Expedia stock down, Algorand scores FIFA partnership, Paramount+ gains subscribers

Shares of Expedia are down following mixed earnings, Algorand has become the first blockchain sponsor of the FIFA World Cup, and Paramount+ reported it gained 6.8 million new subscribers over the last quarter.

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RACHELLE AKUFFO: Welcome back, everyone. Dave, Seana, and I are kicking off our triple play now. I'm going to kick us off with my pick, which is Algorand, ticker symbol ALGO, which was developed by Turing-Award-winning MIT professor Sylvia McCauley.

Now, Algorand recently became the official blockchain platform-- [GARBLED AUDIO]

--ahead of the World Cup coming up this year in--

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--even got a bump on that news. You can see--

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--10% there, up about 7%, just about almost 8% for the month.

Now, Algorand is going to be the official blockchain-supported wallet for the tournament. It'll also help FIFA with its digital asset strategy. Now, FIFA in turn, will help with the advertising, media exposure, and promotional opportunities for Algorand.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino called it a clear indication of FIFA's commitment to innovative channels for sustainable revenue growth for further reinvestment back into football, ensuring transparency.

Now, this ALGO token has plunged though, year to date, as you can see. It's down there about 7.8% there. And that's despite enthusiasts like Anthony Scaramucci and his SkyBridge Capital holding about $4 to $5 million worth of Algo tokens, as he told "Insider," and raising $250 million for an Algorand fund in September.

SEANA SMITH: Rachelle, we've talked about the fact that crypto is getting so much more popular here in the sports world. When you take a look at LA, the Staples Center, it's now called the Crypto.com Arena. Crypto.com also reaching a deal to become a sponsor of the 2022 World Cup. So we're seeing this relationship here between crypto and the sports world become even deeper. And it's certainly something that I think we could expect to see here going forward.

We're going to switch gears here a little bit and talk about travel, because Expedia, it caught my attention today. It's off just over 13%. It's the biggest intraday drop that we have seen since the start of the pandemic.

Now, this comes on the heels of mixed earnings from the company. The Street, they're worried about rising inflation and the risk of a recession, what that means, and how exactly that is going to weigh on travel demand this summer.

For the first quarter, Expedia posted a loss of $0.47 a share on $2.25 billion in sales. In a note out this morning, Credit Suisse wrote that results were, quote, "below our expectations, given the impact of omicron as well as geopolitical uncertainty." At least eight firms cut their price targets on the stock today.

Expedia is not the only travel name in the red as a result. We're seeing some jitters here across the board. Airbnb, we'll hear from that company after the bell in terms of what they're seeing earnings-wise. They're under pressure, off just over 4%. You can see Bookings, Trivago, Trip.com, Travelzoo, Expedia, all in the red today, Dave.

DAVE BRIGGS: It's an interesting sector, because people will spend on airfare. The airline CEOs have said they never seen demand like this. But hotels haven't seen that rebound, at least in the major cities. New York City is down 55% since pre-pandemic. San Francisco, 68% down from pre-pandemic. And DC, 54%.

So the hotel industry really hasn't bounced back the way they need to. And clearly, that is dragging down Expedia. But the airlines, they're doing all right.

My play is PGRE. Paramount's streaming service Paramount+ announced it added 6.8 million subscribers during the first quarter. The home of CBS, Nickelodeon, and the Paramount movie studio had nearly 40 million subs as of March 31. The company said net profit fell 52% from last year though, due to higher costs.

The service also had an ad-supported version which costs just under $5 a month. The premium one, which I just referenced is $9.99 a month. Two films have appeared on the platform shortly after their release, "The Lost City" and "Jackass Forever." Both were number one movies.

The stock up 7%-plus year to date and popped a bit on this news, up 1% on the day. My favorite show, of course, is on Paramount "Yellowstone." Rachelle, I assume you are a "Yellowstone" fan. We're thinking a fall season coming up.

RACHELLE AKUFFO: Let me tell you, I have so many streaming services. I'm like, this didn't make the cut. Sorry, it didn't. I've got my Netflix and my "Bridgerton." I can only do so much.

But obviously, this is a very crowded market you have with streaming services. So sometimes people are logging in for a bit, perhaps a few months, taking advantage of some of these things. So there's definitely room to grow. But it is a very, very crowded market. Obviously, as we saw with Netflix, at a certain point, perhaps you might hit a ceiling.

DAVE BRIGGS: Yeah, it seemed like everyone just thought Netflix was going to drag the whole industry down. That is not clearly the case, at least not yet.