Hey there weekday warrior,
Today, we’re getting into Google’s AI search pivot, Home Depot's decision to keep prices low, and Warby Parker showing signs of life. But first...
In the May 21, 2018 edition of The Water Coolest, we covered Starbucks’ decision to open its bathrooms to everyone… not just paying customers. It went about as well as you’d expect.
But it wasn’t until 2025 that new CEO Brian Niccol reversed course, banning poors from using the facilities to do drugs/smear feces on the wall.
Enjoy the next 4 minutes and 43 seconds of blue-chip news and commentary.
Keep on snapping necks and cashing checks,
Google’s pivot
I think I speak on behalf of the human race when I say, “bro, chill.”
Google $GOOGL ( ▼ 0.41% ) has a fever, and the only prescription is more AI features.
Google’s I/O developer conference was basically Sundar Pichai doing his best Kylo Ren… except instead of the force, it’s artificial intelligence power-ups in Google Docs…
Google’s equivalent of Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference showed us what the future of search is, and, honestly, it looks a lot like ChatGPT…
The company’s “AI Overviews” will go mainstream and roll out across the globe, despite its mixed track record.
But instead of fine-tuning Overviews, it’s going all in with “AI Mode.” Users can access the Gemini-esque chatbot via the Google search bar. And rumor has it that the AI option might replace the ‘I’m feeling lucky button’.
It’ll feel pretty familiar to anyone who’s messed around with an AI chatbot. Instead of getting a list of results, you’ll be able to chat with Alphabet’s LLM to get the results you need… and it can’t be any worse than Bing, right?
Don’t worry, Google purists, the chat will offer up links if you’d like to just do your own research, but it does raise questions… mostly: how the f*ck is Google (which currently prints money) going to monetize a chatbot conversation?
One more thing…
Google was far from done with the AI-ification of its ecosystem…
The company that took Google+ away from us appears to have given up on original ideas (see AI Mode, which looks a lot like ChatGPT and Perplexity). It also unveiled Project Mariner (who is naming this stuff?), an AI agent similar to OpenAI’s Operator or many of the other similar products on the market.
It can surf the web and complete menial online tasks for you with simple prompting. And all for the low-low price of $249 per month.
It did manage at least one original idea/put Zoom in a body bag
Meet real-time speech translation. Google Meet will now translate to different languages in real time, and it is so over for Duolingo. Ok, this is kinda cool…
The secret to paying off debt faster (hint: it all starts with the right credit card)
Ok, hear me out.
It might sound crazy, but there's a much easier way to pay down debt faster. Spoiler: using a credit card.
Find a card with a “0% intro APR" period for balance transfers. Then, transfer your debt balance and pay it down as much as possible during the intro period. No interest means you could pay off the debt faster.
Some of the top credit card experts identified one of their favorites that puts interest on ice until nearly 2027 AND offers up to 5% cash back on qualifying purchases.
+ Home Depot don’t want that smoke.
Presumably, after witnessing POTUS’ public shaming of Walmart $WMT ( ▲ 0.49% ), HD $HD ( ▼ 0.89% ) decided it wouldn’t raise prices because of tariffs. It made it abundantly clear during its earnings call Tuesday that there would be no tariff-related price hikes… but warned weekend warriors might find some products out of stock.
+ 2018 called, and it wants its DTC darling back…
Warby Parker $WRBY ( ▲ 0.2% ) (remember them?), the eyewear company that became the poster child for cutting out the middleman and selling mediocre products directly to millennials, just got a lifeline from Google. The two will combine forces to develop a smart glasses partnership that sounds a lot like Meta and Ray-Ban’s. Google committed $150M to develop the Glass 2.0.
+ “It’s not about size, it’s about how you use it!” - Europeans, probably
Europe has got a big big tech problem…
+ The official uniform of middle management has a new home. Levi Strauss $LEVI ( ▲ 0.1% ) is unloading the Dockers brand to Authentic Brands for $311M. Levi is currently in the midst of divesting all assets that don’t produce components of a Canadian tuxedo. It already unloaded its Denizen and shut down a footwear brand in Europe.
+ Turns out the sort of people financing burritos and Walmart trips aren’t exactly straight shooters. Klarna $KLAR ( 0.0% ), which recently inked deals with Walmart and DoorDash to offer its buy now, pay later services, announced that consumer credit losses soared 17% (read: people who aren’t paying back their $11 loans). The company that had been kicking the tires on an IPO saw its losses nearly double in the quarter…
+ What a n00b. At long last, Fortnite is back on the Apple $AAPL ( ▼ 0.25% ) App Store. It has made its triumphant return after 5 years, tens (if not hundreds) of millions in legal fees, and one last minute threat by a judge that Apple should reconsider denying Epic’s request.
+ US stocks “pulled back from their recent rally on Tuesday amid growing warnings that investor relief over a cooling in trade tensions and in US inflation may be misplaced.” (Yahoo! Finance)
+ The 10-year yield “wavered Tuesday as traders assessed the Federal Reserve’s potential policy moves in the near future after benchmark rates reached key levels in the prior session.” (CNBC)
+ Oil “prices were little changed on Tuesday due to uncertainty in U.S.-Iran negotiations and Russia-Ukraine peace talks, while new government data delivered a cautious outlook for top crude-importer China’s economy.” (Reuters)
⏪ Yesterday…
+ Home Depot and Bilibili reported before the bell
+ Palo Alto reported after the bell
+ Alphabet held its annual Google I/O Conference
⏩ Today we’re keeping an eye on…
+ Target, Lowe's, Baidu, TJX, WIX, Medtronic, and XPeng report before the bell
+ Snowflake and Zoom report after the bell
Yesterday, I asked, “What's your go-to wedding gift (you and a guest)?”
23.7% of you chose “$200.”
Here’s what some of you guys had to say…
$100: “Average wedding - over the top wedding would be more but where I live this is average”
$200: “I give what I got, which was a disappointing sum”
$250: “Pays for your dinner and then some.”
$300: “Cover the plates for both, give them a little love, $300 is perfect and a solid number. Candidly, anyone who does less than 250 is either selfish, not really friends with the couple, or in their early 20s/living off dollar slices.”
I buy off the registry: “My wife typically handles these kinds of tasks. ”
Here’s today’s question…
how many suits you own based on your industry:
finance: 5-10
tech: 1-2
crypto: 0 then 5 once your trial starts
— #low yield lucy (#@picotop)
7:49 PM • May 20, 2025
Oh, and one more thing…
What did you think about today's newsletter?
Does this look like the face of a guy you should take financial advice from?
No, it’s the face of an individual who is financially irresponsible/dumb enough to be talked into spending money on a family photo shoot that he could have just done with his iPhone. So, act accordingly...
This is not financial advice. Nothing in this newsletter is an investment recommendation. All content is created for entertainment, educational, or informational purposes only. Do your own research, or do yourself a favor and hire a professional.