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Hello and happy Sunday! Today’s Brunch covers big wins, tough challenges, and rising resilience across industries. Here’s what we’re diving into:

• Air travel’s safety boost: Despite Boeing’s tough year, a new study shows flying is safer than ever.

• Boeing’s financial woes: Production disruptions and strikes deepen losses for the aviation giant.

• Netflix’s profit climb: The streaming giant sees impressive margin growth alongside subscriber gains.

• Retail resilience: September’s strong sales data suggests recession fears may be overblown.

• Corporate efficiency peaks: S&P 500 companies are hitting record margins, especially in tech.

Safety Win for Air Travel

Boeing reported a hefty $6 billion in Q3 losses after a challenging year marked by safety scares, including a Boeing 737 Max incident. Despite these setbacks, a new MIT study led by Professor Arnold Barnett reveals air travel is actually safer than ever. The global risk of a fatal flight dropped significantly, from 1 in 350,000 in the late ‘60s to just 1 in 13.7 million between 2018-2022. The research highlights regional variations, with countries like the U.S. and EU nations among the safest. ✈️ 😎 While flying remains one of the safest modes of travel, Boeing’s Q3 performance shows there’s still turbulence in the industry.

Boeing’s Toughest Year Yet

Boeing’s financial struggles deepened in 2024, with nearly $8 billion in losses for the year so far, including a rough $6.2 billion hit in Q3 alone — one of its worst quarters on record. 😔 Production disruptions, a rejected machinist contract, and strikes at Seattle-area assembly plants have intensified the challenges. Workers are holding out for a 40% raise and pension reinstatement, but Boeing’s offer of a 35% raise hasn’t sealed the deal, extending a strike that’s over five weeks long.

New CEO Kelly Ortberg plans significant changes, announcing a 10% workforce cut as Boeing’s losses continue — marking six consecutive years in the red since the 737 Max tragedies and pandemic-driven downturn. Yet, Boeing’s hefty backlog of 6,259 orders shows demand is still strong, even as they navigate tough headwinds.

Netflix’s Margin Magic

Netflix is not just gaining subscribers — it's finally gaining some major profit traction. In Q3 2024, the company’s operating margin hit nearly 30%, up 8 percentage points from last year. This puts Netflix on track to reach a 27% margin for the full year, a jump from 21% in 2023 and a sign of its commitment to balancing content spending with long-term profit.

“We see plenty of room to increase our margins over the long term,” said CFO Spencer Neumann, pointing to the company’s steady climb in profitability as a new standard. With over 280 million subscribers now fueling a larger revenue base, Netflix has space to boost profits without compromising on the big-budget hits that keep viewers coming back. It’s a positive trend that has investors smiling. 😊💰

Still Worried About A Recession?

U.S. retail sales surprised analysts in September, jumping 0.4% over the previous month, according to Census Bureau estimates. Total sales across stores, online shopping, and restaurants hit $714.4 billion, a healthy bump from August’s minimal 0.1% increase. Year-over-year, retail sales saw a 1.9% boost, even outpacing inflation slightly in September. 🛍️ 📈

What’s behind it? Consumers continue to show steady demand, fueling about 70% of GDP and signaling that fears of a recession may be premature. In the past three years, total retail and food sales are up 15.1% in dollar terms — a gain largely driven by higher prices rather than increased volume. But the fact that buying behavior has held steady is a testament to consumer resilience, even as inflation affects purchasing power.

Corporate America at Peak Efficiency

Corporate America has never been more efficient at converting sales into profits, especially among the S&P 500 giants. 💸 💸 As of now, the benchmark index’s forward profit margin has reached an impressive 13.65%, topping April 2022’s previous high. The technology sector, leading the charge, saw margins climb to 27.4%, up from 25.2%, with communications and consumer discretionary close behind.

In plain terms: companies like Meta, Alphabet, and Amazon are showing investors how good they are at turning our spending into their profits. And with no signs of this efficiency trend slowing, Wall Street is bullish on the future of corporate profits.