TOGETHER WITH
Hey there weekday warrior,
Anduril is coming for Lockheed’s crown.
Enjoy the next 4 minutes and 40 seconds of blue-chip news and commentary.
Keep on snapping necks and cashing checks,
Military industrial complexion
Will it play Gorilla Tag tho?
Real-life Keenan Feldspar is about to build the military-grade Oculus for Green Berets. And Raytheon is probably punching air right now.
Defense tech startup Anduril is gearing up to take over Microsoft’s (-0.1%) $22B mixed-reality headset contract with the US Army. Anduril and Microsoft had already been collabing on the project, which should make it easier to get final signoff from the Pentagon.
Anduril will control production, hardware, and software for the “Integrated Visual Augmentation System” project. IVAS is supposed to be developing AR and VR systems for infantry use on the battlefield and for unmanned systems (think: drones). Microsoft Azure will provide the cloud infrastructure for Anduril’s software.
So why’s MSFT pulling out?
Well, for starters, the 10-year project to build an Oculus with a license to kill has been about as successful as finding WMDs in Iraq circa 2003. The earliest headset reportedly caused headaches and nausea.
Plus, making a deal with the devil irked Microsoft employees. Oh, and Satya Nadella found a shiny new toy to throw his money at (read: OpenAI).
Luckey guy…
The big swingin’ defense contract may soon be in the hands of this guy. To be fair, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone more qualified than Palmer Luckey to take on the challenge. Before he made things that vanquished America’s enemies, he built VR startup Oculus (which was acquired by Meta).
The timing couldn’t be better for Luckey. He is reportedly in talks to raise $2.5B at a $28B valuation from Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund.
And if you’re thinking, “I’ve seen this episode of Black Mirror!” it’s because you have.
Last Day to Invest in The Biggest Disruption to IP Since Disney 🚀
Today’s the last day for investors to get a piece of some of the biggest names in entertainment.
Elf Labs won 100+ historic trademarks to characters like Cinderella, Snow White & The Little Mermaid. Now, they’re giving investors an opportunity to tap into the $2T entertainment & merchandising market with them.
Not only is Elf Labs signing major toy, apparel & food deals globally — they’re also using patented technology to bring their characters to life with AR/VR and AI — creating a first-of-its-kind, revolutionary entertainment platform.
Cinderella’s magic ended at midnight—don’t let yours.
Disclosure: This is a paid advertisement for Elf Labs’ Regulation CF offering. Please read the offering circular at elflabs.com.
+ “It’s so f*cking big” - Nielsen
Super Bowl LIX put up record numbers with 127.7M viewers tuning in Sunday to watch the Eagles D make Patrick Mahomes eat sack lunches harder than Jeremy Grey. Advertising costs for the big game shot up too, with at least 10 commercials ringing up at an $8M price tag.
While plenty of hardworking, cable-paying ‘mericans enjoyed the game and the fever-dream, AI-fueled ads, Fox (+0.4%) also opened up Tubi for the freeloaders. It’s the first time the game has been streamed for free and 13.6M poors viewers watched the Chiefs embarrass T Swift for free on the app. The real question is, with all that money floating around, why was the scorebug designed so poorly?
+ “No rush” - J-Poww to Senators. And his proctologist once a year.
Everyone’s favorite lame-duck Fed Chair met with the Senate Banking Committee Tuesday. J-Poww wasn’t in the mood for surprises. He re-upped his stance that while the economy is strong, jobs are solid, and inflation is easing, he’s not “in a hurry” to drop rates.
Liz Warren pushed him about the DOGE shakeup at the CFPB, and Jerome confirmed that no federal regulator is currently handling consumer compliance. So, prime time to launch that Ponzi scheme you’ve been thinking about...
Sen. Bernie Moreno inquired (presumably for a friend) if the Fed had any plans to launch a central bank digital currency. J-Poww was a “hard pass.” Friendly reminder: the Fed has been considering a central bank crypto since at least 2022, but has yet to pull the trigger.
+ It’s giving New Cold War.
While Elon and Sam Altman continue to beef, the Decepticons over in China are teaming up and rolling out. Chinese EV maker BYD has made a deal with DeepSeek to develop self-driving tech that might require Tesla (-6.3%) and OpenAI to bury the d*mn hatchet already and defend capitalism.
The new autonomous driving system “God’s Eye” will be connected to the DeepSeek R1 model to improve BYD’s AI capabilities. ICYMI, that’s the model that just ran train on American Exceptionalism and Jensen Huang’s net worth.
While the vehicles won’t pose a threat in the US due to those 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs, Tesla has already been struggling to move product in China due to restrictions from the People’s Party. Backup plan if Elon and Sam can’t make up: Apple acquires Nikola and we finally get an Apple Car.
+ Sam Altman wrote a memo to OpenAI employees saying the board hasn’t actually received Elon’s $97.4B offer. Did he check spam?
+ Shopify (+3.0%) reported a Q4 revenue beat, an earnings miss, and gave a mixed outlook for the current quarter. But the only thing that really matters is that they (finally) made this decision.
+ Dominari Holdings (+21.1%) shares mooned after an announcement that Donny, Jr. and Eric Trump have joined the board. Awaiting a LinkedIn post from CEO Kyle Wool about how hard work pays off.
+ Stop trying to make brick-and-mortar happen. Amazon (-0.1%) plans to open a health & beauty store in Milan. “Amazon Parafarmacia & Beauty” aka Italian Walgreens opens Wednesday.
+ Jalen Hurts lives in a $2,000-per-month rental despite his $255M contract — here’s why. Bro, what are you trying to prove?
+ You only need 2 or 3 cards to maximize rewards, says credit expert—here’s how to choose. Whichever company sends you the the most snail mail.
🔥 What the end of the penny means for the economy, your piggy bank, and the way America prices items. The penny is the original sh*tcoin.
FYI, TWC might be compensated if you click on the links above. So, what are you waiting for? Start clicking.
+ US stocks “closed mixed on Tuesday as investors assessed more tariff policy shifts from President Donald Trump and looked ahead to upcoming inflation data.” (Yahoo! Finance)
+ The 10-year yield “rose and stocks fluctuated as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated the central bank is in no rush to cut rates.” (Bloomberg)
+ Oil “prices edged up to a two-week high on Tuesday as sanctions raised concerns about Russian and Iranian oil supplies and on rising Middle East tensions, outweighing worries that trade tariffs would boost inflation and dampen global economic growth.” (Reuters)
+ Bitcoin “fell marginally on Tuesday, extending its tepid performance from last week as traders remained sidelined by recent trade tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump, and upcoming crucial inflation data.” (Investing.com)
+ The three most talked about stocks on WallStreetBets in the past 24 hours were: 1) Tesla -6.3% 2) Super Micro Computer -9.4% 3) Nvidia -0.5%
⏪ Yesterday, Shopify, Coca-Cola, S&P Global, Marriott, BP, Humana, Ecolab, and Carrier Global reported before the bell
+ Super Micro Computer (remember them?), DoorDash, Lyft, Upstart, Confluent, Zillow, Energy Transfer, and Gilead Sciences reported after the bell
+ Jerome Powell testified on the Semiannual Monetary Policy Report in front of the Senate Banking Subcommittee
⏩ Today we’re keeping an eye on…
+ Vertiv, CVS Health, Kraft Heinz, Barrick Gold, Dominion Energy, and CME report before the bell
+ Robinhood, Cisco, Reddit, The Trade Desk, Applovin, HubSpot, Dutch Bros, Paycom, Albemarle, and Equinix drop earnings after the bell
+ Western Digital's Investor Day
+ Aureus Greenway IPOs today
+ The January CPI report drops
+ Jerome Powell will testify before the House Financial Services Committee
Yesterday, I asked, “What do you do when someone asks ‘would you like a receipt’?”
“Usually don't take it” won with 25.1% of the votes.
Here’s what some of you guys had to say…
Usually don't take it: “if it's a high-dollar value, or something i think i might return later, i take it”
Usually take it: “But try to avoid touching it because Huberman said so. "Drop it in the bag, please."”
It depends (explain): “Work trip? gimme that receipt dawg. Any food purchase? Don't give me that sh*t.”
Never take it: “What is this, 1952? What do I need a receipt for, to balance my imaginary check book?”
Always take it: “I track my spending and want to make sure "they" know that I track my spending.”
And here’s today’s question…
Decide the fate of the Penny...
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.