Plus: How Clase Azul Built A Billion-Dollar Tequila Business Beyond The Top Shelf |
| Good morning, With the TSA expecting to screen nearly 40 million travelers in the next two weeks, patience will be key. Today is one of three days anticipated to have the highest airport passenger volumes, along with December 27 and December 30. And if the past is any indication, that means more delays and cancellations on the busiest days. To stay prepared ahead of any potential weather disruptions, check NOAA’s National Forecast Map. And to breeze through the security line, make sure to leave any gifts unwrapped. Let’s get into the headlines, |
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| As drone sightings have been reported across the eastern U.S., Robin Radar, a drone detection company based in the Netherlands, says its radar can help. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), mentioned the company by name earlier this week at a press conference about the sightings. The company’s CEO said its hardware costs “less than $1 million” per installation, far cheaper than traditional military-style radar, which often has difficulty with identifying something as small as a drone. The House shot down a new funding bill endorsed by President-elect Donald Trump, the latest failed spending bill proposal this week as a potential government shutdown looms. If the new bill fails to pass by midnight Friday night, the government would partially shut down, meaning Medicare applications could cease, hundreds of thousands of federal employees may be furloughed and the number of available air traffic controllers and TSA agents could drop, potentially creating travel delays. MORE: Elon Musk’s opposition to the previous funding bill highlights his growing influence in Washington, and led at least two outspoken Republican members of Congress to catapult him into the conversation for House speaker. It’s not the first time an outsider has been floated for the role, but earlier attempts have failed to gain traction. |
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| | | How Clase Azul Built A Billion-Dollar Tequila Business Beyond The Top Shelf |
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| Over the past three decades, Arturo Lomeli, founder and CEO of super-premium tequila brand Clase Azul, has perfected a playbook that relies on authenticity. He takes a long-term view and has invested vertically, even where it might seem absurd. Analysts in the food industry say that if Clase Azul were to ever sell, the deal would be in the billions. This says as much about the sky-high multiples that spirits trade these days as it does about the strength of Lomeli’s business. Clase Azul says it keeps its finances private. From 200,000 accounts globally, Clase Azul has an estimated annual revenue of $150 million—surpassing the sales Casamigos had when Diageo purchased it in 2017 for $1 billion, or a deal value of 10 times revenue. Forbes estimates Clase Azul could be worth more than $1.5 billion. That’s using a multiple of 10 times sales, which is on the lower end of today’s market, particularly for a tequila brand. Those high multiples match the profitability. Clase Azul’s net income margins are estimated to be above 30%. Gross margins approach 70%. That tops publicly traded spirits conglomerates like $9 billion (sales) Constellation Brands (owner of Svedka and tequilas Casa Noble and Mi Casa) or $20 billion (sales) Diageo (Don Julio tequila, Johnnie Walker and Smirnoff). But don’t expect an acquisition or public offering any time soon—Lomeli says Clase Azul will remain independent and 100% Mexican-owned. |
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| “Clase Azul is the only premium tequila that’s set on remaining independent and 100% Mexican-owned,” says Forbes staff writer Chloe Sorvino. “There’s a lot of short-term interest in trying to profit off tequila in the past five years as it’s become one of the most dynamic sectors of the spirits industry. But Lomeli is in it for the long-term with Clase Azul.” |
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| WEALTH + ENTREPRENEURSHIP |
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| Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott gifted $2 billion to 199 organizations in 2024, she announced Wednesday, bringing her total lifetime giving to an estimated $19.3 billion. Scott, known for her no-strings-attached grants to local organizations, wrote that 75% of the gifts went to “non-profits that support economic security and opportunity of people who are struggling.” |
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| After the Federal Reserve indicated this week that it only expects two rate cuts in 2025, biotech stocks and startups took an immediate hit. Persistent higher interest rates could make it harder to nurture new breakthrough startups, as sectors “with more predictable returns” become more attractive to investors. Ultimately, a market environment that drives investment away from innovation and toward safer, surer bets, means patients can lose out on disease treatments. |
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| Like some of its social media counterparts in the alternate-internet industry, Rumble, a $2 billion video platform that pitches itself as a pro-free speech alternative to YouTube, has struggled to turn a profit. The company, backed by Vice President-elect JD Vance’s former venture capital firm, has lost over $100 million this year, and burned through about two-thirds of the money it raised via its SPAC merger in September 2022. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was disqualified from overseeing the criminal case in Georgia against Trump and his allies, a state appeals court ruled Thursday, delivering a win to the president-elect—even as judges still declined to throw out the case. Trump and others indicted in Georgia asked an appeals court to determine whether Willis should be disqualified from the case due to her romantic relationship with prosecutor Nathan Wade. |
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| While it may not have the riches of other professional sports leagues, the NHL saw its average franchise value appreciate 44% in 2024, to $1.9 billion, far outpacing the increases in pro football, basketball and baseball this year, according to Forbes estimates. The Toronto Maple Leafs led the ranking for the second straight year, worth $3.8 billion—less than all 32 franchises from the NFL, 18 from the NBA and four from MLB. |
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| The Malaysian government on Friday agreed to a plan to restart the search for the Malaysian Airlines MH370 flight, which mysteriously disappeared more than a decade ago and remains one of the biggest unresolved aviation disasters in history. The search will be conducted by American marine robotics and deep ocean exploration company Ocean Infinity, and Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the company’s search would focus on a new area “estimated at 15,000 square kilometers” in the southern Indian Ocean. |
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Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old suspected of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is facing federal charges of stalking and murder, a move that may allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty. Federal prosecutors reportedly claimed jurisdiction in the case because of Mangione’s “travel in interstate commerce” and “use of interstate facilities,” as he traveled to New York and allegedly used a cellphone and internet to plan the shooting, CNN reported.
A district court judge ruled that a nationwide preliminary injunction barring the Treasury Department from enforcing the Corporate Transparency Act will stand while the government’s appeal winds its way through the court system. The government’s request followed a judge’s ruling earlier this month that the CTA, which requires companies to report beneficial ownership information to the government, was unconstitutional. |
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