Talking Points
Spotify
Spotify announced on Wednesday that music videos are rolling out in beta to Premium users in the U.S. and Canada, after a pilot in nearly 100 markets last year. Reuters called the move a direct challenge to YouTube. The shares rose 3.3% to just over $609 at the close, marking five consecutive sessions of gains. Uber Uber’s shares fell this week after more than 1,500 taxis blocked Barcelona’s Gran Via in a protest led by the Elite Taxi union. Uber continues to face major challenges across Europe, including driver data protection issues and lawsuits over its algorithmic pay systems. In Ireland, drivers staged a recent protest at Uber's guaranteed-fare initiative. Diageo Diageo — owner of Guinness, Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Baileys and Don Julio — ends 2025 with its share price near decade-lows, a new labour dispute in Belfast, and a downgraded outlook. A high-profile incoming CEO faces the challenge of reviving the business. The stock continued to fall this week.
In the Charts
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With oral versions being launched in 2026, and prices dropping, GLP-1 drugs are set to go mainstream in the US. According to a recent survey by KFF, about one in eight adults (up from one in four a year ago) are currently taking a GLP-1 drug such as Ozempic or Wegovy while nearly one in five adults have taken a GLP-1 at some point. GLP-1s are indicated to treat diabetes, obesity and several ‘co-morbidities’ including heart failure. Adoption is highest among women. Affordability remains a hurdle but these concerns will decrease as the largest branded producers, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, are cutting prices and there is ample availability of lower-priced copycats. From an investment perspective, the most direct exposure to the GLP-1 phenomenon has been through shares of the two largest producers, a trade that was highly profitable for several years until, in Novo Nordisk’s case, it precipitously collapsed from June 2024. However, in the coming years we may see both positive and negative secondary impacts, for example in the food and beverage industries as consumers reduce their intake and shift habits, allowing investors plenty of other ways in which to gain (or avoid) exposure.
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