While chip investors are still digesting the resignation of NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, we’re snacking our way through airport and train station food courts – for once without rushing to catch a connection. From trains, we move on to cars, because not every carmaker is stuck in a slump. Find out why Elon Musk, of all people, is taking an embarrassing hit here. Plus: why momentum ETFs are worth a closer look right now.
This newsletter contains ads.
What’s on our mind
Stress test 2026
Winter naturally makes us a bit more sluggish. But this year has taken a toll on investors in particular: a major scandal involving the NVIDIA CEO, his resignation yesterday, geopolitical tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, the US midterms, and most recently, a climbing fear gauge, the VIX. Yet capital markets have proven remarkably resilient – partly because retail investors no longer bolt at the first sign of a pullback, instead stepping up as independent market participants.
Just how much the balance of power on Wall Street has shifted became especially clear in June with the SpaceX IPO. While traditional IPOs usually allocate less than 10% of shares to retail investors, SpaceX deliberately broke with this convention, earmarking a historic retail tranche of up to 30% and attracting over $70 billion in orders from individual investors worldwide. What was once almost exclusively reserved for big institutional players is gradually opening up – even if strong IPO demand does not, of course, guarantee of a smooth ride in the market.
Lagardère
Profits in transit
A sandwich and a bottle of water – €14. Instead of getting annoyed by airport and train station snack prices, you could actually profit from them. The French conglomerate Lagardère provides the blueprint.
With brands like Relay and Marché, the company enjoys immense pricing power at high-traffic travel hubs. Why? Travellers are pressed for time and short on alternatives. The group also operates franchises for Burger King Dean&David and Coffee Fellows, and runs the catering at zoos in Berlin Leipzig and Munich.
In Germany, Lagardère aims to double its business by 2030. Sixteen retail spaces in Frankfurt’s new Terminal 3 and 27 units at Düsseldorf Airport are already paving the way for this expansion. Business is booming: group revenue hit €2.63 billion in Q3, bolstered by its other core pillars – book publishing and entertainment.
Chart of the Week
Opportunity beyond the crisis
Indexed Total Return since 2020 (starting value = 100)
Source: Internal research
Don’t worry, this isn’t another story about Volkswagen or the German car crisis. Other carmakers are proving remarkably resilient despite headwinds like inflation. General Motors, for instance, grew Q3 revenue by nearly 3% year-on-year to $50 billion thanks to its US market focus, cost discipline, and high-margin pickups. Meanwhile, Toyota is riding the global hybrid wave. Both stocks have nearly tripled their total return – combining share price gains with reinvested dividends – since 2020. It goes to show: with the right line–up strategy, the auto industry remains a cash cow.
Momentum ETFs
Backing the high-flyers
It’s a classic investing playbook: buy a global ETF, sit back and ride the market. Nothing wrong with that. But why settle for tracking the market when you could beat it? Over a ten-year horizon, momentum ETFs have left the MSCI World Index in the dust. These ETFs systematically buy stocks that have posted the strongest recent gains – and right now, AI names naturally dominate the spotlight.
Recently, however, that lead has narrowed considerably, as the latest tech sell-off hit momentum funds full force. Still, for anyone who believes in these high-flyers over the long haul, the pullback could be an opening.
Most Traded
Bought:
Sold:
Note: The data refers to the ratio of purchases and sales of the 100 most traded stocks on Scalable Broker between 06/11/2026 and 12/11/2026.
In the spotlight: Axon Enterprise
Axon Enterprise – a hardware and software supplier for law enforcement and public safety – grew Q3 revenue by almost 30%. Even if the stock tumbled due to delayed US government contracts. Its recent $1.2 billion stake in drone maker Skydio also received a lukewarm reception. Many investors seized the dip as a buying opportunity.
Fail of the week
A stainless-steel string of flops
Tesla will discontinue production of its futuristic Cybertruck – once hailed as a cult icon – starting mid-2027. The electric pickup’s 2019 unveiling was already a fiasco, when Tesla’s chief designer shattered the supposedly bulletproof window. Over the years, the promised $40,000 price tag and 800 km range turned into $60,000 and just 520 km. Add technical glitches, recalls, and Elon Musk’s political agenda alienating core fans, and the stainless-steel behemoth ultimately hit just 10% of its sales target. As usual, though, none of this dents Musk’s ambitions: going forward, autonomous models will take priority, including the two-seater Cybercab. Meanwhile, Tesla’s stock continues to sputter.
Scalable News
New in the Broker: Access to IPOs
For selected IPOs, you can now place your buy order directly in the app even before the first day of trading.
Demand for newly listed shares is often massive, and sought-after IPOs can be heavily oversubscribed. During SpaceX’s historic listing in summer 2026, for example, buy orders outstripped available shares nearly four to one. As a result, allocations can be sharply scaled back – an order for €1,000 might end up yielding just €200 or €300 worth of shares.
When you place an IPO order through Scalable Capital, we reserve your requested amount upfront. Once shares are allocated, any unused funds are immediately released. As with all capital investments, subscribing to IPOs involves risks.
Your chance to own cycling history
Calling all cycling fans: Win one of two signed, limited-edition Giro helmets worn by CANYON//SRAM rider Antonia Niedermaier on her way to winning the 2026 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift white jersey for Best Young Rider. Head to Instagram to enter the giveaway.
The giveaway ends on 15 November, at 11:59pm CET. T&Cs apply.
Retirement in Focus
Riester transfer service? Scalable covers all the fees
Your current Riester provider can generally charge up to €150 per contract to transfer your plan into a retirement custody account (Altersvorsorgedepot – AVD), and the receiving provider can charge a one-off fee of up to €150 as well. From 1 January 2027, Scalable will offer a free Riester transfer service, handling the entire switch with your existing provider. On top of that, we’ll reimburse any transfer fees charged by your old provider and charge zero fees ourselves. With just a few details, you can initiate the transfer effortlessly – saving you both money and hassle.
Plus, you’ll pay no custody fees for the AVD at Scalable, and for pension bonus ETFs (Rentenbonus-ETFs), product costs (TER) are automatically refunded and reinvested.
Editorial deadline: Friday, 7 am
Sources: Scalable and dpa-AFX
Bits & Pieces is the heart of our editorial team, and the versatility of our writers shapes every single issue of the newsletter.
Team Lead Sophie is an economist and trained journalist who spent several years analyzing market developments live from New York as a Wall Street correspondent for outlets including ntv and Media Pioneer. As a trained business journalist and architect, Verena pursues her passion for macroeconomics and has previously reported for Focus Money and Bloomberg.
Above all, they both live and breathe their own passion for stocks, ETFs, and investing.
Mehr lesen?
Jetzt unseren Newsletter abonnieren und Börsen-News jeden Freitag direkt ins Postfach erhalten.
Es gelten unsere Datenschutzbestimmungen. Die Zustimmung kann jederzeit widerrufen werden.