The Sara Eisen Hour -- Philip Morris -- Yeah, That Philip Morris -- Is Up 8% -- October 22, 2024

Locator: 48631SARA.

Market cap: AAPL had too much of a lead at the close yesterday, but with NVDA up today and AAPL down $2.20 in early morning trading, Nvidia's market cap could come close today to inching ahead of Apple today. [Later, NVDA turned negative and AAPL, though negative, has trimmed its losses.

Philip Morris (PM) is up 8% today. One wonders how many director on the board smoke and whether the current CEO smokes cigarettes. Its P/E is exactly in line with the overall market: 22.

GM: up 8% today! Finally GM is being mentioned! Wasn't mentioned in Cramer's first hour. Now mentioned in Sara's first hour. GM's P/E still has a 5-handle. Absolutely amazing. Speaks volumes. If you can find, see Phil LeBeau's segment on GM from this morning on CNBC. Barron's take on GM's 3Q24 earnings. Curious. Let's look at EVs:

• CEO says company on track to meet 2024 EV production and profitability targets
• still expects to manufacture 200,000 EVs in 2024
• through the end of September, GM has sold about 70,000 EVs in US
• EV production and sales "don't match exactly."
• assumption: GM doesn't sell more EVs than it manufactures
• GM press release: 3Q24 -- another record quarter of EV sales;
• 32,095 EV delivered -- that's a record! Wow.
  
• total vehicle sales: 659,601 vehicles
• other sources:
• battery cost, about $100 / kWh earlier this year
• GM may be closer to $90 / kWh now (3Q24)
• goal to mid-$80 by next year ("by next year" = end 2024?)
• goal to low $70 "in a couple of years"
• ICE (GoogleAI):
• average cost of replacing an ICE engine: $2,500 - $5,000
• average cost of replacing an automatic transmission for an ICE: $2,500 - $5,000
• suggesting: GM cost for powertrain for an ICE is about $8,000, tops
• average GM kWH battery:

Continuing, GM's 3Q24 earnings:

• the free cash story phenomenal:
• projected by Wall Street: $3 billion for 3Q24
• actual, for 3Q24: $5.8 billion
• full-year guidance, midpoint: now, $13 billion, up from prior guidance of $10.5 billion

Sara Eisen hour: a mix of facts, factoids, opinions from various sources -- often not cited -- while listening to Sara Eisen's first hour on CNBC.

First thing Sara mentioned: India -- world's fastest growing economy, latest quarter, link here.  See "the book page" below the fold below.

Good, bad, indifferent: this is what the data shows -- with regard to Trump / Harris -- I'm agnostic. Absolutely no interest in the outcome. As a spectator, most interested in the process. But this is what the data shows: a Harris-Walz win will be great news for investors. 

Having said that: one talking head on CNBC suggests that in the last couple of days the tide has turned. The Trump trade is growing -- hedge funds are putting their money in companies that would benefit from a Trump win, putting money where their mouth is -- or at least putting money where the internal polling suggests to put it.

US economy -- the resilience of the American consumer. Exhibit A and B: US ports and house foreclosures -- see graphics below.

Ports: an update on the LA-Long Beach ports. Liz Sonders. Strong, strong, US economy.

Home foreclosures. Liz Sonders. Maybe I'm missing something, this seems incredible and certainly no one was expecting. Not clear whether "total loans" is "total loans" or whether it's only "home loans." If it's "total loans," wow -- at it's worse only 4.5%. Surgeons would know about what I'm talking.

Dot's Pretzels: did Hershey destroy the brand name by introducing a half doze or so differently-flavored pretzels. IYKYK. But, wow, the "original" Dot's Pretzels are simply the best pretzels ever. Period. Dot. Pun intended.

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The Book Page

I ordered this book from Amazon yesterday; should arrive tomorrow. Again, note the price cut. I'm seeing these price cuts across the board at Amazon. These are significant price cuts, 20% to 40%. 

Meanwhile, at Barnes and Noble, no cut in price:

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Disclaimer
Brief Reminder 

• I am inappropriately exuberant about the US economy and the US market.
• I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple. 
• See disclaimer. This is not an investment site. 
• Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment, financial, job, career, travel, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here. All my posts are done quickly: there will be content and typographical errors. If something appears wrong, it probably is. Feel free to fact check everything.
  
• If anything on any of my posts is important to you, go to the source. If/when I find typographical / content errors, I will correct them. 
• Reminder: I am inappropriately exuberant about the US economy and the US market.
• I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple. 
• And now, Nvidia, also. I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Nvidia.
• Longer version here.