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Hello and happy Sunday! Here’s what’s in store in today’s edition:

• Lucid’s fall: Once soaring, now sinking, as the EV maker struggles with financial challenges.

• Meta’s layoffs: Zuckerberg’s “efficiency era” continues as Meta cuts more jobs.

• Global birth trends: A look at where populations are rising and where they’re slowing down.

• The Ivy League ticket: How parents are spending $200K to get their kids into top-tier schools.

• Netflix’s growth: The streaming giant sees a subscriber surge and strong financials.

Once Soaring, Now Sinking

Lucid Group, once valued at $90 billion, is facing a sharp decline, with shares plunging nearly 15% after announcing it needs to raise $1.7 billion through a stock sale. The EV maker also warned that its third-quarter losses would be higher than expected, as it struggles to keep up with the likes of Tesla and BYD. With other EV startups like Fisker and Faraday Future also floundering, Lucid's road ahead looks challenging. 🚨

Meta’s “Efficiency Era” Rolls On

Meta is back in layoff mode, cutting jobs across departments like WhatsApp, Reality Labs, and Instagram. 👋 👋 Though these cuts seem more focused than previous rounds, it's part of the ongoing “efficiency era” that CEO Mark Zuckerberg declared in 2023. After peaking at 86,000 employees in 2022 and undergoing multiple rounds of layoffs, Meta is now realigning its resources toward AI, despite adding 4,000 jobs earlier this year.

Baby Boom and Bust

The graphic above breaks down birth trends by global region from 1950 to 2023, with data from the UN World Population Prospects 2024. Key highlights show a rapid rise in births across Africa,📈 while Asia’s birth rate has been dropping since 2012. 📉 In contrast, birth numbers in Europe, Northern America, and Latin America have stayed fairly steady, though slight declines are now being seen in Latin America and Europe.

The $200K Ticket to Ivy League

College consultants are cashing in big time, with some parents shelling out up to $200,000 for services like tutoring, interview coaching, and essay guidance — all aimed at getting their kids into top-tier schools like Harvard or Brown. Jamie Beaton’s company, Crimson Education, is leading the charge, helping 2% of Harvard’s incoming class of 2028 land a spot. The college consulting market has ballooned to $2.9 billion, 🏫💰 driven by increasingly cutthroat competition for elite schools, where acceptance rates are now as low as 3.6%. It's a high-stakes game, and only the well-heeled seem to be winning.

Netflix’s Subscriber Boom Continues

Netflix gained 5.1 million paid subscribers in Q3 2024, bringing its total to a massive 282.7 million globally—a 14% year-over-year increase. The streaming giant exceeded Wall Street expectations, reporting earnings per share of $5.40 and $9.83 billion in revenue, both above forecasts. Free cash flow for the quarter came in strong at $2.2 billion.

While Netflix held off on a U.S. price hike, it increased rates in regions like Europe and Japan and will phase out its "Basic" plan in Brazil. Netflix’s ad-supported tier is also growing fast, accounting for over 50% of new sign-ups in ad regions, with ad plan membership up 35% quarter over quarter. Engagement remains high, with viewers watching an average of two hours a day.🍿🍿