Decided to make another post as the "leaker" allegedly had another AMA on 4chan (taken down again) where he clarified a few things that were misinterpreted and also decided to reveal more things about the game. I decided to clarify a few things about my last post as well as some people seem confused about a few details that I mentioned.
Credits to u/Elena_xoxo for bringing the second AMA to light in a post in the GTA6 subreddit and also u/roughpreference991 for the screenshots of the AMA. The archived version of the first AMA can be found here. Again, take it with a huge grain of salt because of it being a 4chan leak and no way to know if both the AMAs are done by the same person.
This time around the leaker comes with a bolder claim about the credibility that they have been working at R* since 2004 and is primarily a developer. The leaker claims that they know the staff in every area of the dev team. The leaker mentions multiple times to capture the thread and 99% of it will be confirmed "sooner than you think"(Of course, this does not prove shit but could be interesting in retrospect).
Now to jump into the details of the second AMA:

• Same engine as RDR2 and GTAV but definitely improved upon. Ray tracing is in use but limited to reflections and shadows. Leaker mentions not to expect ray-traced light until the PC release.
• They also mention that what they said about the map size of the game in the previous AMA was misunderstood. What they meant was that the fastest transportation in RDR2 takes roughly 15-20 minutes to travel the longest possible route whereas GTA VI is around 13-15 minutes. They mention that the map is bigger than RDR2's in landmass. (The inconsistency of their details of the map from the previous thread is a big red flag imo)
• Complete freedom regarding exploration, you aren't forced to play through the main story and can go exploring anytime you want.
• They also mention that one of the confirmed songs is "Always on my Mind" by the Pet Shop Boys. (Mentioned in the previous AMA as well but they mention the song name this time.)
• Large number of building enterable and they all have textures unique to them but not every building is enterable as it is just too hard to implement.
• Better physics than GTAV as RDR2 was taken as the base for it and then built upon for the modern world. Driving feels less arcadey than GTAV but not as weighted as GTA IV's.
• The gap between consoles and PC release estimated to be 12 months by the leaker.
• The leaker again refuses to leak the MC's name but does mention that he has a mother and a sister. The MC calls the sister Frankie and also the father is dead. (Maybe you play as the father in the 1970s part of the game as I mentioned in the last post who dies when the MC is a kid and then maybe you play as the MC in the modern-day counterpart).
• The game has "deceptive" amount of content already according to the leaker.
• There's a famous 80s singer hosting one of the radio stations.
• Monetization at the launch of Online will be a lot lighter than GTA Vs due to the company being concerned about bad press.
• More hair and facial types that can be mixed and matched and also supposed to be period-specific for the online counterpart. Also, there will be a choice of body type but nothing specific like Fat, average, fit, muscular, etc,
• There will be a morality meter for the first time similar but not identical to RDR2's system. This will affect certain missions and outcomes.
• 2 limited maps within the game. Liberty City (pretty much on rails) and a "Cuban" island.
• Supposed to be a satirical representation of America in the 1980s.
• There's one side mission that's pretty much just one giant easter egg for the Goonies. It is not given to the player by an NPC but started by finding a map (Like one eyed willies).
• There is one interesting detail, the leaker first states that the protagonist is older than Tommy Vercetti but then, later on, admits that he made a mistake and that the protagonist is actually 2 years younger than Tommy. (This is the most interesting detail as it can actually be an honest mistake on their part or it could be a clever and subtle way to fake their credibility by acting as if it was an honest mistake.)
• The North Point Mall looks really good now and it's way bigger.
• There's a scarface style montage that holds a lot of meme potential. (This was an answer to someone asking the leaker if there are any memeable moments)
• Main forms of transport stated to be cars, motorcycles, boats, helicopters, and seabirds.
• Controls are just a refined version of what you've seen in previous titles. Gunplay is essentially a modified version of RDR2 mechanics. No parkour-style traversal mechanics in the game.
• Full body nudity in strip clubs and even during some cutscenes. Also, if you build up a good enough affinity with certain women, you can "make love".
• Fidelity and Performance mode similar to something like Miles Morales.
• You can work out but transformation won't be as dramatic as GTA SA. You have to also make sure that you're eating or you won't grow. Some more side activities mentioned by the leaker are gambling, dancing, and roller derby which they also previously mentioned in the last AMA.
• NPCs are like RDR2 but in a GTA setting. The police don't just shoot you to death for small crimes anymore. If you get the option to bribe the officers for petty crimes.
• Using fists have better development than the previous GTA. You can grab people and punch them in a clinch. There are unique animations for stealthy kills.
• One example of better car detailing that the leaker gives is of Ferrari Enzo (not called that) and it looks as if it could be in a GT7.
• The leaker states that there are a lot of 80s references in GTA Online recently. Also, the song choice for casino update was 80s related.
• When someone asked if there is a protagonist replacement point like in RDR2, the leaker declined to say as it might spoil some of the story. The prologue and 1st chapter are set in the 1970s all the way till 1987.

Again I can't stress enough to take all of this with a huge grain of salt as a lot of details could easily be educated guesses, there is no way to even know if both the AMAs were done by the same person and the credibility itself but had to compile it for my Reddit peeps.
I also wanted to clarify a few things from my last post as well:

• I did mention that the first 2 chapters are set in the late 1970s, to be more specific the prologue and 1st chapter are set in that time period, and it goes from the late 1970s till 1987.
• The Ricardo codename mentioned for the protagonist in the last game was indeed based on the Ricardo Milos meme. (The leaker stated that the protagonist has "sun-kissed" tan so maybe that's why the codename.)
• RDR1 is technically being "remastered" as the map was already made in the newer engine so it's not a remake. The leaker also did state in the last AMA that it looks like a next-gen game.
• A lot of people mentioned that Ken Rosenberg and Tommy Vercetti cannot exist in the HD universe as R* has stated that the HD universe is different than the previous games. While I don't deny that but at the end of the day, it's R*'s intellectual property so it wouldn't be surprising if they did it. The other possibility could be an alternate version of the same characters that exist in the HD universe.

I want to preface that the contents of this post is for informational purposes. I do not condone or approve of any harassments or witch-hunting or the attacking of anybody.
 
Richard Lewis recently did a stream talking about the terrible state of CS esports and I thought it was an important stream anyone who cares about the CS community should listen to.
Vod Link here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/830415547
I realize it is 3 hours long so I took it upon myself to create a list of interesting points from the stream so you don't have to listen to the whole thing, although I still encourage you to do so if you can.
I know this post is still long but probably easier to digest, especially in parts.
Here is a link to my raw notes if you for some reason want to read through this which includes some omitted stuff. It's in chronological order of things said in the stream and has some time stamps. https://pastebin.com/6QWTLr8T

Intro

• "The last month has convinced me, that we are going to be heading into a dark place for Counter-Strike esports in 2021."
  • "I think I've seen the scene essentially kill itself."
• "For the past 5 to 6 years, we've basically been in a holding pattern of people coming into our game wanting to run it, wanting to run all of the esports and wanting to profiteer and its been sort of a concerted effort to drive them off and push them away."
  • "We're spread way too thin."
• "If Riot don't get involved and stop the scumbags that have moved over to Valorant from getting their feet under the table, Valorant is going to have real problems."
• RL thinks too much has happened all at once for us to do anything except watch it play out, like:
  • Recent CSPPA strike against BLAST
  • ESIC failures and them not being supported enough
  • Teams cheating i.e. coaches/bugs
  • Widespread match fixing
  • The Pandemic
    • "People who try to hold bubble events are so incompetent and fuck up and people get the 'rona and its their fault."
    • "People who say Flashpoint is a bubble is full of shit and is a lie and people are now suffering for that lie."
      • "To save money they let people go home and break the bubble for a week."
      • "Not just Flashpoint peoples decision, they have a partner that handles the production." (hinting FACEIT)
      • "People are trapped in hotels essentially under house arrest because of COVID restrictions and has fucked peoples lives up."
• "It's all too much, all of this incompetence, all of this greed, maybe we ride it out."
  • RL says he has talked to the Riot devs (the ones working on Valorant) and says, "They are so cognizant of all the fuck ups and all the problems we have in Counter-Strike."
    • He continues to say that this is factored into their business plan and that we never had a competitor, but just so happens to have one coincide, when we are at our worst.

CSPPA - Counter-Strike Professional Players' Association

"Who does this union really fucking serve?"

• RL believes that the CSPPA is a mockery.
  
  • He points out the hypocrisy that they wouldn't strike for the pros who were kicked out of ESL Pro League, or for Jamppi or dream3r.
    • He also says ESL paid CSPPA and are racketeering and many other TOs have to pay them to get their "seal of approval"
      • He says they would strong-arm TOs saying "well if you don't give us the money, these guys are so we'll just have to commit to playing their event."
    • Also points out that they will strike against a competitor they are not in agreement with (Flashpoint)
    • RL: "It's what it says about every other time you haven't done it and it's about every time you don't do it now moving forward." "The issues they've chosen to ignore this year alone are embarrassing."
    • Then he points out that there was no strike for Valve qualifiers even if we have no major but Jamppi and dream3r can't play in them.
      • "and Valve have said 'Oh yeah we know actually their stories are accurate, Jamppi didn't cheat, now in a legally binding document. Yep dream3r did have his account hacked in a LAN café', but they still can't play. Where is the fucking solidarity? Gone. Doesn't exist. It's not important [because] it doesn't affect you." "That's what the union does right now, it looks after all the tier 1 people."
• He says the CSPPA doesn't represent all players all the time and has driven a divide where you have the haves and have-nots
  
  • "We have a tier of players that operate with impunity and do not help their tier 2 or tier 3 players out at all." "If you are not a tier 1 player you do not matter, they don't event ask your opinion."
  • He tells chrisJ to admit and own the fact that the reason he didn't speak up during the ESL Pro League debacle is because it didn't affect him
  • "They are looking after some players at the expense of other players. How the fuck is that a union?"
• He says the BLAST situation is a reasonable dispute and supports the players but is not the right time for a strike and have not even identified the correct enemy
  
  • He thinks players are lashing out now due to previous incidents and are upset that BLAST are working with ESIC
    • He stated that CSPPA shouldn't beefing with ESIC and they should be working in harmony
  • He says what they need to do is talk with the teams/organizations that have sold that right to BLAST
    • RL: "Your employers, the people who pay you that massive exorbitant salaries, when you don't stream and you don't do interviews and you offer no value beyond your ability to click heads and you get 25k dollars a month." "Why don't you talk to them about it? Oh right. You're happy to take away BLAST's paper, but you don't want to risk your own."
  • "I am seeing such unbelievable cowardice from the players here with the battles you choose."
  • "Where was the strike action when in the qualifiers for the world championship, there were teams and players engaged in huge conflicts of interest?" "Where was the strike action when your image rights were taken and sold to every league you've ever been in every union type organization you've ever been associated with like, WESA, to your org every time you sign a contract, to the leagues you play in."
    • "Your image rights are essentially worthless now, there's about 10 fucking separate parties that have them, and how many of them are giving you anything for it? Not much pretty much your org by the way."
    • "That's a big issue. Your image is you, your image is your brand. What are you doing about that? Nothing."
• He is also angry at SirScoots who is "popping off" at people on Twitter who all want the same thing, which is 'A unified Counter-Strike scene for everybody, that works for everybody, that has a sustained ecosystem that nourishes everybody.' "We don't have that now."
  
• He also says their rankings are a joke
  
  • "Just so happened, oh look TACO, that very important prominent member of the board, we pushed his team artificially up when they weren't even in the fucking top 20, not by a long shot."
• He also says the ineptitude of the CSPPA cost Flashpoint a monitor sponsor
  
• "Is it really a player association or is it like a fucking agency at this point"
  

ESIC - Esports Integrity Commission

"They have been put in an impossible position."

• RL says that Ian Smith, the founder of ESIC and who was done work in mainstream sports, is a good and honorable man who has dedicated his life to integrity and sports. He takes on both sides, ensuring match fixers are punished, but also doing appeals and ensuring those punishments were fair.
• "ESIC is a tiny organization" and are in need of money, "They didn't run a grift like the CSPPA did."
  • "Saying 'you want our support and you want the players to turn up you better pay us.' They don't do that."
  • "Had startup seed money from MTG and since then they've been pecking shit with the hens."
    • Ian Smith made sure that the money given by MTG (Modern Times Group, parent company of ESL, ESEA, DreamHack) was nothing more than startup money and wouldn't be in debt to them
      • Ian Smith sat down with other TO's not part of MTG and wanted to partner with them. They declined and called ESIC "ESL spies and we will never align ourselves with you"
  • "They only were just able to afford, hiring a PR guy on a full time salary to deal with the press and send out those releases you've seen, this year."
    • "They have a tiny group of staff investigating these things and they have taken on the biggest problems in our scene: the cheating, the match fixing."
• ESIC have had "unprecedented levels of cheating to deal with, because there's something wrong with our scene ever since we went online. There's something wrong with it, everyone's lost their fucking pride and self-respect and they got no passion for it anymore, so they think fuck it, what's in it for me?"
  • He calls out coaches who are talking about players rights when they would rob and steal from them.
    • Also says more coaches being banned are coming
    • He also points out flaws in community's reaction to the punishments to coaches bans: "Half of the cunts still have jobs and some of the cunts got new jobs. We didn't even shun the cheating coaches."
• ESIC have "found I think another 2 or 3 exploits like that one and they are investigating them all right now, it's going on right now."
  
  • "I know that there are going to be more names getting banned, again."
  • "So they're doing that on a skeleton crew while, investigating 3 continents worth of match fixing in MDL and semi-pro level CS." "They're doing this with half a dozen people." "They don't have any money or any help. People barely even fucking cooperate with them, they are treated like pariahs. It's ridiculous."
    • "Why are the CSPPA popping off at ESIC on my Twitter timeline, when you should be working together." "because its all about what's in it in for me." "2020, the online era of CS: 'What is in it for me?' How can I cheat, how can I get my paper, how can I bleed this scene one last time before I fuck off and play shooty shooty bang bang Riot Games babys first fps."
• RL says that in the CIS region, teams have gone to tournaments and have been eliminated multiple times by the same team. We found out they were cheating and those players who lost, have been cut from their roster, careers ended because of cheaters.
  

Stream Sniping

"They're all at it in the online era, they're all at it, they're all cheating, they're all using exploits, probably that see through smoke bug got used a bunch of times"

• RL talks about how there is no integrity from dead (the player), always denying when caught doing something
  • On the topic of 'BLAST never said we couldn't stream snipe': "Lies, BLAST never said you could do that, they had to sort of retcon it." "because what happened after that they fucking started snitching and squealing"
    • "Suddenly you had like, 10 of the top 15 teams in the world, staring into the abyss of being banned for 6-12 months in line with ESIC recommendations."
      • He says that ESIC was put in a tough situation and couldn't enforce the bans because it would have resulted in killing CS. What resulted was, BLAST, ESIC, and teams came together and gave them a warning and told them, in RL's words "don't do this again or you're gonna get got."
        • He then says the top teams brushed this off and didn't give a fuck
        • The new MiBR team playing Flashpoint, that wasn't involved in the previous incidents are doing it again (stream sniping). He gave credit to Flashpoint for the quick resolution and punishment and respect for cogu's response to the situation.
        • "ESIC came out and said, once more, 'Guys, zero tolerance from now on.'" RL then got upset at community's reaction calling ESIC "pussies" for their non enforcement and said if we want competitive CS we cant ban the top 10 teams.
• He points out how players have no integrity and will do anything for an edge as long as they won't get detected or banned or it's within a grey area.
• "All of this shit was mad avoidable, even in the pandemic era."
  • He talks about why aren't we filming them. Why aren't there representatives for leagues and tournaments making sure players aren't cheating?

Match Fixing

"How many years have we let our scene be fucking pillaged by these greedy cunts?" "We just let it happen."

• RL says that gambling and skins betting which existed in moderation was "accelerated and blown up by the Call of Duty greedy fucks."
  • "Never forget TmarTn was on the board of EnVyUs." "His website, CSGOLotto, they had a bunch of off-the-books sponsorships." "NBK promoted them. People forget."
• "Those people who had access to the skins, go to the players" "Even people like s1mple, best player in the world, even he scammed knives and skins off fucking fans."
• Owners of skin casino sites would approach pros and lend them skins to use in tournaments and possibly keep them after reaching a deal
  • Players would tip off inside info about matches and teams in exchange for skins. Info such as: roster changes, how they played in scrims
    • They would use this info to bet and subvert the odds on their sites. "That happened religiously, I can't even tell you how many times it happened."
      • "I had access to the biggest database of information, from an inside betting circle in NA, and it would take information and screenshots from other pro players, who were feeding them info in exchange for money or skins."
        • "Some of these players are still playing." "Incredibly, there are players still in the CSPPA today, complaining about the BLAST recordings, that were embroiled in this murky shit back then."
• RL also says that there were tournaments where teams contrived with each other, who should throw, who should win.
• "There's a handful of people that are trying to fucking clean it up, and you think you get something over the line and you see something like the CSPPA and it's run by corrupt fucking chuckle heads, and now you've got another corrupt body you have to fight on a fucking daily basis, it's demoralizing."
  • "It's too far gone. Our entire semi-professional scene is compromised."
• "It's rife guys, I'm not going to lie any more. It's not just China, it's not just Russia, it's here, it's NA, it's Europe, it's Australia, so much more than you think, so much more than we can prove."
  • "I get sent chat logs all the time […] and they're morons, these players, short-sighted, amateur, morons and they're doing it on WhatsApp." People would get cut from the bets because they want to make more money, then they leak the logs. He says, from the chat logs, they spread "little" bets across every site they can (400 to 1k dollars) to prevent shifting odds
• He says the scumbags who've fucked off to Valorant will do the same there if Riot doesn't do something and says Valorant "is an esports scene heading for a very early fall based on the sheer volume of scumbags that are already there."
• "That's tier 2 CS in a nutshell these days. They know they're never going to play in a major, so what's the punishment?"
  • "All of these tier 2 fucks that are fixing games now they are like the fucking mafia compared to iBuyPower" "These guys are working with organized criminals to fix entire seasons worth of games. That's what's going on in your tier 2 CS."
• "I'm literally being told that there are players fixing games at all levels of Chinese esports and motherfuckers with guns are turning up to team houses and stuff."

North America

"Everyone in NA has left we've lost a continents worth of support during this pandemic and Valve haven't said a fucking word."

• RL says the Call of Duty "goblins" that destroyed CS for years are the same people who are now trying to leave CS. "The nerve to treat a game where the fans, and the community, and the TO's were nothing but good to you." "To just kick the players out now and go and leave and say 'It just doesn't make financial sense.' Oh you'll slither back when we have a major though for them stickers won't you."
• There's a cascading effect in NA where people don't bother with CS anymore and people like Chaos suffer.
• He says NA team owners are incompetent for always wanting it easy and always wanting a guarantee on their investment without skill or nuance.
  • RL says he would be able to market a team correctly and would have a good ROI and also points out how TSM wouldn't even be bothered to tweet that their team, which was one of the best in the world, was playing at the Major.
  • He also says not all NA owners are like that, compliments and respects Jason Lake who nearly lost everything to keep Complexity going.
• He then calls out the incompetence in Infinite Esports when they acquired OpTic Gaming and bought an Indian CS team.
  • He says HECZ is not to blame here and that they couldn't tell forsaken was cheating when it was so obvious.
    • They measured his reaction time to the likes of dev1ce and s1mple
    • When an enemy showed up on his screen he won that duel something like 44% of the time
    • "was like the number 1 player in the world statistically"
    • He brought a laptop to their bootcamp and refused to use the high end PCs that hey provided
• He respects Andy Miller (NRG CEO) and HECZ but says that the attitude of not being able to easily monetize their teams is "piss weak" and there needs to be a risk.
  • He says Chaos EC shouldn't be cutting their roster and should be competent enough to be able to figure out how to make money off their team.
• He says there are still opportunities in NA and people are panicking and pulling out, and says Valorant will be the same if not worse.
  • He also says "bums" who couldn't even get out of groups in NA competitions, are making crazy money in Valorant and says it will continue to inflate.
• He also said that he heard rumors that EG (Evil Geniuses) are done.
• He also thinks that the rumors of a Valve franchised league from before was sparked up from "these lazy fabled weak NA fucking team owners basically trying to see if Valve would bite at the hook if it was dangled and they didn't"
  • Slasher says NA team owners are really in favor of franchised leagues because they want to make more money. "Most of the powerful team owners right now are on board with ditching this third party organization structure, or they are trying to play this power politics with all the TOs, and that is contributing to a lot of the problems there"
• RL says that Riot has proved they can run a franchised league (LCS) and will be profitable in 2021 which is what a lot of team owners care about and says the competition will only serve to snatch people away from CS.
• RL continues to say, "I am so sick and tired of what we have done to this scene, I am just exhausted with it." "I think we have legitimately fucked it, I really think we have. I think we're staring into almost like a CGS (Championship Gaming Series) wasteland in NA." "Counter-Strike esports is a fucking joke."

Talent

"TO's have treated CS talent like absolute human garbage for years now."

• RL says that people like Sean Gares and ddk switching over to Valorant isn't for financial reasons because they are making less over there.
• He points out that TO's can't even give talent a 3 month in advance calendar.
• Because of the pandemic TO's won't hire certain people and some people are working more hours for the same money.
• He says we as a community don't respect journalists enough which is why we don't have good journalists.
  • He also says DeKay is leaving the scene soon and that Thorin is close to leaving also
• He says he had to talk a caster down from quitting and was struggling to find reasons.
• He says that DreamHack told Vince they would hire him but not if he wants to stick with dusT and says that this is the norm in esports. "Constant leveraging of people against each other." and says this is why we don't have a talent union.
• New gen casters are getting put into shit situations and the community's reaction to them is adding fuel to the fire
• He says the reason Moses left was because of the terrible conditions
• He says that Anders had to constantly leave his family and kid because someone fucked up or broke promises and had to constantly tell his kid to their face that "daddy can't be home this weekend."
• He says that esports has always been a lie to sell you this dream, "Meanwhile there's about 2% of the cunts getting all the checks."

Valve

"Anything that Riot does, is better than Valve's inaction"

• Slasher says that the larger aspect of esports as a whole compared to other entertainment mediums and Valve's lack of inattention are the bigger problems. He continues saying that the fact that Valve let their game be ran as an esport, they need to take on the responsibilities of it.
  • Both Slasher and RL wants Valve to take control but not on the level of Riot Games, there needs to be a balance.
• In case it was ever a question: Gabe Newell has been to 0 CSGO Majors.
• RL calls Valve out saying they could have done something during the gambling era.
• He says Valve used to come to the majors, but doesn't think they do anymore.
• RL had met with Valve at the Cluj-Napoca Major and had tried to appeal iBP's indefinite punishment and had also gave Brax's life story:
  • A recent family member passed away, they had lost a lot of income, they had to live in trailer, iBuyPower did not pay any salaries, and was pressured by family to make money who didn't support his career.
  • RL said that Valve told him, "How dare you try and make us feel guilty." "We shouldn't feel bad about enforcing the only thing that matters that we need to make players afraid of: cheating and match fixing"
  • RL also tried to share other info about match fixing and nothing came of it
• RL points out that Source 2 or a new engine is not something you will want based on the experience of transitioning from CS 1.6 to CS:S. "Valve's track record with brand new engines being launched, not fucking great from what I remember."
• Slasher says "If there is anything the community should do, is pressure Valve to hire a community manager."
  • They say that we need a commissioner, a community manager (not the person who runs the Twitter who posts memes all day), then we need to have a circuit
• RL reiterates that Valve doesn't care about CS esports and says they need to change the culture at Valve to make them care about CS esports
  • Slasher says a systemic problem is making it so working on CSGO would be a bad decision for you as an employee for Valve
• He also hasn't talked to Valve in ages and have sent over bugs and cheats and doesn't get emails back anymore
• Slasher says we should be directing attention at the developer leads, pointing out Ido Magal, if he even is still the project lead
  • RL thinks that Ido and Brian are the only people that "vaguely even give a fuck about CS" and were the only people that RL recalled that actually read Reddit and paid attention from time to time
• "It is really fucking precarious. Somebody has got to step the fuck up and start giving a shit"
  • Slasher suggests org owners, with CSPPA, with ESIC, with TOs have a concerted effort against Valve
• "Riot Games are doing better things than Valve in the esports space" which is something RL didn't think he'd say.
• "People who used to be talent, working with unions, arguing with other talent, when the unions fucked them over, can't understand their perspective, TOs fucking over broadcast talent, broadcast talent wanting to leave and go and work for orgs, orgs having no money, Valve might take coaches away because all the coaches are cheating, ESIC has about 4 people in a fucking call doing the investigations, everyone thinks they're spies for ESL, ESL are just the evil fucking overlords wanting to rule the scene and will just somehow, like cockroaches outliving a nuclear bomb, and Valve are in a fucking holiday in Hawaii thinking about the next Dota character because they don't give a fuck about us."

Closing Statements

"We've peaked. If we want to sustain and exist, now is the time to figure it out. No esports lasts as long as this, we've already done 8 years. We've already broke the records. We have got to figure out a way to coexist and drive the negative forces out and we need to do it as a collective and we're not doing that."

• RL compared the Counter-Strike scene to the people on the Titanic who ran around with guns robbing people while the boat was sinking.
• "We have given up on being a respectable esports scene." "We are now a conduit to make money for those who want to just milk it, just have one last ride, one last roll of the dice. It's done." "What a fucking mess. What have we done to our fucking scene?"
• "There's just too much self-interest driving all of this." "I don't see a way we stop the dominoes." "When it's that bad, when there's that many dishonest people that ESIC have to come out and say that if we punish them all there's no one left. What does that tell you?"
• "How many opportunities have we had to clean house? How many times have we said, 'this must never happen again', and another scandal." "The entire skins betting operations was the biggest criminal conspiracy in esports ever executed and no one has been punished for it." "The people who could be driving that don't want to."
• "Right now people are fans of those organizations because the scene has value. It is worth being a fan of Astralis because they are excellent at Counter-Strike. It is worth being a fan of s1mple because he is the best player in Counter-Strike, maybe the exception of ZywOo. If the scene is devalued, if the scene loses its meaning, those things lose its meaning too, and people will leave, people will stop tuning into the games. I have seen it happen in multiple esports, this is not my first time at the rodeo. I am getting big Brood War vibes right now and I don't like it."
• "The role you play in all of this as fans, as viewers, as listeners, as consumers of esports content, it's absolutely imperative that you know who the good guys are. It's absolutely imperative that you use your voice. It's absolutely imperative that when things are bad, you know who, at least, is trying to make them good, and you have to apply your criticism to the right targets."
  • He continues saying it's no good in continuing to attack ESIC and saying how they are bad, ESIC have it hard
• He says CSPPA are on the right side of the argument on BLAST but have been on the wrong side of many arguments many times.
  • "If you are not willing to stand along side the weakest member of the union, with the least amount of influence, and the least amount of power, then it is not a union at all and you shouldn't pose as one." "You wanna serve a bunch of special interest do it, everyone else in esports fucking does, but do not pose as something you are not." "We love the players. I've been fighting for players rights for as long as I've been able to, but the CSPPA is not what we needed."
    • "They are not applying the pressure to the right people, they are not fighting the right battles, they are not helping their weaker members."
• He says what orgs have done by keeping or hiring coaches is bad. "When you give up on holding an appreciable standard, you've lost the scene" "Competition matters, rules matter, punishments matter, achievements matter, excellence matters" "If you start stripping that away, you have nothing" "You guys need to take that knowledge and apply it sensibly."
• "Valve has sold you all down the river, they sold everyone in the esports scene down the river, tournament organizers are selling their talent down the river. Don't hate on them for sounding tired after a 16 hour day. Don't hate on them because the hype for a matchup they've seen for the 20th time in the past 3 months, they can't be as excited or it sounds contrived. Support your guys, they're there for you, these are your people."
• "This community has got to start acting like one for the first fucking time. Just put the petty shit away, let's try and fix this fucking scene while we still have one to save."
• "You can't rely on Valve, you can't rely on ESL, you can't rely on the CSPPA, you can't rely on anyone." "Once again, it's gonna be the likes of us, the amateurs, the people who give a fuck, rolling up our sleeves and grafting." "I'm old and tired and I don't want to have to do it again. People need to pick up the torch and do it."
  • "Like Michal did, like Dudenhoeffer did. You see something wrong, fix it. You see somebody doing something wrong, call it out. If you think something could be better, let people know."
• "Vote with your wallets if you're not happy with the direction Valve goes in. If when we do get to the Major, they serve up another subpar, same old bullshit stickers and signatures package again, do not buy it."
  • "You're a powerful block and if you use it correctly we can fucking avert this disaster."
• "I'm not doing another year in this broken, bust-up fucking scene, where everyone is miserable, everyone is broke, everyone is tired, and everyone is trying to fucking rob everyone else, blind, while the fucking people who are meant to be protecting you, are just fucking enhancing it and lining their own pockets."
  • "I'm not doing it anymore and you shouldn't want to do it either."
• "I stand by every fucking thing I said. I mean it, because this game fucking matters to me, this scene fucking matters to me. I put my life into this, my adult life, and to see it in this state is fucking sad."

I tried to make it easy to skip around if you just want to see the financials or estimates. Just scroll to them if you don't care what the company is or their sectocompetition/management. TL;DR at bottom with final thoughts.
Introduction
“FuboTV ($FUBO) is an American streaming television service that focuses primarily on channels that distribute live sports, including NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS and international soccer, plus news, network television series and movies.
Launched on January 1, 2015 as a soccer streaming service, FuboTV changed to an all-sports service in 2017 and then to a virtual multichannel video programming distributor (vMVPD) model. As a vMVPD, FuboTV still calls itself sports-first but its expanded channel lineup targets cord cutters, offering a selection of major cable channels and OTT-originated features that can be streamed through smart TVs, mobile and tablets and the web. The service is available in the United States, Canada and Spain as of 2018."
From their home page:
They are the only competitors in their space of digital sports broadcasting, offer 4K streaming and upscaling of live sports, cloud DVR capability ranging from 250 or 1000 hours on standard plans, and is available on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Samsung Smart TVs, Xbox One, Android TV, Android Smart TVs, and Android/iOS smartphones and tablets, with plans ranging from $24.99/month to $79.99/month (not including add-ons).
They have also recently acquired one company and have made plans to acquire another to allow for in-house sports betting. They have stated in a press release that they plan to release a sportsbook before the end of the year. This will push them into a broader spectrum outside of only TV and sports streaming, and into the sports betting sector along with DraftKings ($DKNG), FanDuel ($PDYPY), and Penn National Gaming ($PENN).
Plans and Add-ons
FuboTV offers three standardized plans as of February 8, 2021: the Family plan is priced at $64.99/month (normally $75.97/month), Elite at $79.99/month (normally $100.95/month), and Latino Quarterly at $24.99/month, along with offering additional add-ons. Each plan offers a range of channels, cloud DVR capabilities (which allows fast-forwarding through commercials), and casting to multiple devices simultaneously. Only the Elite plan does not offer a 7-day free trial (Channels page).
The Family plan includes 117 channels (mostly news and entertainment with roughly 40 that offer sports, including ESPN), up to 250 hours of DVR space, and casting to 3 devices at once. The quarterly prepaid includes a free upgrade to 1000 hours of DVR space and 5 casting devices at home with 3 on the go (Channels page).
The Elite plan includes 164 channels (includes an additional “47 entertainment channels”), up to 1000 hours of DVR space, and casting to 5 devices at home with 3 on the go. This plan does not offer a quarterly prepaid (Channels page).
The Latino Quarterly plan includes 250 hours of DVR space and can be streamed on up to 3 devices at once, but only has 32 channels. This plan needs to be prepaid every 3 months for a total charge of $74.97 and does not offer a monthly service (Channels page).
Upgrades include additional DVR space--1000 hours for an additional $6.99/month for the Family and Latino Quarterly--and increased device casting--an additional 2 devices at home with 3 on the go for another $9.99/month for the Family and Latino Quarterly plans. You can also add a variety of channels and sports packages (the Latino Quarterly has fewer channel add-ons compared to the Family and Elite plans, which both have the same channel varieties). Sports Plus with NFL RedZone is an additional $10.99/month, but includes all professional and college sports broadcasting services for football, basketball, baseball, hockey, tennis, fighting, etc. (Channels page).
Fubo has recently removed its former Standard plan, which included only 65 channels, up to 2 casting devices, and only 30 hours of DVR support for $60/month.
Financials and Growth
Fubo has yet to file an annual report as they have gone public in October of 2020, but they have filed a 10-Q for Q3 2020. All numbers in thousands.
Assets-
Between December 31, 2019 and September of 2020, assets have increased from $368,225 to $799,313 (a 117% increase) . Total current assets increased from $17,973 to $58,016, but accounts receivable decreased from $8,904 to $6,975--this may be attributed to the increase in prepaid subscriptions which increased from $1,445 to $12,177 which shows strong customer satisfaction and retention.
Liabilities-
Liabilities have increased from $145,049 to $290,376 (a 100% increase). The largest contributors to their liabilities are “Due to related parties” increasing from $665 to $85,847, “Warrant liabilities” increasing from $24 to $28,085, and “Accounts payable” from $36,373 to $61,679. Long-term borrowings have decreased from $43,982 to $25,905.
Revenues-
Subscription revenues increased by $53,433, totaling $92,945 for the year. Total revenues including advertisements and licensing have increased by $61,202, totaling $112,669 for the year and an increase of 47% YOY. Q4 revenue is estimated to be between $94,000 and $98,000 which would be a 77-84% increase YOY.
Expenses-
Subscriber related expenses total $114,315 for the year. Total expenses have totaled $500,249 for the year.
Subscribers-
Ended Q3 with 455,000 paid subscribers, a YOY increase of 58%, and plans to end 2020 with over 545,000, an increase of 72% YOY.
Competition
Its closest competitors are Hulu + Live TV (owned by Disney ($DIS)), YouTube TV (owned by Alphabet ($GOOG)), and Sling TV (owned by Dish Network ($DISH)).
Hulu + Live TV

• Includes league networks
• 50 hours of free DVR (200 hours for $9.99/month)
• More than 74 channels
• Unskippable ads on DVR without upgrade to 200 hours
• 2 streams at a time
• $64.99/month
• Can add ESPN+ and Disney+ for an additional $7/month

YouTube TV

• Includes league networks
• Unlimited DVR storage
• More than 85 channels plus YouTube Red Originals
• 3 streams at a time
• Sports Plus package for an additional $10.99/month
• NBA LeaguePass for an additional $40/month or $119.99 annually
• Starting at $64.99/month

Sling TV Blue

• Includes league networks
• DVR up to 50 hours (200 hours for $5/month)
• More than 45 channels
• 3 streams at a time
• Sports Extra package for an additional $11/month
• Starting $35/month
• Can be combined with Sling TV Orange for a total of $50/month

Sling TV Orange

• Includes league networks
• DVR up to 50 hours (200 hours for $5/month)
• More than 30 channels
• 1 stream at a time
• Sports Extra package for an additional $11/month
• Starting at $35/month
• Can be combined with Sling TV Blue for a total of $50/month

The vMVPD Sector
Cord-cutting has become increasingly popular over the last few years with consumers dropping traditional cable and satellite networks in favor of streaming services--such as Hulu, Netflix, Disney+, etc.--and vMVPD services.
In 2019 alone, 6.3 million people cut their cable connection, totaling 39.3 million. In a survey of what they might miss most from cable networks, 52% said they don’t miss anything, 23% missed live events on TV, 22% missed news, and 19% missed live sports. Although not all of those that miss aspects of cable will pay for another subscription service, the sentiment exists for a sports-focused platform that offers other large networks as well.
Another report by Parks Associates reveals that 17% of vMVPD subscribers switched from traditional TV within the last twelve months. In the same report, a survey conducted on current broadband households determined that 43% were “likely to switch to a… vMVPD within the next 12 months." The potential growth exists for the live digital broadcasting space, although it is slowing down.
With the spread of COVID and quarantines, people have been spending more time at home. When things open and quarantines end, that will be the true test for these providers as people will spend less time watching TV.
The Sports Betting Sector
Legal sports betting has taken a huge leap in recent years with the introduction of online sports betting; the ability to place wagers from anywhere at any time and have instant gratification has boomed with its slow legalization. This sector has a forecasted value of $150 billion with other competitors already having a completed project and vast market share. In 2019, DraftKings ($DKNG) and FanDuel (PDYPY) controlled 83% of the market share.
FuboTV plans to join into this space with its own sportsbook. Their recent acquisition of Balto Sports in December of 2020, whose business was in simulating fantasy sports games, is Fubo’s first step into sports wagering. They plan to create a free-to-play gaming system alongside online sports wagering.
Their next planned acquisition, which was announced in January of 2021, will be to acquire Vigtory, a sports betting and interactive gaming company. According to BusinessWire, they plan to utilize Vigtory’s “sportsbook platform and digital gaming assets, and its consumer-driven betting technology, to develop a frictionless betting experience for fubo’s customers."
These recent acquisitions set Fubo up to create an all-in-one viewing and betting experience, which could add new customers to their subscriber list and seal them into online wagering.
It has been over two years since the Supreme Court has denied the federal ban on sports betting, which would have made online betting illegal in all of the United States. Currently, more than two dozen states have legalized sports betting, but most have only legalized in-person betting. More states may be willing to legalize to take advantage of the increased revenues and taxes associated with gambling and online wagering. As of 2020, six additional states plan to legalize some form of betting, although some are only allowing in-person. There are an additional 14 states that are considering the notion to allow legal gambling, whether in-person, online, or tribal.
Management and Investors
David Gandler - CEO / Director / Co-Founder
Appointed as CEO and director in April of 2020. Prior to Fubo, Gandler had a 15 year career in marketing and advertising in local broadcast and cable TV within both general and Hispanic markets at companies such as Time Warner, Telemundo, and Scripps Networks Interactive.
Alberto Horihuela - CMO / Co-founder
In charge of marketing, Horihuela was head of Latin America for SVOD service DramaFever.
Simone Nardi - CFO
Nardi has worked as SVP and CFO of Scripps Networks Interactive where he was responsible for the finance and strategic planning for the company’s international business. Was also a key player in refinancing TVN S.A.’s billion dollar debt.
Large Investors

• Islet Management, LP with 5,108124 shares
• Morgan Stanley with 3,317,333 shares
• FMR LLC with 1,262,907 shares
• BlackRock Inc. with 956,678 shares
• Merger with FaceBank for $100 million revolving credit

Analysts and Estimates
Average analyst ratings put Fubo at a Buy to Strong Buy rating with an average price target of $45.50 with a high of $60 and a low of $30. EPS estimates are estimated to be -5.23 for 2020 and -1.64 for 2021.
Currently has a short float of about 75%, but the short volume has been holding at roughly 15-20% over the last month and has drastically declined from its October short volume of over 50%.
Originally valued at $700 million less than a year ago, a current valuation of $3.19 billion is respectable for this company and is on par for its current performance.
Risks

• Marketing fails and Fubo is never known as a household name, so consumers stick with other more known providers
• Their sportsbook fails and becomes dead weight and wasted money
• Subscriber count and streaming drops as quarantine lifts, reducing revenues while maintaining expenses
• Consumers opt for cheaper options
• People paying for the sports package cancel when the season is over, creating a boom and bust cycle if not managed correctly

Final Thoughts / TL;DR
With its drastic growth over the last year (400% in the last 4 months), support from FaceBank and well-known investors, and plans to join the sports betting sector, FuboTV has potential to become a household name and grow well beyond its current valuation by combining both sports broadcasting and online sports betting into one convenient place. Although unlikely to overthrow any of the current forces, it can become the best live sports broadcaster that people can turn to when they cut cable but want to keep live sports. It has many hurdles to overcome (creating their sportsbook, better marketing, increasing subscriber count, etc.) before it is any real competition to its already established competition.
At a $3.19 billion market cap and very high (75%) short interest, it will be very difficult to realize consistent growth, but it is on par for a company with almost $100 million in revenue.
My Position
25 shares at $47.30
​
Edit: edited final thoughts/TL;DR
Please provide feedback! First time actually researching and compiling information for a company and not just reading about them on here. Also, please ask questions to clear up any confusion; it was kinda hard to put everything together neatly, so I might have accidentally left stuff out or oveunder explained some things.

Like most of you reading this, I’ve read too many terrible marketing & startup-related books.
Growth Hacker? I suppose it was okay, for it’s time.
This Is Marketing? Took nothing from it.
Traction? It could have been summed up in a blog post.
After searching for ‘Top 10 Marketing Books’ and reading everything I could find on those lists over the last few years, I’ve stopped buying marketing books because almost everyone was either aimed at beginners, were written as a lead-magnet with the aim of selling you consulting or a course, or they simply were written without anything actionable that I could actually ‘use’.
Like many during the last 9 months, my agency moved out of our office and we have worked entirely from home. A positive that came from that I started to read way more often, usually aiming for a book a week.
The first book I read was a gift that I received a couple of years back and had been on my shelf collecting dust ever since. It was the only book that I owned which I hadn’t already read, so to make things simple I started with that. It was The Brand Gap by Marty Neumeier.
It absolutely blew me away.
I read it from cover to cover in one sitting and then read it again the following week. I told everyone that would listen: “The Brand Gap is the single most important book I’ve ever read”.
After this, I spoke to friends working in branding, design, copywriting, and project management and asked for book recommendations. I specified that I didn’t want books that only scratched the surface, I wanted to read the books that changed their entire mindset and way or working.
I ended up with a huge reading list (and a few shelves full of books) which I worked my way through over the last few months. There was no filler, and nothing I’d consider to be average — I gained something significant from every single book.
I’ve compiled a list of seven of the books which I’d consider to have had the biggest impact on me.
For each book mentioned I’ll include a link to Bookshop, along with a testimonial and some of the book description.
1. The Brand Gap — Marty Neumeier

“A well-managed brand is the lifeblood of any successful company. Read this book before your competitors do!” ―TOM KELLEY, GENERAL MANAGER, IDEO
THE BRAND GAP is the first book to present a unified theory of brand. The second edition features a 220-term brand glossary and a premium softcover binding. Whereas most books on branding are weighted toward either a strategic or creative approach, this book shows how both ways of thinking can unite to produce a “charismatic brand” — a brand that customers feel is essential to their lives.

2. Everybody Writes — Ann Handley

“All your shiny new channels, properties, and platforms are a waste of space without smart, useful content. Ann Handley’s new book helps make every bit of content count — for your customers and your bottom line.” — Kristina Halvorson, President, Brain Traffic
If you have a website, you are a publisher. If you are on social media, you are in marketing. And that means that we are all relying on our words to carry our marketing messages. We are all writers.
Everybody Writes is your go-to guide to attracting and retaining customers through stellar online communication, because in our content-driven world, every one of us is a writer.

3. How Brands Grow: What Marketers Don’t Know — Byron Sharp

“…marketers need to move beyond the psycho-babble and read this book… or be left hopelessly behind.” — Joseph Tripodi, The Coca-Cola Company
Professor Byron Sharp is the Director of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science at the University of South Australia. The Institute’s fundamental research is used and financially supported by many of the world’s leading corporations including Coca-Cola, Kraft, Kellogg’s, British Airways, Procter & Gamble, Nielsen, TNS, Turner Broadcasting, Network Ten, Simplot, Mars and many others.

4. D&AD. The Copy Book

“The Copy Book convinced me that everyone in business should study the art of copywriting.” — Fortune.com
The book features a work selection and essays by 53 leading professionals in the world, including copywriting superstars such as David Abbott, Lionel Hunt, Steve Hayden, Dan Wieden, Neil French, Mike Lescarbeau, Adrian Holmes, and Barbara Nokes.
The lessons to be learned on these pages will help you create clearer and more persuasive arguments, whether you are writing an inspiring speech, an engaging web banner or a persuasive letter. This is not simply a “must-have” book for people in advertising and marketing, it is also a “should-have” for anyone who needs to involve or influence people, by webpage, on paper, or in person.

5. Junior: Writing Your Way Ahead in Advertising — Thomas Kemeny

“If my older and wiser brother were an ad book, these would be his exact words. If he’d ask me to wash his filthy car every Sunday in exchange for his wisdom, I’d say ‘No problem, ‘ knowing I got the better end of the deal.” — PAUL MALMSTROM, Creative Chairman and Co-Founder, Mother
There are a lot of great advertising books, but none that get down in the dirt with you quite like this one. Thomas Kemeny made a career at some of the best ad agencies in America. In this book he shows how he got in, how he’s stayed in, and how you can do it too. He breaks apart how to write fun, smart, and effective copy-everything from headlines to scripts to experiential activations-giving readers a lesson on a language we all thought we already knew.

6. Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: The Classic Guide to Creating Great Ads — Luke Sullivan

“Classic must-read Sullivan mixed with innovation master Boches make the perfect duo. This is the book that will help guide new talent to great career starts. Required reading for a new era.” — Deborah Morrison**,** Distinguished Professor of Advertising, University of Oregon
Hey Whipple, Squeeze This has helped generations of young creatives make their mark in the field. From starting out and getting work, to building successful campaigns, you gain a real-world perspective on what it means to be great in a fast-moving, sometimes harsh industry. You’ll learn how to tell brand stories and create brand experiences online and in traditional media outlets, and you’ll learn more about the value of authenticity, simplicity, storytelling, and conflict.

7. Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind — Al Ries, Jack Trout

The first book to deal with the problems of communicating to a skeptical, media-blitzed public, Positioning describes a revolutionary approach to creating a “position” in a prospective customer’s mind-one that reflects a company’s own strengths and weaknesses as well as those of its competitors.
“…Ries and Trout taught me everything I know about branding, marketing, and product management. When I had the idea of creating a very large thematic community on the Web, I first thought of Positioning….” — David Bohnett, Chairman and Founder of GeoCities

So, there you have it. It’s worth nothing, my list above is just that; my list. I’m sure there are plenty of people that read books from that list and for whatever reason, it just didn’t resonate with them in the same way that Growth Hackersdoesn’t do it for me, either. These are simply the books I’d consider to be game-changing, and now recommend them to anyone working in marketing & e-commerce.
Got a book recommendation? I’d love to hear! Share some recommendations below.

Like most of you reading this, I’ve read too many terrible marketing & startup-related books.
Growth Hacker? I suppose it was okay, for it’s time.
This Is Marketing? Took nothing from it.
Traction? It could have been summed up in a blog post.
After searching for ‘Top 10 Marketing Books’ and reading everything I could find on those lists over the last few years, I’ve stopped buying marketing books because almost everyone was either aimed at beginners, were written as a lead-magnet with the aim of selling you consulting or a course, or they simply were written without anything actionable that I could actually ‘use’.
Like many during the last 9 months, my agency moved out of our office and we have worked entirely from home. A positive that came from that I started to read way more often, usually aiming for a book a week.
The first book I read was a gift that I received a couple of years back and had been on my shelf collecting dust ever since. It was the only book that I owned which I hadn’t already read, so to make things simple I started with that. It was The Brand Gap by Marty Neumeier.
It absolutely blew me away.
I read it from cover to cover in one sitting and then read it again the following week. I told everyone that would listen: “The Brand Gap is the single most important book I’ve ever read”.
After this, I spoke to friends working in branding, design, copywriting, and project management and asked for book recommendations. I specified that I didn’t want books that only scratched the surface, I wanted to read the books that changed their entire mindset and way or working.
I ended up with a huge reading list (and a few shelves full of books) which I worked my way through over the last few months. There was no filler, and nothing I’d consider to be average — I gained something significant from every single book.
I’ve compiled a list of seven of the books which I’d consider to have had the biggest impact on me.
For each book mentioned I’ll include a link to Bookshop, along with a testimonial and some of the book description.
1. The Brand Gap — Marty Neumeier

“A well-managed brand is the lifeblood of any successful company. Read this book before your competitors do!” ―TOM KELLEY, GENERAL MANAGER, IDEO
THE BRAND GAP is the first book to present a unified theory of brand. The second edition features a 220-term brand glossary and a premium softcover binding. Whereas most books on branding are weighted toward either a strategic or creative approach, this book shows how both ways of thinking can unite to produce a “charismatic brand” — a brand that customers feel is essential to their lives.

2. Everybody Writes — Ann Handley

“All your shiny new channels, properties, and platforms are a waste of space without smart, useful content. Ann Handley’s new book helps make every bit of content count — for your customers and your bottom line.” — Kristina Halvorson, President, Brain Traffic
If you have a website, you are a publisher. If you are on social media, you are in marketing. And that means that we are all relying on our words to carry our marketing messages. We are all writers.
Everybody Writes is your go-to guide to attracting and retaining customers through stellar online communication, because in our content-driven world, every one of us is a writer.

3. How Brands Grow: What Marketers Don’t Know — Byron Sharp

“…marketers need to move beyond the psycho-babble and read this book… or be left hopelessly behind.” — Joseph Tripodi, The Coca-Cola Company
Professor Byron Sharp is the Director of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science at the University of South Australia. The Institute’s fundamental research is used and financially supported by many of the world’s leading corporations including Coca-Cola, Kraft, Kellogg’s, British Airways, Procter & Gamble, Nielsen, TNS, Turner Broadcasting, Network Ten, Simplot, Mars and many others.

4. D&AD. The Copy Book

“The Copy Book convinced me that everyone in business should study the art of copywriting.” — Fortune.com
The book features a work selection and essays by 53 leading professionals in the world, including copywriting superstars such as David Abbott, Lionel Hunt, Steve Hayden, Dan Wieden, Neil French, Mike Lescarbeau, Adrian Holmes, and Barbara Nokes.
The lessons to be learned on these pages will help you create clearer and more persuasive arguments, whether you are writing an inspiring speech, an engaging web banner or a persuasive letter. This is not simply a “must-have” book for people in advertising and marketing, it is also a “should-have” for anyone who needs to involve or influence people, by webpage, on paper, or in person.

5. Junior: Writing Your Way Ahead in Advertising — Thomas Kemeny

“If my older and wiser brother were an ad book, these would be his exact words. If he’d ask me to wash his filthy car every Sunday in exchange for his wisdom, I’d say ‘No problem, ‘ knowing I got the better end of the deal.” — PAUL MALMSTROM, Creative Chairman and Co-Founder, Mother
There are a lot of great advertising books, but none that get down in the dirt with you quite like this one. Thomas Kemeny made a career at some of the best ad agencies in America. In this book he shows how he got in, how he’s stayed in, and how you can do it too. He breaks apart how to write fun, smart, and effective copy-everything from headlines to scripts to experiential activations-giving readers a lesson on a language we all thought we already knew.

6. Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: The Classic Guide to Creating Great Ads — Luke Sullivan

“Classic must-read Sullivan mixed with innovation master Boches make the perfect duo. This is the book that will help guide new talent to great career starts. Required reading for a new era.” — Deborah Morrison**,** Distinguished Professor of Advertising, University of Oregon
Hey Whipple, Squeeze This has helped generations of young creatives make their mark in the field. From starting out and getting work, to building successful campaigns, you gain a real-world perspective on what it means to be great in a fast-moving, sometimes harsh industry. You’ll learn how to tell brand stories and create brand experiences online and in traditional media outlets, and you’ll learn more about the value of authenticity, simplicity, storytelling, and conflict.

7. Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind — Al Ries, Jack Trout

The first book to deal with the problems of communicating to a skeptical, media-blitzed public, Positioning describes a revolutionary approach to creating a “position” in a prospective customer’s mind-one that reflects a company’s own strengths and weaknesses as well as those of its competitors.
“…Ries and Trout taught me everything I know about branding, marketing, and product management. When I had the idea of creating a very large thematic community on the Web, I first thought of Positioning….” — David Bohnett, Chairman and Founder of GeoCities

So, there you have it. It’s worth nothing, my list above is just that; my list. I’m sure there are plenty of people that read books from that list and for whatever reason, it just didn’t resonate with them in the same way that Growth Hackersdoesn’t do it for me, either. These are simply the books I’d consider to be game-changing, and now recommend them to anyone working in marketing & e-commerce.
Got a book recommendation? I’d love to hear! Share some recommendations below.

Decided to make another post as the "leaker" allegedly had another AMA on 4chan (taken down again) where he clarified a few things that were misinterpreted and also decided to reveal more things about the game. I decided to clarify a few things about my last post as well as some people seem confused about a few details that I mentioned.
Credits to u/Elena_xoxo for bringing the second AMA to light in a post in this subreddit and also u/roughpreference991 for the screenshots of the AMA. The archived version of the first AMA can be found here. Again, take it with a huge grain of salt because of it being a 4chan leak and no way to know if both the AMAs are done by the same person.
This time around the leaker comes with a bolder claim about the credibility that they have been working at R* since 2004 and is primarily a developer. The leaker claims that they know the staff in every area of the dev team. The leaker mentions multiple times to capture the thread and 99% of it will be confirmed "sooner than you think"(Of course, this does not prove shit but could be interesting in retrospect).
Now to jump into the details of the second AMA:

• Same engine as RDR2 and GTAV but definitely improved upon. Ray tracing is in use but limited to reflections and shadows. Leaker mentions not to expect ray-traced light until the PC release.
• They also mention that what they said about the map size of the game in the previous AMA was misunderstood. What they meant was that the fastest transportation in RDR2 takes roughly 15-20 minutes to travel the longest possible route whereas GTA VI is around 13-15 minutes. They mention that the map is bigger than RDR2's in landmass. (The inconsistency of their details of the map from the previous thread is a big red flag imo)
• Complete freedom regarding exploration, you aren't forced to play through the main story and can go exploring anytime you want.
• They also mention that one of the confirmed songs is "Always on my Mind" by the Pet Shop Boys. (Mentioned in the previous AMA as well but they mention the song name this time.)
• Large number of building enterable and they all have textures unique to them but not every building is enterable as it is just too hard to implement.
• Better physics than GTAV as RDR2 was taken as the base for it and then built upon for the modern world. Driving feels less arcadey than GTAV but not as weighted as GTA IV's.
• The gap between consoles and PC release estimated to be 12 months by the leaker.
• The leaker again refuses to leak the MC's name but does mention that he has a mother and a sister. The MC calls the sister Frankie and also the father is dead. (Maybe you play as the father in the 1970s part of the game as I mentioned in the last post who dies when the MC is a kid and then maybe you play as the MC in the modern-day counterpart).
• The game has "deceptive" amount of content already according to the leaker.
• There's a famous 80s singer hosting one of the radio stations.
• Monetization at the launch of Online will be a lot lighter than GTA Vs due to the company being concerned about bad press.
• More hair and facial types that can be mixed and matched and also supposed to be period-specific for the online counterpart. Also, there will be a choice of body type but nothing specific like Fat, average, fit, muscular, etc,
• There will be a morality meter for the first time similar but not identical to RDR2's system. This will affect certain missions and outcomes.
• 2 limited maps within the game. Liberty City (pretty much on rails) and a "Cuban" island.
• Supposed to be a satirical representation of America in the 1980s.
• There's one side mission that's pretty much just one giant easter egg for the Goonies. It is not given to the player by an NPC but started by finding a map (Like one eyed willies).
• There is one interesting detail, the leaker first states that the protagonist is older than Tommy Vercetti but then, later on, admits that he made a mistake and that the protagonist is actually 2 years younger than Tommy. (This is the most interesting detail as it can actually be an honest mistake on their part or it could be a clever and subtle way to fake their credibility by acting as if it was an honest mistake.)
• The North Point Mall looks really good now and it's way bigger.
• There's a scarface style montage that holds a lot of meme potential. (This was an answer to someone asking the leaker if there are any memeable moments)
• Main forms of transport stated to be cars, motorcycles, boats, helicopters, and seabirds.
• Controls are just a refined version of what you've seen in previous titles. Gunplay is essentially a modified version of RDR2 mechanics. No parkour-style traversal mechanics in the game.
• Full body nudity in strip clubs and even during some cutscenes. Also, if you build up a good enough affinity with certain women, you can "make love".
• Fidelity and Performance mode similar to something like Miles Morales.
• You can work out but transformation won't be as dramatic as GTA SA. You have to also make sure that you're eating or you won't grow. Some more side activities mentioned by the leaker are gambling, dancing, and roller derby which they also previously mentioned in the last AMA.
• NPCs are like RDR2 but in a GTA setting. The police don't just shoot you to death for small crimes anymore. If you get the option to bribe the officers for petty crimes.
• Using fists have better development than the previous GTA. You can grab people and punch them in a clinch. There are unique animations for stealthy kills.
• One example of better car detailing that the leaker gives is of Ferrari Enzo (not called that) and it looks as if it could be in a GT7.
• The leaker states that there are a lot of 80s references in GTA Online recently. Also, the song choice for casino update was 80s related.
• When someone asked if there is a protagonist replacement point like in RDR2, the leaker declined to say as it might spoil some of the story. The prologue and 1st chapter are set in the 1970s all the way till 1987.

Again I can't stress enough to take all of this with a huge grain of salt as a lot of details could easily be educated guesses, there is no way to even know if both the AMAs were done by the same person and the credibility itself but had to compile it for my Reddit peeps.
I also wanted to clarify a few things from my last post as well:

• I did mention that the first 2 chapters are set in the late 1970s, to be more specific the prologue and 1st chapter are set in that time period, and it goes from the late 1970s till 1987.
• The Ricardo codename mentioned for the protagonist in the last game was indeed based on the Ricardo Milos meme. (The leaker stated that the protagonist has "sun-kissed" tan so maybe that's why the codename.)
• RDR1 is technically being "remastered" as the map was already made in the newer engine so it's not a remake. The leaker also did state in the last AMA that it looks like a next-gen game.
• A lot of people mentioned that Ken Rosenberg and Tommy Vercetti cannot exist in the HD universe as R* has stated that the HD universe is different than the previous games. While I don't deny that but at the end of the day, it's R*'s intellectual property so it wouldn't be surprising if they did it. The other possibility could be an alternate version of the same characters that exist in the HD universe.

Good Saturday morning to all of you here on stocks. I hope everyone on this sub made out pretty nicely in the market this past week, and is ready for the new trading week ahead.
Here is everything you need to know to get you ready for the trading week beginning November 30th, 2020.

Stocks on track to close out month of big gains as jobs data looms - (Source)

Stocks next week will come off one of their best months ever into a busy week of economic data and the ongoing tensions between the spreading virus and positive news on vaccines and treatments.
Another highlight of the week is expected to be Tuesday’s testimony from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin before the Senate Banking Committee. They will be discussing the emergency measures taken to help the economy after the outbreak of the pandemic.
The Dow was up nearly 13% for November so far, and if it holds its gains into Monday’s close, it will chalk up its best month since January, 1987. The S&P 500 closed at a record 3,638 and was up 11.3% for the month. The gain is its best performance since April’s 12.7%, which was the third best month for the S&P 500 since its origin in 1957.
November was a big month also for market rotation, with investors favoring stocks that would benefit from a rebounding economy and showing less love for long-held favorites among big tech and internet names. Financials were up more than 17% in the past month, and industrials rose nearly 15%, as investors bet vaccines would help the economy return to normal next year.
Tech notched a single digit gain for the month so far and lagged the broader market. But some strategists expect big tech and internet names, stay-at-home stocks, to fare better in December.
“The death of big tech has been announced over and over again, and we see that the market doesn’t abandon them, but in fact migrates to big tech whenever there are concerns,” said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial. “The post-pandemic question is whether big tech can co-exist with the small and mid-cap.” Small caps were one of the biggest winners in November, with the Russell 2000, up 20.6%.
“We did not see major selling in Nasdaq,” as investors put funds in cyclicals and value, she said. Nasdaq was up 11.9% for the month so far, slightly better than the S&P 500.
Experts have warned that there could an even bigger surge in virus cases, following the Thanksgiving holiday which could start to show up in the coming week. There have been more than 12.6 million cases in the U.S.

Jobs report

There are some important economic reports in the week ahead, the most important being Friday’s November employment report. There is is also ISM manufacturing data Tuesday.
“My thought here is the data is going to matter because if you listen to the Fed, and if you read through the Fed’s minutes, they’re in transition here. They’re becoming more concerned about the rise in Covid cases, certainly about the lack of fiscal support,” said Gregory Faranello, head of U.S. rates at AmeriVet Securities.
Strategists say another key report will be weekly jobless claims, which showed an increase in each of the last two weeks. “The employment data clearly has been weakening,” said Faranello. If it continues, it will keep a lid on Treasury yields, which move opposite prices.
Jefferies economist Tom Simons expects the elimination of Census Bureau workers to detract from the job gains in November, and he forecasts the economy added just 340,000 jobs.
“It is hard to envision a particularly strong report coming out on Friday,” noted Simons.
Bank of America economists forecast just 150,000 payrolls were added for November, compared to 638,000 in October. The private sector is expected to add 300,000, but expected government layoffs impacted total payrolls in their forecast.
Faranello said he expects the bond market to be much more active than normal this December because of the pending change in the White House, as well as the runoff election in Georgia Jan. 5 that will decide whether Republicans keep their Senate majority. The market has also been concerned about the lack of stimulus from Washington.
“The theme in the market right now is definitely hope and optimism versus the on the ground dynamic with Covid,” said Faranello. “The real question is can the vaccine rally hold up if we see the virus rise and we continue to see shutdowns. How does the market perform in light of that?”
Krosby said she expects the market to watch for vaccine news. “The question I think is now whether or not we see the emergency authorization given to Pfizer and followed by Moderna,” she said. “I think that is a catalyst to the market because that is when you will start to see the vaccine distributed.” The Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine advisory committee has a meeting set for Dec. 10 to discuss emergency authorization for the Pfizer
Analysts expect investors to continue to gravitate to value and cyclicals, since they could have the biggest gains compared to already high priced big tech. But tech is still attractive.
“We still see the Nasdaq leading,” said Krosby. “Whereas we enjoyed the vaccine related boom in the market, the fact is that investors and and traders are looking for big tech names to give them that growth in earnings and revenues.”

This past week saw the following moves in the S&P:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL S&P TREE MAP FOR THE PAST WEEK!)

Major Indices for this past week:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE MAJOR INDICES FOR THE PAST WEEK!)

Major Futures Markets as of Friday's close:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE MAJOR FUTURES INDICES AS OF FRIDAY!)

Economic Calendar for the Week Ahead:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL ECONOMIC CALENDAR FOR THE WEEK AHEAD!)

Percentage Changes for the Major Indices, WTD, MTD, QTD, YTD as of Friday's close:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

S&P Sectors for the Past Week:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Major Indices Pullback/Correction Levels as of Friday's close:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!

Major Indices Rally Levels as of Friday's close:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Most Anticipated Earnings Releases for this week:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Here are the upcoming IPO's for this week:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Friday's Stock Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART LINK!)

December Almanac: Small Caps Have Shined

December is now the number three S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrials month since 1950, averaging gains of 1.5% on each index. It’s the top Russell 2000 (1979) month and third best for NASDAQ (1971) and Russell 1000 (1979). In 2018, DJIA suffered its worst December performance since 1931 and its fourth worst December going all the way back to 1901. However, the market rarely falls precipitously in December and a repeat of 2018 is not highly likely. When December is down it is usually a turning point in the market—near a top or bottom. If the market has experienced fantastic gains leading up to December, stocks can pullback in the first half of the month.
In the last seventeen election years, December’s ranking changed modestly to #2 DJIA, #5 NASDAQ, but S&P 500 remains #3. Small caps, measured by the Russell 2000, have had a field day in election-year Decembers. Since 1980, the Russell 2000 has lost ground just once in ten election years in December. The average small cap gain in all ten years is a solid 3.0%. The Russell 2000’s single loss was in 1980 when the Prime Rate was 21.5%.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Sector Weights Rising and Falling

For most of the past year, one significant trend on a sector by sector basis has been the outperformance of sectors like Technology and Consumer Discretionary. The relative strength lines of these sectors have consistently shown outperformance versus the rest of the S&P 500 as a whole, but since August, other sectors have begun to take the wheel. As we noted in today's Sector Snapshot, just about every sector has had a banner month in November with some of the biggest month to date rallies of the past 30 years, but some sectors have seen much larger returns than others. One of the best examples of this has been Energy which has risen over 35% in November. Similarly, Financials has risen an astounding 19.5% this month compared to more modest but still significant rallies of around 10% from Tech and Consumer Discretionary. Given those large degrees of outperformance, the relative strength lines of Energy and Financials have taken a sharp turn higher in recent weeks. Similarly, they have seen a turnaround in their weightings in the S&P 500 as shown in the charts below.
Over the past three months, the Financial sector has gained a full percentage point weighting while the Technology sector has lost 1.36 percentage points with a decline in weighting in three straight months. For Financials, that is the largest gain in weighting in a three month span since January 2017. For Tech, outside of the reshuffling in 2018 that saw a large share of its weight change into Communication Services, the last time the sector lost this much or more in weighting in three months was November of 2008. Prior to this recent string of losing weight over the past three months, Tech had seen weight gain in every month from October of last year through August. Even though the weight loss has been significant, it has only put a dent in the increased share of the entirety of the past year as the sector's weight is only back down to where it was in May.
Similarly, looking at the other sectors, while Financials have added a full percentage point in share over the past few months, that follows nine months of declines running from last December through August. That brings the sector's weighting back above 10% in the S&P 500, but that is only at the highest level since March. Similarly, Materials and Industrials have also seen their weights rise for three and four months in a row, respectively. As for Energy, the 0.44 percentage point gain in November is set to snap six straight months of declines; the longest such streak since at least 1990. As with Financials, that turn around this month has only put a dent in the longer term trend of weight loss as Energy's weighting is now only back to its highest level since July. Opposite of Energy, Consumer Discretionary is on pace to lose weight for the first time since March.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

A Month to Be Thankful For

Heading into today with just three trading days left in November, the average Russell 1,000 stock was up 17.44% month to date. As shown below, not one of the five largest stocks is up even close to 17% on the month. For a market that had recently been driven higher in large part because of the five mega-cap Tech names, November has seen the mega-caps stall a bit while the rest of the market has seen broad participation. This is the type of breadth that market bulls have been waiting and hoping for.
Of the 35 largest stocks in the Russell 1,000, Tesla (TSLA) is up the most so far this month with a gain of 43%. The other big winners include Chevron (CVX), JP Morgan (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), Disney (DIS), and Comcast (CMCSA). Not one stock in the top 35 is down on the month, but the ones that are up the least are Netflix (NFLX), Procter & Gamble (PG), Amazon (AMZN), and Home Depot (HD).

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Looking at sectors, the average Energy stock in the Russell 1,000 is up 46% month-to-date but still down 27% year-to-date. Three other sectors have seen their stocks average MTD gains of more than 20%: Financials, Industrials, and Real Estate. Stocks in the Health Care and Utilities sectors are up the least on an average basis this month, but even these underperformers are still up more than 5%.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

There are 37 stocks in the Russell 1,000 up more than 50% so far in November. Below is a list of this month's biggest winners. Coty (COTY) and Nordstrom (JWN) stand out the most with gains of more than 100%, followed by Spirit AeroSystems (SPR), Occidental Petroleum (OXY), Diamondback Energy (FANG), and Empire State Realty (ESRT). The list of biggest winners this month is full of names that got hit hardest by COVID in areas like energy, travel, retail, and real estate. Notably, while these stocks are up an average of 68.5% in November, they're still down an average of 23% on the year. On a median basis, they're down even more year-to-date at -31.55%.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Biden - Best Since Reagan

The market started off November on a positive note, and even after the election has continued to add to its gains. Through the close today (11/24), the S&P 500 is up 7.90% since the close on Election Day. Relative to every other Presidential election since the beginning of the S&P back in 1928, the three-week performance of the S&P 500 following this Election Day ranks as the second-best of all time. It came down right to the wire, but the only other US President to see a stronger market reaction to their election (or re-election) was Ronald Reagan in 1980 (7.97%). Behind Reagan and Biden, the only other Presidents where the S&P 500 experienced an upside move of 5%+ in reaction to their elections were Hoover in 1928 and Clinton in 1996.
On the downside, the most negative reaction of the market in the three weeks after Election Day was the 14.75% decline following President Obama's election in 2008. In addition to Obama, the S&P 500's four other three-week downside moves of more than 5% came after the elections of Truman in 1948, the election of George W Bush in 2000 (although at the time it was unknown who was the winner of that election), the election of Franklin D Roosevelt in 1932, and Dwight D Eisenhower's re-election in 1956.
In aggregate, the S&P 500 hasn't historically responded all that great in the three weeks after a Presidential election. For every one since 1928, the median return of the S&P 500 in the three weeks after Election Day has been a gain of just 0.35%. Breaking out returns by party, in the three weeks after a Democratic candidate is elected, the S&P 500's median performance is a decline of 1.11% compared to a median gain of 3.04% when a Republican is elected.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

DJIA 1,000 Point Thresholds

What a wild year 2020 has been! With the DJIA closing above 30,000 today, it was the second first-time upside break of a 1,000 point threshold this year. While there have only been two new upside crosses of 1,000 point thresholds, due to the sharp pullback in March from the pandemic that briefly took the DJIA below 19,000 on a closing basis, there have actually been 12 different upside 1,000 point thresholds at some point in the year.
The table below lists the first time that the DJIA closed above each 1,000 point threshold in its history along with the total number of times the index has crossed that level on a closing basis throughout history. The thousand point level that has seen the most crosses on a closing basis was 11,000 (87 crosses) while 10,000 ranks second at 67.
Obviously, the higher the DJIA goes, the less impactful a move of 1,000 points becomes. At current levels, 1,000 points represents just 3.3%, which is really nothing more than a very bad day in the market. Given the diminishing impact of 1,000 points in the DJIA these days, their significance declines. Even still, the twelve new 1,000-point crosses since the 2016 election has given the President (who has publicly discussed the stock market more than any other President in history) plenty of ammunition to tweet about.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

30,000 Reasons To Be Thankful

As 2020 winds down, it has been an extremely tough year on all of us. Still, there are many reasons to be thankful and today we will share some reasons investors should be thankful.
Stocks have had one of the largest reversals ever in 2020, something to be thankful for. In fact, this could be the first year ever to see the S&P 500 down more than 30% peak-to-trough and finish higher.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

We should also be thankful that Congress was split in 2020, likely marking the 11th consecutive year the S&P 500 gained under a split Congress. Gridlock is good they tell us and that very well could be true yet again.
Want something else to be thankful for? We likely will have a split Congress for another two years after the two Georgia runoffs are official.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Let’s be thankful that it is looking like stocks once again will be higher the year a President is up for re-election. In fact, you have to go back to FDR in the ‘40s the last time the S&P 500 was lower for the year when a President was up for re-election.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Let’s be thankful that the fastest bear market in history (only 16 days) is officially a thing of the past.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

We are thankful that we are in a new bull market, which if history plays out once again, could have a lot of life left to it. In fact, the average bull market has lasted more than five years.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

“Let’s be thankful that the huge move off the March lows was a major clue of more strength,” explained LPL Financial Chief Market Strategist Ryan Detrick. “We noted at the time (many different ways) that the enormous move we saw off the March lows likely suggested significantly higher prices, while many ignored the market signals and instead looked for a re-test for months on end.”
The 20-days off the March lows was the second best 20-day rally ever and sure enough, the returns have been very strong.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

We are finally seeing many stocks participate in this bull market, another reason to be thankful. In fact, the Value Line Arithmetic Index recently made new all-time highs. This index is a great look at what the ‘average’ stock is doing and is a sign that this move isn’t being led by just a few large cap tech stocks.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Let’s be thankful that the NYSE Cumulative Advance/Decline line is at new highs. This looks at how many stocks are going up versus down and new highs are a sign of very healthy participation.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Emerging markets have started to turn higher and we are thankful that this group could be on the verge of a major breakout to new highs, clearing their peak from 2007. As we move into ’21, this is one group we think could continue to do quite well for investors.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Global investors should be thankful, as the MSCI Global Index broke out to new highs as well, suggesting this rally isn’t only about the US anymore.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

We upgraded our view on small caps in September and the Russell 2000 Index is currently on pace to have its best monthly return ever. Investors should be thankful that this group is finally participating, as there are many more small caps than large caps, another sign of improving breadth, while small caps are also more domestic by nature and could be suggesting a strong US economy next year.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Investors should be thankful for the incredible strength around the election, as the S&P 500 gained more than 1% four consecutive days. This is extremely rare, yet, extremely bullish going out a year.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

As we showed in Frothy Sentiment Rides Bullish Technicals, the huge number of stocks in the S&P 500 making new monthly highs should make bulls quite thankful.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Earnings are expected to see a major bounce back, as the global economy gets back online next year, making many investors quite thankful.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Economic forecasts may not develop as predicted.
As shown in the LPL Chart of the Day, the final reason to be thankful? Dow at 30,000!

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

(CLICK HERE FOR NEXT WEEK'S MOST NOTABLE EARNINGS RELEASES!)

(CLICK HERE FOR NEXT WEEK'S HIGHEST VOLATILITY EARNINGS RELEASES!)

Below are some of the notable companies coming out with earnings releases this upcoming trading week ahead which includes the date/time of release & consensus estimates courtesy of Earnings Whispers:

Monday 11.30.20 Before Market Open:

(CLICK HERE FOR MONDAY'S PRE-MARKET EARNINGS TIME & ESTIMATES!)

Monday 11.30.20 After Market Close:

(CLICK HERE FOR MONDAY'S AFTER-MARKET EARNINGS TIME & ESTIMATES LINK!)

Tuesday 12.1.20 Before Market Open:

(CLICK HERE FOR TUESDAY'S PRE-MARKET EARNINGS TIME & ESTIMATES!)

Tuesday 12.1.20 After Market Close:

(CLICK HERE FOR TUESDAY'S AFTER-MARKET EARNINGS TIME & ESTIMATES!)

Wednesday 12.2.20 Before Market Open:

(CLICK HERE FOR WEDNESDAY'S PRE-MARKET EARNINGS TIME & ESTIMATES!)

Wednesday 12.2.20 After Market Close:

(CLICK HERE FOR WEDNESDAY'S AFTER-MARKET EARNINGS TIME & ESTIMATES!)

Thursday 12.3.20 Before Market Open:

(CLICK HERE FOR THURSDAY'S PRE-MARKET EARNINGS TIME & ESTIMATES!)

Thursday 12.3.20 After Market Close:

(CLICK HERE FOR THURSDAY'S AFTER-MARKET EARNINGS TIME & ESTIMATES!)

Friday 12.4.20 Before Market Open:

([CLICK HERE FOR FRIDAY'S PRE-MARKET EARNINGS TIME & ESTIMATES!]())

(NONE.)

Friday 12.4.20 After Market Close:

([CLICK HERE FOR FRIDAY'S AFTER-MARKET EARNINGS TIME & ESTIMATES!]())

(NONE.)

Zoom Video Communications, Inc. $471.61

Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (ZM) is confirmed to report earnings at approximately 4:05 PM ET on Monday, November 30, 2020. The consensus earnings estimate is $0.75 per share on revenue of $694.51 million and the Earnings Whisper ® number is $0.99 per share. Investor sentiment going into the company's earnings release has 80% expecting an earnings beat The company's guidance was for earnings of $0.73 to $0.74 per share on revenue of $685.00 million to $690.00 million. Consensus estimates are for year-over-year earnings growth of 971.43% with revenue increasing by 316.89%. The stock has drifted higher by 7.3% from its open following the earnings release to be 72.1% above its 200 day moving average of $274.11. Overall earnings estimates have been revised higher since the company's last earnings release. On Wednesday, November 18, 2020 there was some notable buying of 4,957 contracts of the $500.00 call expiring on Friday, December 4, 2020. Option traders are pricing in a 15.3% move on earnings and the stock has averaged a 15.3% move in recent quarters.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Salesforce $247.63

Salesforce (CRM) is confirmed to report earnings at approximately 4:05 PM ET on Tuesday, December 1, 2020. The consensus earnings estimate is $0.75 per share on revenue of $5.25 billion and the Earnings Whisper ® number is $0.83 per share. Investor sentiment going into the company's earnings release has 80% expecting an earnings beat The company's guidance was for earnings of $0.73 to $0.74 per share. Consensus estimates are for year-over-year earnings growth of 25.00% with revenue increasing by 16.33%. Short interest has increased by 47.7% since the company's last earnings release while the stock has drifted lower by 1.7% from its open following the earnings release to be 23.9% above its 200 day moving average of $199.80. Overall earnings estimates have been revised higher since the company's last earnings release. On Wednesday, November 18, 2020 there was some notable buying of 8,759 contracts of the $260.00 call and 8,560 contracts of the $260.00 put expiring on Friday, December 18, 2020. Option traders are pricing in a 8.1% move on earnings and the stock has averaged a 6.9% move in recent quarters.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

At Home Group Inc. $19.14

At Home Group Inc. (HOME) is confirmed to report earnings at approximately 4:05 PM ET on Tuesday, December 1, 2020. The consensus earnings estimate is $0.63 per share on revenue of $470.00 million and the Earnings Whisper ® number is $0.67 per share. Investor sentiment going into the company's earnings release has 55% expecting an earnings beat. Consensus estiamtes are for year-over-year revenue growth of 47.46%. Short interest has increased by 9.6% since the company's last earnings release while the stock has drifted higher by 4.8% from its open following the earnings release to be 93.5% above its 200 day moving average of $9.89. Overall earnings estimates have been revised higher since the company's last earnings release. On Tuesday, November 24, 2020 there was some notable buying of 522 contracts of the $18.00 call expiring on Friday, December 18, 2020. Option traders are pricing in a 13.7% move on earnings and the stock has averaged a 26.2% move in recent quarters.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

CrowdStrike, Inc. $150.83

CrowdStrike, Inc. (CRWD) is confirmed to report earnings at approximately 4:05 PM ET on Wednesday, December 2, 2020. The consensus earnings estimate is $0.01 per share on revenue of $213.70 million and the Earnings Whisper ® number is $0.04 per share. Investor sentiment going into the company's earnings release has 80% expecting an earnings beat The company's guidance was for revenue of $211.00 million to $215.00 million. Consensus estimates are for year-over-year earnings growth of 111.11% with revenue increasing by 70.80%. Short interest has increased by 43.9% since the company's last earnings release while the stock has drifted higher by 15.1% from its open following the earnings release to be 51.8% above its 200 day moving average of $99.38. Overall earnings estimates have been revised lower since the company's last earnings release. On Thursday, November 12, 2020 there was some notable buying of 3,249 contracts of the $115.00 put expiring on Friday, June 18, 2021. Option traders are pricing in a 11.3% move on earnings and the stock has averaged a 10.7% move in recent quarters.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

DocuSign $226.87

DocuSign (DOCU) is confirmed to report earnings at approximately 4:05 PM ET on Thursday, December 3, 2020. The consensus earnings estimate is $0.14 per share on revenue of $360.38 million and the Earnings Whisper ® number is $0.19 per share. Investor sentiment going into the company's earnings release has 78% expecting an earnings beat The company's guidance was for revenue of $358.00 million to $362.00 million. Consensus estimates are for year-over-year earnings growth of 7.69% with revenue increasing by 44.44%. The stock has drifted lower by 3.0% from its open following the earnings release to be 38.6% above its 200 day moving average of $163.71. Overall earnings estimates have been revised lower since the company's last earnings release. On Friday, November 13, 2020 there was some notable buying of 6,534 contracts of the $180.00 call expiring on Friday, March 19, 2021. Option traders are pricing in a 10.6% move on earnings and the stock has averaged a 11.0% move in recent quarters.

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Dollar General Corporation $218.01

Dollar General Corporation (DG) is confirmed to report earnings at approximately 6:55 AM ET on Thursday, December 3, 2020. The consensus earnings estimate is $1.97 per share on revenue of $8.00 billion and the Earnings Whisper ® number is $2.30 per share. Investor sentiment going into the company's earnings release has 68% expecting an earnings beat. Consensus estimates are for year-over-year earnings growth of 38.73% with revenue increasing by 14.43%. Short interest has increased by 8.9% since the company's last earnings release while the stock has drifted higher by 5.8% from its open following the earnings release to be 16.1% above its 200 day moving average of $187.80. Overall earnings estimates have been revised higher since the company's last earnings release. On Thursday, November 19, 2020 there was some notable buying of 893 contracts of the $220.00 call expiring on Friday, December 4, 2020. Option traders are pricing in a 5.0% move on earnings and the stock has averaged a 5.3% move in recent quarters.

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Momo Inc. $15.12

Momo Inc. (MOMO) is confirmed to report earnings at approximately 4:15 AM ET on Tuesday, December 1, 2020. The consensus earnings estimate is $0.38 per share on revenue of $542.76 million and the Earnings Whisper ® number is $0.42 per share. Investor sentiment going into the company's earnings release has 63% expecting an earnings beat The company's guidance was for revenue of $542.00 million to $557.00 million. Consensus estimates are for earnings to decline year-over-year by 43.28% with revenue decreasing by 12.85%. Short interest has decreased by 25.5% since the company's last earnings release while the stock has drifted lower by 16.7% from its open following the earnings release to be 22.7% below its 200 day moving average of $19.56. Overall earnings estimates have been revised lower since the company's last earnings release. On Friday, November 13, 2020 there was some notable buying of 4,128 contracts of the $19.00 call expiring on Friday, December 4, 2020. Option traders are pricing in a 12.4% move on earnings and the stock has averaged a 6.7% move in recent quarters.

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Marvell Technology Group Ltd. $45.11

Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (MRVL) is confirmed to report earnings at approximately 4:05 PM ET on Thursday, December 3, 2020. The consensus earnings estimate is $0.25 per share on revenue of $750.38 million and the Earnings Whisper ® number is $0.27 per share. Investor sentiment going into the company's earnings release has 78% expecting an earnings beat The company's guidance was for earnings of $0.22 to $0.28 per share on revenue of $712.00 million to $788.00 million. Consensus estimates are for year-over-year earnings growth of 47.06% with revenue increasing by 13.27%. Short interest has increased by 69.3% since the company's last earnings release while the stock has drifted higher by 22.7% from its open following the earnings release to be 36.9% above its 200 day moving average of $32.94. Overall earnings estimates have been revised lower since the company's last earnings release. On Tuesday, November 24, 2020 there was some notable buying of 13,018 contracts of the $50.00 call expiring on Friday, January 15, 2021. Option traders are pricing in a 7.2% move on earnings and the stock has averaged a 5.4% move in recent quarters.

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Autohome Inc. $105.89

Autohome Inc. (ATHM) is confirmed to report earnings at approximately 5:30 AM ET on Monday, November 30, 2020. The consensus earnings estimate is $1.08 per share on revenue of $326.75 million and the Earnings Whisper ® number is $1.10 per share. Investor sentiment going into the company's earnings release has 39% expecting an earnings beat The company's guidance was for revenue of $317.00 million to $323.00 million. Consensus estimates are for year-over-year earnings growth of 31.71% with revenue increasing by 7.62%. Short interest has decreased by 12.8% since the company's last earnings release while the stock has drifted higher by 20.5% from its open following the earnings release to be 25.3% above its 200 day moving average of $84.51. Overall earnings estimates have been revised higher since the company's last earnings release. On Tuesday, November 17, 2020 there was some notable buying of 1,382 contracts of the $90.00 put expiring on Friday, December 18, 2020. Option traders are pricing in a 8.6% move on earnings and the stock has averaged a 5.4% move in recent quarters.

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DISCUSS!

What are you all watching for in this upcoming trading week?
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and a great trading week ahead stocks.

Once again, the Calvary comes to the rescue. Americans can now heave a sigh of relief after months of having to watch their fate hang in the balance as both Democrats and Republicans sparred over stimulus. After foot-dragging and name-calling for several months, Congress decided to approve a $600 stimulus package. However, the incoming Biden administration has promised an additional $1,400 making the total of $2000 in stimulus to be received by Americans.
As expected, some of that money would find its way into the stock market. The explosion of retail trading made possible by apps such as Robinhood and Etoro has meant that more people can trade in stocks for zero or little commission. Flush with cash from the government, people are trying to the stock market to increase their money.
Based on the prevailing macro-economic conditions, financial valuation, and social trends, we have compiled a list of stocks you should be spending your $2000 stimmy on.
DraftKings
As more states become amiable towards online gambling, one of the stocks which would benefit from expected legislation would be DraftKings. The expanding legalization of digital sports betting is an emerging trend. The November election results showed voters in several states largely approved ballot measures that legalized sports betting and other gaming expansion measures.
On the revenue side, DraftKings saw a 98% year-over-year surge to $132.8 million in the latest quarter, reported on Nov. 13. In the quarter, the company raised its full-year 2020 revenue range to $540 million-$560 million, which equates to 25%-30% annual revenue growth.
DraftKings also introduced 2021 revenue guidance of $750 million to $850 million, which equates to 45% year-over-year growth using the midpoints. The resumption of major sports such as the NBA, MLB, and the NHL in the third quarter, as well as the start of the NFL season, has generated tremendous customer engagement and revenue which implies that this stock would definitely see some significant upside.
Square
2020 was a very good year for Square. The company’s share price soared above 250% last year and was one of the pandemic winners in the market. Given the company’s fundamentals, Square's stock price will repeat the type of growth it saw in 2020. The services that Square provides -- particularly its Cash App, which allows people to send and receive money without physical contact -- have become more necessary during these times of social distancing and working from home. Revenue for the Cash App was up a whopping 574% year over year in the third quarter.
The company is also invested in bitcoin having out in seed capital in acquiring bitcoin. With bitcoin estimated to cross the $40,000 mark and possibly running as far as $146,000, this would shore up the company’s reserves.
GM
One reason why investors have been wary of the EV sector is the mounting debt and huge cash burn. This has made investors question the profitability of stocks in the electric vehicle space. With more EV stocks coming through the market through SPACS, investors are already mulling the idea that this may be a bubble. However, one company that many believe to have potential in the EV space is GM. Apart from having the infrastructure necessary to build cars, the company is can leverage its brand to ensure loyalty from customers. In addition, while other EV stocks such as Tesla and NIO may be fully stretched, share prices of General Motors are cheap, plus the company is been raking in profits.
In November, GM announced it plans to invest $27 billion in EV and autonomous vehicles through 2025. GM also plans to release 30 EV models globally by 2025. For comparison, Tesla currently has exactly four EV models. Earlier this week, the company signed a deal with Microsoft for its autonomous vehicles. GM continues to execute well on its Core and Future businesses and remains one of the best-positioned companies in our coverage over the long run. The stock is a good buy for the long haul.
AMD
As the digitalization of the world continues at an astronomic pace, microchips would continue to play a more prominent role. Already, there is a shortage of chips worldwide which means demand and prices would surge. One company poised to benefit from this growing demand is AMD. The company has managed to chip away at Intel's CPU dominance thanks to its superior product line, which is based on a smaller manufacturing node, allowing it to deliver better computing performance and reduce power consumption. The use of chips would continue to grow as more people are drawn to cryptocurrency mining, online gaming, and data center storage. AMD was one of the biggest winners in2020, and the trend is expected to continue well into this year. It is also one stock that may not be affected by the rotation into value as microchips would continue to be in demand.
TSM
Taiwan Semiconductor is a dedicated foundry that manufactures semiconductors for other companies. It aims to lead in both semiconductor technology and manufacturing, providing an open collaboration platform to build enduring trust with its customers.
The core strategy of Taiwan Semiconductor is its flexible business model. TSM does not need to design its own chips and prove its performance against the competitors; it only has to provide the technology and base for producers looking to make the best and fastest chips suited to their products' needs. By maintaining high-quality manufacturing processes and offering a collaborative platform to its customers, Taiwan Semiconductor ensures that it caters to producers across the spectrum even as technology rapidly evolves.
The company has experienced strong growth: From 2015 to 2019, net revenue increased by a solid 26.9%, while net income increased 12.7%. However, as smart technology has become ever more central to lives the company's growth has begun to heat up. In Q3 2020, the company boosted its net revenue by 21.6% year over year, while net income increased by 35.9%.
ETSY
Etsy provides an online e-commerce platform where creators of arts and crafts, vintage items, and other unique goods go to sell their products. Etsy has something that many high-growth companies don't -- a profitable business model. It boasts a trailing-12-month operating margin of 16%, making this unique online marketplace a buy today even at its premium valuation. It has outmaneuvered eBay (EBAY), avoided the Amazon (AMZN) crush, and dodged competition from Overstock.com (OSTK) and Wayfair (W).
When it reported third-quarter results on Oct. 28, Etsy reported a 128% leap in revenue to $451 million, well above Wall Street estimates of $412.7 million. Adjusted earnings came in at 70 cents, vs. estimates of 57 cents. In addition, gross merchandise sales jumped 119% to $2.6 billion.
Sunpower
Interest in renewable energy sources has soared immensely and continues to rise with each passing day. Two key forces are behind this surge: Increased awareness and urgency to address climate change, and falling costs of generation using renewables. Among renewable sources, solar energy looks most promising, due to its more predictable generation pattern. Solar's share in electricity generation is expected to rise from roughly 3% currently to more than 20% by 2050. SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR) is one stock poised to benefit from these trends.
With a huge government push, California leads the way in solar adoption. Still, only 9% of homes in California have solar installations, representing a huge untapped market. In the new homes segment, SunPower has headway, having already worked with 18 of the top 20 builders in California. The company captures more than half of California's new homes market.
Its low-cost model positions it well to compete on pricing. The company can leverage its vast customer base to sell its storage products. Moreover, its leading position in the commercial and California's new homes market provide SunPower an edge over others in these segments.
PLUG
Plug power provides hydrogen fuel cell turnkey solutions to electric mobility and stationary power markets. The company continues innovating end-to-end hydrogen fuel solutions by harnessing its unique capabilities and is the largest buyer of liquid hydrogen in North America.
Though the company has not posted any profit, many hedge funds are bullish on the stock, with analysts having high recommendations. The company’s $1.5bn deal with South Korean conglomerate SK Group into American hydrogen company has certainly drawn a lot of attention, with many investors gauging the company’s profitability.
Plug Power’s core business is providing fuel cell-powered forklifts for commercial customers. However, it has expanded to hydrogen production following its acquisition of two hydrogen companies.
These acquisitions expand the plug’s addressable market which has already exceeded $30 billion. The resulting vertical integration of the acquisitions makes Plug Power an even stronger company as can now provide the hydrogen that powers its vehicles.
This definitely allows Plug to leverage on its already existing customer base which includes some of the best companies in the country. Plug Power raised its 2024 guidance to $1.2 billion in revenue and $200 million in operating income. Shares of PLUG have risen by 111% in the last month.
Tesla
Returning to the green-energy theme, Tesla is one stock that has significant upside. The company is positioned to benefit from the clean energy drive of the Biden administration. Apart from that, Tesla is the leader in its sector and continues to increase its delivery numbers. Tesla is now the most valuable auto company in the world. It has recently surpassed Facebook (FB) by market capitalization. The stock has recently received upgrades from analysts and if the EV market continues to evolve, Tesla would continue to be in the pole position, which gives it significant market share and of course revenue.
GrowGeneration Corp.
For those looking at balance sheets and income statements, GrowGeneration Corp is one highly profitable marijuana stock to watch in 2021. The company has the largest chain of specialty hydroponic and organic garden centers in the U.S. with 36 storefront locations. In essence, the company supplies products necessary for growing cannabis and works closely with major marijuana companies in the U.S. market.
Shares of Grow Generation returned a whopping 880.98% in 2020, posting the fastest-growing quarterly results in the industry. It is expected that the company would continue its momentum this year. The shares of the company have so far risen by 20% this year.
Additionally, the company continued strategic acquisition and expansion plans in the quarter, giving GrowGen more growth potential for 2021. It was easily one of the best performing cannabis stocks for 2020. In essence, GRWG stock showed greater market stability than other pot stocks in the U.S. in 2020.
Thanks for reading!
Checkout Afroxyz's page for more.

In my last post I want over the bit of psychology that we can expect to have used against us in the coming weeks. Now in this one I want to go into some of the fundamentals of the company. As I've not seen this posted, and I can't post on WSB since I got banned for 60 days when the mods changed, I will post it here, feel free to distribute in other groups.
GameStop has put in some new meat, namely:Ryan CohenAlan AttalJim Grube
All three have been with Chewy for quite a bit, taking the public stock from 29 usd to 110 in less then a year.... in pet food, this is nothing short of amazing.
Ryan Cohen took a small idea and made it a big thing, and he has an eye for business. he invested in 6 million shares at $8+-And as far as I can read he is interested in GameStop for the long run, meaning he thinks the customer experience is the main thing and that's it's the most important thing
Alan Attal, COO/CMo at chewy. Some basic info from his Linkdin profile really sums up everything I was able to find about this man. Strategic and action-oriented entrepreneur with experience building Chewy from the ground up into the fastest growing multibillion dollar e-commerce company. The company sold for $3.3b in 2017, the largest e-commerce acquisition to date. Successfully built and led large scale teams across the entire organization, focusing on marketing, e-commerce, customer service, operations, and fulfillment.
- Strategy & Execution- Brand Marketing- Acquisition and Digital Marketing- UX/UI- Customer Service- Operations & Fulfillment- Product Development- Private Label
This basically comes back to the same as before, branding, digital marketing and customer experience is very important for this person, as he most likely realizes that this is the main part on how to build customer loyalty.
Jim Grube, CFOA history as a Director of finance at amazon 2007/2009, senior VP at the Hilton 2009-2015, CFO at Chewy from 2015-2018, Vacasa CFO for North America’s largest vacation property management company 2018-2020This seems to be the guy you call in when shit go's sideways to reorganize and get everything back on the up and up. And he is still heavily invested in the travel Trifecta of Hotels, Planes, Rental Cars and e-commerce.
​
Given these three people it leads me to believe that the GameStop as we once knew it is dead, there will be an entirely new GameStop made in the next year or 2. all three of these guys are heavily involved in the digital revolution of companies and turning them around from a losing company to healthy profitable companies.
Now some people a lot of people have brushed over but is important to mention none the less. These people got appointed around april 2020, so they have been working on planning (as the stores where closed around the world before anything could be implemented)
Reggie Fils-Aime, ex nintendo
William Simon, who previously served as president and CEO of Walmart
James Symancyk, who has served as president and CEO of PetSmart
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some info on them as well as this is important to know:
Reginald “Reggie” Fils-Aimé,is an accomplished media and technology executive who brings more than 35 years of experience transforming companies, revitalizing brands and reshaping industries. From 2006 to 2019, he served as President and COO of Nintendo of America, Inc. During his tenure, Mr. Fils-Aimé focused on the development and launch of industry re-defining products, including the Nintendo DS, Wii, Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Switch, quadrupling the company’s revenue from 2005 to 2010, and oversaw the successful implementation of the company’s digital strategy. He previously served as Nintendo of America’s EVP of Sales and Marketing from 2003 to 2006. Prior to joining Nintendo, Mr. Fils-Aimé served as SVP of Marketing for VH1 from 2001 to 2003, where he led a strategic shift to appeal to younger consumers that resulted in an increase in ratings of more than 30 percent. Earlier in his career, he held multiple marketing roles at a variety of consumer and manufacturing companies, including the Derby Cycle Corporation, Guinness Import Company, Panda Management Company, Inc., Pizza Hut, Inc. and the Procter & Gamble Company. Mr. Fils-Aimé holds a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Economics from Cornell University. Mr. Fils-Aimé has been appointed as a member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, effective April 20, 2020.
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William Simon,is a seasoned executive with more than 30 years of operational and strategic advisory experience in the retail, consumer and food and beverage industries. Since 2014, he has served as a Senior Advisor at KKR & Co. Mr. Simon previously served in multiple leadership roles at Walmart Inc. from 2006 to 2015, including as President and CEO of Walmart U.S. from 2010 to 2014; EVP and COO of Walmart U.S. from 2007 to 2010; and as EVP, Professional Services and New Business Development from 2006 to 2007. Earlier in his career, Mr. Simon served as VP of Marketing, Beverages at Cadbury Schweppes plc and held leadership roles of increasing responsibility at PepsiCo, Inc., after beginning his career at RJR Nabisco. His current board memberships include Anixter International Inc.; Chico’s FAS; and Darden Restaurants, Inc. Mr. Simon holds an MBA and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Connecticut. Mr. Simon has been appointed as a member of the Audit Committee.
James “J.K.” Symancyk,brings more than 25 years of executive leadership and operational experience in the retail and consumer products industries. He has served as President and CEO of PetSmart, Inc. since 2018. Mr. Symancyk previously served as President and CEO of Academy Sports & Outdoors, Inc., a retail and ecommerce sporting goods chain, from 2015 to 2018. Prior to that, he held leadership roles of increasingly responsibility at Meijer, Inc., a regional supercenter chain store, including as President; COO; and EVP, Merchandising & Marketing. He began his career at Sam’s Club, where he served as Divisional Merchandise Manager, among other roles. His current board memberships include PetSmart and Chewy, Inc., and previously Academy Sports & Outdoors. Mr. Symancyk holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Arkansas. Mr. Symancyk has been appointed a member of the Compensation Committee**.**
Now knowing all that, do you think this company is not worth the money? The idea that it gives me is that this is an apple/amazon like situation. They're not great now, but with the involvement and putting the right people at the right spots at the right time this company can become big as hell. As how not only well trained these people are, a lot of people forget the most important aspect.WHO THEY KNOWThese people are extremely well connected, Amazon, Walmart, PetSmart, Microsoft, Nintendo etc etc etc.This is a point of seeing the worth of a company
And if people like this can see the worth of their new plans (which of course are not public or else the competition could just copy their DD), I think we have not yet seen the end of this.
Regardless of the squeeze, the shorts and everything in between, I think we might be looking at a fortune 500 company getting it's boots tied before joining the race.
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Edit: as Th3-Plug just pointed out I forgot about Matt Francis
Matt Francis, CTO He will join GameStop on Feb 15th, from his Linkdin: Seasoned, customer focused product and technology leader with demonstrated experience delivering complex initiatives. Expert at building high-performing teams and delivering transformational results. Skilled in large footprint cloud based infrastructure, highly-scalable systems, Big Data systems and agile methodologies. Hands on experience building systems in AWS and Google Cloud using cutting edge architectures.
Core Skills: • Sr. leadership, strategic goal setting, and metrics driven management. • Team building, mentoring, skill development and individual performance management. • Product roadmap development, OKR definition and delivery. • Cloud native software architecture, micro-service architecture. • Distributed systems design on cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCE). • Big Data and Data Analytics systems. • CI/CD, SCM, DevOps & DevTools, and alerting and monitoring platform
This guy seems to be all about the digital aspect, even if you look into his background he has years of experience when it comes to cloud services and data analysis. This in itself seems to point at GME trying to become more then just plain old brick and mortar, but maybe something to integrate into steam/online play like action.
as for his work experience seems to point at digitizing non digital companies, and he even left Amazon as Engineering leader (AWS) to join GameStop. Why would someone leave an amazingly secure job (not to mention lucrative) if there wasn't a bigger plan at play
This isn't financial advice just some stuff I found and thought should be shared.
If you have any other aspects of the company you want me to take a closer look at feel free to post

"FubuTV DD" [BULLISH] {FUBU}

• Full credit to u/AlbibiG. The original post was posted on February 8th 2021. Enjoy. -

Introduction
“FuboTV ($FUBO) is an American streaming television service that focuses primarily on channels that distribute live sports, including NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS and international soccer, plus news, network television series and movies.
Launched on January 1, 2015 as a soccer streaming service, FuboTV changed to an all-sports service in 2017 and then to a virtual multichannel video programming distributor (vMVPD) model. As a vMVPD, FuboTV still calls itself sports-first but its expanded channel lineup targets cord cutters, offering a selection of major cable channels and OTT-originated features that can be streamed through smart TVs, mobile and tablets and the web. The service is available in the United States, Canada and Spain as of 2018."
From their home page:
They are the only competitors in their space of digital sports broadcasting, offer 4K streaming and upscaling of live sports, cloud DVR capability ranging from 250 or 1000 hours on standard plans, and is available on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Samsung Smart TVs, Xbox One, Android TV, Android Smart TVs, and Android/iOS smartphones and tablets, with plans ranging from $24.99/month to $79.99/month (not including add-ons).
They have also recently acquired one company and have made plans to acquire another to allow for in-house sports betting. They have stated in a press release that they plan to release a sportsbook before the end of the year. This will push them into a broader spectrum outside of only TV and sports streaming, and into the sports betting sector along with DraftKings ($DKNG), FanDuel ($PDYPY), and Penn National Gaming ($PENN).
Plans and Add-ons
FuboTV offers three standardized plans as of February 8, 2021: the Family plan is priced at $64.99/month (normally $75.97/month), Elite at $79.99/month (normally $100.95/month), and Latino Quarterly at $24.99/month, along with offering additional add-ons. Each plan offers a range of channels, cloud DVR capabilities (which allows fast-forwarding through commercials), and casting to multiple devices simultaneously. Only the Elite plan does not offer a 7-day free trial (Channels page).
The Family plan includes 117 channels (mostly news and entertainment with roughly 40 that offer sports, including ESPN), up to 250 hours of DVR space, and casting to 3 devices at once. The quarterly prepaid includes a free upgrade to 1000 hours of DVR space and 5 casting devices at home with 3 on the go (Channels page).
The Elite plan includes 164 channels (includes an additional “47 entertainment channels”), up to 1000 hours of DVR space, and casting to 5 devices at home with 3 on the go. This plan does not offer a quarterly prepaid (Channels page).
The Latino Quarterly plan includes 250 hours of DVR space and can be streamed on up to 3 devices at once, but only has 32 channels. This plan needs to be prepaid every 3 months for a total charge of $74.97 and does not offer a monthly service (Channels page).
Upgrades include additional DVR space--1000 hours for an additional $6.99/month for the Family and Latino Quarterly--and increased device casting--an additional 2 devices at home with 3 on the go for another $9.99/month for the Family and Latino Quarterly plans. You can also add a variety of channels and sports packages (the Latino Quarterly has fewer channel add-ons compared to the Family and Elite plans, which both have the same channel varieties). Sports Plus with NFL RedZone is an additional $10.99/month, but includes all professional and college sports broadcasting services for football, basketball, baseball, hockey, tennis, fighting, etc. (Channels page).
Fubo has recently removed its former Standard plan, which included only 65 channels, up to 2 casting devices, and only 30 hours of DVR support for $60/month.
Financials and Growth
Fubo has yet to file an annual report as they have gone public in October of 2020, but they have filed a 10-Q for Q3 2020. All numbers in thousands.
Assets-
Between December 31, 2019 and September of 2020, assets have increased from $368,225 to $799,313 (a 117% increase) . Total current assets increased from $17,973 to $58,016, but accounts receivable decreased from $8,904 to $6,975--this may be attributed to the increase in prepaid subscriptions which increased from $1,445 to $12,177 which shows strong customer satisfaction and retention.
Liabilities-
Liabilities have increased from $145,049 to $290,376 (a 100% increase). The largest contributors to their liabilities are “Due to related parties” increasing from $665 to $85,847, “Warrant liabilities” increasing from $24 to $28,085, and “Accounts payable” from $36,373 to $61,679. Long-term borrowings have decreased from $43,982 to $25,905.
Revenues-
Subscription revenues increased by $53,433, totaling $92,945 for the year. Total revenues including advertisements and licensing have increased by $61,202, totaling $112,669 for the year and an increase of 47% YOY. Q4 revenue is estimated to be between $94,000 and $98,000 which would be a *77-84% *increase YOY.
Expenses-
Subscriber related expenses total $114,315 for the year. Total expenses have totaled $500,249 for the year.
Subscribers-
Ended Q3 with 455,000 paid subscribers, a YOY increase of 58%, and plans to end 2020 with over 545,000, an increase of 72% YOY.
Competition
Its closest competitors are Hulu + Live TV (owned by Disney ($DIS)), YouTube TV (owned by Alphabet ($GOOG)), and Sling TV (owned by Dish Network ($DISH)).
Hulu + Live TV

• Includes league networks
• 50 hours of free DVR (200 hours for $9.99/month)
• More than 74 channels
• Unskippable ads on DVR without upgrade to 200 hours
• 2 streams at a time
• $64.99/month
• Can add ESPN+ and Disney+ for an additional $7/month

YouTube TV

• Includes league networks
• Unlimited DVR storage
• More than 85 channels plus YouTube Red Originals
• 3 streams at a time
• Sports Plus package for an additional $10.99/month
• NBA LeaguePass for an additional $40/month or $119.99 annually
• Starting at $64.99/month

Sling TV Blue

• Includes league networks
• DVR up to 50 hours (200 hours for $5/month)
• More than 45 channels
• 3 streams at a time
• Sports Extra package for an additional $11/month
• Starting $35/month
• Can be combined with Sling TV Orange for a total of $50/month

Sling TV Orange

• Includes league networks
• DVR up to 50 hours (200 hours for $5/month)
• More than 30 channels
• 1 stream at a time
• Sports Extra package for an additional $11/month
• Starting at $35/month
• Can be combined with Sling TV Blue for a total of $50/month

The vMVPD Sector
Cord-cutting has become increasingly popular over the last few years with consumers dropping traditional cable and satellite networks in favor of streaming services--such as Hulu, Netflix, Disney+, etc.--and vMVPD services.
In 2019 alone, 6.3 million people cut their cable connection, totaling 39.3 million. In a survey of what they might miss most from cable networks, 52% said they don’t miss anything, 23% missed live events on TV, 22% missed news, and 19% missed live sports. Although not all of those that miss aspects of cable will pay for another subscription service, the sentiment exists for a sports-focused platform that offers other large networks as well.
Another report by Parks Associates reveals that 17% of vMVPD subscribers switched from traditional TV within the last twelve months. In the same report, a survey conducted on current broadband households determined that 43% were “likely to switch to a… vMVPD within the next 12 months." The potential growth exists for the live digital broadcasting space, although it is slowing down.
With the spread of COVID and quarantines, people have been spending more time at home. When things open and quarantines end, that will be the true test for these providers as people will spend less time watching TV.
The Sports Betting Sector
Legal sports betting has taken a huge leap in recent years with the introduction of online sports betting; the ability to place wagers from anywhere at any time and have instant gratification has boomed with its slow legalization. This sector has a forecasted value of $150 billion with other competitors already having a completed project and vast market share. In 2019, DraftKings ($DKNG) and FanDuel (PDYPY) controlled 83% of the market share.
FuboTV plans to join into this space with its own sportsbook. Their recent acquisition of Balto Sports in December of 2020, whose business was in simulating fantasy sports games, is Fubo’s first step into sports wagering. They plan to create a free-to-play gaming system alongside online sports wagering.
Their next planned acquisition, which was announced in January of 2021, will be to acquire Vigtory, a sports betting and interactive gaming company. According to BusinessWire, they plan to utilize Vigtory’s “sportsbook platform and digital gaming assets, and its consumer-driven betting technology, to develop a frictionless betting experience for fubo’s customers."
These recent acquisitions set Fubo up to create an all-in-one viewing and betting experience, which could add new customers to their subscriber list and seal them into online wagering.
It has been over two years since the Supreme Court has denied the federal ban on sports betting, which would have made online betting illegal in all of the United States. Currently, more than two dozen states have legalized sports betting, but most have only legalized in-person betting. More states may be willing to legalize to take advantage of the increased revenues and taxes associated with gambling and online wagering. As of 2020, six additional states plan to legalize some form of betting, although some are only allowing in-person. There are an additional 14 states that are considering the notion to allow legal gambling, whether in-person, online, or tribal.
Management and Investors
David Gandler - CEO / Director / Co-Founder
Appointed as CEO and director in April of 2020. Prior to Fubo, Gandler had a 15 year career in marketing and advertising in local broadcast and cable TV within both general and Hispanic markets at companies such as Time Warner, Telemundo, and Scripps Networks Interactive.
Alberto Horihuela - CMO / Co-founder
In charge of marketing, Horihuela was head of Latin America for SVOD service DramaFever.
Simone Nardi - CFO
Nardi has worked as SVP and CFO of Scripps Networks Interactive where he was responsible for the finance and strategic planning for the company’s international business. Was also a key player in refinancing TVN S.A.’s billion dollar debt.
Large Investors

• Islet Management, LP with 5,108124 shares
• Morgan Stanley with 3,317,333 shares
• FMR LLC with 1,262,907 shares
• BlackRock Inc. with 956,678 shares
• Merger with FaceBank for $100 million revolving credit

Analysts and Estimates
Average analyst ratings put Fubo at a Buy to Strong Buy rating with an average price target of $45.50 with a high of $60 and a low of $30. EPS estimates are estimated to be -5.23 for 2020 and -1.64 for 2021.
Currently has a short float of about 75%, but the short volume has been holding at roughly 15-20% over the last month and has drastically declined from its October short volume of over 50%.
Originally valued at $700 million less than a year ago, a current valuation of $3.19 billion is respectable for this company and is on par for its current performance.
Risks

• Marketing fails and Fubo is never known as a household name, so consumers stick with other more known providers
• Their sportsbook fails and becomes dead weight and wasted money
• Subscriber count and streaming drops as quarantine lifts, reducing revenues while maintaining expenses
• Consumers opt for cheaper options
• People paying for the sports package cancel when the season is over, creating a boom and bust cycle if not managed correctly

Final Thoughts / TL;DR
With its drastic growth over the last year (400% in the last 4 months), support from FaceBank and well-known investors, and plans to join the sports betting sector, FuboTV has potential to become a household name and grow well beyond its current valuation by combining both sports broadcasting and online sports betting into one convenient place. Although unlikely to overthrow any of the current forces, it can become the best live sports broadcaster that people can turn to when they cut cable but want to keep live sports. It has many hurdles to overcome (creating their sportsbook, better marketing, increasing subscriber count, etc.) before it is any real competition to its already established competition.
At a $3.19 billion market cap and very high (75%) short interest, it will be very difficult to realize consistent growth, but it is on par for a company with almost $100 million in revenue.
My Position
25 shares at $47.30
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Edit: edited final thoughts/TL;DR
Please provide feedback! First time actually researching and compiling information for a company and not just reading about them on here. Also, please ask questions to clear up any confusion; it was kinda hard to put everything together neatly, so I might have accidentally left stuff out or oveunder explained some things.