Shares of Laird Superfood ($LSF) jumped during the company's public debut on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday.
The company announced it would be offering 2.65 million shares at $22, but the entry point rose at the open to $33.55 per share and ultimately closed at $40.80 per share
Big-wave surfers Laird Hamilton and Paul Hodge Jr. started the company to bring plant-based options to the energy and performance supplement market. Their signature "Superfood Creamers" are crafted to give a fat-based boost to coffee drinks without using animal products.
The company has since expanded into coffee beans, performance mushrooms, and "Instafuel," which are powdery blends that can be added to hot water or coffee.
In the private market, the founders were encouraged to focus on one product and eventually seek out a merger or acquisition, Hodge told Cheddar.
But the founders had a more ambitious vision for the Oregon-based startup.
"For us, we're really building this for the long-term," Hodge said. "We anticipate being on many aisles of the grocery store with a lot of different products."
The public markets seemed like a better route to "bring this idea to fruition," Hamilton added.
Plant-based competitor Beyond Meat ($BYND) chose a similar path. The industry leader went public on May 2 and has since seen its stock price more than double to $150 per share.
Hodge touts the company's "omni-channel" approach, which started online but has since worked with retail partners to expand its physical footprint.
Laird Superfood's products are currently available in 5,500 stores, including Whole Foods, though COVID has driven many customers online to buy products directly.
The goal moving forward is to maintain the company's authenticity and commitment to healthy plant-based products, while also offering them at mass-market prices.
"That's quite frankly why we're going public so that we can be in control of our own destiny," Hodge said.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
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