Raphael Stevens

Spacecraft manufacturer Terran Orbital began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday after closing its SPAC merger.
Terran trades under the ticker LLAP, a reference to the Star Trek saying “live long and prosper.”
The company has contracts to build satellites for customers including NASA and the Pentagon, with its revenue backlog growing from $68 million last year to more than $200 million currently.

Spacecraft manufacturer Terran Orbital began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday after closing its SPAC merger, going public with over $200 million in outstanding orders.
Terran trades under the ticker LLAP — a reference to the Star Trek saying “live long and prosper” – with shares previously listed under the special purpose acquisition company Tailwind Two Acquisition Corp.

Shares of Terran swung in its trading debut: The stock rose as much as 15% at the open, before falling as much as 19%, and then changing direction again to finish the day up 7.6% at $11.80 a share.
Terran joins a trend of space companies going public through SPAC deals, such as Virgin Galactic, Astra, Rocket Lab, Planet and more. But Terran co-founder and CEO Marc Bell told CNBC that he believes his company’s foundation sets it apart.
“We look at a lot of these space SPACs that have gone out and a lot of them weren’t businesses that should have gone public,” Bell said. “We, on the other hand, have real revenues, real pipeline, real backlog, real customers.”
Closing its merger nets Terran with $255 million in gross proceeds, with $29.4 million from Tailwind Two as well as a $50.8 million PIPE round — or private investment in public equity — which included investors AE Industrial Partners, Beach Point Capital and Lockheed Martin. The remaining capital came from $175.3 million in debt financing through Francisco Partners, Beach Point Capital and Lockheed Martin.
“We’re using that money to expand — basically hiring and training of new people and adding new facilities,” Bell said.

Terran booked $25 million in revenue in 2020, which grew to more than $40 million last year. The company has contracts to build dozens of satellites for customers including NASA and the Pentagon, with its revenue backlog growing from $68 million last year to more than $200 million currently.
Headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, the company has announced plans to expand its satellite manufacturing capability by building a 660,000 square-foot facility near Cape Canaveral and leasing a 60,000 square-foot facility in Irvine, California. With more than 300 employees, the company is building off its consolidation of two former subsidiaries, satellite manufacturer Tyvak and imagery specialist PredaSAR.
“Our manufacturing business is unique, because it’s truly a recurring revenue business,” Bell said. “For the U.S. government, it’s far cheaper for them to build a constellation of satellites and keep refreshing it, and keep refreshing it with current technology, then build one ‘juicy target’ in space.”
Terran is both building spacecraft for other customers and working on its own system of 96 Earth imagery satellites, which Bell described as “Earth observation 3.0.” The satellites would combine two types of imagery collection technology, optical and synthetic aperture radar, Bell said, so that Terran can “overlay the data” and provide more in-depth analysis to customers.

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The NFL said Monday that its 2024 draft would be held in Detroit, and teams are primed to start seeking blockchain sponsorship deals this week.
NFL sponsorship revenue reached nearly $2 billion for the 2021 season, and blockchain deals should increase that figure next season.
Don’t expect CBD sponsorships and jersey patch advertisements to contribute to the NFL’s revenue any time soon, either.

Roger Goodell
Catalina Fragoso | USA TODAY Sports | Reuters

PALM BEACH, Fla. – The NFL’s annual meetings kicked off Sunday, and they are already generating some big announcements.
The league said Monday that its 2024 draft would be held in Detroit, and teams are primed to start seeking blockchain sponsorship deals this week.

NFL sponsorship revenue reached nearly $2 billion for the 2021 season, and blockchain deals should increase that figure next season. Last week, the league said it would loosen its rules against teams making deals with companies that work with blockchain, the ledger technology that undergirds cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin.
Teams are still banned from cryptocurrency sponsorships, however.
“This is a little bit what we can learn from the marketplace versus us going out and acting like we know everything,” NFL Chief Revenue Officer Rennie Anderson said. “We have the ability to let the marketplace tell us what they think about themselves in the category.”
Don’t expect CBD sponsorships and jersey patch advertisements to contribute to the NFL’s revenue any time soon, either.
Last month, the NFL pledged $1 million to the University of California San Diego and the University of Regina to study the impact of CBD on pain management and concussions in football players. CBD— short for cannabidiol — is a compound found in cannabis plants.

Still, the league restricts cannabis use and says it will not allow NFL players to participate in studies. NFL media partners aren’t allowed to run CBD ads during NFL games.
Anderson said the NFL would take a “measured approach” to CBD but added the league isn’t close to adding sponsorships though CBD is regulated.
“It’s not on the table for discussion,” she said of CBD sponsorships. “And I don’t know when it will be.”
The NFL is also resisting the trend toward jersey patch advertisements. “Why do we need it?” Anderson asked.
MLB became the latest U.S. pro league to include the asset, which could bring baseball clubs $11 million per year. The NBA installed patches in 2017 and generated roughly more than $150 million. And the NHL is further rolling out its patch program in 2023.
“It’s great that the other leagues do that because they can test it out for us,” she added. “But I can’t imagine (Los Angeles Rams quarterback) Matthew Stafford hoisting the (Vince) Lombardi Trophy with a third-party brand on his chest. The need isn’t there.”

Blockchain rights hit the market

The league plans to roll out its newest asset to potential partners this week, Anderson told CNBC.
Last week, the league announced NFL clubs are permitted to seek blockchain sponsorships with platforms like Coinbase and FTX. Anderson said the assets could lure multiple partners to hold rights, including the NFL’s “official digital wallet” and “official blockchain” partners. She called the category an “endless opportunity” but added the NFL is still learning about the technology.
In addition to its cryptocurrency applications, blockchain tech effectively gives virtual collectibles like nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, unique and nonhackable certificates of authenticity.
“I think we’ll learn a lot about the use cases about how it can transform our future,” Anderson said.
When it comes to cryptocurrency, though, Anderson echoed other NFL executives about its future. Though leagues like the NBA appear all-in on crypto, Anderson said the NFL would “protect the business” and ease into the sector. That could come as government officials figure out regulations around crypto.
“We don’t have to be the first,” said Anderson. “But when we do something, we’ve got to get it right.”

2024 NFL Draft awarded to Detroit

The league announced Monday that NFL draft would be held in April 24 at the Campus Martius Park in downtown Detroit.
Detroit was a finalist for the event in 2022 NFL Draft, which will be located in Las Vegas. The 2023 draft will be held in Kansas City.
Last year, the NFL Draft was held in Cleveland and generated had an economic impact for the region of roughly $42 million, according to the Cleveland Sports Commission. That’s down from the 2019 NFL Draft held in Nashville, which generated more than $200 million. The 2020 NFL Draft was virtual due to the pandemic.
Asked to project the economic impact of the 2024 event, Lions CEO Rod Wood didn’t reveal specific figures but said “it’ll be significant.”
The franchise was also selected as the featured team for the 2022 “Hard Knocks” documentary series on HBO. The season premieres on Aug. 9.

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NFL owners are set to review proposals that would have both teams get at least one possession in overtime.
The debate comes after Kansas City defeated Buffalo in the playoffs by scoring a touchdown on the first possession in overtime.
“I’m not exactly sure where I sit,” said Kansas City coach Andy Reid, whose team has both benefited and suffered in the playoffs because of the rule.

Kansas City Chiefs football team head coach Andy Reid speaks to journalists at a coaches press availability during the NFL owner’s meeting, Monday, March 28, 2022, at The Breakers resort in Palm Beach, Fla.
Rebecca Blackwell | AP

PALM BEACH, Fla. – Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh wants no part of a new overtime rule. Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid is undecided. And Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott made it clear where he stands.
“I’d like to see a change,” McDermott said Monday at the NFL’s annual meetings.

NFL owners are set to review proposals that request both teams to possess the ball during the extra period. The debate comes after a classic playoff game between the Chiefs and the Bills that ended in overtime after Kansas City scored on the first possession.
The current regulation, which is known as Rule 16, allows each team to possess the ball in extra play unless the club that receives the opening kickoff scores a touchdown. If the opening drive results in a field goal, the opposing team gets the opportunity to match the score or win with a touchdown. If there’s a turnover, the first team to score wins.
Proposals from the Indianapolis Colts and Philadelphia Eagles suggest that both teams should possess the ball in overtime, regardless of whether a touchdown is scored on the first possession. Meanwhile, the Tennessee Titans proposed the team that scores a touchdown on the opening drive would also need a two-point conversion to win.
The rule has been in place for the playoffs for 12 years. In 2012, the league expanded the format to the regular season. To change the rule again, 24 of 32 NFL owners need to approve amending Rule 16.
“I like to stay out of overtime as much as possible,” joked Harbaugh, the Ravens coach.

But then he got serious.
“I’m not for them,” Harbaugh added. “I don’t think adding plays at the end of the game is the answer. I don’t think extending games is the answer.”
Reid, Kansas City’s coach, smiled when he was asked about the rule. He recalled the Chiefs’ 2019 overtime loss to the Tom Brady-led New England Patriots in the playoffs. The Patriots won the coin toss and eliminated the Chiefs after an opening drive touchdown. But he also recalled his team’s January win over the Bills, when the Chiefs were the beneficiary of Rule 16.
“I’m not exactly sure where I sit,” said Reid, chairman of the coaches subcommittee that has input on NFL rule changes. “I’ve seen it work both ways. It’s worked the way we’ve got it.”
Last week, Atlanta Falcons CEO Rich McKay – chairman of the NFL’s Competition Committee – said “data and analytics” support a change to Rule 16. He noted how there have been 12 postseason overtimes since the current rule was implemented, adding that the team winning the coin toss has won 10 times. Seven of those victories came on the first drive, including the Chiefs’ win over the Bills in January.
Securing 24 votes on Tuesday will be difficult and a “pretty big hill to climb the first time,” McKay said.
Also, don’t forget about defense.
“There is a defense on the other side of the ball,” Houston Texans head coach Lovie Smith told CNBC. “When you kick the ball off … you can take it away, score right there, and you win. There’s a reason why we had these rules in place for this long period of time.”
He added, however: “But I think change is always good, too.”

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President Joe Biden is scheduled to unveil his 2023 federal budget on Monday afternoon at the White House.

The budget request to Congress features tax hikes on the ultra-wealthy and corporations while providing billions of dollars in new spending for the Defense Department and the Justice Department.
Overall, the 2023 fiscal year budget shifts focus away from the Covid-19 pandemic, which has subsided after the massive omicron wave late last year. Notably, there are no emergency pandemic or supplemental funds being requested.
In place of Covid, the budget focuses on the need to tackle crime and public safety, and the global peril created by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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The UAE’s energy minister has insisted that Russia will always be part of OPEC+ even as governments shun Moscow over the war in Ukraine.
Speaking to CNBC Monday, Suhail Al Mazrouei said no other country could match Russia’s energy output.
“Always, Russia is going to be part of that group and we need to respect them,” he said.

The United Arab Emirates’ energy and infrastructure minister has insisted that Russia will always be a part of OPEC+ even as governments across the globe shun the oil exporter over its war in Ukraine.
Speaking to CNBC on Monday, Suhail Al Mazrouei, a former president of the oil alliance, said no other country could match Russia’s energy output and argued politics should not distract from the group’s efforts to manage energy markets.

“Always, Russia is going to be part of that group and we need to respect them,” he told Hadley Gamble at the Atlantic Council’s sixth annual Global Energy Forum in Dubai.
“OPEC+, when they speak to us, they need to speak to us including Russia,” he said, referring to the group’s negotiations with energy importers.
The U.S., Europe and Japan have called on oil-producing nations to do more to tackle record-high prices amid the war in Ukraine and ongoing supply shortages.
But, Al Mazrouei said Russian oil would play a vital role in achieving that. The comments come as Western allies express concern that Russian energy imports are indirectly topping up President Vladimir Putin’s war chest with oil and gas revenue.
“Who can replace Russia today? I cannot think of a country that can in a year, two, three, four or even 10 years replace 10 million barrels. It’s not realistic,” he said.

OPEC+, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, has the capacity to increase oil output and bring down crude prices, which have jumped to over $100 a barrel.

They are doing something but expecting the opposite reaction, and it’s not going to happen.

Suhail Al Mazrouei
UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure

“We are in agreement with their target or their objective of trying to calm the market and balance the market,” Al Mazrouei said. “But you don’t do it this way. You don’t do it by putting sanctions on a hydrocarbon that you cannot replace — unless you want the prices to go high.”
“They are doing something but expecting the opposite reaction, and it’s not going to happen.”
OPEC and non-OPEC ministers are slated to meet on Thursday via videoconference to determine the next phase of production policy.
It comes amid renewed pressure for the influential alliance to boost oil supplies after G-7 energy ministers said OPEC “has a key role to play” in easing market tensions.
“We call on oil and gas producing countries to act in a responsible manner and to examine their ability to increase deliveries to international markets particularly where production is not meeting full capacity noting that OPEC has a key role to play,” G-7 energy ministers said in a joint statement on March 10.
“This will help to ease tensions and note with appreciation announcements already made to this end.”

The G-7 group of major economies is comprised of the U.K., U.S., Canada, Japan, Germany, France and Italy.
OPEC+ is in the process of unwinding record supply cuts of roughly 10 million barrels per day. The historic production cut was put in place in April 2020 to help the energy market recover after the coronavirus pandemic cratered demand for crude.
Most recently, the group’s been raising output by 400,000 barrels per day each month. The energy alliance has stayed the course despite sustained pressure from top consumers to pump more to cool prices and aid the economic recovery.
OPEC alone accounts for around 40% of the world’s oil supply.

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New Balance has opened a manufacturing facility in Methuen, Massachusetts, the sneaker retailer’s fifth in North America.
New Balance said the 80,000-square-foot space recently underwent about $20 million in renovations, before production officially kicked off in January.
The footwear industry has been particularly whacked by Covid pandemic-fueled supply chain obstacles, including temporary factory shutdowns across both China and Vietnam.

New Balance has opened its fifth manufacturing space in North America. This one is in Methuen, Massachusetts.
Source: New Balance

While many retailers are struggling to preserve relationships with overseas vendors and manufacturers, against pandemic uncertainty and shaky foreign relations, one is doubling down on its presence in North America.
New Balance, a privately held business known for its cushioned sneakers and retro-inspired workout gear, has opened a manufacturing facility in Methuen, Massachusetts, the company announced Monday. The move strengthens its reliance on North America for production, as businesses try to navigate an obstructed global supply chain, said President and Chief Executive Joe Preston.

The move comes as prominent business leaders are considering whether globalization as we know it is coming to an end. Larry Fink, chairman and CEO of the world’s biggest asset manager, BlackRock, said last week that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has upended the world order that had been in place since the end of the Cold War. Over time, that could result in U.S. businesses lessening their reliance on foreign economies to grow.
New Balance said the 80,000-square-foot space recently underwent about $20 million in renovations.
Currently, almost 100 people are employed at the facility, where they make New Balance’s most popular Made 990v5 running sneaker. New Balance said it aims to more than double the size of its workforce there as well as its production capabilities by year’s end. It will help to produce an additional 750,000 pairs of sneakers annually.
“It’s part of our overall mantra of controlling our destiny, which has really come into play in the last couple of years with with Covid,” said Preston, in a phone interview. “The supply constraints have certainly impacted our business, but we were still able to grow [revenue] over 30% in 2021.”
The Boston-based shoe company is building on its current production capabilities in the U.S. Including the Methuen space, New Balance owns five manufacturing facilities across Maine and Massachusetts that employee about 1,000 workers. These spaces help to put together its line of “New Balance Made” sneakers, which are at least 70% domestically manufactured and make up a limited portion of U.S. sales, according to the retailer. New Balance said its worldwide sales totaled $4.4 billion last year.

According to Preston, the goal is to keep growing in North America — a move that is core to the brand’s “Made in America” ethos.
“It differentiates us from our competition, if we make product and don’t outsource all of our production,” the CEO said. “That helps in the quality and the craftsmanship.”

New Balance has about 1,000 employees in North America who work in its manufacturing facilities.
Source: New Balance

The footwear industry has been particularly whacked by pandemic-fueled supply chain obstacles, including temporary factory shutdowns across both China and Vietnam. Retailers including Nike and Adidas are incredibly reliant on cheap labor and materials overseas.
Pre-Covid, about 70% of shoes sold in the U.S. came from China, according to the Footwear Distributors & Retailers of America. In recent years, however, a trade war between the U.S. and China has pushed retailers to increasingly diversify their manufacturing presence into other countries with hopes of avoiding steep tariffs.
But then the coronavirus pandemic struck, and factory shutdowns hampered operators in places outside of China, including Vietnam. Russia’s attack on Ukraine has heightened uncertainty, as has the resulting tension between the U.S. and China.
Matt Priest, president and CEO of FDRA, said the unpredictability is forcing brands to make decisions day to day, such as where to source from for the next batch of orders.
“There’s this big geopolitical shift that’s happening underneath our feet,” he said in a phone interview. “When you see what can happen in a place like Russia, where brands across the whole Western corporate world collectively pull out in a matter of weeks … it just blows your mind about the kind of the shifts that are happening.”
Nike said last week that its facilities in Vietnam are all up and running, but that the window of time to get goods to North America from overseas remains elongated. It still takes about six weeks longer to get goods compared with pre-pandemic levels, the company said, and two weeks longer than the same period a year earlier. As a result, Nike said it was moving up buying timelines to prepare for the fall season, to try to keep shelves stocked.
It might seem as if the easy answer would be to bulk up production in the U.S. But, according to Priest, it’s a costly option and workers can be hard to come by.
“If you can’t find someone to work at the cafe on Main Street in your hometown, you’re definitely not going to be able to find workers for a shoe factory,” he said. “We don’t have the raw materials. We don’t have the supply chain here.”
New Balance says it sees low turnover rates among its U.S. workers in factories. And, to be sure, the retailer still relies on factories overseas for the remainder of its production. So it faces some of the same challenges as Nike and Adidas, but it can at least offset some hurdles with a North American presence, according to Preston.
“The fact that you can get product quicker to market, the fact that you can respond quicker to consumer trends if you’re closer to the consumer … that’s what domestic manufacturing affords you,” he said.
And, he added, New Balance needs the extra capacity as it sees heightened momentum for its running shoes and reaches a new generation of younger customers.
New Balance is the fifth-largest sneaker brand in the U.S., in terms of dollar sales, with 3.4% of market share, according to data from The NPD Group. While that might seem like a small percentage, it only trails four rivals: Nike, Adidas, Jordan and Skechers, NPD said.
“The brand momentum that we have right now is rooted in our performance business and our lifestyle business,” Preston said. “And it’s the intersection of both of those things that can really drive some energy.”

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U.S. listed shares of XPeng jumped in premarket trading Monday after the Chinese electric-vehicle maker reported a fourth-quarter loss that was narrower than Wall Street had expected.
The company expects to deliver between 33,500 and 34,000 vehicles in total this quarter, representing growth of more than 150% versus the first quarter of 2021.
XPeng’s next new model, an upscale electric SUV called the G9, is on track to enter production this fall.

XPeng delivered over 60,000 of its flagship P7 electric sedans in 2021.
XPeng, Inc.

U.S. listed shares of XPeng jumped in premarket trading Monday after the Chinese electric-vehicle maker reported a fourth-quarter loss that was narrower than Wall Street had expected.
XPeng said that it lost $202 million in the quarter, or $0.22 on an adjusted per-share basis, on revenue of $1.34 billion. That was significantly better than expected: Seven Wall Street analysts polled by FactSet had expected an adjusted loss of $0.33 per share, on average.

The gross profit margin on XPeng’s vehicle business, a number that is widely watched by analysts, fell to 10.9% in the fourth quarter from 13.6% in the third quarter on higher costs related to supply chain issues and rising commodity prices. But as CEO He Xiaopeng noted during a call for analysts Monday morning, that was still a significant improvement over the 3.5% vehicle margin the company posted in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Like most automakers, XPeng had to navigate production disruptions due to ongoing supply chain challenges — in particular, a global shortage of semiconductor chips — several times during 2021. Those disruptions kept XPeng’s sleek EVs in relatively short supply amid high demand, giving the company some added pricing power to help cushion the impact of the rising costs.
Xiaopeng said that the company is working to further ramp up production further in 2022. XPeng hopes to soon deliver more than 10,000 of its flagship P7 sedans in a single month, he said, and he expects its new P5 sedan to reach similar production numbers later this year.
XPeng delivered 60,569 P7s in 2021. Deliveries of the P5, which went into production during the fourth quarter, totaled 7,865 last year.
Xiaopeng also said the company’s next new model, an upscale electric SUV called the G9, is on track to enter production in the third quarter of 2022. He said that he expects the G9’s performance to be “head and shoulders” above Chinese-made rivals, and that it has the potential to be a “blockbuster” hit for the company.

Two more new models, built on a new vehicle architecture, will follow in 2023, he said.
The company expects to deliver between 33,500 and 34,000 vehicles in total this quarter, representing growth of more than 150% versus the first quarter of 2021.
That guidance suggests a strong March for the company. XPeng delivered a total of 19,147 vehicles in January and February, a period that included several days of factory downtime during China’s Lunar New Year holiday.

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