Yahoo Finance sat down with CEOs across top industries, including healthcare, Bitcoin mining, and cannabis. Here are the highlights from this week's interviews.
Walgreens CEO Tim Wentworth (00:00:05)
Walgreens (WBA) CEO Tim Wentworth discusses the company’s plans for 2024. “The story for 2024 is pretty straightforward. It’s reenergize the retail part of our business, both front and back of the store,” Wentworth explains. “Secondly, then is… get the balance sheet and the cash position of the company squared away.” “We are not pivoting away from the stores to a healthcare strategy,” Wentworth adds, “rather we are starting with great stores and expanding out from there a set of services that we can do across the healthcare ecosystem for payers.”
Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks (00:00:54)
Eli Lilly (LLY) CEO Dave Ricks explains what the company saw in 2023, as well as what 2024 holds. “Last year was about the launch of Zepbound, introduction that happened in the fall… Mounjaro had a great year as well in diabetes,” Ricks says. “This year I think will be about some of the new data releases. As we study these drugs, not just to demonstrate they lose weight… but what happens to your broader health.” “It’s going to be an exciting decade ahead for innovation with weight loss,” Ricks adds.
CleanSpark CEO Zach Bradford (00:01:21)
CleanSpark (CLSK) CEO Zach Bradford discusses Bitcoin (BTC-USD) and bitcoin ETF approval. “The strength of Bitcoin is partially based on how many users use it, what adoption looks like, and what the access looks like,” Bradford says. “The Bitcoin approving ETF helps everybody view also the related industries around it as something that is a little more friendly, a little more accessible for your everyday investor.”
Riot Platforms CEO Jason Les (00:02:05)
Riot Platforms (RIOT) CEO Jason Les explains why spot bitcoin ETF approval is a “rising tide that will lift all boats in the industry.” “Historically, a lot of investors who may have had an interest in Bitcoin have been unable to get exposure to the asset. Now with ETFs… those investors can get indirect exposure to Bitcoin and use that as a part of their portfolio management,” Les notes. “We believe this is going to bring a huge inflow of new capital into the space that should have a very positive catalyst on the price of Bitcoin.”
Tilray CEO Irwin Simon (00:02:48)
Tilray (TLRY) CEO Irwin Simon notes how the company is creating something “different” and “new.” “There’s not many companies out there today that have medical cannabis, recreational cannabis, spirits and beer, medical distribution… so we’re creating something that’s different, we’re creating something that’s new,” Simon explains.
Video Transcript
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TIM WENTWORTH: The story for 2024 is pretty straightforward. It's re-energize the retail part of our business, both front and back of the store, in the context of a pretty tough consumer situation, right? And in the context right now of a fairly soft cough, cold, and flu season, although we're starting to see some of that emerging. Secondly, then is really importantly, get the balance sheet and the cash position of the company squared away. We're recovering almost $400 million of incremental profitability, largely a reduction of losses from a couple of the key assets.
And so that's the other piece this year is, not only stabilizing that, but really helping our shareholders as well as the consumer understand we are not pivoting away from the stores to a healthcare strategy. Rather we are starting with great stores and expanding out from there a set of services that we can do across the healthcare ecosystem for payers.
DAVE RICKS: Last year was about the launch of Zepbound introduction that happened in the fall. I think going well so far. Mounjaro had a great year as well in diabetes. Trulicity, our older product, continues to do well. This year, I think, will be about some of the new data releases as we study these drugs, not just to demonstrate they lose weight, which people almost everybody loses weight, but what happens to your broader health. I think it's going to be an exciting decade ahead for innovation with weight loss.
ZACH BRADFORD: The strength of Bitcoin is partially based on how many users use it, what adoption looks like, and what the access looks like. The Bitcoin approving an ETF helps everybody view also the related industries around it as something that is a little more friendly, a little more accessible, for your everyday investor.
Not all digital assets are made equal. I do think that Bitcoin is different. It's the only thing that really doesn't have a CEO. It is fully distributed. And I think that that's why we're seeing Bitcoin be the first one to pass through. Because it's clearly, in my opinion, not a security, but I do think that there is a tough road ahead for other digital assets under Gensler's leadership.
JASON LES: Historically, a lot of investors who may have had an interest in Bitcoin have been unable to get exposure to the asset. Now with ETFs, a traditional, traditionally traded security, these investors can get indirect exposure to Bitcoin and use that as a part of their portfolio management.
We believe this is going to bring a huge inflow of new capital into the space that should have a very positive catalyst on the price of Bitcoin, which is a finite asset, and becoming more finite every year here, every four years here with the halving coming up in April 2024. And this is a, I think, a rising tide that will lift all boats in the industry. And Bitcoin miners well positioned like Riot, have the, are positioned to benefit from this in an outsized way.
IRWIN SIMON: There's not many companies out there today that have medical cannabis, recreational cannabis, spirits and beer, medical distribution, and in the medical cannabis industry. So we're creating something that's different. We're creating something that's new.
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