Five interesting things that Hodges Capital research analysts discovered this week...
#1 CODING: The Apollo 11 Guidance Computer required ~145,000 lines of code. This compares with a few million lines in a military drone, 50 million lines in the Windows 10 operating system, and ~100 million lines of embedded code in the Airbus A380 aircraft and more modern software-defined vehicles.
#2 WEATHER ANALYSIS: We've had a warm start to fall/winter 2026–27, and El Niño conditions bode poorly for the balance of the season, according to Seaport Global Research. Through the first two weeks of fall/winter 2026–27, U.S. search interest is up 6% for boots but down 17% for snow boots, 7% for jackets, and 9% for winter coats.
#3 K-SHAPED DIVERGENCE: According to the latest Bank of America Consumer Checkpoint report, lower-income households' total card spending accelerated 5.7% y/y in August and is growing faster than middle-income spending. This aligns with faster wage growth and marks the second consecutive month that lower-income wage growth has outpaced that of other income cohorts.
#4 OFFENSE: Week 1 averaged 49.4 points per game and tied the NFL's all-time Week 1 scoring record, with 791 total points scored in the Super Bowl era.
#5 CASS FREIGHT INDEX: The longest freight downturn on record ended in August, with shipments increasing 2.1% y/y and bringing the 42-month downturn to a close.
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