TOGETHER WITH
Hey there weekday warrior,
Here’s what’s on the agenda today…
Denny’s goes private, Palantir’s Alex Karp claps back, and it’s a bad day to be an AI stock.
Enjoy the next 4 minutes and 37 seconds of blue-chip news and commentary.
Keep on snapping necks and cashing checks,
Grand Slam
IYKYK
Huge day for the drunk food industrial complex…
Your favorite 24-hour chain diner is going private. PE shop TriArtisan Capital is taking Denny’s $DENN ( ▼ 0.16% ) private as part of a $322M deal (… in case you were wondering why shares jumped like 50% on the day).
Denny’s had been looking for a buyer for some time. It reportedly reached out to more than 40 potential buyers. Desperation does not look good on you…
Turns out the pandemic had taken its toll on the home of the Grand Slam. Its biggest value prop (in-person dining at 3 AM after a 2-day bender) vanished overnight as lockdowns forced the company to scrap its claim to fame (open 24 hours a day). Spiraling inflation and a slowdown in eating out didn’t help.
I’ll have what he’s having…
Pizza Hut $YUM ( ▼ 0.11% ) is considering the unthinkable: breaking up the combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.
During its earnings call, Yum! Brands said the part (Pizza Hut) may be greater than the whole (rest stop Pizza Hut-KFC-Taco Bells). The pizza parlor has been on the struggle bus… and one of the strategic options on the (red and white checkerboard) table is a sale.
Speaking of pizza joints for sale…
Apollo has shown its pull-out game is strong. It reportedly has withdrawn its bid to take Papa John’s $PZZA ( ▼ 5.08% ) private…
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+ We don’t deserve Alex Karp…
Perhaps you recall that Michael Burry tweeted that he believes there’s an AI bubble… then proceeded to put his money where his mouth is by placing yuge bets against Nvidia $NVDA ( ▼ 1.75% ) and Palantir $PLTR ( ▼ 1.49% ).
To the surprise of literally no one, PLTR’s loose cannon of a founder, Alex Karp, took to CNBC to clap back: “The two companies he’s shorting are the ones making all the money, which is super weird. The idea that chips and ontology is what you want to short is batsh*t crazy.”
Joke’s on Alex. Shares of PLTR cratered (despite reporting a beat and raise Monday) and dragged down the AI ecosystem (and therefore, the entire market) with them.
+ Go call your friend who diversified his NFTs by buying bitcoin and NVDA…
Bitcoin collapsed yesterday, falling below $100k for the first time since June. Why, you ask? See above. The market suddenly went all risk off after hearing from Palantir Monday… just as Satoshi intended.
+ Take notes, aspiring white collar criminals…
Charlie Javice may have lost her fraud case (friendly reminder: she sold her student loan startup to JPMorgan $JPM ( ▲ 0.79% ) for $175M, but most of its users were totally fake), but she has won the war… pending a judge’s decision.
You see, the bank was obligated to cover her legal bills. So Charlie stuck it to Jamie Dimon by racking up a $115M “legal” tab. It included things like hotel room upgrades during the trial, and presumably sea urchin ceviche from Dorsia. As you might expect, the bank is calling bullsh*t and bringing her back to court.
+ Everyone really wants Apple Intelligence to, you know, actually do something… so Apple $AAPL ( ▲ 0.04% ) is giving us a low-cost laptop that will compete with Chromebook. And I’m not so sure Tim Cook is fully aware that you can get a Chromebook for like $29.99…
+ Can you blame SBF for trying to get out of jail after CZ got his name cleared by POTUS? Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyers were in court Tuesday, arguing that the FTX founder’s first trial was unfair. Unsurprisingly, the appellate judges seemed very skeptical.
Also, I’ll just leave this right here…
+ US stocks “tumbled on Tuesday as doubts about high-running AI valuations preyed on investors sifting through the latest flurry of quarterly earnings, who received a fresh warning from top CEOs.” (Yahoo! Finance)
+ The 10-year yield “fell Tuesday as investors weighed the state of the economy and looked ahead to a speech by Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman.” (CNBC)
+ Oil “prices settled lower on Tuesday as weaker manufacturing numbers and a stronger dollar weighed on demand, while the OPEC+ decision to pause output hikes in the first quarter of next year could signal the group’s concern about a potential supply glut.” (Reuters)
+ The “smart” money (prediction markets) thinks there’s a 9% chance Bitcoin falls below $70k this year. Sheesh. (Kalshi)
⏪ Yesterday…
+ Uber, Shopify, Spotify, Pfizer, Ferrari, Zoetis, Hut 8, Archer-Daniels-Midland, Marriott, Eaton, Wingstop, and Hertz Global reported before the opening bell
+ Advanced Micro Devices, Super Micro Computer, Arista, Rivian, Tempus, Astera Labs, Marathon Digital Holdings, Zeta, CAVA, Upstart, Axon, Pinterest, Toast, Kratos, Amgen, Coupang, Procept, and Ouster reported after the bell
⏩ Today we’re keeping an eye on…
+ Novo Nordisk, McDonald's, Lemonade, Unity, Recursion Pharmaceuticals, Cameco, DigitalOcean, Fiverr, Humana, Emerson Electric, and SolarEdge report this AM
+ Robinhood, Qualcomm, IONIQ, Arm Holdings, Applovin, Duolingo, Fortinet, e.l.f. Beauty, Joby, DoorDash, Eos Energy, Lyft, Snap, Lucid Group, Figma, Fair Isaac, Centrus Energy, Dutch Bros, Honest Company, HubSpot, Redwire, Sezzle, AMC, Enovix, Energy Transfer, Root, Albemarle, Coherent, Devon Energy, Talen Energy, Paycom, and American Superconductor report after the bell
+ Bank of America will hold an Investor Day in Boston… its first in 15 years
+ LendingClub will hold its Investor Day event in New York City
Yesterday, I asked, “If you get upgraded on a flight but your girlfriend/wife doesn’t, do you downgrade and both suffer or do you take the upgrade?”
44.4% of you said, “Take the upgrade.”
Here’s what some of you guys had to say…
Take the upgrade: “Distance makes the heart grow fonder. Right?”
Other: “Since it's my husband, if I was upgraded he would totally tell me to take it and he would sit with the peasants. ”
Take the upgrade: “Make it up to your wife by sharing your warm nuts!”
Other: “Slam as many drinks as possible about halfway through swap with the girlfriend/wife. Boom win win.”
Sit with the peasants: “2 hours of luxury vs. a lifetime of abandonment accusations. Real tough choice here.”
Other: “Give it to my wife and hope to reap the benefits later even though there won't be any and my 6'6" ass is stuck in economy.”
Here’s today’s question…
It's 2 AM. You're drunk as a skunk and you're with your best friends. You skipped dinner and you're starving. What's the move?
Valid…
Why is it even still called S&P 500?
— #Michael A. Arouet (#@MichaelAArouet)
8:10 AM • Nov 4, 2025
Oh, and one more thing…
What did you think about today's newsletter?
Sent from my Amazon Fire Phone. Please excuse any mistakes and typos.
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.