The Best One Yet

SmileDirectClub abandoned its direct-to-consumer ways to launch in Walmart stores, but it’s missing one big thing: Its core product. Taser-inventor Axon acquired a rival last year, but now it’s been accused of running a taser monopoly. And Yum Brands happens to own Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC, but now it’s acquiring a burger chain — so why burgers, why now? Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...

Aaaand we’re back. While you were unwrapping gifts, Snapchat treated itself to an augmented reality startup that makes the hilarious filters for Snapchat. OneMedical just filed paperwork to IPO already even though the industry it’s in hates new brands. And Apple’s got a new mantra for 2020: Make HomeKit happen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. S...

In our last pod of 2019 (we’re taking a 2-week break until Monday, January 6th), we’re going digestibly bold: Our 3 bold predictions for 2020. Will Apple buy Tesla? Can Amazon eliminate boxes? And does Chipotle really need tables, or can it just do delivery and pickup? We’ll see you Snackers again in 2020.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See aca...

Ikea’s always been focused on furniture, now it aims to democratize smart furniture (but it needs help). FedEx plummeted 10% because it’s losing its profit puppy. And International Flavors & Fragrances makes the scents and tastes you’re touching and tasting daily, but shares fell 9% because its latest merger is all about 1 single bet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adch...

Weight Watchers tried to turn itself around the last couple years by adding Oprah to the board, but now she’s headlining a 9-city WW wellness tour. Now that Boeing has officially suspended production of its controversial 737 Max planes, we break down its worst year, by the numbers. Getting Alexa everywhere was Part 1 of Amazon’s voice activation plans — Part 2 is making money off your Alexa use. L...

H&M has spent 2 years trying to burn fewer clothes (literally), and an 11% sales rebound shows it’s finally working. Intel splurged $2B on a chip company because the last time it tried to build its own, it failed. And Sprout Social IPO’d to help your company’s social media manager relax. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for...

V-commerce — aka “voice commerce” has new momentum after online radio Pandora tests ads that let you talk back. Car prices are starting to mimic airplane ones, forcing you to pay extra if you want anything. And stocks hit record highs last week on word the US and China actually/finally reached an agreement over phase 1 of the trade deal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/a...

If you noticed that Avis shares plunged, that’s because Lyft just whipped up a car rental service. The hero of Disney+ has been Baby Yoda, but toy-maker Hasbro didn’t get the memo and missed out on millions of potential holiday toy sales. Delta’s Investor Day lets us get to know the airline better — and it’s basically a credit car company. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com...

Oil legend Saudi Aramco is the most valuable company in the world and it just IPO’d, but how does it make money? Luggage brandicorn Away went through a week worse than your worst travel trip, so we’re looking at what actually went wrong. And Lululemon reported earnings, but we’re curious about whether it can become the next Nike. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...

Just in time for your first turns, Vail Resorts’ earnings gave insights on where you should ski — and highlighted the growing showdown on ski passes. Yumi raised $8M for fancy subscription baby food, but we’re focused on who gave them that money. And the NAFTA trade treaty is being replaced by the USMCA now that Congress, the Senate, and the President are all on board. Learn more about your ad cho...

Yesterday we broke down why Airbnb shouldn’t acquire a competitor — now they just took the first step in acquiring another called Zeus. Amazon lost the $10B JEDI contract with the government, but its fight against the decision reveals what business ethics are all about. And former Fed Chair Paul Volker passed away, so we’re sharing his 2 biggest financial lessons. Learn more about your ad choices....

Alphabet’s self-driving car company, Waymo, just took a big step towards real robotaxis — an app for the general public. Otis Elevators made skyscrapers possible, and now it’s getting spun-off into its own company. And a fresh profile on HipCamp (the Airbnb for camp sites) has us wondering if it’s simply an Airbnb acquisition target. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adcho...

Rent the Runway partnered up with W Hotels so you don’t have to pack clothes for vacation. GM and LG are launching a joint venture focused on car batteries, which are the critical (and absurdly expensive) part to any electric car. And Tupperware is trying to go upscale with its plastic by claiming its reusable plastic is more sustainable… even though it’s plastic. Learn more about your ad choices....

Absurdly expensive coat designer Canada Goose just opened up a store that literally snows inside — “experiential retail” is now “sensational retail.” Nintendo’s Switch console just enjoyed its best week of sales in the US, even though it’s been around for almost 3 years already. And Duolingo became Pittsburgh’s 1st unicorn, hitting a $1.5B valuation as it teaches you French. Learn more about your...

Google’s legendary co-founders are stepping down effective immediately, but it’s probably because Google’s had its most controversial year in ever. Our “Unicorn of the Day” is Zume whose robot pizza is already worth $2B, and it sells the most intense food trucks you’ve ever experienced. And Roku stock plummeted and then surged after two analysts gave opposite interpretations of its streaming poten...

Cyber Monday set a record as the biggest online shopping day in US history — but the real winner this year is Shopify. Jack Dorsey is busy being the CEO of both Twitter and Square, but now he wants to live in Africa for 6 months. And McDonald’s is looking to enter the Chicken Sandwich Wars, but its biggest challenge comes from the inside: Franchisees. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcas...

Black Friday in-store shopping actually fell from last year — but purchases made on smartphones and with in-store pickup dominated, so we’re renaming it: “Mobile Cyber Pickup Week.” SoulCycle just lost its CEO while Peloton stock had its best week ever, so we’re getting on both bikes. And Dollar Tree’s stock dropped 19% last week, so we’re looking at how tariffs are about to change everything. Lea...

The 2nd half of our Snacks recording live from Spotify. We sit down with Max Cutler, the Founder & MD of Parcast Studios at Spotify — his startup was acquired by Spotify earlier this year. We’re asking about how he first pitched his company, whether podcasts will follow the Netflix strategy, and what his favorite pod is. Ever. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Ho...

Ebay snagged StubHub for itself in 2007 for $300M, but it just sold the ticket company for a cool $4B. Uber has officially been rejected from London because policy risk is a real thing. And Charles Schwab treated itself to an early gift by buying up rival TD Ameritrade for $26B — and the strategy was straight out of Game of Thrones. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoi...

Allbirds’ CEO noticed that Amazon’s been knocking off its go-to shoes — Amazon calls them “equivalents,” we call them “knock-offs”. Target is enjoying shipping nirvana and shares are up 91% this year because it’s pulled off same-day shipping magic. And PayPal splurged $4B for deal-snagging pioneer Honey, but Wall Street ironically thinks it overpaid. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcast...

Spotify invited us to their NYC offices to record a live podcast — it’s a podcast about podcasts for our podcast listening Snackers. We introduce to the Snackers how we got into podcasting, how we built this podcast (every day), and the 5 ingredients for a podcast that people will actually listen to. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.co...

Victoria’s Secret still has its 83 year old CEO despite (another) rough quarter — So we whipped up a gameplan for them to get less out of touch with millennials. Greek yogurt legend Chobani just introduced its first non-dairy option: Oat milk. We’re wondering if plant-based milk is a trend or a fad. And TJ Maxx and Urban Outfitters both reported earnings, but discount prices is helping one and hur...

Warby Parker is the OG disrupter, cutting out the middle man of retail — now it’s launching its 2nd everproduct line: “Scout” contacts. Microsoft was threatened by Slack, so it launched a rival/knockoff messaging service called Teams — we just learned it’s got 20M users. And Home Depot usually just rides a strong housing market to strong profits, but it botched one part of the business that relies...

Coty cosmetics realized it was probably easier to just acquire 51% of Kylie Jenner’s beauty brand than compete (so it did). Ford unveiled its Mustang-looking electric SUV that’s not just a compliance car. And The New York Times broke down what FedEx did with its tax cut money… which highlights what companies actually do with their tax cut money. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoic...

Fancy home goods chain Restoration Hardware jumped 8% after an investment by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway… and it’s totally not Warren’s style investment. Pinterest is such a nice social media company that it’s not throwing enough advertising at users. And Peloton will reportedly launch 2 new products in 2020 as it uses Tesla’s playbook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoice...