Consumers are buying now and returning later: product returns cost the retail industry an estimated $890 billion last year, as return rates have more than doubled since 2019 and the associated costs have risen even more. As for the demographics primarily responsible, higher-income shoppers are returning items at nearly twice the rate of lower-income households, but one generation has the lowest return rate — unless it’s for electronics.

After stocks ended last week with their best day in months, they took a breather Monday, ending near session lows. The S&P 500 fell 0.4%, the Nasdaq 100 gave back 0.3%, and the Russell 2000 was at the bottom of the pack with a decline of about 1%.

Within the S&P 500, there were 299 more losers than gainers, the most broadly negative day in over a month.

The US dollar dropped and S&P 500 futures dipped after US President Donald Trump posted a letter to Truth Social saying he had fired Fed Governor Lisa Cook effective immediately. Both pared much of their losses, but it remains to be seen how traders will fully react to the president's most pointed attempt yet to reshape the upper echelon of US monetary policy decision-makers.

Seven years ago, a deal was made, and Dr Pepper Snapple Group merged with Keurig Green Mountain to become the diversified beverage giant Keurig Dr Pepper.

Sure, the city fathers clucked their tongues and stroked their beards and wondered, “Are you really sure that it makes sense to be both a coffee company and a soft drink company,” or perhaps, “Those really don’t seem like similar products is all I’m saying,” and naturally, “I don’t see a lot of supply chain efficiencies across those two product lines,” but the companies defied the haters and merged.

Well, you really do have to hand it to the haters — they nailed it. They were totally right on this one. 

Investors appear to dislike this development, with the stock at the bottom of the S&P 500 and finishing the day down 11.5%.

If there’s one persistent trend of the past few decades, it’s that markets abhor a conglomerate. Companies that try to have a diversified portfolio are often judged not by the strongest business in that portfolio but rather the weakest card in their hand. Keurig Dr Pepper is a strong fizzy beverage company with a struggling coffee business, and by splitting apart, presumably it hopes that investors will more appropriately value its cold bev biz. 

The minimum investment is $501.

While Wall Street reacts to market dips and Big Tech earnings, Cytonics is focused on a steady step forward in biotech.

Cytonics’ breakthrough drug for osteoarthritis, CYT-108, may be able to halt and repair joint damage at the molecular level. Currently in FDA human clinical trials, CYT-108 could soon become one of the first disease-modifying drugs to hit the $393 billion global osteoarthritis market.¹ 

But CYT-108’s potential applications don’t stop there. Recent research has indicated that it may also block the enzymes that drive tumor growth and metastasis in patients with melanoma. Just last week, Cytonics filed a U.S. provisional patent to expand the drug into melanoma — giving the drug dual-indication potential.

Everyday investors can still get in on Cytonics’ offering at $3/share²— but only until tomorrow when the round closes.

PDD Holdings — the parent company of Temu, best known for offering low-cost consumer goods through the mail — reported earnings, with revenues of nearly 104 billion yuan ($14.5 billion) modestly exceeding expectations and adjusted diluted earnings per share of 22.07 yuan ($3.08) crushing estimates for 15.50 yuan.  

Unfortunately for them, “low-cost consumer goods” is more of a pre-tariff phenomenon, and even the “through the mail” bit is getting dicey.

So, how bad is the death of de minimis going to be?

“While margins are unlikely to return to prior highs, early signs suggest profitability may prove more resilient even as the company sustains investment and prioritizes long-term growth over short-term gains,” Bloomberg Intelligence senior industry analyst Catherine Lim wrote.

Rumors regarding changes to marijuana regulation have been some of the largest catalysts for price movement in cannabis companies’ stocks. Recently, a report that President Trump was “considering” reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug boosted shares of Tilray, Canopy, and SNDL. Now even analysts are growing bullish on the future, upgrading price targets for two of those companies.

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Bitcoin treasury company Strategy now holds 3% of the total bitcoin supply.

Advertiser's disclosures:

¹ The estimated global osteoarthritis (OA) market = TNF-alpha global sales x [ratio of OA prevalence to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) prevalence]. OA is 9x more common than RA. OA estimated market = $43B x 9 = $393B.

² The minimum investment is $501 (167 units). This is a paid advertisement for Cytonics Regulation A+ Offering. Please read the offering circular and related risks on the Cytonics StartEngine page.

Investing in private company securities is not suitable for all investors because it is highly speculative and involves a high degree of risk. It should only be considered a long-term investment. You must be prepared to withstand a total loss of your investment. Private company securities are also highly illiquid, and there is no guarantee that a market will develop for such securities.

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