Inside Business

Here’s your daily business briefing.

• 🛒 Walmart adds pre-owned goods
• 🧱 Deep Dive: Lego revenue up 13% in H1 2024
• 💊 Eli Lilly debuts cheaper Zepbound

Thanks for reading!

Shriram
p/Shriram

Walmart is expanding its online marketplace to include pre-owned watches, collectible trading cards, and high-end beauty products, aiming to compete with Amazon and eBay. This move supports Walmart's strategy to boost e-commerce and attract more customers, contributing to a 22% increase in U.S. online sales last quarter.

More:

• Walmart's marketplace sales have risen over 30% for four straight quarters, with pet products and beauty categories growing annually by 20% to 30%.
• Walmart’s marketplace has introduced new brands like Cartier and Michael Kors, with Michael Kors handbags becoming top sellers last holiday season.
• Walmart plans to enhance seller verification as demand for sustainable, cost-effective refurbished electronics grows.
• Walmart's fulfillment services are expanding to handle shipping from Asia to the U.S. and now support orders from other websites.
  • At a San Francisco summit, Walmart is highlighting its e-commerce growth and innovation, promoting recent marketplace developments.

Eli Lilly launched a cheaper vial version of its weight-loss drug Zepbound, priced at $399 and $549 for a four-week supply, about half the cost of the original pen. The vials require patients to buy syringes, easing production bottlenecks that have led to shortages, with Zepbound and Novo Nordisk's Wegovy on the FDA's shortages list.

More:

• Eli Lilly's move aims to boost supply and make Zepbound more accessible, especially for uninsured or out-of-pocket patients.
  • The new Zepbound vials will be available via LillyDirect at $399 for 2.5 mg and $549 for 5 mg, compared to $1,060 for the injection pens.
• The weight-loss drug market is expected to hit $130B in annual sales as Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk compete to meet rising demand.
• Eli Lilly raised its revenue forecast on strong Zepbound and Mounjaro sales, while Novo Nordisk cut its profit outlook due to supply issues with Ozempic and Wegovy.
• Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk face competition from cheaper copycat drugs and have filed lawsuits to block compounded versions of their medications.

U.S. home prices hit a record high in June 2024, rising 5.4% YoY on the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index. New York saw the largest gain at 9%, while Portland had the smallest at 0.8%.

More:

• The 10-city composite rose 7.4% annually, and the 20-city composite increased 6.5%, slightly below last month's figures.
• With the National Index averaging 2.8% higher than the Consumer Price Index, the difference between the growth of property prices and inflation is greater than it has historically been.
• Lower-tier homes in cities like Atlanta and New York have surged faster than higher-tier homes, with New York's lower tier rising nearly 20% above the market in five years.
• Despite mortgage rates peaking at 7.5% in June, home prices rose, defying the usual cooling effect.
  • Home prices are expected to ease month-to-month this fall due to seasonal factors and increased inventory but will likely stay above last fall's levels.

In October 2023, nearly 40% of U.S. adults used credit cards or loans to manage rising prices, up from 37% a year earlier, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of Boston report. Gen Z and millennials, particularly those with some college education or earning between $35,000 and $75,000, are most likely to turn to credit in response to inflation, with 34% of adults in job-loss households also using these financial tools.

More:

• Consumer prices rose 2.9% over the 12 months ending in July 2024, the smallest annual increase since April 2021.
• Rising prices continue to affect low-income households and recent job losers, despite easing inflation.
• Consumers are cutting back on dining out, canceling subscriptions, buying less fresh produce and meat, opting for generic brands, and postponing major purchases.
• Credit card debt rose to over $1.14T in Q2 2024, up from $1.03T a year earlier.

Quick Hits:

• Apple announced that CFO Luca Maestri will be replaced by Kevan Parekh on Jan. 1, while Maestri will continue to oversee IT, security, and real estate development teams.
• Stop & Shop will stop selling cigarettes and tobacco products at its 360 stores on August 31 as part of its commitment to community wellness.
• NFL stars Travis and Jason Kelce signed a $100M, three-year podcast deal with Amazon, covering distribution, advertising, and merchandise rights.
• Super Micro shares dropped 23% after delaying its annual report filing, as Hindenburg Research revealed a short position, alleging accounting manipulation.