If you need to ask an AI chatbot who would win in a battle between 100 men and a gorilla, or use it to dream up an image of President Trump as the next pontiff, you have many, many options. But the most popular place for such important queries is OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which hit a new record number of users last month — and we’re confident that many people could definitely defeat a single silverback gorilla. 

Yesterday, US stocks had given up most of the gains inspired by confirmed trade talks with China after Apple said it might add AI search in its browser (more on that below). Then markets careened into negative territory following the Federal Reserve’s warning of heightened stagflationary risks for the US economy and Trump saying he wouldn’t unilaterally drop tariffs on China ahead of the discussions.

But then, near the end of the session, Bloomberg reported that the president is planning on easing export restrictions on semiconductors that were outlined by his predecessor, sending chip stocks sharply higher and pulling the market to session highs. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 ultimately closed up 0.4%, with the Russell 2000 gaining 0.3%.

Here’s a rule of thumb: you never really want to be a bigger story than Fed Day on Fed Day, as that’s usually a pretty bad sign. Alphabet, unfortunately, managed to do it after a remark from an Apple executive sent the market contemplating the possibility of AI causing some major changes to the tech industry pantheon atop which Google sits. 

Investors ran for the hills, sending Google’s stock down over 7%, pulling the broader market down with it.

Beyond this specific arrangement between Apple and Google, it does provoke the question: while there are going to be some big winners in the AI business, who precisely are the losers going to be?

Chinese-made drones could soon be subject to a 125% tariff¹ — opening space for an American competitor. 

Most U.S. manufacturers rely heavily on components that are made in China. Texas-based drone manufacturer Hylio prioritizes using materials from the US. 

They’ve been making headway since 2015, before any talk of tariffs or trade wars. Hylio has strategically strengthened its supply chain over the years by bringing more components in-house or sourcing them from domestic partners.

Now, Hylio’s ready to really get off the ground. The company stands to benefit from proposed tariffs — which is why they’re scaling up. Hylio generated over $11M in revenue last year and has raised $2.5M+ in funding in the current offering. 

The Reg CF offering is still open. Seize the moment and get a piece of Hylio.²

Disney stock soared yesterday after the Mouse House reported better-than-expected earnings for its fiscal second quarter thanks to big strength in its parks business — guess those ride closures aren’t that big a deal after all! It’s not resting on the laurels of its existing business, either, also announcing plans yesterday for a huge new park and resort in Abu Dhabi in partnership with Miral.

Disney Experiences, which includes parks and cruises, is also continuing to roll out big ships on the high seas, with plans to nearly double its fleet by 2030. Disney’s ability to make money not just from its intellectual property but from its experiences may be why it’s also not seeing as big a hit from Trump’s threats to put 100% tariffs on foreign-made movies.

Speaking of the silver screen and its tinier TV cousin, though, Disney’s streaming business has notched its third straight quarter of profitability. Disney+ added 1.4 million new subscriptions for a total of 126 million — also above expectations. 

And as of this month, Disney seems to have broken the curse of “Captain America: Brave New World” with its latest Marvel release of “Thunderbolts*,” which raked in $162 million globally in its opening weekend — though the big difference is actually not in the box office haul but in the largely positive reviews from both critics and fans.

On the movie side, Disney chief Bob Iger seems to have recognized that the studio needs to focus less on quantity and more on quality. He predicts a banner year ahead, with the next chapter for “Avatar” as well as the studio’s swing at “Fantastic Four,” which has notoriously been fodder for some of the worst superhero adaptations ever. Good luck! But no matter if the films are Fantastic Dr. Doomed, the parks have grown in revenue by billions of dollars each year (except during the pandemic) and show no sign of slowing down.

One commonly evaluated measure of how Americans feel is the Consumer Confidence Index, a monthly poll from The Conference Board that asks US consumers to assess their present situation as well as their expectations for the future.

The ratio is stunning.

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