*By Michael Teich*
Ethical issues could be the Achilles heel for Juul, the $15 billion company behind the vaping devices infiltrating college and high school campuses.
"The valuation is justified on the math," said Dan Primack, Business Editor at Axios. The real question, though, is, "Does it want to stop kids from getting these?"
The sleek and colorful design of the company's e-cigarettes, paired with appealing flavors such as mango and cool mint, has helped Juul emerge as a leader in the market with a 68 percent share, according to Wells Fargo. The company projects $940 million in revenue this year, but Primack said he's told that "they are blowing through those numbers." Those numbers helped Juul raise a fresh $1.2 billion in new funding last week.
But strong sales growth may not be enough to entice more traditional Silicon Valley investors to overlook the moral complexities of Juul's business, Primack said.
While the device was created as an alternative to cigarettes, he pointed out the product is falling into the hands of first-time smokers and serves as a "gateway smoke."
For the full segment, [click here.](https://cheddar.com/videos/the-ethical-issues-that-may-plague-juuls-future)
Voting on a tentative contract agreement between General Motors and the United Auto Workers union that ended a six-week strike against the company appears too close to call after the latest tallies at several GM factories were announced Wednesday.
Microsoft is partnering with Warner Brothers for the film Wonka to release a limited edition Xbox series X that looks like one of Willy Wonka's famous chocolate bars.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai was back in court Tuesday to testify in an antitrust trial that accuses the company of running an illegal monopoly on its Android apps.
Ed Egilinsky, managing director and head of sales and distribution & alternatives with Direxion, joined Cheddar News to discuss how bond traders are reacting to the latest consumer price index data and how they're positioning portfolios ahead of next week's release of Nvidia's earnings. Egilinsky also discussed some of the other bigger-cap companies, including Alphabet, Amazon and Apple.
