
Wall Street aerospace analysts track orders announced from the show as a key indicator for the aviation industry. Overall this year, the order tally was sparse versus prior shows, partly due to turbulence from supply-chain constraints.
But sales reps from Airbus are still probably exchanging high-fives. They scored more aircraft orders than rival Boeing, which has been slammed with quality snafus. I’d love to know: what’s the commission on selling an A321neo narrow-body jet?
SO WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
Good news for people who sell yachts, bling, and other stuff rich people like: American Express reported its revenue was up last quarter, showing its affluent customer base isn’t pinching their pennies.
Philip Morris just announced it’s investing $600 million to build a new factory to manufacture Zyn nicotine pouches in Colorado. Sure, they’re an addictive substance, but at least (unlike chewing tobacco) there’s no unsanitary spitting involved.
Blackrock, the world’s biggest investment management firm, has seen its assets under management surge to a record of over $10 trillion thanks to the bull market. Maybe they should diversify into rare baseball cards and Pez dispensers.
Top artificial-intelligence company OpenAI, the manufacturers of ChatGPT, are working with chip designers to accelerate AI development. AI is just great until your autonomous self-driving taxi comes to a dead stop in the middle of an intersection, because a seagull pooped on its windshield.
That’s it for today, homies; let’s circle back later this week for more updates. Yours in capitalism, The Axe
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