Hedge fund bulls say Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is on its way to a $2-trillion market cap after gaining 400% this year … It’s already worth 5X the combined value of giants Ford and GM, and it’s an industry disrupter that’s making millionaires out of anyone who ties-in with them.
And the auto industry disruption tie-ins are many, varied… and potentially lucrative.
From new EV startups and batteries or fuel cells …
To ride-sharing with an ESG twist and car subscription companies that are challenging our ideas of ownership.
The ideas are racking up, and the growth runway potentials are phenomenal.
EV startup NIO (NYSE:NIO) has gained over 1500% this year.
EV charging stock Blink (NYSE:BLNK) has gained 1400% YTD.
Now, mergers and consolidations are the name of this game as all the tie-ins fight for market share.
Food delivery—another mobility tie-in—is in a state of all-out war for market share.
Giant Uber is acquiring rival Postmates for $2.65 billion.
Just Eat Takeaway is acquiring Grubhub for nearly $7 billion …
And the innovative outlier hoping to steal the show is Canadian Facedrive (TSX.V:FD; OTCMKTS:FDVRF), the only ride-hailing and food delivery platform that has an ESG angle with carbon-offset operations.
The Biggest Change Yet Is Coming To Transportation
As a part of the clean energy transition, the world is racing to roll out the next era of transportation: electric vehicles.
But there’s yet another disruption happening in the industry….
Not only will conventional gas-powered vehicles in time be on the chopping block…the entire concept of owning a car may be on the verge of extinction sooner than you think.
And Facedrive is among the first movers in this surprising new market.
It scooped up Steer, a subscription-based electric vehicle provider in September in a deal that included a $2-million strategic investment by energy giant Exelon’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Exelorate Enterprises, LLC.
When you combine the $5 trillion global transportation industry with an energy industry whose renewables sector is quickly growing, you’ll see a trend that is in its infancy…
But make no mistake about it – it will be a trend that upends the entire automotive sector.
This is where Facedrive’s acquisition of Steer really comes into its own.
Steer is a new all-inclusive, monthly, risk-free car subscription service that is 100% electric, plug-in and hybrid.
And it is predicting that transportation is ready for another round of evolution…
The success of subscription based ‘leasing’ models is already well documented, and this simple concept could be at the core of the next major disruption in the auto industry.
We’ve already seen it with electric bikes and scooters…
But this step could change everything.
Imagine being able to have a clean, convenient, quality-controlled electric vehicle personally delivered to you whenever you needed it….
Without the hassle of maintenance or insurance.
And it’s affordable.
Better yet, you aren’t investing in something that immediately loses its value as soon as you drive it off the lot.
It’s one answer to the last remaining hurdle of full-on adoption of EVs.
And unlike leasing a car—there’s no mileage limit.
And the growth runways are phenomenal when you consider that 70% of Steer members have never even driven an EV before. That means that these are new converts.
Anyone who couldn’t afford to ride an EV before, can now, with Steer. But it’s a diverse collection that allows users to drive pretty much any EV, hassle-free, including an Audi e-Tron or a Hyundai Kona, both new all-electric SUVs with ranges of over 250 miles.
Source: Audi.com
Food: The $26B Shared Mobility Vertical
Facedrive (TSX.V:FD; OTCMKTS:FDVRF) was the first ride sharing company to see the “impact investing” writing on the wall.
It saw where things would go wrong for Uber, which completely ignored sustainability.
It saw what would happen when studies showed that ride-hailing results in nearly 70% more pollution than whatever transportation it displaced.
Then Facedrive launched an ESG coup: The were the first to offer customers an EV option, and then to plant trees to offset their carbon footprint.
Then they applied that same “people and planet first” business model to a second vertical: Food delivery—the carbon-offset version.
Facedrive’s acquisition of Foodora from Deliver Hero positioned it near the top of Canada’s food delivery hierarchy overnight.
And Foodora’s former owner Delivery Hero is the rare food delivery company not carrying around negative reputational baggage for bullying customers and restaurants at a time when they are struggling to make ends meet. They are international giants with services in 40 countries and a portfolio of over 500,000 restaurants.
And Facedrive’s new acquisition has hit the ground running …
The new Facedrive Foods app was launched a few weeks ago, and already it’s processing 3,000 orders daily, with close to 4,000 restaurant partners and over 220,000 active users.
Next, comes international expansion ….
This Is Where Big Names Are Gathering
Exelon’s (NASDAQ:EXC) market cap is ~$41 billion … and it’s not the only huge market-cap company whose radar is pinging Facedrive: There’s also a tie-in to eCommerce King Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) ….
Both global e-commerce giant Amazon and Canadian Tier-1 telecoms giant Telus jumped in on Facedrive’s corporate partnership program. And that news flew right under the radar because it wasn’t officially announced and was revealed only when Facedrive released its Q1 earnings report.
That means both giants will be Corporate partners of Facedrive meaning that their employees will receive preferred rates on Facedrive products and services.
And they have …
In October, Air Canada became the next big name to jump on the Facedrive bandwagon.
With the global tourism industry facing $1 trillion in losses and on track to shed 100 million jobs before the year is out, Air Canada has signed a deal with Facedrive Inc. (TSX.V:FD; OTCMKTS:FDVRF) to launch a pilot project for its employees using TraceSCAN, Facedrive’s proprietary COVID contact-tracing technology and wearables.
So, watch the news flow on that one, too as talks progress with more big airlines …
The name of this game is ultimate impact.
Facedrive is chasing Big Money earmarked for ESG-focused plays …
At a time when the world has just hit the trillion-dollar mark in ESG fund investments.
Big capital has tons of money to put into low-risk impact investing …
But they can’t find enough places to park it.
That’s where Facedrive ticks so many boxes. Whether it’s pushing disruptors of the transportation industry from three different corners, with Facedrive ride-hailing, food delivery and transformational Steer …
Or whether it’s helping giant airlines keep track of virus contacts.
Either way, Facedrive (TSX.V:FD; OTCMKTS:FDVRF) has been ahead of the curve from day one. At this point, there’s no stopping the march of EVs, and this is the company that brings it all together in a comprehensive ESG ecosystem.
And with so many verticals, the news flow is hard to keep up with.
The Electric Vehicle Revolution Is Kicking Into High Gear
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is now the most valuable car maker “of all time”. Tesla is worth almost $495 billion, while the top three American automakers–GM, Ford and Chrysler–are worth around $129 billion combined. This year alone, Tesla has risen by 460%, and is showing no signs of slowing. Especially now that the company is set to be included in the S&P 500.
There’s a reason Tesla has performed so well this year. Investors love Elon Musk’s vision. As one of the world’s most innovative car manufacturers, it has single-handedly made electric vehicles cool. Its slick design is beloved across the world. In fact, it’s almost impossible to NOT see a Tesla in cities like Hong Kong or San Francisco.
And Tesla isn’t solely an electric vehicle company, either. It’s also building its own energy business which includes revolutionary solar panels and top-tier battery technology. Clearly, its efforts are paying off, as it is without-a-doubt one of the most popular stocks on Wall Street.
Tesla’s success has also fueled a boom in other EV-related companies. Blink (NASDAQ:BLNK), for example, an electric vehicle charging company, has risen by over 1400% since the beginning of the year, and the sky is the limit for this up-and-comer. A wave of new deals, including a collaboration with EnerSys and another with Envoy Technologies to deploy electric vehicles and charging stations adds further support.
Michael D. Farkas, Founder, CEO and Executive Chairman of Blink noted, “This is an exciting collaboration with EnerSys because it combines the industry-leading technologies of our two companies to provide user-friendly, high powered, next-generation charging alternatives. We are continuously innovating our product offerings to provide more efficient and convenient charging options to the growing community of EV drivers.”
In addition to the company’s string of high-profile deals, Blink is also consistently posting promising revenues. In fact, earlier this month, the company noted that third-quarter revenue had increased by as much as 18% from the year before despite disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Canadian Companies Are Fueling A Sustainabilty Boom
Westport Fuel Systems (TSX:WPRT) is a clean energy technology company that builds products to help the transportation industry reduce their carbon footprint. In particular, it provides systems for less impactful fuels, such as natural gas. In North America alone, there are over 225,000 natural gas vehicles. But that shies in comparison to the global 22.5 million natural gas vehicles globally, which means the company still has a ton of room to grow!
Boralex Inc. (TSX:BLX) is an upcoming renewable firm based in Kingsey Falls, Canada. The company’s primary energies are produced through wind, hydroelectric, thermal and solar sources and help power the homes of many people globally. Not only has it has had a great influence in the adoption of renewable electricity domestically, it’s even branching out into the United States, France and the United Kingdom. In fact, just recently, Boralex took control of a massive 209MW solar farm in California.
GreenPower Motor (TSX.V:GPV) is a thriving electric bus manufacturer based out of Vancouver. At the moment, its focus is primarily on the North American market, but its ambitions are much larger. Founded over 10 years ago, GreenPower has been on the frontlines of the electric transportation movement, with a focus on building affordable battery-electric busses and trucks.
Year-to-date, GreenPower Motor has seen its share price soar from $2.03 to $36.88. That means investors have seen 1700% gains this year alone. And with this red-hot sector only going up, GreenPower will likely continue to impress.
NFI Group (TSX:NFI) is another one of Canada’s home-grown electric vehicle pioneers producing transit busses and motorcycles. The company had a tough go at it towards the beginning of the year, but has since cut its debt and begun to address its cash flow struggles in a meaningful way. Though it remains down from January highs, NFI still offers investors a promising opportunity to capitalize on the electric vehicle boom.
In the previous months, NFI has seen an uptick in insider stock purchases which is often a sign that the board and management strongly believe in the future of the company. In addition to its increasingly positive financial reports, it is also one of the few in the business that actually pay dividends out to its investors.
Canada’s Silicon Valley is all in on the sustainability race, too. Shopify Inc (TSX:SHOP) Canada’s own e-commerce giant helps users build their own online stores. It has huge clients – everyone from Tesla to Budweiser are on board. And the company is beloved by millennial investors. In addition to its revolutionary approach on e-commerce, Shopify is playing an increasingly active role in creating a greener tomorrow. It has committed to spending at least $5 million annually to help combat climate change. It’s even making cuts throughout its own operations, decommissioning its data centers and sourcing renewable power for its buildings. Thanks the these efforts, Shopify has posted a return of 137% this year alone, and is showing no signs of slowing.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was higher in late-morning trading, helped by strength in energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets also moved up.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 34.91 points at 23,736.98.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 178.05 points at 41,800.13. The S&P 500 index was up 28.38 points at 5,661.47, while the Nasdaq composite was up 133.17 points at 17,725.30.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.56 cents US compared with 73.57 cents US on Monday.
The November crude oil contract was up 68 cents at US$69.70 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up three cents at US$2.40 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$7.80 at US$2,601.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.28 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets climbed to their best week of the year.
“It’s been almost a complete opposite or retracement of what we saw last week,” said Philip Petursson, chief investment strategist at IG Wealth Management.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
While last week saw a “healthy” pullback on weaker economic data, this week investors appeared to be buying the dip and hoping the central bank “comes to the rescue,” said Petursson.
Next week, the U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut its key interest rate for the first time in several years after it significantly hiked it to fight inflation.
But the magnitude of that first cut has been the subject of debate, and the market appears split on whether the cut will be a quarter of a percentage point or a larger half-point reduction.
Petursson thinks it’s clear the smaller cut is coming. Economic data recently hasn’t been great, but it hasn’t been that bad either, he said — and inflation may have come down significantly, but it’s not defeated just yet.
“I think they’re going to be very steady,” he said, with one small cut at each of their three decisions scheduled for the rest of 2024, and more into 2025.
“I don’t think there’s a sense of urgency on the part of the Fed that they have to do something immediately.
A larger cut could also send the wrong message to the markets, added Petursson: that the Fed made a mistake in waiting this long to cut, or that it’s seeing concerning signs in the economy.
It would also be “counter to what they’ve signaled,” he said.
More important than the cut — other than the new tone it sets — will be what Fed chair Jerome Powell has to say, according to Petursson.
“That’s going to be more important than the size of the cut itself,” he said.
In Canada, where the central bank has already cut three times, Petursson expects two more before the year is through.
“Here, the labour situation is worse than what we see in the United States,” he said.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
— With files from The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was down more than 200 points in late-morning trading, weighed down by losses in the technology, base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets also fell.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 239.24 points at 22,749.04.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 312.36 points at 40,443.39. The S&P 500 index was down 80.94 points at 5,422.47, while the Nasdaq composite was down 380.17 points at 16,747.49.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.80 cents US compared with 74.00 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down US$1.07 at US$68.08 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.26 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$2.10 at US$2,541.00 an ounce and the December copper contract was down four cents at US$4.10 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
