“The paradox I see is that as more content on the Internet is written by machines, there's an increasing premium on content that comes from real people.”
Loans & Mortgages
“More customers are calling us for assistance, and we’re helping those who need it” Peter King, CEO, Westpac Banking Corp.
Relationships
“And we are confident, and we have looked at a lot of data about how long it normally takes for a first date to engagement, and we believe that we are going to start to see an upsurge in 2025.” Daniel Bracken, CEO, Michael Hill International Ltd
Recycling
“Ongoing market challenges have continued across the [scrap metal] industry.” Stephen Mikkelsen, CEO, Sims Ltd
Commodity Prices
“No participant, regardless of geography, is making any money at today’s [rare earths] prices” Tom O'Leary, MD, Iluka Resources Ltd
“We have seen a clear weakness in lithium and nickel in some parts of the world, including Australia. On the other hand, you’ve seen very, very strong demand for copper and gold. If you have those resources, you want them out in the markets today” Sanjeev Gandh, CEO, Orica Ltd
Weather, Freight & Logistics
“The latest news of El Niño abating in Australia is a positive for growers. Recent rainfall across key growing regions, although impacting summer crop volumes and quality, has improved soil moisture profiles, and therefore the prospects for the FY25 winter crop.” Robert Spurway, CEO, GrainCorp Ltd
“Following the Easter period, Lindsay anticipated a rebound in volumes typical of post Easter trading. However, volumes remained subdued, still affected by soft demand and adverse weather conditions. Despite these short-term challenges, the outlook remains positive within Lindsay’s market segments. Favourable soil moisture profiles and water storage in key irrigation regions provides positive conditions for the horticultural sector going forward” Market Statement, Lindsay Australia Ltd
Media
“We are in the midst of an exponential digital revolution, and our own company has continued to change significantly and profitably” Robert Thomson, CEO, News Corp.
Demographics & Pricing Elasticity
“We’re acutely aware that our customers are more sensitive than many other groups to the widespread cost-of-living pressures and are managing their spending carefully” Mark Teperson, CEO, Baby Bunting Ltd
“I mean, you would have to say that younger consumers that are using on-demand delivery services or buying pre-mixed drinks would appear to be less concerned about those cost-of-living pressures. It's not what we hear them say in their sentiment, but we see it reflected in some of their behaviour. Whereas you've got customer cohorts like baby boomers who provide probably more feedback on pricing yet have arguably more disposable income to participate in that category” Stephen Donohue, CEO, Endeavour Group Ltd [owner of Dan Murphy’s]
Technology
The way to think about [our] licensing revenue as it applies to AI is, as software is moving faster than hardware, the hardware designs need to be upgraded quickly to make sure they can capture the needs of these new AI workloads. So because of that, we have seen huge growth in our licensing activity.” Rene Haas, CEO, Arm Holdings Plc [major semiconductor company]
“The paradox I see is that as more content on the Internet is written by machines, there's an increasing premium on content that comes from real people.” Steve Huffman, CEO, Reddit Inc
Health & Nutrition
“If you look at what has led to the deceleration of growth in the entire plant-based meat category, we believe it is a perception around the health benefits of the products, which were quite strong. If you think about 2020, for example, where survey results suggest that they were…I think it was 50% or more of Americans felt that plant-based meat was healthy for them. Whereas in 2022, that number was down at 38%. My strong belief is that it declined further in subsequent years...” Ethan Brown, CEO, Beyond Meat Inc
“These weight loss drugs [e.g. Ozempic] are truly, in a way that I haven’t seen before any product, maybe since the iPhone, going to change consumer behaviour in ways that are very hard to predict” Ken Moelis, CEO, Moelis & Company [global investment bank]
Travel
“Outbound capacity tracking at 95% of pre-COVID levels in Australia in April 2024” Market Statement, Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd
“Looking ahead, we see the private car as one of our biggest competitors. We’re going to be looking more closely at the role Uber can play in helping Australia break out of its ‘one person, one car “mentality” Emma Foley, Managing Director, Uber Australia
Accounting & Audits
“AI-powered audit solutions are revolutionising audit methodology, and as companies undertake their data transformation journeys, the audit process can also evolve from a periodic assessment to continuous real-time monitoring” Shane O’Connor, Global Audit Head of AI, KPMG
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