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Hi John, here's what you need to know for November 5th in 3:15 minutes.

🎆 Finimized with an “Oooh”, an “Aaah”, and a sparkler or two ahead of Guy Fawkes Night in London, UK (9°C/48°F 🌥)

⏳ Keep it brief

All Hail Breaks Loose

What’s Going On Here?

US ride-hailing company Uber needed a pick-me-up on Monday: it beat analysts’ third-quarter profit expectations and announced it’d lose less money than it thought this year, but its stock price still initially fell 5%.

What Does This Mean?

Uber may have reported a smaller loss than investors expected, but its third-quarter revenue wasn’t as high as hoped either. Passengers might’ve been put off catching a ride after it upped prices earlier this year – especially when there are so many rivals around the world with spare seats on offer. Still, Uber now thinks it’ll lose slightly less than the $3 billion investors had forecast: spending less on user growth could help the company turn a profit sooner than expected.

Why Should I Care?

The bigger picture: The road to El Dorado.
Investors’ priorities appear to have shifted: revenue growth is great, sure, but what “defensive” investors seem to really want is profit. Last month, Uber’s US rival Lyft announced it expects to be profitable by the end of 2021 – a year sooner than expected. When it reported its own third-quarter earnings last week, it lost $90 million less than expected, leaving expectations in its dust. But since Uber has more to think about than just ride-hailing, it might take longer to wave the profitability finish flag – which could frustrate some would-be backers.

For markets: Achievement unlocked.
Uber’s shares may have fallen on Monday in part due to the shadow cast by Wednesday’s share “llock-up” expiry. That’s when some of Uber’s early investors will finally be allowed to sell the shares they weren’t allowed to sell in the period right after its initial public offering (tweet this). If they choose to cash out, and if the extra supply of shares isn’t matched by equal demand, Uber’s stock price could fall. That same threat to Beyond Meat’s stock sent it down 40% in October, including a 22% drop on a single day last week.

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Air Support

What’s Going On Here?

IAG – owner of British Airways, Iberia, and Vueling – took another company under its wing on Monday: the airline conglomerate announced it’s buying Air Europa for a lofty $1.1 billion.

What Does This Mean?

Following the purchase, IAG will own Spain’s three biggest airlines. That’ll help it turn the airport in Madrid into an international hub that could rival Amsterdam Schiphol and London Heathrow. And with IAG’s dominance of Heathrow under threat from Virgin, a new fiefdom could be just the ticket.

By buying Air Europa, IAG will also control around a quarter of the routes between Europe and Latin America. That’ll give it a flightpath round Delta, which recently bought a 20% stake in carrier Latam for almost $2 billion and plans to remove the airline’s flights from IAG’s websites and loyalty schemes. IAG will be hoping Air Europa – whose flights will now be wiped from Delta’s systems – makes up for that loss.

Why Should I Care?

The bigger picture: Ryan-scare.
IAG’s future mightn’t be entirely in its control, since airlines’ fortunes are subject to lots of external factors. Ryanair, for example, announced on Monday that it’d receive fewer new planes than it’d hoped from Boeing, which is still trying to get production back on track after halting it altogether earlier this year. That’s bad news for the Irish airline, which wants the new, more efficient planes so it can get on top of costs.

For markets: Splurgin’ on the emergin’.
IAG’s strength in the UK – and its growing presence in Latin America – could be a boon for investors, if new forecasts are to be believed. Some analysts think US stocks are too expensive, and expect the market to deliver annual returns of just 5% over the next decade. Stocks in the UK and emerging markets, on the other hand, might have the potential for much higher returns. If that leads investors to look beyond America’s airspace, it could be the wind beneath London-listed IAG’s wings.

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💬 Quote of the day

– Douglas Adams (an English author, screenwriter, essayist, humorist, satirist and dramatist)