- Benzinga Future Finance
- Posts
- 😞 Tesla Missed BTC Gains
😞 Tesla Missed BTC Gains
Plus, why an analyst is favoring Mastercard over Visa, and why Tesla missed out on extra $500 million in profit.
Sebastian Soran
February 02, 2024
TGIF, Zingernation! Controversial internet personality Andrew Tate poked the proverbial hornet's nest yesterday by proposing the idea of creating a cryptocurrency and backing it with $100 million of his funds. Tate proposed offering early access at a discount, but the tweet went viral, resulting in the creation of a meme coin called "$TOPG." The meme coin then soared to a 6.5M market cap.
Today, we’ll be diving into why an analyst is favoring Mastercard over Visa, why Tesla missed out on an extra $500 million in profit and more.
And, did someone forward you this email? Click here to subscribe to this Benzinga newsletter and more.
MARKET SNAPSHOT
FINTECH FOCUS
Briefly: BMO Capital analyst Rufus Hone maintained Mastercard with an Outperform and raised the price target from $480 to $490.
What Happened: On Wednesday, Mastercard clocked net revenues of $6.55 billion, up 13% Y/Y, beating the consensus of $6.48 billion. Adjusted EPS rose 20% Y/Y to $3.18, above the consensus of $3.08. Mastercard demonstrated another quarter of double-digit revenue growth, with payment network revenue benefiting from vital cross-border fees.
What Else: Hone noted incrementally less downside risk to Mastercard’s FY24 guide relative to Visa, with MA highlighting tougher prior year comps in value-added services and from forex volatility for the slightly soft first quarter guide. Hone also reiterated his slight preference for a Mastercard over a Visa.
So What? The fourth-quarter print and FY24 guide support the combination of a sustaining healthy consumer backdrop, value-added services revenue continuing to outpace payment volume growth, and reacceleration in the second half of 2024 revenue growth (vs. first half of 2024) given the first quarter’s tougher comps and lousy weather impacting the January start.
What Next: Read more here.
A MESSAGE FROM FINANCE BUZZ
You want to save money. Maybe for a vacation. Or a new car. But … saving money is tough. And many struggle to do it well. So here’s what to do: Read our list of money-saving strategies below, and try to implement at least one today. Even doing just one could help you save money!
FIVE ZINGERS
Complex Settlement: Genesis Global, a bankrupt company, has reached a settlement with the SEC for $21 million regarding their lending program.
Super Bowl: Larry David, star of FTX Super Bowl commercial, seeks to challenge bankrupt crypto company after significant financial loss.
No More Stolen Cards? Mastercard is using generative AI to enhance fraud detection by scanning a trillion data points to predict transaction authenticity.
If Not Now, When? Blockchain solutions are capable of being an alternative or complement to Microsoft, Oracle, and SAP, so when will it be ready for prime time?
Free Trial: Coinbase offers high-volume traders from other exchanges temporary fee waivers or reductions for proving over $500,000 monthly trading volume, in a 60-day promotion, after which fees are volume-based.
CRYPTO CORNER
Briefly: Tesla missed out on an extra $500 million in profit had it not sold its Bitcoin in March 2021 and June 2022.
Let’s Go Back: In February 2021, the company made a landmark investment of $1.5 billion in Bitcoin. The investment was meant to earn extra returns on cash that would have earned little to no interest otherwise. At the time of the announcement, Bitcoin's price was hovering around $37,000. However, the price quickly spiked to over $50,000 on the news.
So What? Tesla still holds 9,720 Bitcoins, worth around $400 million at current prices. It will be interesting to see whether it holds on to the tokens in 2024 or sells. In the past, sales of Bitcoin have come when the price rises to new highs or when Tesla is in a tough spot financially. For the first case, some experts believe that Bitcoin could have a strong 2024 and potentially reach new all-time highs, which could spark a sale of Bitcoin. Read more here.
A MESSAGE FROM FINANCE BUZZ
Feeling lazy but still want to earn some extra cash? We've done our research and found some unusual (but legit) ways that people can stack their bank accounts without having to leave their house. Some will help you save. Others will help you pad your wallet right away. If your bank account could use a boost but you don't want to start a second job, then these could be right for you.