By Katie Gomez

A significant part of being a stock trader, especially in today’s technologically forward environment, is keeping up to date with new hot trends, social media, and pop culture. The Super Bowl epitomizes American pop culture, from its eccentric, celebrity-endorsed commercials to the half-time entertainment. This article will review the importance of pop culture, the Superbowl, and the stock market, highlighting the legendary spikes from half-time performances like Rhianna to news Pepsi commercials.

Superbowl half-time showdown 

Although at first glance, Usher’s performance might be considered more successful due to the viewership for his performance drawing in 5% more viewers than last year, the lingering results of his performance could be better compared to his Superbowl half-time show predecessor, Rhianna. 

Over 100 million viewers watched Rihanna headline this year’s Super Bowl half-time show in a visual beauty of a set with smash hits like “Umbrella,” “Only Girl in the World,” and “Diamonds” blaring through State Farm Stadium. After her nostalgic performance, Rihanna saw her entire catalog’s global streams surge over 640% compared to the prior week. Spotify also shared that over 46.6 million streams got racked up on a custom “This is Rihanna” collection, allowing newfound fans an easy anthology dive. 

Rhianna’s performance created a trickle-down effect long after she left the stage. Rihanna’s recording peak aligns with streaming services ascent, so her catalog offers depth that still needs to be explored to sustain interest for the short term.

In contrast, Usher’s performance results lagged behind the overwhelming tidal wave of support Rihanna enjoyed across generational demographics the year prior. He relied predominantly on nostalgic sing-alongs, absent the promise of forthcoming music hinted at by Rihanna last time around, to feed the hype machine. 

Stocks that were boosted from Rhianna’s half-time show

Streaming services 

Streaming companies featuring her music, such as Spotify and Apple Music, benefited from her performance tenfold, as they both served her existing fans and newly converted fans, allowing users to churn through songs and familiarize themselves via curated playlists. Spotify saw a significant catalog streaming spike as her performance left fans wanting more, diving deeper across her discography, especially older material they slept on in real time. 

Hospitality 

After her performance, touring rumors ignited demand ripples in hospitality stocks and ticketing platforms. Concert ticket sellers and tour promoters also heavily favored the star’s return to the stage after years of hiatus to focus on beauty brands and motherhood. 

Designer Brands 

Adding validity, fashion stocks carrying official Fenty designer brand items continue benefiting from the singer’s enhanced spotlight and influence, converting eyeballs into e-commerce sales of cosmetics and lingerie lines she creatively directs. Fresh off earning the vaunted “billionaire” designation, cross-category retail partners highlighting her goods like LVMH-owned Sephora anticipate further upside riding the visibility wave right as the megastar models Savage X Fenty while singing one of this generation’s most recognizable anthems – the total performance embodying personal style power ready to pull in purse strings.

Some modest speculative trading gains exist on major music industry stocks benefiting most from breakout consumption around affiliated artists. Not only that, but artists who recorded with her later that year also took advantage of that financial ripple effect. Any affiliation linking rising talent with Rihanna’s resurgent popularity and high-grossing potential tour would confer marginal associative advantages.

However, half-time entertainment is only one part of the Superbowl mania that leads to dramatic spikes in the stock market. Here are other factors that have influenced the stock market to look out for since the Superbowl aired in February:

Companies that purchase expensive TV advertising  

The most direct impact comes from company stock reactions to the multimillion-dollar commercials debuting new branding campaigns to over 100 million viewers. Stocks can rapidly rise if a creative, viral ad immediately resonates with consumers, signaling potential sales momentum. 

Conversely, harshly criticized ads out of touch with societal mores have resulted in PR debacles dragging down advertiser stock prices. With such an enormous viewership, commercial receptions make or break Super Bowl Sunday’s ultimate financial impact. Besides the half-time show and the game’s outcome, these commercials make up Superbowl pop culture.

In addition to basic consumer stocks like PepsiCo or Walmart, investors are buying these stocks after recent Super Bowl commercials generated more buzz.

• Microsoft (MSFT): The company showed off Copilot and is expanding its AI presence.
• Crowdstrike (CRWD): The futuristic western commercial shows cybersecurity solutions in action.
• Intuit (INTU): A simple but effective case study highlights why many people use Turbo Tax.

Stocks tied closely to football 

Separate from reactions to TV spots, stocks closely intertwined with football see natural boosts surrounding the Big Game hype cycle each year. Broadcasters like Disney, Fox, and CBS enjoy ratings boosts from the coveted live event dominating water-cooler talk, while league partners, including DraftKings and FanDuel, attract engaged novice bettors. Additionally, stocks tied closely to the NFL, sports apparel companies (Nike, Adidas, Under Armour), and consumer goods advertisers (Anheuser-Busch, PepsiCo, Frito-Lay) tend to see positive price movement around the event, which serves as a showcase generating sales and exposure.

Quirky stocks featured during the broadcast 

While harder to predict, quirky meme stocks sometimes violently whipsaw based on absurd Super Bowl connections, from featured brands during performances to celebrities reacting in crowd shots. Such mentions quickly go viral, leading impressionable retail traders toward FOMO buys disconnected from company fundamentals. Recent examples include Hertz inexplicably spiking on a Squarespace ad citing free rental cars or cannabis stocks soaring because Snoop Dogg hyped them at half-time. Such ephemeral links generate temporary manias that quickly evaporate. 

A quirky factor of this year’s game was its recurring Spongebob Squarepants theme. From the announcers mimicking Spongebob and Patrick’s to recall plays to the bubble bowl performance that kickstarted the game. This quirky broadcast feature garnered significant attention for Paramount Global (NASDAQ: PARA), the network that owns Nickelodeon, and several sports companies.

Options trading activity 

Finally, options trading activity always surges ahead of the high uncertainty event as millions of casual viewers bet on outcomes and parleys like the score, coin flip results, or even setlist songs using derivatives, allowing limited downside risk. While straight stock picks conform to prominent football-affiliated companies, options provide access for speculating on more exotic hypotheticals related to the broadcast, now rivaling a Las Vegas spectacle.

In summary, the market is impacted by several Superbowl factors, including advertising exposure, the performance of football adjacent equities, quirky investor behavior capitalizing on broadcast connections, increased options trading, and half-time show nostalgia and entertainment. The Superbowl serves as retail investors’ unofficial opening day, like Major League Baseball, stirring related trading action. So even if your football team didn’t win or even make it to the Superbowl this year, know that investors and traders alike can still stand to benefit from the game itself, with the rippling effects this game continues to have on the market year after year.