11/18/24-Uber+Waymo?🤔,Druckenmiller ✊🏼, Nvidia Demand, One Bookie💵

"..if we could fulfill everybody’s needs then the emotion would go away, but it’s very emotional." 😨😬

Welcome back. In a busy world we can be distracted with the trivial many things or we can focus on The Vital Few.

Something that I am thinking about

Uber and Waymo Team Up. 🤔WHY?

Waymo currently operates in San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. 🗞️Uber/Waymo is coming to Austin and Atlanta, beginning in early 2025. Through this expanded partnership, Uber will provide fleet management services including vehicle cleaning, repair, and other general depot operations. Waymo will continue to be responsible for the testing and operation of the Waymo Driver, including roadside assistance and certain rider support functions. Studies have shown that Waymo has better customer retention than human-powered ride-hail services like Uber and Lyft.

Benefits for Waymo:

• Expanded Reach: Partnering with Uber allows Waymo to quickly scale its autonomous vehicle services to a wider audience, leveraging Uber's existing customer base and infrastructure. Collaboration with Uber reinforces Waymo's leadership in autonomous tech.

• Reduced Operational Costs: Uber's expertise in fleet management and operations can help Waymo reduce costs associated with managing autonomous vehicles.

• Faster Deployment: By utilizing Uber's existing network, Waymo can accelerate the deployment of its autonomous vehicles in new markets. Also access to Uber’s human-driver fleet, for all sorts of situations in which Waymo cannot meet demand. (Geographic restrictions, Extreme weather, Unique Pickup/Drop-off, Large groups, Cargo, Non-Standard Vehicle/ADA)

• Shared Risk and Investment: Partnering with Uber can help Waymo share the financial burden and risks associated with developing and deploying autonomous vehicle technology. Joint advocacy promotes favorable regulations for autonomous vehicles.

Benefits for Uber:

• Technological Advantage: Access to Waymo's advanced self-driving technology can position Uber as a leader in autonomous ride-hailing and delivery services. Insights for Uber to inform its collaborations with other autonomous driving companies, including Cruise.

• Reduced Operational Costs: Autonomous vehicles can significantly reduce operational costs, such as driver wages and fuel expenses.

• Enhanced Safety: Waymo's technology has the potential to reduce accidents and improve road safety. More directly, Waymo's expertise improves Uber's safety standards.

• Increased Efficiency: Autonomous vehicles can operate more efficiently, leading to shorter wait times and more reliable service for customers.

By combining their strengths, Uber and Waymo aim to revolutionize the transportation industry and provide safer, more efficient, and convenient mobility solutions. GOOG 0.00%↑ , UBER 0.00%↑

[I wrote more about my opinion of how Waymo parent company Google makes decisions in my 4/9/2024 post, Here. Google is able to OODA loop (observe, orient, decide, act) quickly, over and over again.]

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Investing, Companies, Market Past/Future

(I invest in Companies, not in stocks.)

Interesting companies that hosted earnings results or information sessions since my last edition that I reviewed-

• Technology- $TOELY, NET 0.00%↑ , FSLY 0.00%↑ , FTNT 0.00%↑ , AKAM 0.00%↑ , QCOM 0.00%↑ , AMAT 0.00%↑

• Others- MTCH 0.00%↑ , SHOP 0.00%↑ , DIS 0.00%↑

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(With data and charts it is not what you look at, it is what you see that matters.) Click on any of the images below to see a larger view.

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Podcasts

🎧Stan Druckenmiller: Inside the mind of a legendary investor with Nicolai Tangen, 57 min, link here

Nicolai Tangen visits Stan Druckenmiller in New York — one of the most renowned investors of our time, known for his insights into macroeconomics and markets. In this conversation, Druckenmiller shares his approach to major trades, like his groundbreaking bet against the British pound, and offers a unique perspective on today’s market, discussing inflation risks, AI’s potential in investing, and what keeps him ahead of the curve. The investor shares his reflections on the Fed’s role, the future of tech, and lessons learned from mentor George Soros.

"The only reason you can change your mind is if you're not arrogant about a position."

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Videos

30 Minute, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in conversation with Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon. Jensen Huang:

Our company works with every AI company in the world today. We’re working with every single data center in the world today. I don’t know one data center, one cloud service provider, one computer maker we’re not working with. And so what comes with that is an enormous responsibility, and we have a lot of people on our shoulders and everybody’s counting on us.

Demand is so great that delivery of our components and our technology and our infrastructure and software is really emotional for people because it directly affects their revenues, it directly affects their competitiveness. And so we probably have more emotional customers today than – and deservedly so. You know, if we could fulfill everybody’s needs then the emotion would go away, but it’s very emotional. It’s really tense.

We’ve got a lot of responsibility on our shoulders, and we’re trying to do the best we can. And here we are ramping Blackwell, and it’s in full production. We’ll ship in Q4 and start scaling in Q4 and into next year. And the demand on it is so great, and everybody wants to be first and everybody wants to be most and everybody wants to be – and so the intensity is really, really quite extraordinary, you know.

And so I think it’s fun to be inventing the next computer era.

Nvidia reports earnings on Wednesday, 11/20/24. NVDA 0.00%↑ , GS 0.00%↑

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Books and Articles since my last edition

(Reading Great books is like a conversation with the finest minds of the past.- Descartes. If I get bored of a book I quit and move on.)

• Chaos Kings: How Wall Street Traders Make Billions in the New Age of Crisis by Scott Patterson Finance, Business

• Talking to GOATs: The Moments You Remember and the Stories You Never Heard by Jim Gray Biography, Sports

• Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel Science Fiction

Here is a link to many of the books I have read and my 1-5 star rating- Goodreads Books Read

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Wild Card🃏

A Personal Encounter with the Gambling Underworld

When watching broadcast tv I DO feel like we are being spammed by FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, etc. I am not a super fan of sports betting only because I fear the industry preys on the irrational behavior of the public. But if someone wants to spend the equivalent of $20 every now and then on a few game wagers, okay. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Sports betting reminds me of a guy I use to know. I was 18ish working in food service. He was a middle age guy that worked as a delivery driver on the weekend. I thought he knew a lot about sports and was always on his phone. Over time I came to learn that he was also a bookie.

I have to wonder in hindsight if he was a small wheel in a larger organization.😉 Fortunately, I never asked. We probably worked together for a couple years at least. He was dependable, hard working and we got along fine at the restaurant.

He knew I wanted to study business at university and I had an interest in money. I don’t remember if he was picking up money or dropping off money to a customer, but he said he had something he wanted to show me. At the back of the shop he pulls out $30K in banded $100 dollar bills. I think it was 3 bricks. I was like “WOW!” And then he was like “Here, you hold it. Riffle it. Feel the weight.” So, I did. Right there in front of him. For an 18 year old, it was mind blowing, 🤯. $30K in cold hard cash money, right there in my hands.👐🏼

I handed it back to him, thanked him and we both SMILED. 😀+😁

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Disclaimer: All of my posts are for informational purposes only. I might own some of the companies discussed in these posts. This is NOT a recommendation to buy or sell securities discussed. Please do your own work before investing your money.