🚚 Amazon's Profits Up +225%

and Rick Scott's $350M net worth...

Author

Austin & Robert from Rich Habits
May 09, 2024

Together with Public.

Good morning,

A quick breakdown — in case you just don’t have the time:

  1. ⭐ Amazon’s quarterly profits increased +225% to $10.4 billion

  2. ⭐ Three mindset shifts you need to make to become a millionaire

  3. ⭐ 86% of voters prefer politicians don’t trade stocks

  4. ⭐ Savings hit all-time-lows while credit card balances skyrocket

  5. ⭐ Private equity firms want to buy Peloton

  6. ⭐ Automatically buy stock where you shop with Grifin

Market Overview

As of market close 05/08/24

Chart of the Week

Amazon had yet another amazing quarter. Revenue came in at $143.3B (+13% YoY), Operating Income was $13.0B (+215% YoY), and Profits were $10.4B (+228% YoY).

Amazon has now reported operating income above the high end of its guidance range for five consecutive quarters — a very good sign. Looking forward, there’s still a lot to be excited about as investors — continued cost efficiencies within its fulfillment network, as well as the ongoing mix shift toward their higher-margin AWS (+17%) and advertising (+24%) business segments.

“And I think we're investing in a meaningful way. But I think we also — we've been pretty consistent and don't believe that we're at the end of what we can do in terms of improving our cost structure on the store side.

Yes, I think there are really unbelievable growth opportunities in front of us.

And I think what people sometimes forget on the AWS side, it's a $100 billion revenue run rate business, that we're still 85-plus percent of the global IT spend is on premises.”

Together with Public

Public has been helping power the Rich Habits podcast this year — and we want to give them some well-deserved praise in the Rich Habits newsletter too!

Invest in stocks, bonds, options, crypto, and more in one place. Use advanced tools, and AI-powered insights to make informed investing decisions.

We’ll be hosting a free webinar with the Public Head of Product in early June — make sure to save your spot!

In Case You Missed It…

👉 Episode 63: These 3 Mindset Shifts Will Make You a Millionaire

In this week’s episode of the Rich Habits podcast (linked here) — Robert and Austin touched on the following mindset shifts the wealthy have mastered:

  1. Eliminating FOMO — Let’s be honest, FOMO comes in all shapes and sizes. Whether it’s the last minute trip with friends that you can’t afford, the newly IPO’d company that you feel like you have to invest in to boost your portfolio, or that shiny new car… contain the FOMO when possible.

  2. Delaying Gratification — Regardless of your age, human nature will force you to compare yourself to others. Do the math on the goals that you have set for YOURSELF — and delay unnecessary expenses until you can reach them. Children do what feels good — adults devise a plan and stick to it!

  3. Staying Calm When the Markets Are Not — As Robert loves to remind everyone… ZOOM OUT. Remaining calm during market turbulence is a skill that most can’t learn until they’ve experienced it themselves. Don’t fall victim to emotional reactions — view your portfolio through a long-term lens.

👉 Q&A: Book Recommendations, Stocks That Go To Zero, and Spending $7M to Buy Out a Family Member

During our Q&A episode that was posted this morning, we answered questions from Jake, Rachel, Tanner, Aamir, Keiko, and Weston.

Reply to this email with your questions so that we can answer them in the next week’s edition.

👉 Frec — Direct Indexing Webinar

Yesterday afternoon Robert and Austin hosted their Direct Indexing webinar (replay linked here) — breaking down all things tax-loss harvesting. We were joined by Mo Adham, CEO and Co-Founder of Frec — the “robo-advisors” of direct indexing.

We encourage each and every one of you to carve out an hour of your time this weekend and watch the replay of the webinar. This strategy can seriously save you thousands of dollars in taxes every year.

If you’re ready to sign up, use this referral link to get $250 in free stock.

Robert’s Callout

Source: Quiver Quantitative

Whoa! It will never cease to amaze me just how rich you can become being a politician. If you didn’t know — the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act of 2012 attempted to put an end to politicians getting rich off of insider information. It increased reporting requirements — but violations are hard to prove. 

Penalties for failing to report start at just $200.

86% of voters (including 88% of Democrats and 87% of Republicans) favor preventing members of Congress from trading stock in individual companies.

Austin’s Callout

Source: Zerohedge

The chart above shows the Personal Savings Rate of the average U.S. consumer in green, and Credit Card Debt Change in red. As you can see, far too many Americans find themselves saving close to nothing every month while their credit card balance continues to ramp higher.

If you’re someone who’s trying to pay off high-interest debt, consider learning more about the Avalanche Method — here’s a helpful article. 

A positive viewpoint:

"The economy is still extremely strong, consumers are still doing really well, businesses are still doing really well… When you look at the financial position of each — all things considered, given all that we've been through — it's not as good as it can get, but it's really strong and very, very consistent."

The Rich Habits Radar

  • 👉 Nvidia’s position in Stanley Druckenmiller’s portfolio was cut.

  • 👉 Robinhood received an SEC wells notice over its crypto business.

  • 👉 Disney’s streaming unit (Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+) had an -$18M loss.

  • 👉 Paramount is in talks with Sony & Apollo for a $26B acquisition.

  • 👉 Apple is now attempting to develop AI chips for data centers.

  • 👉 Peloton is getting swarmed by private equity firms for a buyout.

Check ‘Em Out

Below is a list of our featured partners that we’ve vetted — with whom we have a personal relationship. Browse these exclusive offers curated just for you:

Disclaimer: This is not financial advice or a recommendation for any investment. The content is for informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.