Silver banana goes to…

In this issue of the peel:

• 🚁 Elon roasted F-35s, boosting drone stocks (UMAC +89%, UAVS +42%) like a military TikTok. Rigetti Quantum surged 27% after Amazon whispered its name. Someone hide this from Grandma before she buys quantum stonks.

• 💀 Chegg’s getting schooled by ChatGPT, with shares down 98% since 2021—turns out no one pays for old-school cheating anymore. Meanwhile, Advance Auto Parts got its credit downgraded to junk; turns out debt is their least favorite part.

• 🤖 AI assistants are here to do more than just check the weather. They’re booking flights, reading emails, and maybe replacing your human admin. The real question: will they also handle holiday shopping without messing it up?

Market Snapshot

The Daily Poll

Previous Poll:

How are you handling rising prices?

Cutting back on luxuries: 33.3% // Trying to find deals: 32% // Just going with the flow: 21% // Pretending it’s not happening: 13.7%

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What's Ripe

Drone Companies (UMAC, UAVS) 89.38%, 42.16%

• The F-35 fighter jet racked up more haters last week than the relative who starts talking politics at Thanksgiving. On both accounts, Elon Musk had something to do with it.

• Early last week, Musk threw shade at the F-35 on X. That caused shares in Lockheed Martin, the maker of the coolest plane ever, to fall almost 5%.

• Musk’s engineering expertise and planned changes to the DoD’s procurement process via DOGE spooked Lockheed investors but hooked up companies behind the Tesla CEO’s preferred aerial “defense” system—drones.

• Unusual Machines, of which Don Jr. joined the advisory board on Wednesday, flew (no pun intended) 89.4% while others like AgEagle soared as well, up 42.2%.

Rigetti Computing (RGTI) 27.08%

• My 90-year-old grandmother asked me about AI at Thanksgiving, leading me to sell all my shares in those companies as no clearer sign of a market top exists.

• Luckily, she was unfamiliar with quantum computing, sending shares in those companies booming on Friday. No one tell her about Rigetti Computing…

• This mid-cap quantum player got a lot of attention last week when Amazon indicated an interest in the sector, sending shares higher and leading Rigetti to cash in on the run-up with a $100mn equity raise.

What's Rotten

Chegg (CHGG) 8.26%

• Americans ate turkey last Thursday while AI continued to gorge on Chegg’s entire business model. The online “education” company is on its last legs.

• Helping students cheat is clearly a lucrative market, and Chegg has controlled it for a while. But, now that ChatGPT is the world’s tutor, no one wants to pay $15-20/month for Chegg.

• The firm reported earnings last week, delivering a 13% YoY sales decline. Investors see the writing on the wall, with shares down 98% since peaking in February 2021.

Advance Auto Parts (AAP) 6.95%

• Much like the U.S. government, markets aren’t very confident in Advance Auto Part’s debt balance. At least, according to Moody’s, downgrading the firm’s debt.

• Everyone’s least favorite debt rating agency decreased their rating on Advance Auto Parts to Ba1, below investment grade, on a bevy of balance sheets and cash flow concerns.

• High leverage adjusted for leases, a low-interest coverage ratio, and Moody’s projection of negative free cash flow for 12-18 months led to the downgrade.

Career Corner

Question

One of the responses I got from a cold email was basically just, "If you're interested in the position, send me your CV." This is definitely positive, but I think a phone call would still help me learn about the bank and allow me to speak about that in an interview.

Should I just say yes, I'm interested, and send him the CV, or should I ask again for a quick phone call?

Answer

You definitely have to respond with your CV, and you can follow up by saying you would still love to chat if he/she has time.

Head Mentor, WSO Academy

Check out WSO Academy

Thought Banana

What’s Happening?

AI-powered personal assistants have been around for a while, but 2024 is the year they’re finally showing up to the party. We’re talking about assistants who don’t just read your emails or remind you of your meetings but also anticipate your needs before you’ve even had your first cup of coffee.

Forget Siri's basic “What’s the weather like today?”—we’re talking assistants that are fully integrated with your daily life, analyzing data and giving you insights to make better decisions. They help you prioritize tasks, suggest optimal meeting times, handle routine tasks, and even act as gatekeepers for your precious focus time.

So, What’s the Deal?

Companies like Google, Apple, and Amazon have been working on AI assistants for years, but they’re now moving into a new phase. 

These personal assistants aren’t just voice-activated robots anymore. They’re evolving into sophisticated systems that sync with every app you use, analyze your habits, and provide proactive advice to improve your efficiency.

Take Google Assistant, for example. It’s now capable of handling real-time emails, booking your travel, sending texts, and even making decisions on your behalf. 

Meanwhile, Apple’s Siri has been playing catch-up, but with recent updates, it’s starting to rival Google’s offering. And let’s not forget Amazon’s Alexa, which now has advanced capabilities that stretch far beyond playing music or giving weather updates.

The big question is: will these assistants replace the need for human admins, or is this just a momentary innovation before we realize there’s a line between convenience and losing human connection?

The Takeaway?

AI-powered personal assistants are no longer just a novelty—they’re becoming essential tools in the modern workday. 

From small business owners to Fortune 500 executives, these tools are stepping in to streamline operations, optimize schedules, and make mundane tasks less, well, mundane.

Sure, they might still flub the occasional Siri-level disaster (“Sorry, I didn’t get that”), but the future is clear: these assistants are only going to get smarter, more capable, and indispensable.

In a few years, asking your AI assistant to draft a report, manage a project, or even negotiate a deal won’t be anything out of the ordinary.

The Big Question: Will AI personal assistants replace real human admins? How long before you start relying on your AI for everything, including holiday shopping?

Banana Brain Teaser

Previous

Thabo owns exactly 140 books, and each book is either paperback fiction, paperback nonfiction, or hardcover nonfiction. If he owns 20 more paperback notification books than hardcover nonfiction books and twice as many paperback fiction books as paperback nonfiction books, how many hardcover nonfiction books does Theo own?

Answer: 20

Today

Abdul, Barb, and Carlos all live on the same straight road, on which their schools are also located. The school is halfway between Abdul’s house and Barb’s house. Barb’s house is halfway between the school and Carlos’s house. If the school is 4 miles from Carlos’s house, how many miles is Abdul’s house from Carlos’s house?

Send your guesses to [email protected]

How Would You Rate Today's Peel?

Happy Investing,
David, Vyom, Ankit & Patrick

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