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Americans Swipe Through the Gloom

💳Americans swipe cards like pros—3.1% consumer spending rise, despite economic gloom!

April 28, 2025

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In this issue of the peel:

  • 💳Americans swipe cards like pros—3.1% consumer spending rise, despite economic gloom!

  • 🔋BYD's making EV waves with sales up 60%, R&D surge, and it's gunning for Tesla!

  • 🚘Tesla rockets 9.8%, all eyes on cheaper EVs and self-driving future!

Market Snapshot

Banana Bits

Apple’s Starlink Update Sparks Huge Earning Opportunity

Apple just secretly added Starlink satellite support to iPhones through iOS 18.3.

One of the biggest potential winners? Mode Mobile.

Mode’s EarnPhone already reaches +45M users that have earned over $325M, and that’s before global satellite coverage. With SpaceX eliminating "dead zones" worldwide, Mode's earning technology can now reach billions more.

Mode is now gearing up for a possible Nasdaq listing (ticker: MODE) but you can still invest in their pre-IPO offering at $0.30/share before their share price changes.

*An intent to IPO is no guarantee that an actual IPO will occur. Please read the offering circular and related risks at invest.modemobile.com.
*The Deloitte rankings are based on submitted applications and public company database research.

Macro Monkey Says

Spending Like There's No Tomorrow

Despite a gloomy mood about the economy, Americans are still swiping their cards like it’s a sport. 

On Friday, fresh data from Bank of America showed total card spending rose 3.1% year-over-year in April. Retail sales also surged 1.4% in March, driven by big-ticket buys like cars, smartphones, and a healthy dose of restaurant tabs.

Consumers aren't totally ignoring the headlines, though. Spending on airlines dropped more than 13% year-over-year for the week ending April 19, hinting that vacations are getting axed in favor of hedging against future tariffs. 

Meanwhile, online electronics sales jumped 7.5% — apparently, Americans would rather stock up on gadgets now than pay more later.

Interestingly, it's the wealthy still leading the charge. Bank of America found that spending among the top 5% of customers grew about 3%, suggesting that even a shaky stock market hasn’t scared the big spenders.

The contradiction is striking: consumer confidence, according to the University of Michigan and The Conference Board, has dropped sharply, hitting levels not seen in over a decade. But when it comes to actual spending habits? It’s business as usual—for now.

The Takeaway?

Americans are feeling gloomy about the economy but are still spending steadily, especially on cars, electronics, and dining. As long as wallets stay open, the economy keeps humming — even if the mood feels anything but cheerful.

Career Corner

Question

How should you answer a desired salary question when you are required to select a number on the app?

Answer

Research their average salary on the WSO company database, Glassdoor, etc., and put that.

Head Mentor, WSO Academy

What's Ripe

Charter Communications (CHTR) 11.4%

  • Charter's stock rocketed 11.4% after surprising Wall Street with stronger-than-expected broadband subscriber growth. Turns out, people really like faster internet, especially when it comes with new promotional bundles Charter quietly rolled out. 

  • Investors cheered the resilience in broadband, shrugging off cable-TV cord-cutting fears. Charter’s pivot to broadband dominance? Definitely trending faster than a YouTube buffer.

Tesla (TSLA) 9.8%

  • Tesla put the pedal to the metal, climbing 9.8% after Elon Musk announced a full-speed push into affordable EVs and that he would spend more of his time focusing on Tesla. 

  • Earnings weren't perfect, but the roadmap ahead—including the Trump administration’s move to loosen rules around self-driving cars—electrified investors. It’s less about today's bumps, more about Musk’s next highway: autonomous cars and cheaper Teslas everywhere.

What's Rotten

T-Mobile US (TMUS) 11.2%

  • T-Mobile's magenta wasn’t shining so bright Friday, plunging 11.2% after the cellphone service provider added fewer wireless customers than expected, with the postpaid churn rate rising 5 basis points to 0.91%. 

  • Slowing subscriber growth and intensifying wireless competition, in addition to CEO Mike Sievert’s warning of potential tariff impacts on cell phones, had investors slamming the brakes. 

Aon (AON) 8.0%

  • Despite revenue rising 16%, Aon stumbled 8% after missing revenue estimates and lowering its full-year guidance, thanks to a tougher insurance brokering environment. 

  • Clients are squeezing fees, and market volatility isn't helping. For a firm built on managing risk, Aon suddenly felt like it was juggling flaming torches—and on Friday, investors weren't feeling very safe.

Thought Banana

EV’s New World Order

The electric vehicle world is experiencing a serious change in the guard moment. BYD, the Chinese automaker once dismissed as a niche player, just posted a doubling of net profit to $1.26 billion in Q1, while Tesla’s net income plunged 71% during the same period.

It gets juicier: BYD sold more battery EVs than Tesla for the third straight quarter, maintaining its title as the world’s top EV seller. Total unit sales, including hybrids, skyrocketed 60% year-over-year to about 1 million vehicles. 

Meanwhile, Tesla’s EU sales dropped 36% in March alone, marking the third consecutive month of major declines, even as overall EV sales in the bloc jumped 17%.

So what’s fueling the divergence?

BYD’s diversified model range, relentless investment in R&D (up 34% YoY), and stronger exposure to China, Europe, and South America have insulated it from U.S.-specific trade tensions. 

Tesla, on the other hand, is feeling the squeeze from new tariffs, rising competition abroad, and a reliance on premium models that are facing pricing pressure.

In a surprising twist, BYD’s "God’s Eye" autonomous driving system could democratize features that Tesla has historically sold at a hefty premium—another threat to Tesla’s edge. BYD plans to roll this system into mass-market cars this year.

A fun thought? 

Fifteen years ago, Warren Buffett made a modest $230 million bet on BYD. Today, that stake is worth billions—and BYD might soon be the EV king not just by sales, but by tech leadership too.

Market share of Tesla vehicles by region (TTM)

 

The Takeaway?

BYD’s 34% year-over-year surge in R&D spending reflects its aggressive push into autonomous tech and innovation. With plans to integrate its “God’s Eye” system across mass-market models, BYD is positioning itself to democratize advanced driving features, intensifying pressure on Tesla and reinforcing its leadership in the global EV race.

The Big Question: Is BYD set to become the "Toyota of EVs," while Tesla becomes the "BlackBerry of cars"?

Banana Brain Teaser

Previous

A case contains c cartons. Each carton contains b boxes, and each box contains 100 paper clips. How many paper clips are contained in 2 cases?

Answer: 200bc

Today

When Leo imported a certain item, he paid 7% import tax on the portion of the total value of the item in excess of $1,000. If the amount of the import tax that Leo paid was $87.50, what was the total value of the item?

Send your guesses to [email protected]

❝

An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.

Benjamin Franklin

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Happy Investing,
Chris, Vyom, Ankit & Patrick