☕️ Most disappointing

A national park is leaning into its bad reputation... August 29, 2024 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( PRESENTED BY [Bland.AI]( Good morning. Warren Buffett just notched another investing milestone: His holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, reached $1 trillion in market cap yesterday, becoming the first non-tech US firm to hit the mark. It’s been a long time coming, and by long, we mean since 1839, when Berkshire was founded as a textile manufacturer and probably considered a tech company. Buffett arrived on the scene in 1965 and transformed a couple of textile mills into a sprawling conglomerate that owns businesses (Geico and the maker of Squishmallows) and has large stakes in many others (Coca-Cola, Apple). Most importantly, Buffett, who turns 94 tomorrow, is a Virgo, the same sign as our dear editor Abby Rubenstein, whose birthday was yesterday. Happy birthday, Abby (and Warren)! —Molly Liebergall, Cassandra Cassidy, Matty Merritt, Abby Rubenstein, Neal Freyman MARKETS Nasdaq 17,556.03 -1.12% S&P 5,592.18 -0.60% Dow 41,091.42 -0.39% 10-Year 3.841% +1.0 bps Bitcoin $59,261.97 -1.82% CrowdStrike $264.20 -2.09% Data is provided by *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 6:00pm ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: The biggest news for markets, Nvidia’s earnings report, didn’t drop until after the bell rang. During normal trading hours, stocks [fell]( because investors apparently don’t like sitting around and waiting. - Stock spotlight: Another tech company that posted quarterly results yesterday was CrowdStrike, recently responsible for a global IT outage. It reported stronger-than-expected quarterly sales but still cut its yearly outlook.  TECH [These shoulders have been carrying the markets]( [Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang]( Cheng/Getty Images There couldn’t have been more [hype]( around Nvidia’s latest earnings report even if CEO Jensen Huang had read it out while performing aerial acrobatics in a sold-out stadium. The chipmaker announced yesterday that it once again glided past expectations to achieve a [banger]( of a second quarter—but it wasn’t enough to meet investors’ sky-high expectations. Nvidia reported: - $30 billion in sales vs. an expected $28.7 billion for Q2. That’s an increase of 122% from last year and follows three straight quarters of tripling growth. - A revenue outlook of $32.5 billion for the current quarter, which exceeded analysts’ projections but fell short of the loftiest forecasts. - Underscoring its self-confidence, Nvidia also [announced]( a $50 billion stock buyback. But…even though it beat Wall Street’s expectations, it beat them by less than in previous blockbuster quarters. That caused investors to fear that growth was slowing, which sent the stock down 7% in after-hours trading (though it’s worth remembering the stock was up 150% for the year before that). The AI bellwether One reason the earnings were so hyped is that Nvidia counts all the usual suspects (Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta, Tesla, etc.) as clients, so its earnings report is a way to [gauge]( Big Tech’s AI spending. It provides a valuable data point as some investors fear an AI bubble that could burst. Multiple analysts have called Nvidia one of the world’s most important stocks and yesterday’s earnings call the most significant market event of the year—rivaling even Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s rate-cut-signaling [speech]( at Jackson Hole last week. - Nvidia is second only to Apple in market value and has been the best-performing stock in the S&P 500 this year. It [accounts]( for 6.6% of the index but contributed more than one-quarter of its 18% gains this year (not including the lift it gave to other stocks). - Big corporations aren’t the only ones impacted by Nvidia’s numbers: Retail investors and smaller asset managers hold ~30% of Nvidia shares, according to FactSet. After retail investors [bought]( the Nvidia dip earlier this month, the Nasdaq recorded its third-highest tally of individual trades since 2016, according to Wall Street Journal. Looking ahead…Nvidia will have to overcome concerns that its next-generation Blackwell chip is facing production holdups, something the company acknowledged yesterday after reports that the product could be delayed by up to three months. But demand for the chips remains strong, and the delay could just mean more sales of Nvidia’s current Hopper chip.—ML PRESENTED BY BLAND.AI [Ring...ring...ring...]( [Bland.AI]( AI is calling—and it sounds more human than ever. Say hi to Bland.AI, the [world’s most realistic AI phone-calling agent](. Chances are, you’ve already spoken to it without even noticing. It understands emotions, responds in any voice or language, and already handles 1m+ phone calls simultaneously, 24/7. For enterprises, it’s been a financial game changer across sales, operations, customer support, you name it. It’s like the perfect employee, so expect major shifts in international and US jobs. Pretty wild, huh? Here, [give it a call yourself](. Or Brew readers can [get exclusive access to an even more advanced version here](. WORLD [Tour de headlines](#) [Pavel Durov]AOP.Press/Corbis via Getty Images Telegram CEO charged over criminal activity on the app. French prosecutors released billionaire Pavel Durov yesterday but [charged]( him with several crimes related to unlawful activity on the messaging app—including child pornography and drug trafficking—set bail at €5 million (~$5.5 million), and forbade him to leave the country. Authorities say the company has been uncooperative in legal investigations into crime on its platform. Durov’s arrest at a French airport over the weekend led to a global outcry concerning free speech and stood out for holding a tech executive responsible for activity on its app. The CEO faces up to 10 years in prison on the charges, but they could also be dropped if authorities later decide there isn’t enough evidence. ⚕️ Surgeon general warns the parents are not alright. Maybe take it easy on your friend with a baby who keeps canceling plans, because US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy [issued]( a public health advisory saying parents are super stressed. The advisory noted that 48% of parents report that their stress is completely overwhelming compared to 26% of other adults. It called for policy changes to better support people raising children. This isn’t the first time Murthy has touched on a nontraditional public health issue: He’s also put out advisories on the impact of social media on children and on gun violence. The Paralympic Games are officially open. Paris held its second grand [opening ceremony]( of the summer yesterday, with paralympic athletes streaming down the Champs-Elysée. Competition begins today for this year’s 11-day games—the first since the pandemic to allow spectators—in which 4,000 athletes [grouped]( by level of impairment will compete in 22 sports. There are plenty of storylines to follow, including whether China will continue to be the big winner, and here are some [athletes to watch](. RETAIL [The toy company using its power for good]( [Legos]( Forrest/Getty Images Lego just did two things that don’t usually go together: It reported record profits and then immediately outlined plans to decrease profits by going green. Lego profits increased 26% over the first half of the year to $1.2 billion, while revenue jumped 13% to nearly $5 billion, the privately held company said yesterday. Those big gains are thanks to a collaboration with Fortnite as well as popular product lines, including Lego Icons and Star Wars- and Harry Potter-themed sets. And it’s ready to spend. Lego is planning for increased future costs as it pledges to make all products from [renewable]( and recycled materials by 2032: - The company is working to switch out raw virgin plastic with renewable resin, which comes from biowaste like cooking oil and is between 40% and 60% more expensive than plastic made from crude oil. It’s Lego’s latest [attempt]( to make its iconic bricks without fossil fuels. - Because of the aforementioned profit boom, CEO Niels Christiansen said the company will absorb all cost increases stemming from the change in materials instead of passing them on to the consumer through higher prices. Elsewhere in Toys R Us…shelves are full. Mattel and Hasbro reported lower sales for the first half of 2024 as the overall toy market struggles to [recover]( from a 7% sales decline last year.—CC TOGETHER WITH WAYFAIR [Wayfair]( Summer sendoff. End summer in style with major deals from Wayfair. Get up to 70% off and fast shipping on all things home during [Wayfair’s Labor Day Clearance]( sale from August 27–September 3. Save big on everything from kitchen + dining furniture to grills and rugs. But hurry—just like summer, these savings won’t last. [Shop now](. TRAVEL [Mammoth Cave National Park highlights bad reviews]( [Mammoth Cave walking path]( Images A cave system in Kentucky has used the age-old strategy of putting its haters on blast in a social media post to get attention. Mammoth Cave National Park was recently ranked third on a random internet list of “most disappointing US tourist attractions” and decided to [promote]( itself using its bad reviews. - The list ranking the world’s longest cave system behind supposed touristic flops the Kennedy Space Center and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was reportedly from a vague “study” put together by an online UK casino website called JeffBet. - Learning of the list, the Mammoth Cave team [posted]( on Facebook telling visitors to swing by and “experience what has disappointed millions of people for over 225 years!” The post has garnered 30,000+ shares. Underselling: Other tourist destinations, like Oslo and its [anti-tourism ad]( have also snagged social media attention with nontraditional marketing. But can it actually convert to real visitors? It’s too early to tell in places like Oslo or at Mammoth. But John Ricks, director of the Nebraska Tourism Commission, [said]( in February when retiring the eyebrow-raising “Nebraska, honestly it’s not for everyone” slogan after five years that the campaign bumped up tourist interest in visiting the state from 19% in 2019 to 39%.—MM STAT [Prime number: $1,000/night](#) [A cloche being lifted by a gloved hand to reveal with a hotel bed with a $1,000 price tag attached.]Illustration: Anna Kim, Photos: Adobe Stock The dream of living in a hotel like Zack and Cody has gotten even further out of reach. The Wall Street Journal [reports]( that the $1,000-a-night hotel room has become table stakes at many luxury hotels as budget travelers pull back but high rollers don’t. In the first half of 2024, 80 hotels in the US had a $1,000 average nightly rate, up from just 22 in 2019, according to real estate analytics firm CoStar Group. And heading abroad won’t help: The number of hotels with a $1,000/night average in Europe has tripled to 183. With prices broadly up (a lot) at luxury hotels, big chains are now watching to see whether travelers who book pricey rooms continue to spring for extra services…or whether the sticker shock might start hurting demand. NEWS [What else is brewing](#) - [Yelp]( slapped Google with an antitrust suit, potentially ushering in a wave of litigation from competitors after a federal judge ruled in the government’s favor that Google had an illegal monopoly on search. - [The Biden administration’s]( student loan forgiveness efforts suffered another setback yesterday. The Supreme Court refused to reinstate the SAVE program, which would have lowered payments for millions of borrowers, while litigation from Republican-led states challenging it works its way through the courts. - [Investigators]( still have not pinpointed a motive for the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, with the FBI saying the shooter researched both Trump and Biden events and picked the Pennsylvania rally as a “target of opportunity.” - [Israel]( carried out large raids in the occupied West Bank, killing at least 10 people identified as Hamas militants, conducting arrests, and sealing off the city of Jenin. - [Abercrombie & Fitch’s]( sales grew 21% last quarter, but the mall staple’s stock fell after its CEO noted the “increasingly uncertain environment” going forward. - [The SEC]( is likely gearing up to sue OpenSea, claiming the NFTs sold on the platform are securities, according to a notice sent to the company. RECS [To do list Thursday] Get nostalgic for the Walkman: This website lets you flip through decades of [Radio Shack catalogs](. Save $23: Make a Honey Deuce at home with this [official recipe](. Ditch the rice: These [YouTube videos]( claim they can save your wet phone. Go where the jobs are: A [map of the US counties]( that have added and lost the most jobs. Arouse the whole you: This [FDA-registered vibrating ring for women]( adjusts to your vulva shape for distributed external stimulation and magnified sensations everywhere you want them. Even better? [Take 30% off today]( *A message from our sponsor. GAMES [The puzzle section](#) Brew Mini: Today’s puzzle will send you for a loop. [Play it here](. Three Headlines and a Lie Three of these headlines are real and one is faker than the souvenirs you promised your family before you left for your European vacay. Can you spot the odd one out? - Kentucky State Fair [removes]( winning miniature depicting pornography set - Errant ostrich brings traffic to a halt in South Dakota after [escaping]( from a trailer - Nokia brand owner [launches]( Barbie phone for $130 — with no internet - Horse manure, toxic fake snow, and a [battle]( for the best community theater in Iowa SHARE THE BREW [Share Morning Brew]( with your friends, acquire free Brew swag, and then acquire more friends as a result of your fresh Brew swag. We’re saying we’ll give you free stuff and more friends if you share a link. One link. Your referral count: 0 [Click to Share]( Or copy & paste your referral link to others: [morningbrew.com/daily/r/?kid=4904f90a]( ANSWER We made up the one about Iowa thespians. Word of the Day Today’s Word of the Day is: acrobatics, meaning “spectacular gymnastic feats.” Thanks to Russ from Buffalo, NY, for being flexible with the suggestion. Submit another [Word of the Day here](. Written by [Neal Freyman]( [Abigail Rubenstein]( [Molly Liebergall]( [Cassandra Cassidy]( and [Matty Merritt]( Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. Interested in podcasts? - Check out ours [here]( [ADVERTISE]( // [CAREERS]( // [SHOP]( // [FAQ]( Update your email preferences or unsubscribe [here](. View our privacy policy [here](. Copyright © 2024 Morning Brew. All rights reserved. 22 W 19th St, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10011