🚬 Big Tobacco’s Smokeless Boom

Hey Nutshellers 🌰 — Wall Street’s playing hot potato with rumors, Big Tobacco is puffing on surprising gains, and Google just made history (again). Let’s crack open today’s biggest stories.

✋ Warner Bros.: Time to Cash Out?

“TD Cowen says the easy money’s gone.”

Warner Bros. Discovery ($WBD) has been on a Hollywood-style tear 🎬 — soaring 67% this month thanks to buyout rumors from Paramount Skydance. But TD Cowen just downgraded the stock to Hold.

Why? Simple: The rally’s running on speculation, not fundamentals. The analysts warn that if the rumored bid doesn’t happen, WBD could “quickly round-trip” back to $11–$12/share.

👉 Translation: The risk/reward here stinks. Cowen’s basically saying, “don’t gamble your popcorn money on this cliffhanger.”

🚬 Big Tobacco’s Smokeless Boom

“Old habits die hard… and pay even harder.”

Despite smoking rates at historic lows, Big Tobacco stocks are torching the S&P 500 this year. How? By swapping ash for pouches.

• US regulators just fast-tracked nicotine pouch approvals, shrinking timelines from years to months.

• The sector’s riding a 43% average YTD return vs. the S&P’s ~12%.

• Philip Morris ($PM) jumped 37% on runaway demand for Zyn, while Altria ($MO) gained 27%.

Smokeless is the new smoke: Turning Point Brands ($TPB) is up 70% YTD, British American Tobacco ($BTI) +53%, and Japan Tobacco ($JAPAY) +25%.

Even better (or worse, depending how you see it): Studies show ex-smokers are adopting nicotine pouches at 4x the rate of non-users. Big Tobacco’s new lifeline? Helping people quit.

🗞️ Other News You Should Know

• ⚛️ US–UK Nuclear Pact: A $54B tie-up promises cheaper bills, new jobs, and less reliance on Russian energy. Washington and London are calling it the “golden age of nuclear power.” Big claim, small print TBD.

• 📉 Trump Wants to Kill Quarterly Earnings: The president says reporting twice a year will “free managers to actually manage.” Critics say it leaves investors flying blind. Expect Wall Street to lobby hard against it.

• 🤖 Google Joins the $3T Club: Alphabet ($GOOGL) dodged almost every antitrust case, juiced AI upgrades, and posted 14% revenue growth. Now it’s rubbing shoulders with Nvidia, Microsoft, and Apple in the $3 trillion league.

Together with Money

Gold Expected to Hit $4,000/oz by 2026

Gold could hit $4,000 an ounce by 2026, according to experts. Why? Demand is surging – both from investors looking for a safe haven and from central banks stocking up. Add in concerns about U.S. debt and global instability, and gold is looking more attractive than ever. If you're looking to get in, Gold IRAs are a great way to own physical gold while retaining a traditional IRA’s tax benefits.  Here’s how it works:

• You can fund it by rolling over or transferring money from an existing IRA or 401(k).

• The metals are stored in an IRS-approved depository.

• Gains are tax-deferred (Traditional) or tax-free on qualified withdrawals (Roth).
  

💡What else are we reading and seeing?

• How AI is exposing the BS economy

• Shein returns to China so they can IPO in Hong Kong

• AI hype is masking recession signals in the economy

• Barclays to revamp trading floors in overhaul of New York HQ

• Blackstone mulls tactic to unleash cash from bets on its peers

• French pensioners now have higher income than working-age adults

• Hundreds of Americans fired for reportedly celebrating Charlie Kirk’s assassination

🌰 The Takeaway

Rumors can make stocks soar (hi, WBD 👋), but it’s the boring, overlooked plays (like smokeless pouches) that often deliver the biggest gains. And as Google reminds us — AI + courtroom wins = rocket fuel.

Thanks for reading Cash Nut! 🥜 See you tomorrow with more financial fun.