Power Players with Brian Sozzi

They were private companies before the hot 2025 class of IPOs like CoreWeave (CRWV) and Gemini (GEMI) came to market. These companies had leaders who had to raise capital to fuel their growth ambitions on what they believed to be bold industry opportunities. Much of that capital that flows into private companies comes from the coffers of venture capitalists who aren’t afraid of making big bets on...

Ever wonder about the psychology driving the economy and stock market? Why do investors embrace weak companies? Why do inventors ignore some strong companies? What triggers the start of asset price bubbles, and what causes them to end badly? Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi talks on the Opening Bid Unfiltered podcast with behavioral economist and co-author of the new book "The Winner’s C...

Before it was known as Tapestry (TPR) and an owner of the Coach and Kate Spade Brands, Coach was just Coach — maker of handbags and accessories that dominated mall racks. But like with every retailer in business for decades, Coach has stories to tell. Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi sits on the Opening Bid Unfiltered podcast with former longtime Coach CEO Lew Frankfort. Frankfort is out...

It has been another money-making year for investors by and large. Crypto prices are near records, AI-exposed stocks continue to perform well, and Wall Street strategists have begun to come out more bullish for 2026 amid expectations for rate cuts. Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi talks on the Opening Bid Unfiltered podcast with BlackRock’s chief investment and portfolio strategist for th...

Bringing a restaurant industry icon back to a fully caffeinated status. Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi talks on the Opening Bid Unfiltered podcast with Starbucks (SBUX) CEO Brian Niccol from Salesforce’s annual Dreamforce event. Niccol passed his one-year mark as CEO in September, and it has been a wild ride to say the very least. The company is closing underperforming restaurants, rem...

AI development is moving at lightning-fast speeds. Agents are spreading inside companies as executives seek to increase productivity from workers and save money. However, the issue now rising to the forefront is the risks to companies from the spread of AI. Think bad actors taking control of a company’s agents to wreak havoc on customers! Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi talks on the Ope...

In times of need, families often rely on GoFundMe to cover expenses ranging from burial costs for a loved one to helping to rebuild a burned-down home. GoFundMe has become the go-to destination in this regard. Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi discusses the Opening Bid Unfiltered podcast with GoFundMe CEO Tim Cadogan. Cadogan spent years as a search and rescue volunteer and a top tech exe...

Few have championed the need for people to invest in individual stocks like Jim Cramer. The former hedge fund manager essentially created the financial commentary world after leaving the hedge fund world. His goal since those early days: demystify the world of investing for the average investor. Cramer founded legendary business publication TheStreet.com in 1996 and went toe to toe with MarketWatc...

Suffice it to say, there is a lot of money floating around sports nowadays. Eye-popping contracts for star players. Opportunities for college students to earn money by doing their best in the field. Money-making opportunities from social media platforms. However, to earn these dollars, an athlete must be fostered and nurtured at a young age. The strive to be the next big thing in sports could caus...

In the world of cosmetics, few companies are as well-known as Revlon. Founded in 1932, Revlon continues to be a significant force in the ever-changing world of cosmetics. However, the company has seen its ups and downs in recent decades. The cosmetics industry has evolved into one heavily driven by celebrities like Kylie Jenner and popular names on TikTok's social platform. At the same time, Revlo...

The talk of the past year in tech has centered on what’s coming next for AI. From digital agents to powerful new models, there has been much to discuss and a ton of change. At the same time, one would be crazy to discount the impact of AI; equally important as this is the companies working on technology to protect themselves from their creations. Enter cybersecurity player Zscaler (ZS), led by fou...

You may not be able to guess this tech icon going through a rebirth, but here are a few clues. Yahoo Finance data shows this company’s stock trading on a forward P/E ratio of 15.9 times. That’s a discount to the S&P 500’s 22 times multiple. Second, the company was founded on September 3, 1995. So we are coming up on a public company birthday of sorts. And lastly, it has seen 10 straight quarters o...

The media industry has never had a shortage of big-name personalities. Swashbucklers, if you will, are always ready to spend big money on a potential hot film or a prized acquisition. One of the media industry’s legends is Liberty Media's John Malone. From the 1970s to the 1990s, Malone built up cable TV outfit TCI through key deals and aggressive expansion. He sold it to AT&T (T) for over $50 bil...

Chipotle (CMG) has only known high growth over the past decade. High growth in terms of new store openings, sales, and earnings. That’s primarily because of the company’s generous portion sizes and messaging of healthier ingredients to increasingly health-conscious consumers. But now, the argument could be made that Chipotle is heading into an interesting five-year period. The company is adding ne...

What does turning a wellness trend into a $1 billion brand take? Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi gets the answer from SC Holdings co-founder Jason Stein in this episode of Opening Bid Unfiltered. Stein reveals the data-driven playbook behind AG1’s explosive growth, the future of wearable recovery tech with Hyperice and Nike (NKE), and why youth sports could be the next $40 billion inves...

There is being a winner in one’s business career, and then there is Ted Leonsis — arguably one of the most successful business people of the past 20 years. The former top tech and AOL executive has parlayed his success in the C-suite into being a dominant force in the world of sports. He owns Capital One Arena, which is undergoing a nearly $1 billion tech-led renovation. He purchased the WNBA’s Wa...

Midway through 2025, the economy finds itself in a fascinating position. Despite considerable Trump tariff uncertainty and sticky inflation, the US economy continues to expand. The job market is staying solid. Corporate America, as seen by earnings results from Delta (DAL), Levi Strauss (LEVI), and JPMorgan Chase (JPM), is performing well on the top and bottom lines. And profit outlooks haven’t be...

Digital turnarounds take time, and are not guaranteed in a world where Google (GOOGL, GOOG) is dropping AI summaries on the web, Meta's (META) Mark Zuckerberg is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to attract top AI talent, and OpenAI (OPAI.PVT) is upending how the very internet works. Still, many digital founders hope for the best when trying to bring a meandering platform back to life. Yaho...

Reebok co-founder Joe Foster and young entrepreneur Ben Weiss are looking to disrupt the status quo in the footwear industry by creating the Syntilay brand. The footwear brand began making AI-created sneakers earlier this year with no sizes and a $150 price tag, and is attempting to use its learnings to scale up its business model. Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi talks on the Opening Bi...

The Trump administration is still reportedly keen on starting a sovereign wealth fund. But details have been scant since initial news hit the public in early February. Even if a US sovereign wealth fund gets developed, it will have a hard time amassing the size of Norway’s. Norway has the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world with more than $1.8 trillion in investments spanning stocks, fixed...

In case you missed it, summer is here, judging by the extreme heat gripping the United States. While many power players on Wall Street often use the summer months to hang out on their gas-guzzling yachts or to go on lavish vacations to faraway lands, we are doing anything but here at Yahoo Finance! Why these extreme measures? This will be a volatile few months for the markets, and we want you prep...

Some celebrities are as savvy with their money as a typical Wall Street money manager. The only difference is that oftentimes these celebrities have more money than the money manager! Two examples of financial savviness come from NFL great Chad Ochocinco and renowned DJ and producer Diplo. Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi talks on the Opening Bid podcast from Cannes Lions with both celeb...

The media industry is undergoing a significant moment of distress. Predicting what’s coming up is easier said than done, even for top executives. But that doesn’t stop folks from trying! Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi talks on the Opening Bid podcast from the Spotify Beach house at the annual Cannes Lions advertising and media conference with Candle Media CEO Kevin Mayer. Mayer spent 2...

It could be a pressure cooker of a summer for the US economy, and not because of the warmer weather. Tariffs from the Trump administration don’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon, forcing businesses to raise consumer prices and delay key projects. At the same time, the Federal Reserve is in no hurry to cut interest rates amid stagflation fears. Economic data has also weakened, with the late...

The often hard-charging venture capital industry hasn’t been immune to the economic uncertainty that has hung over markets this year. There were 79 venture capital transactions surpassing the $100-million mark in the first quarter, down from 90 in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to data from EY. Deal volume also inched lower. Information technology continued to dominate venture capital deals...