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Satellite imagery and data company Planet delivered quarterly results after market close on Wednesday, with the venture delivering record results and forecasting nearly $200 million in annual revenue.
“Planet’s growth continues to be underpinned by global, secular tailwinds that are driving demand for our solutions,” cofounder and CEO Will Marshall said in a statement.
The company has a variety of imagery satellites, both operating and in production, with about 200 in orbit.

Will Marshall, Co-Founder & CEO of Planet Inc., celebrates his company’s listing on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, December 8, 2021.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters

Satellite imagery and data company Planet reported record third-quarter revenue on Wednesday, forecasting nearly $200 million in annual revenue.
“Planet’s growth continues to be underpinned by global, secular tailwinds that are driving demand for our solutions,” cofounder and CEO Will Marshall said in a statement.

The company reported a third-quarter adjusted EBITDA loss of $12.4 million, just above the $12.3 million loss that Planet reported for the same period a year ago. But Planet reported a record revenue of $49.7 million for the third quarter, up 57% year over year.
Planet follows a fiscal year 2023 calendar that ends on Jan. 31. With one quarter to go, the company forecast annual revenue of between $188 million and $192 million.
Shares of Planet rose 3% in after-hours trading from its close at $5.21. The stock is down about 15% this year.

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The company has a variety of imagery satellites, both operating and in production, with about 200 in orbit. Planet’s satellites revisit locations on Earth up to 10 times per day, capturing more than 30 terabytes of data daily.
Planet had 864 customers by the end of the third quarter, an increase of 16% from the same period a year ago. At the end of the quarter, Planet had $425 million in cash on hand.
The company also announced an agreement to acquire climate technology company Salo Sciences, for an undisclosed amount. Planet says Salo will “further develop its offerings to help customers monitor forest change, quantify carbon stocks, track carbon offsets and mitigate climate risks.”

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James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” is set to snare between $150 million and $175 million domestically during its opening weekend.
The film, released by Disney, will have minimal competition until February and word of mouth could help the film hold on to lucrative premium screens like IMAX.
“The Way of Water” will also be released in China this weekend.

Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, “Avatar: The Way of Water” tells the story of the Sully family.

It’s been more than a decade since James Cameron’s “Avatar” shattered box office records. To this day, it remains the highest-grossing title globally, aided by several re-releases.
Its long-awaited sequel, “Avatar: The Way of Water,” is also set to be a blockbuster, but how big of one remains to be seen.

The movie, which opens this week, is set to snare between $150 million and $175 million domestically during its opening weekend. If the film opens in that range, it will be the third-largest opening of 2022, just behind “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” which tallied $187 million in May, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” which scored $181 million last month, according to data from Comscore.
While the first movie only opened with $77 million in 2009, “Avatar” had unparalleled staying power at the box office. Released in December that year, it ran in theaters through August 2010, a whopping 234 days. The film ultimately generated $760 million in the U.S. and Canada and more than $2 billion from international markets.
“In the big picture, I’d expect a leggy box office run whose story won’t be told on opening weekend alone,” said Shawn Robbins, chief media analyst at BoxOffice.com. “This is not a comic book blockbuster with an apparent rabid fan base to front-load sales. James Cameron films have historically engaged general audiences deep into their theatrical windows, though it’s worth considering that the box office climate has changed even since his previous Avatar film in 2009.”
“The Way of Water” will have minimal box office competition until February and word of mouth could help the film hold on to lucrative premium screens like IMAX.

A three-dimensional release strategy

Premium formats will be a big factor in the film’s opening weekend and its overall box office run. Cameron and Disney have marketed “The Way of Water” as a must-see 3D movie, meaning the majority of showings for the film will require special glasses and a steeper ticket price.

In fact, a staggering 56% of seats heading into the film’s opening weekend have been programed for 3D showings, according to data from EntTelligence. For comparison, Marvel Studio’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” only had 17% of its seats set aside for 3D.
Premium formats also come with a bigger price tag than their standard counterparts. EntTelligence estimates that for “The Way of Water” 3D tickets will average around $16.50 each while 2D will cost around $12.50 a piece.
This uptick in ticket prices is expected to buoy the film’s opening weekend numbers as well as its overall run in theaters. The movie will need the boost. Cameron told GQ that the film will need to become the third or fourth-highest grossing film in history to break even – meaning the film will need to crack the $2 billion mark globally.

The China factor

If “The Way of Water” is anything like the first film, it will get a major boost from international ticket sales. More than 70% of “Avatar” ticket sales came from foreign markets in 2009. And it will benefit from a release in China.
The Chinese box office contributed around $265 million to “Avatar’s” global tally a decade ago, but the market has grown significantly since. Prior to the pandemic, China was the second-highest grossing theatrical market in the world. Since cinemas reopened in the country, it has been one of the fastest markets to recover and generate box office success.
In 2009, China’s overall box office reached $910 million. A decade later, it topped $8 billion.
“Avatar” saw great success in China during its initial release, and subsequent rerelease in early 2021, as audiences flocked to cinemas to see the film in premium formats. These screenings are more expensive than traditional laser or digital showings and can bolster overall ticket sales.
Perhaps most important about “The Way of Water” China release is that it will take place on Dec. 16, the same day as its domestic debut. Disney saw success with this strategy when it released “Avengers: Endgame” on the same day in the U.S. and China, leading to the highest global opening weekend in cinematic history.
“The enormity of the stakes for ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ and its box office performance are profound on many fronts,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, noting that there are three other films in the Avatar franchise in development.

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For many families, paying for college is a financial burden, and experts say education-funding myths may be adding to the student loan debt crisis.
Cozy Wittman, national education and partnerships speaker with College Inside Track, discussed what families need to know at the Financial Planning Association’s annual conference.

Kevin Dodge | The Image Bank | Getty Images

SEATTLE — For many families, paying for college is a financial burden, and experts say education-funding myths may be adding to the student loan debt crisis.
“There’s often this perception that somehow people are being penalized for saving for college,” said Cozy Wittman, national education and partnerships speaker with College Inside Track. “It’s candidly, blatantly not true.”

Parent-owned 529 college savings plans are assessed at 5.64% when filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as the FAFSA, she said, speaking at the Financial Planning Association’s annual conference on Tuesday. 
That means for every $10,000 of 529 plan savings, roughly $564 counts toward the parents’ expected family contribution, potentially reducing financial aid by roughly the same amount, according to the College Savings Plans Network.
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A 529 plan offers several benefits: The owner keeps control of the funds, there’s tax-free growth for qualified expenses and flexibility to change the beneficiary, Wittman said.
The average 529 account value was $30,287 in 2021, the College Savings Plans Network reported.

Grandparent 529 savings won’t count on the FAFSA

Previously, grandparent-owned 529 plans negatively affected need-based financial aid because distributions counted as student income on the next year’s FAFSA, assessed at up to 50%, Wittman said.  
However, recent FAFSA changes scrapped that rule, effective for the 2023-2024 school year, meaning “grandparents’ [529 plan] savings has no impact on the student,” she said.
“This has real-world implications for where people save,” Wittman said.
While many grandparents like contributing to parent-owned 529 plans rather than opening their own, “it would actually be smarter today to flip that around,” she said.  

Why to consider colleges with price ‘flexibility’

There’s also a lack of knowledge around college pricing, Wittman said. “This concept that public schools are cheap and private schools are expensive does not serve the narrative well.”
“The way to think about college today is not public and private,” she said, noting that it’s better to explore which schools may have flexible versus inflexible pricing.
Wittman said the easiest way to find schools with merit-based scholarships is by comparing the acceptance rates. Typically, when the acceptance rate is below 20%, “there’s no incentive for them to give away money,” she said.
However, “colleges are the No. 1 provider of scholarship dollars,” and there’s generally more money to give at private schools, Wittman said.
Ideally, you’ll want to begin the college search during the student’s sophomore or junior year, she said. “You can’t do a great college search if you start a month before applications are due,” she said. 

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Every weekday the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer holds a “Morning Meeting” livestream at 10:20 a.m. ET. Here’s a recap of Wednesday’s key moments. Don’t trade on Fed decision Stay cautious on QCOM Stick with Eli Lilly 1. Don’t trade on Fed decision Stocks gained on Wednesday ahead of the Federal Reserve’s December interest rate decision, with the S & P 500 up 0.6% in midmorning trading. Wall Street expects the Fed to raise interest rates by 50 basis points , following 4 consecutive 75-basis-point increases. We urge investors to wait for the dust to settle before trading on the Fed announcement, given markets are often volatile after the central bank issues a decision. 2. Stay cautious on Qualcomm JPMorgan Chase on Wednesday reiterated an overweight, or buy, rating on Qualcomm (QCOM), arguing shares could see upside in 2023 with the stabilization of the smartphone market and the company’s digestion of its inventory glut. But we remain cautious on the market’s narrow focus on Qualcomm’s smartphone business and trimmed our position earlier this month . We advise investors to exercise patience here until there are clearer signals on the chipmaker’s trajectory. Qualcomm was trading up around 1.35% Wednesday morning, at $125.18 a share. 3. Stick with Eli Lilly JPMorgan Chase also increased its price target for Eli Lilly on Wednesday, to $400 from $380, a day after the pharmaceuticals company issued weaker-than-expected profit guidance for 2023. The stock fell more than 2% Tuesday on the news, a sell-off we found misguided. So, we’re glad to see Wall Street analysts bullish on the stock. We remain pleased with the company’s strong revenue guidance for next year and its slate of medicines in the pipeline. Shares of LLY were trading up nearly 1.5% midmorning, at $363.92 a share. (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long LLY, QCOM. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED. More

Netflix’s series about Prince Harry and Meghan has become the streaming giant’s biggest documentary debut yet.
“Harry & Meghan” racked up 81.55 million viewing hours globally in its first week of release, Netflix said Tuesday.
The show appeared in the Top 10 TV list in 85 countries, including ranking number one in the U.K.

Netflix’s series about Prince Harry and Meghan has become the streaming giant’s biggest documentary debut yet.
Daniel Leal | Afp | Getty Images

Netflix’s documentary series about Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, has become the streaming platform’s biggest documentary debut yet.
“Harry & Meghan” racked up 81.55 million viewing hours globally within its first four days of release, Netflix said Tuesday.

That marks the “highest view hours of any documentary series in a premiere week,” the streaming giant said in a press release outlining its top-performing shows for the week ending December 11.
The first three episodes of the highly anticipated six-part show were released Dec. 8, with the final three installments to follow Thursday.

A story of two halves

The series, which Netflix billed as an “unprecedented and in-depth” documentary, appeared in the streamer’s Top 10 TV list in 85 countries, and ranked number one in the U.K.
Netflix did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comparable viewing figures for other documentary debuts.
However, Netflix’s global viewing figures showed the documentary ranked as the second-most watched English-language series on the platform during the week, behind Tim Burton’s Addams Family drama “Wednesday,” which recorded 269.67 million views.

By comparison, season five of “The Crown,” now in its fifth week of release, recorded 18.9 million views over the week.

“Harry & Meghan” is one of a series of programs the pair is producing under a commercial deal with Netflix.
Angela Weiss | Afp | Getty Images

The first three installments of “Harry & Meghan” act as a love letter to the pair’s high-profile relationship, revealing new details of their first introduction in 2016 via a mutual friend on Snapchat, to their ultimate decision to step down from the royal family in 2020.
However, they were notable as much for what they excluded as what they contained, with few difficult questions asked and a lack of critical voices throughout.
Viewers may be hoping for more juicy revelations in the second set of episodes.
Still, the viewing record will be seen as a boon for Harry and Meghan, as they try to forge a new profile outside of the royal family.
“Harry & Meghan,” which was directed by Oscar-nominated Liz Garbus, marks one of a series of programs the Sussexes are producing under a commercial deal with Netflix.
Their production house, Archewell Productions, is due to release another Netflix series, “Heart of Invictus,” in 2023.

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Delta forecast a revenue jump of up to 20% in 2023.
The airline expects 2023 adjusted EPS of up to $6.
The carrier holds an investor presentation on Wednesday.

Delta Air Lines Airbus A330-300 landing at Athens International Airport AIA ,LGAV / ATH Eleftherios Venizelos, with registration N806NW, a former Northwest Airlines Airplane.
Nicolas Economou | NurPhoto | Getty Images

Delta Air Lines says the travel boom isn’t over.
The airline expects its adjusted earnings to nearly double to as much as $6 per share next year, above analysts’ estimates. It forecast a 15% to 20% jump in revenue next year from this year, which is expected to bring in roughly $45.5 billion.

Free cash flow will likely rise from more than $2 billion next year to more than $4 billion in 2024, a sharp turnaround from 2020 when Delta posted a record loss. Delta is planning to pay down more of its debt over the next two years.
“Demand for air travel remains robust as we exit the year and Delta’s momentum is building,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a release Wednesday ahead of a mid-morning investor presentation.
Shares of Delta gained more than 3% in premarket trading following the release.
The U.S. airline industry returned to profitability this year thanks to a sharp rebound in travel demand and consumers’ willingness to pay higher fares, which helped carriers more than make up for higher costs like fuel.
Airlines have cut some routes and been forced to limit their capacity growth, which has kept fares firm. Supply chain and labor constraints have delayed deliveries of new aircraft, and airlines continue to struggle with a shortage of trained pilots.

Delta and other airline executives in recent weeks have been upbeat about travel demand, despite warnings from other industries about economic weakness ahead.
Delta on Wednesday raised its fourth-quarter earnings forecast to a range of $1.35 to $1.40 a share, up from its previous outlook of $1 to $1.25 per share. It expects total revenue to come in 7% to 8% higher than the fourth quarter of 2019, before the pandemic.
Delta executives are likely to face questions Wednesday about costs, a new preliminary pilot labor deal, fleet planning, business travel demand, its loyalty program and how prepared they are to weather a potential economic downturn.

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Mortgage applications to purchase a home rose 4% for the week and were 38% lower than the same week one year ago.
Mortgage applications to refinance a home loan rose 3% last week from the previous week but were still 85% lower than the same week one year ago.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($647,200 or less) did increase ever so slightly last week to 6.42% from 6.41%.

A For Sale sign appears in front of a house on Oak Street in Patchogue, New York, on May 17, 2022.
Steve Pfost | Newsday | Getty Images

After a month of declines, mortgage application volume is rising, as current homeowners and potential buyers move on lower mortgage rates.
Applications rose 3.2% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($647,200 or less) did increase ever so slightly last week to 6.42% from 6.41%, with points increasing to 0.64 from 0.63 (including the origination fee) for loans with a 20% down payment. But the trajectory for rates has been lower for the past month, as government reports showed inflation was cooling. Interest rates slid Tuesday after the release of the November consumer price index.
Mortgage applications to refinance a home loan rose 3% last week from the previous week but were still 85% lower than the same week one year ago. The drop in rates from a high of just over 7% in October added to the still-tiny pool of potential borrowers who could benefit from a refinance.
Mortgage applications to purchase a home rose 4% for the week and were 38% lower than the same week one year ago. That annual comparison is now shrinking slightly as rates drop.
“The ongoing moderation in home-price growth, along with further declines in mortgage rates, may encourage more buyers to return to the market in the coming months,” Joel Kan, an MBA economist, wrote in a release.
Lower rates have shrunk demand for adjustable rate mortgages. ARMs dropped to 7.7% of total applications last week from just under 13% in October, when rates were much higher. ARMs offer lower rates but at a higher risk, since they will ultimately adjust at the end of their fixed terms to whatever the market rate is then.

While mortgage rates dropped following the CPI report Tuesday, they could move markedly again Wednesday, after the Federal Reserve announces its latest move on interest rates and Fed Chair Jerome Powell follows with remarks.
“A friendly enough Fed could easily break the range, but we have our doubts as to how much fuel the Fed will want to add to the fire,” said Matthew Graham, chief operating officer of Mortgage News Daily. “If anything, the Fed is more likely to try to temper the exuberance because the exuberance is counterproductive to the Fed’s goals.” 

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Inflation in the United States hit a record high in June 2022. Consumer prices soared by 9.1% compared with a year prior — the largest annual increase since 1981. While wages are rising, they’re not keeping up with inflation. Wage growth has been consistent with an inflation rate of about 4.5%. Meanwhile, as of November, inflation was at 7.1%.
Americans are feeling the brunt at the grocery store and gas station and with rent payments, too. Two-thirds of workers said their pay isn’t keeping up with these higher prices. So why aren’t salaries keeping up with inflation?

Corporations are still raising salaries and offering other perks to retain employees, but they’re not necessarily factoring in the cost of living, as that’s not typically how compensation determination works. Instead, organizations focus on the cost of labor and the competitive landscape in making these decisions.
Watch this video, as CNBC’s Emily Lorsch explains why salaries in the U.S. don’t keep up with inflation.

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