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The Regime That Doesn’t Care

The Regime That Doesn’t Care

Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Epoch Times,

We’ve all come across warnings against doom scrolling.

This…

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The Regime That Doesn't Care

Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Epoch Times,

We’ve all come across warnings against doom scrolling.

This is the practice of waking up in the morning, scouring headlines, seizing on the bad news, and dwelling on the darkness. You do this during downtimes in the day and in the evening. Your mood worsens, permanently.

It cannot be good for the human spirit.

The term implies that we are somehow looking for doom because it gives us a dopamine rush or something. Testing this idea, I’ve variously tried to avoid doing that. But there is a problem. It is impossible to avoid simply because the bad news is so ubiquitous. In fact, I’ve come to distrust any venues that are not reporting it!

Many people have concluded that if we are looking for something other than doom, we should leave what we called “the news” entirely and focus on culture, religion, philosophy, history, art, poetry, or find something practical and productive to do.

I recently met a wonderful Mennonite family living in Amish country in Pennsylvania. They live a completely unplugged life: no cell phones, no internet, no TV. There are only books, community worship, farming, tending to livestock, shopping at local stores, and visiting with neighbors.

I never could have imagined that there would come a time when I would say to those who have completely seceded from modern life: you might be doing it the right way. There is something truly brilliant about the choices you have made.

Sure, they have created a bubble for themselves, one of their own choosing as an extension of their understanding of their faith tradition. One point I observed: they surely seemed happy. Not in a fake way that we see on social media but authentically happy.

Once you leave that world and dip back into normal life, it’s just undeniable. The headlines are filled with tragedy at home and abroad, much of it an outgrowth of population despair. The list is familiar: learning loss, substance addiction, suicide ideation, public and private violence, massive and well-earned distrust of everything and everyone, raging conflict at all levels of society.

It’s hard consolation that so many predicted this outcome of the pandemic response. We knew from the empirical literature that unemployment is associated with suicide, that isolation is connected with personal despair, that loss of community leads to psychopathology, that dependency on substances produces ill health.

So many warned of this outcome from what governments did. In many ways, the world before lockdowns seemed fixable. Afterwards, too much is broken and ruined to imagine redemption.

A good example for me is mainstream corporate media. There was a time when I could listen to NPR or read the New York Times (NYT) and disagree but think: well, that’s a perspective I reject but still I benefit from knowing it. It seemed like we were all part of the same national conversation.

This is no longer true. What made the difference? Probably the realization that they are not just confused or pushing some biased outlook but rather actively covering up and lying. Realizing that is incredibly disorienting.

There is something about pretending that the lockdowns and all that followed were completely normal that discredits them. They do it constantly. Sometimes the media will report on learning loss or the suicide epidemic or rising ill health in the population. But there seems to be this studious attempt to pretend that no one knows why it is happening.

Or my least favorite tactic: pretending as if the pandemic necessitated all this and that it was not an outgrowth of deliberate decision-making on the part of elites.

This stuff makes me want to scream: they locked us down when it was totally unnecessary!

As my friend Aaron Kheriaty often observes, they believe we are stupid. They actually think we cannot make connections, have no memory, no knowledge of anything serious, and will just eat up their porridge of baloney daily while exercising no critical intelligence over any of it.

This rubs me wrong particularly on the subject of the mRNA shots designed to address the virus. We know for certain that they were oversold and failed in all the ways they were supposed to succeed. We are further flooded with evidence of their harms both from personal experience and the scientific literature.

But do we read or hear about this in the legacy media? Absolutely not. Even when it is overwhelmingly clear that the shot should be considered a possible cause in the sudden rise of heart attacks, sudden death, turbo cancers, and maladies of all sorts, this whole subject is somehow unsayable in the corporate media.

The silence on this topic is so conspicuous and apparent that it discredits everything else. And what is the reason for it? Well, pharma advertising provides a stunning 75 percent of revenue for mainline television. That’s an astounding number. The networks are simply not going to bite the hand that feeds them.

That’s true for TV and probably something similar applies to everything else too.

What does this mean for the rest of us? It means that every time we turn on the TV, we are risking getting propagandized by companies that are seriously in league with the government to generate the highest possible revenue stream for themselves regardless of the consequences.

And why zero focus on vaccine injury? Incredibly, the companies themselves are indemnified against liability for any harms they cause. Just think about the implications of this. Even if you know for sure that you have been harmed by a product you were forced or otherwise manipulated to take, there is almost nothing you can do about it.

That’s an incredible fact, and goes a very long way toward explaining the silent treatment.

The discrediting of major media in this context reveals a deeper and more terrifying truth. Much of the elite class of economic and social managers do not have our best interests in mind. Once you realize this, the color of the world changes for you. Once you gain that insight, there is pretty much no going back from it.

Millions have come to this realization over the last four years. It has changed us as people. We desperately want to live normal happy lives but we are overwhelmed by what we’ve learned. It’s like the curtain was pulled back and we have seen what is really going on. The whole of official culture is screaming at us to ignore that man behind the curtain.

I’ve recently taken my own advice and thrown myself into reading history as a refuge. My choice was probably not the best if my goal was to brighten my spirits. I have been reading “The Vampire Economy” by German economist and financier Gunter Reimann, published in 1939 (and which I scanned and uploaded with the author’s permission).

The book was written as the Nazi Party had gained full control of government (and everything else) and the full war in Europe was about to commence with the German invasion of Poland.

Reimann brilliantly dissects the reality of a regime that cared nothing for the spreading suffering of the people.

“Nazi leaders in Germany do not fear possible national economic ruin in wartime,” he writes.

“They feel that, whatever happens, they will remain on top, that the worse matters become, the more dependent on them will be the propertied classes. And if the worst comes to the worst, they are prepared to sacrifice all other interests to maintain their hold on the State. If they themselves must go, they are ready to pull the temple down with them.”

That’s a bracing analysis and it could apply to many regimes in history, not just the Nazis. Indeed, good government in history has rarely been the norm. Power often benefits from suffering. As Americans we are not used to thinking this way about our elites. But it is probably time to realize that this trajectory is very much in play.

This might be the most striking change among millions of Americans over the last five or so years. We’ve come to realize that our leaders in so many sectors of American life (or global life, for that matter) do not favor our best interests. This is a troubling realization but it explains so much. It’s why the elites did not care about the harms of lockdowns or untested shots and are unconcerned about inflation, mass immigration, the rise of crime, squatting and the insecurity of property, exploding government debt, growing population surveillance, or anything like the normal rules of civilized life.

The regime, in the broadest possible way we can conceive of that term, simply doesn’t care. Even worse, it grows and benefits at our expense. They know it. We know it. They like it this way.

Tyler Durden Sat, 04/20/2024 - 07:00

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The Haven-Volatility Dog Has Not Yet Barked

The Haven-Volatility Dog Has Not Yet Barked

Authored by Simon White, Bloomberg macro strategist,

Implied volatility of traditional havens…

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19 hours ago

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April 19, 2024

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The Haven-Volatility Dog Has Not Yet Barked

Authored by Simon White, Bloomberg macro strategist,

Implied volatility of traditional havens such as the Swiss franc and US Treasuries remains remarkably subdued despite the situation in the Middle East, even as the former has outperformed most other havens, including the dollar. However, vol is beginning to pick up, in a sign risks are beginning to be more fully priced in.

Volatility is typically episodic. Most of the time it is low or falling, but then punctuated by episodes of extreme fear when it spikes, before beginning to trend lower again. It is a good metaphor for human behavior: ignore a potential risk up until the last minute - either believing it’s not really a danger, or pretending it’s not there at all and hoping it will go away, i.e. the ostrich effect – and then panic when said risk does turn out to be major problem (the UK government’s response to the pandemic is a good example).

Recency bias perhaps explains why markets have been surprisingly calm in the face of the ratcheting up of tensions in the Middle East. The geopolitical backdrop across the world has been increasingly quarrelsome, but it has not so far led to a major multi-regional conflagration. With any luck that persists, but the generally still-contained volatility in most markets is perhaps not fully reflective of the underlying risks.

The chart below shows the implied volatility of bonds, the Swiss franc, the yen and crude oil has barely risen this year (all series are normalized to 100 at the start of the 2024).

We are seeing call skew in oil rising showing tail-risk probabilities are rising, even though at-the-money vol remains low.

The Swiss franc has been catching a bid, but that has so far not led to a significant marking up of its vols, while the yen is not acting as the haven it once did.

The VIX (blue line in top panel of chart) and gold volatility (purple line, bottom panel) have started to rise, but that has been more about inflation rather than geopolitical risks.

Generally, though, assets are not at panic stations, and therefore hedging portfolio risks is still cheap.

Tyler Durden Fri, 04/19/2024 - 11:25

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Walmart making major store changes in key areas

The super retailer will roll out further adaptations to modify the shopping experience.

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April 19, 2024

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If you've been paying attention to the news recently, you've probably noticed that the retail industry is fighting a public battle on seemingly all fronts.

A sharp consolidation of retailers was brought about thanks to the onset and after effects of the covid pandemic. When things shut down, customers put hobbies and other specialty interests on the back burner in favor of staying home. 

Related: Amazon fixes a shopping problem for rival retailers

Many still carried on with their hobbies, like crafts, pets, and home improvement, but a lot of those supplies could be procured online for either a fraction of the cost or effort.

That meant stores that catered to those interests, like Joann Fabrics, Bed Bath & Beyond, Party City, and Petco are still reeling from a pullback in post pandemic spending and declining foot traffic. 

Instead, some of the larger retailers, like Walmart  (WMT) , Target  (TGT) , and Amazon  (AMZN) , have made up more than their share of ground. Already strong before covid and poised well financially to both scale up online operations and gobble up empty lots of brick and mortar space, the retail giants have enjoyed soaring success in the past four years. 

Walmart struggles with common retail issue

But it hasn't all been easy for the retail giants. A drop off in the work force meant they suddenly had fewer employees to carry out essential operations duties, like manning the check out lines and assisting customers with returns and other questions. 

Walmart discount department store, checkout line, cashier with customer paying.

Jeff Greenberg/Getty Images

Plus, an uptick in inventory shrink, or the retail term for loss of inventory due in part to theft, hit highs across the United States. Operating with a skeleton staff of already overworked retail employees, plus an increasingly dangerous work environment, meant retailers had to get creative and cut corners somewhere. 

This often came in the form of self-checkout kiosks. Most retail giants had some form of self-service before the pandemic, but after shopping in person at superstores came roaring back to life, understaffed stores couldn't keep up with the crush of customers. So many scaled up their self-checkout capabilities, offering customers the opportunity to scan their own items and save time waiting in line. 

But self-checkout is a slippery slope. Sure, it frees up employees to focus on other essential duties, but the kiosks aren't exactly foolproof, and soon customers were both purposefully and accidentally forgetting to ring up their items. This obviously led to an uptick in shrink, and many customers grew frustrated with the cumbersome process. 

Target began limiting self-checkout to 10 items or fewer. And recently, Walmart has begun updating its self-checkout policy in some key cities. 

At least two Walmart locations as of April 17 will shutter their self-checkout capabilities in an effort to mitigate the growing frustration. 

"We believe the change will improve the in-store shopping experience and give our associates the chance to provide more personalized and efficient service," Walmart spokesperson Brian Little said.

The two store locations affected are: 

  • Cleveland Steelyard: Cleveland, OH
  • St. Louis-area Supercenter, St. Louis, MO

Walmart says the self-checkout kiosks will be removed outside of normal store operation hours and will officially be gone within the next several weeks. In 2023, three Walmart stores removed their self-checkout kiosks in New Mexico for similar reasons.

Still, Walmart has plenty of self-checkout kiosks across its nearly 5,000 stores in the U.S. and says it has no plans to make such reductions on a nationwide scale.

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Five Ride-Hailing Stocks to Consider Purchasing

Five ride-hailing stocks to consider purchasing are aided by software applications that help the world of mobility. Since 2009, when Uber Technologies,…

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April 19, 2024

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Five ride-hailing stocks to consider purchasing are aided by software applications that help the world of mobility.

Since 2009, when Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: UBER) introduced the first ride-hailing app, transportation has been dramatically disrupted by creating a low-cost and convenient form of motorized mobility. Now, instead of ordering a taxi ride, many customers opt for not only for Uber but for other ride-sharing services such as Lyft (NASDAQ: LYFT), Didi (NYSE: DIDI), Grab (NASDAQ: GRAB), Swvl Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SWVL) and privately owned companies like Bolt or Cabify.

Ride-hailing apps have become a staple on almost every phone device worldwide. Many praise the service for its ease of use, pricing transparency and convenience. As a result, the taxi business’s lack of adaptability to market changes led to its decline despite efforts to adapt. In the United States alone, nearly a third of its population, 86.7 million, is expected to use ride-hailing applications by 2027, according to research by eMarketer.

With constant efforts to adapt to evolving customer needs, ride-hailing is the future. Beyond expanding into different regions, ride-hailing has also diversified its offerings beyond passenger transportation to include food delivery, package delivery and health care services. This diversification aims to broaden its revenue streams and provide unique value to app users. At the same time, investment and experimentation with new technologies, such as autonomous vehicle deliveries, position ride-hailing as a growth industry in the next decade.

Five Ride-Hailing Stocks to Consider Purchasing Helped by Market Trends

The software application industry is huge. According to Yahoo Finance, it has a market capitalization of $1.858 trillion, about 253 companies and almost 709,000 employees.

Over the last decade, ride-hailing, which encompasses e-hailing, car sharing and car rental services, has evolved into a substantial global industry. According to a report from Mordor Intelligence, the market’s total size is currently estimated at $194.98 billion in 2024 and is projected to soar to $296.57 billion over the next five years. Despite experiencing a downturn during the COVID-19 pandemic, the market is now rebounding, with a surge in demand for ride-hailing services worldwide.

Five Ride-Hailing Stocks to Consider Purchasing: UBER

The first way to consider purchasing ride-hailing stocks is through Uber Technologies Inc.

Uber is a software application technology company, formerly known as Ubercab, Inc., founded in 2009 and headquartered in San Francisco, California. The company employs over 30,400 people, with 6.8 million monthly active drivers who collectively make 28 million trips per day and serve over 150 million monthly active users in 10,000-plus cities across 70 countries. Uber also develops and operates proprietary technology applications in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. It does not operate in China or Southeast Asia. The company also had $150 billion in annualized run-rate gross booking for the quarter ending in Dec. 2023.

Uber operates across three segments: mobility, delivery, and freight, providing diverse transportation options and financial partnerships. The mobility segment offers ride-sharing, car-sharing, micro-mobility, rentals, public transit, taxis and more. The delivery segment facilitates ordering from restaurants, grocery stores, and retailers, including a white-label Delivery-as-a-Service for businesses and advertising. Lastly, the freight segment manages a digital marketplace connecting shippers and carriers for streamlined logistics, including upfront pricing and shipment booking.

Some ride services also include Uber Rent, Uber Reserve, Uber Green, UberX, UberXSaver, Hourly Uber Intercity, Uber Comford, Uber XL, Uber Black, Auto, Bike and Bicycle.

“We think the fundamentals here on UBER are strong, and definitely strong enough to keep driving the shares higher from here, especially when you consider that last quarter’s earnings per share growth was a whopping 128% versus the prior year,” wrote Jim Woods and Dr. Mark Skousen in the February 26, 2024, issue of Fast Money Alert, recommending to buy the stock.

In the latest Q4 and Full Year 2023 press release results, Uber recorded a 22% increase in gross bookings year over year (YoY), as well as 24% and 15% growth in trips and monthly active platform customers year over year, respectively. Additionally, the company had a net income of $1.4 billion and income from operations of $652 million in Q4. The first-quarter 2024 results conference call for Uber is set for Wednesday, May 8, at 8 a.m. Eastern Time.

“2023 was an inflection point for Uber, proving that we can continue to generate strong, profitable growth at scale,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber in a press release from February 7, 2024. “Our audiences are larger and more engaged than ever, with our platform powering an average of nearly 26 million daily trips last year.”

The 17% annual revenue growth, 19% gross bookings increase and 24% trip increase further support Uber’s growth.

In the meantime, Uber is looking for other ways to grow its revenue. One of the ways is displaying more high-margin ads that could provide the company with additional revenue sources. UBER expects to reach over $1 billion in ad revenue in 2024, according to the Wall Street Journal. As a part of this strategy, Uber is trying to use personalized ads and experiment with push alerts.

Uber boasts a market capitalization of $149.7 billion, with a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.69 as of April 2024. The stock shows good performance with a +16.84% year-to-date (YTD) return and +5.29% on the S&P 500, according to Yahoo Finance. The stock has a strong buy evaluation from the analysts.

The stock also received an overall rating of 85/100, according to Stock Rover. Uber performs particularly well in efficiency (85), financial strategy (81) and momentum (86) ratings, while it lags on growth (65) and valuation (22) ratings.

In March 2024, the Wall Street Journal reported on the potential doubling of reservation fares as a result of booking fees introduced by Uber and Lyft to airport airlines, hotels, car rental companies and other locations.

Uber’s major competitors include Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU), Servicenow Inc. (NYSE: NOW) and Sap (NYSE: SAP).

Chart courtesy of StockCharts.com

Five Ride-Hailing Stocks to Consider Purchasing: Lyft Inc.

The second way to consider purchasing ride-hailing stocks is through Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ: LYFT.

Lyft is a U.S.-based technology company incorporated in 2007 and headquartered in San Francisco, California. The company operates a peer-to-peer marketplace for on-demand ridesharing in the United States and Canada.

Lyft, employing around 3,000 people, operates multimodal transportation networks via its platform and mobile apps, connecting drivers and riders through ridesharing, car rentals and shared bikes/scooters. Additionally, the company provides enterprise solutions like concierge transportation, subscription plans, commuter programs and university-safe rides.

“Shares of Lyft Inc. (LYFT) are showing new upside momentum after the second-largest ride-sharing company posted better-than-expected quarterly results while also upping forward guidance,” said Bryan Perry in the March 8, 2024 issue of Hi-Tech Trader. He recommended buying it given its strong Q4 performance.

Despite the net loss of $26.3 million, revenue of $1.2 billion was in line (+4% year over year). Additionally, gross booking grew by 17% year over year ($3.7 billion). Lyft also saw 191 million rides in Q4, marking growth of 26% year over year. In 2023, there were 709 million rides overall, an increase of 18% year over year.

“In 2023, the Lyft team set ambitious goals and the results speak for themselves. We reached the highest level of annual riders in our history, delivered over 700 million rides, and helped drivers take home over $8 billion,” said CEO David Risher in a press release from February 13, 2024.

The press release originally had a typo that mistakenly projected earnings margin to expand by 500 basis points, while in reality, it was only 50 basis points. The addition of an extra zero to this key metric meant that the stock of Lyft increased by more than 60% after hours. Its CEO Risher responded to this mistake during a Bloomberg Television interview saying, “First of all, it’s on me.”

Despite the press release error, both RBC and Angus analysts upgraded the stock. They cited the strong leadership of Lyft’s CEO on cost and execution, which made the company leaner and more efficient.

“We’ve entered 2024 with a lot of momentum and a clear focus on operational excellence, which positions the company to drive meaningful margin expansion and our first full year of positive free cash flow,” said its CFO Erin Brewer.

Lyft further has new initiatives in store to boost its revenue.

“This year we’ve already launched a new pay standard for drivers and expanded Women+ Connect to over 240 markets — and it’s only Feb. 13,” said Risher in a press release referring to the plans for Lyft in the upcoming year. Lyft is also set to host its first Investor Day on June 6, 2024, in New York City.

The company currently boasts a market capitalization of $6.921 billion and has a forward P/E ratio of 20.6. According to Yahoo Finance, 32 analysts recommend to Hold the stock, while seven recommend to Buy. In terms of performance, the stock’s year-to-date performance was up by 15.48% and up by 5.29% on the S&P 500.

Skepticism about the buy option is also reflected in the rating versus peers’ evaluation of Stock Rover, which received an overall rating of 40 out of 100. Despite increased driver supply, the use of competitive pricing, and cost-cutting, analysts remain wary about the liquidity of Lyft’s stock.

As reported by Zacks Equity Research, key risks associated with buying the stock at the moment include the impact of potential hikes in labor costs. Furthermore, the workforce reduction of 13% of Lyft employees in November 2022, as well as liquidity concerns raised in Q4 2023, show difficulty in meeting the company’s debt obligation. Such factors can influence the stock in the future.

The main competitors of Lyft, according to Stock Rover, include monday.com Ltd. (NASDAQ: MNDY), Elastic N.V. (NYSE: ESTC) and Dayforce Inc. (NYSE: DAY).

Chart courtesy of StockCharts.com

Five Ride-Hailing Stocks to Consider Purchasing: Grab

The third way to consider purchasing ride-hailing stocks is through Grab Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: GRAB). Grab Holdings Limitedis a Singaporean software application company founded in 2012. The super app ecosystem provides ridesharing and ride-hailing services, food and grocery delivery, and financial services in eight South Asian countries, including Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The company partners with riders and merchants, connecting them with customers and charging commission fees. Around 89% of its revenue comes from ridesharing and food delivery. It employs around 12,000 people.

GRAB released its unaudited Q4 and full-year 2023 financial results on February 22, 2024. The Q4 results showed revenue growth of 30% year over year to $653 million.

“2023 was a pivotal year for us. We generated over $11 billion of earnings for our partners, achieved strong top-line growth as we exited the year with Mobility GMV above pre-COVID levels and Deliveries GMV growth re-accelerating, and reached Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) profitability in the year,” said Grab’s Group Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Anthony Tan, in a press release.

In terms of full-year 2023 results, the company recorded revenue growth of 65% YoY, attributed to growth across all segments, continued incentive optimization, and a business model change for delivery offerings in one of the markets. Additionally, per the press release, the company’s Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to $500 million of GRAB’s Class A ordinary shares.

Furthermore, in an article published by the Wall Street Journal on Feb. 23, Grab’s Chief Financial Officer Peter Oey revealed that this year the company plans to focus on artificial intelligence (AI), organic growth and building new products to boost its revenue and increase its efficiency. One of the recent adoptions of such technology includes an AI translation for its Help Center.

According to Yahoo Finance, the company’s market capitalization is $12.665 billion. The stock’s year-to-date performance on the S&P 500 was up by 5.29%. As of April 2024, a total of 22 analysts suggest a strong buy or buy option for the stock.

The company’s main competitors, according to Stock Rover, include Dynatrace Inc. (NYSE: DT), DocuSign Inc. (NASDAQ: DOCU) and Bentley Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ: BSY). It also competes with privately held companies like Foodpanda and Gojek.

Chart courtesy of StockCharts.com

Five Ride-Hailing Stocks to Consider Purchasing: Didi Global Inc.

The fourth way to consider purchasing ride-hailing stocks is through Didi Global.

Didi Global Inc. (DIDIY) is a China-based software application company founded in 2012 and headquartered in Beijing. Employing over 20,000 people, the company operates a mobility tech platform that provides ride-hailing and other services in China, Brazil, Mexico and elsewhere.

DIDIY provides ride-hailing, taxi-hailing, chauffeur, hitch and other shared mobility services, along with auto solutions like leasing and maintenance. Additionally, it offers electric vehicle leasing, bike sharing, freight services, food delivery and financial services. It also has a strategic partnership with XPENG Inc. to promote smart electric vehicle adoption and technologies.

As of Q1 2023, the company had 587 million annual active users in the last 12 months and 45 million average daily transactions in March 2023.

“Benefitting from the recovery in domestic demand for mobility services, our businesses have grown steadily in the third quarter as we further strengthened our strategic focus on mobility. At the same time, we have made significant progress in exploring new opportunities in mobility, developing autonomous driving technology, and our international businesses,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Will Wei Cheng, of DiDi, in a press release on November 13, 2023.

According to the unaudited Q4 and Full Year 2023 financial results, the company reported a full year total revenue of $26.5 billion (RMB 192.4 billion), an increase of 36.6% from 2022. The net income for 2023 finished around $69 million (RMB 0.5 billion).

“In 2023, the potential of the mobility market continued to be realized. Benefiting from this, our business maintained its healthy growth and saw continued efficiency improvements. We are fully confident in our future progress,” Cheng stated in a press release. He added that in 2024, DIDIY plans to continue to focus on its core businesses, promote the healthy development of its domestic and international businesses, as well as foster technological, product and service innovations.

Compared to its peers, the company scores 87/100 on Stock Rover. The company performs well on valuation (72), momentum (85) and financial strategy (86) ratings. Additionally, analysts rated the stock as a strong buy.

In recent news[1]  reported by Reuters on March 14, 2024, the Chinese company will face a U.S. investor lawsuit over its initial public offering (IPO). In a 54-page decision, Judge Kaplan found DiDi officials aimed to defraud investors by concealing a Chinese order to delay its 2021 IPO due to cybersecurity issues, with investors alleging the company raised over $4.4 billion fraudulently in the June 30 IPO. This means that the company is essentially valued at less than one-third of its IPO worth.

Therefore, investors should be aware of the heavy risks involved prior to investing due to some of its legal and regulatory issues. TipRanks summarizes the risks involved in its risk factors analysis.

The company’s main competitors, according to Seeking Alpha, include Grab Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: GRAB), Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ: LYFT) and Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CAR).

Chart courtesy of StockCharts.com

Five Ride-Hailing Stocks to Consider Purchasing: Swvl Holdings

The fifth way to consider purchasing ride-hailing stocks is through Swvl Holdings.

Swvl Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SWVL), founded in 2017, is a provider of mass transit ridesharing services based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It operates in 115 cities across Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America.

SWVL offers various services including B2C Swvl Retail, which provides riders with a network of minibusses and other vehicles running on fixed or semi-fixed routes within cities; Swvl Travel, which allows riders to book rides on long-distance intercity routes on vehicles available through the Swvl platform or through third-party services; and Swvl Business, a transport as a service enterprise product for businesses, schools, municipal transit agencies and other customers.

“I’m proud of the Swvl team and how we managed this transformation in only a few months, despite the macroeconomic downturn, achieving all the objectives set in our portfolio optimization strategy,” said Mostafa Kandil, CEO of Swvl.

In September 2023, the company announced through its press release the sale of one of its subsidiaries, Urbvan, which it acquired in July 2022, to Kolors, a tech platform focusing on intelligent intercity mobility of bus transportation in Latin America. SWVL received $12 million for the sale. This move reflects the company’s strategic focus on growing higher-priority markets.

Based on its financial results for the first half of 2023 released on December 27, 2023, in H1 2023, the company recorded an operating cash inflow of $2.2 million, gross profit of $1.8 million, operating profit of $13.4 million and net profit of $2.1 million, resulting in an increase in total equity to $5.0 million from $2.6 million, as of December 31, 2022.

According to Yahoo Finance, the company’s market capitalization was $51.412 million and P/E ratio of 0.56, as of April 2024. In terms of performance, the stock is doing well with +352.21% YTD and +5.29% on the S&P 500. The stock is undervalued.

Investors should be wary of the financial risks and keep an eye on the latest financial results of the company.

Chart courtesy of StockCharts.com

The Innovation Future of Ride-Hailing

Over the past decade, ride-hailing has been on the rise, and there is no sign of the market slowing down. As companies continue to introduce innovative ideas into the industry, embracing the electric vehicle (EV) revolution, experimenting with autonomous vehicles, enhancing personalization features, and integrating artificial intelligence (AI), they are creating new revenue opportunities. This is achieved by increasing trust in their products, enhancing safety measures and focusing on sustainability and environmentally friendly practices.

The post Five Ride-Hailing Stocks to Consider Purchasing appeared first on Stock Investor.

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