The William Blair Thinking Podcast

William Blair macro analyst Richard de Chazal breaks down a wild month of macroeconomic news, focusing on the impact of President Trump's tariff policies on the global economy, equity and bond markets, consumer confidence and corporate inventory strategies. Richard also shares his firsthand experience of Spain's recent power outage and its unexpected lessons. *Recorded April 30, 2025

Global services analyst Trevor Romeo discusses the impact of recent economic uncertainties on the staffing industry, highlighting key trends and challenges faced by companies and exploring the evolving landscape of job openings and the future of staffing.

William Blair biotech analysts Matt Phipps and Andy Hsieh discuss Andy's innovative scoring system for evaluating investigational agents in obesity treatment. This system, highlighted in Andy's report “Shaping the Future: Innovations and Trends in Obesity Treatment,” considers both weight loss and gastrointestinal side effects to provide a more comprehensive clinical assessment. Tune in to hear th...

William Blair macro analyst Richard de Chazal discusses the juxtaposition between weak consumer sentiment and solid economic data, exploring whether a recession is imminent and the implications of shifting inflation regimes, fiscal policy dominance, and ongoing tariff uncertainty.

Delve into William Blair’s latest generative AI report, “Navigating the Boom: Confronting GenAI’s Most Pressing Questions.” Featuring insights from technology analysts Jason Ader, Arjun Bhatia, and Sebastien Naji, this episode explores the current state of AI, industry trends, and the future of AI development.

Tony Frascotti, head of private shares trading at William Blair, discusses the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities in the private shares market, delving into the impact of macroeconomic factors, the influence of AI on investment strategies, and the resurgence of the crypto market. Tony also provides insights into the current state of late-stage investments, the role of data in driving mar...

William Blair macro analyst Richard de Chazal reflects on February’s economic narratives, including the impact of noisy data, government spending cuts, climate change, mass deportations, recent inflation data, and the evolving nature of inflation on future monetary policy decisions. *Recorded February 25, 2025

William Blair global services analyst Andrew Nicholas, CPA, discusses findings from his team’s extensive inaugural survey of accounting services executives, covering industry dynamics such as organic revenue growth, technology use, and M&A trends.

In the first Monthly Macro episode of 2025, William Blair macro analyst Richard de Chazal recounts the numerous events that have shaped the economic landscape since the start of the year, exploring the implications of recent executive policies, the Fed's decision to hold rates steady, the unusual behavior of Treasury yields, and what these developments mean for the economy as we move further into...

William Blair equity research analyst Maggie Nolan dives into the latest trends in IT services, exploring the impact of generative AI, data infrastructure, and political influences on the industry.

Ryan Daniels, William Blair group head of the healthcare technology and services research sector, discusses the latest trends in the digital healthcare marketplace, focusing on consumer-facing solutions, the rise and fall of digital health companies, and the evolving investment landscape.

William Blair macro analyst Richard de Chazal looks back at the economic highlights of 2024 and shares his insights and predictions for the U.S. economy in 2025, emphasizing resilience, consumer strength, and potential risks ahead.

Consumer analysts Dylan Carden and Phillip Blee discuss their team’s latest Consumer Pulse report, including holiday shopping trends, anticipated consumer spend, the popularity of gift cards, and the resilience of value and convenience retailers. *This episode was recorded on December 6, 2024

William Blair macro analyst Richard de Chazal and consumer analyst Dylan Carden delve into the implications of the recent U.S. election results on tariffs, the specialty retail sector, and broader economic trends. *Recorded November 21, 2024

William Blair macro analyst Richard de Chazal discusses the latest economic trends, including third-quarter earnings, rising Treasury yields, and the impact of recent Fed rate cuts. He also delves into consumer sentiment and the paradox of strong retail sales amid a “vibecession.”

Jason Ader, co-group head of William Blair's technology, media, and communications research sector, interviews Sebastien Naji, an equity research associate specializing in semiconductors and infrastructure systems, on their team’s latest report, “From Chips to Systems: How AI Is Revolutionizing Compute and Infrastructure,” which explores the shift from serial to parallel computing, the rise of AI...

Global services sector analyst Trevor Romeo dives into his team’s latest white paper on the North American waste and recycling industry, exploring key structural trends and the growing imbalance between waste generation and landfill capacity.

William Blair technology analyst Dylan Becker joins Adam Klauber, group head of the financial services and technology research sector, to discuss highlights from the seventh annual William Blair Insurance, Banking, and Wealth Technology Conference. They delve into key trends in the insurance technology space, including labor constraints, legacy modernization, and the integration of AI infrastructu...

William Blair macro analyst Richard de Chazal discusses the Federal Reserve’s 50-basis-point rate cut and its implications for future monetary policy. He also explores the factors behind this decision, the muted impact of the recent tightening cycle, and what it all means for the economy moving forward.

William Blair consumer sector analyst Phillip Blee joins William Blair Thinking Presents to explore the volatile demand for furniture and home improvement projects over the past four years and provide insights into the industry’s 2024 outlook, including key themes such as the housing market, deflation, rising ocean freight costs and long-term growth potential.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the behavioral healthcare industry has experienced an unprecedented surge in the need for innovation, increased access to care, and demand for services. In this episode of the William Blair Thinking Presents podcast, Ryan Daniels, CFA, partner, and group head of William Blair’s healthcare technology and services sector, discusses how long-term investments in cuttin...

William Blair macro analyst Richard de Chazal digs into myriad macroeconomic and market-related events from the past month, including ongoing market volatility, second-quarter earnings season, the intensifying presidential election, and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s pivotal Jackson Hole speech.

The casualty side of the insurance industry is being hit by rising levels of claims and losses. In this episode of William Blair Thinking Presents, Adam Klauber, CFA, partner, group head of the financial services and technology sector, provides a framework for understanding the depth of the issue and delves into the underlying nature and causes.

Ryan Daniels, CFA, partner and group head of healthcare technology and services discusses provider burnout across the US health care market, how its creating capacity issues in the industry, and the potential for technology solutions in other workforce investments to help reduce workloads and increase access to care.

Macro analyst Richard de Chazal touches on inflation’s continued downward trajectory, the recent market rotation toward small-cap stocks, and June’s strong retail sales report.