A heated rivalry (Ferdaus Shamim/WireImage) |
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On Friday, the Winter Olympics kicked off as 2,900 athletes (and Snoop Dogg, for some reason) descended on Milan. This year’s games will feature a new winter sport for the first time since 2002: ski mountaineering, or “skimo,” a sport based on the traditional pre-chairlift practice of climbing up a mountain, hiking, and then skiing back down. ⛷️ For more coverage of the Olympics and other sports, subscribe to Scoreboard. The S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Russell 2000 all climbed higher on Friday as the AI trade was back on. Every sector moved higher except for consumer discretionary and communications. Tech was by far the best performer, climbing 4%, and crypto rebounded from its recent sell-off. Also, an arbitrary collection of 30 stocks closed above 50,000 for the first time ever. 🧠 Test yourself on our recent stories with the Snacks Seven Quiz. Here’s the first question: |
- While “Bluey” was the most streamed show last year, which show took second place in terms of total viewing minutes?
Check your answer. (Hint: Its first episode premiered over a decade ago.)
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- On Wall Street, the only type of AI exposure that’s worked lately is owning companies benefiting from shortages (memory chips) or ones that will benefit from expanding capacity of these scarce resources (semicap equipment). The theme has been a net negative for the market this year, based on how much software stocks thought to be at risk of severe disintermediation by AI have slumped.
- In Silicon Valley, commentators and VCs are pounding the table that AI has now proven its ability to transform computer-based work, thanks in large part to recent progress from Anthropic. That is, AI has gotten better at doing things — things that save time and have commercial value.
- This apparent discrepancy is primarily being recognized by tech types who claim their counterparts in finance are short-sighted and fail to appreciate the scale of recent breakthroughs.
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But AI is certainly asking a lot more of investors. |
- It’s asking them to forgive a lack of free cash flow generation as money gets piled into massive capex instead of buybacks.
- It’s asking them for a lot more money, both through debt issuance in private and public markets and, soon, a heck of a lot of equity supply from the likes of SpaceX/xAI, Anthropic, and OpenAI.
- The valuations of these privately held companies have increased by about $550 billion since September.
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It would be somewhat disingenuous for AI boosters to say that all these privatized tech gains, and the underlying progress upon which they’re based, wouldn’t also be someone’s pain. |
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Not every great company is a great stock where it’s priced, and not every great stock is a great stock all the time. In the short term, initial conditions and positioning matter more than fundamentals in explaining price action. The hangover from capex binges tends to be a very difficult period for the big spenders (see: the aftermath of shale investment or the dot-com bubble) — and that’s not an indictment of the technology. If AI is a flop in ROI terms, it would not be the first time Silicon Valley vastly overestimated the commercial, real-world applicability of a new technology. |
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Broaden your investment mix with IBIT. |
There’s more to the market than stocks and bonds. If you’re looking to get Bitcoin exposure in your brokerage account, consider IBIT from iShares. IBIT is the world’s largest bitcoin exchange-traded product1: a cost-effective and convenient way to gain exposure to Bitcoin. IBIT seeks to reflect generally the performance of bitcoin’s price, and can help to reduce the operational, tax and custody complexities of holding bitcoin directly. As of 1/22/26, IBIT has seen $23.9B 1-year net flows2 — and it ranks in the top 10 U.S. ETFs by both trading volumes3 and open interest in options4. With IBIT, you can get bitcoin exposure in one simple trade. The future of investing is here. Explore IBIT, the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, the world’s largest bitcoin ETP. |
The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF is not an investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, and therefore is not subject to the same regulatory requirements as mutual funds or ETFs registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940. |
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Stories we’re obsessed with |
- Apple thinks different, no cap: Of course, Apple is spending billions on capital expenditure, but now that Microsoft, Meta, Google, Amazon, and the iPhone maker have all reported earnings and estimates for the hundreds of billions the group will collectively spend in 2026 are out, there’s a startling difference — Apple is the only one whose capex is going down. So while analysts may be applauding Amazon spending enough to buy Uber or 80% of the teams in the NFL, we’re warming to the idea that Apple focusing on its signature tech rather than AI was a smart bet.
- Is AI really taking our jobs? There has been a lot of ink spilled on the concept that AI is replacing human workers, and there’s no question the rate of layoffs in the US has been accelerating lately. Challenger, Gray & Christmas recently reported that nearly 55,000 job cuts were attributed to AI last year, but a growing body of research questions whether jobs are actually being lost to AI — or whether employers are simply “AI-washing.” We charted how companies are slashing jobs for an AI future that isn’t quite here yet.
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- 💳 Cards: The odds that the United States caps credit card rates have shifted significantly over the past several weeks, according to prediction markets,* but have settled around a 26% chance. Things are choppy, though: on January 25, odds were as low as 18%, and they’ve gotten as high as 47% as of January 30.
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom: Political developments in the United Kingdom have deteriorated to the point that even Americans are hearing about how Prime Minister Keir Starmer may not be long for his position. Traders on Polymarket are pricing in just a 34% chance Starmer holds on to his job through 2026, with fellow Labor Party member Angela Rayner having a 19% chance of taking 10 Downing Street before the year is out, tied with Labor’s Wes Streeting.
- ✨ AI: Anthropic’s AI assistant, Claude, has had a great couple of weeks on the back of a model release that dialed up the LLM’s coding skills as well as the buzzy release of Claude Cowork. That’s sent it surging up the rankings on LMArena, and its chances of finishing the year as the Best AI of 2026 are up from 1% at the beginning of 2026 to 27% today.
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*Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC. |
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- Why we have the futures market — and Ray Dalio — to thank for McDonald’s Chicken McNugget
- OpenAI may reportedly tailor a version of ChatGPT for the UAE that prohibits LGBTQ+ content
- The Hustle spotlights bizarre businesses actually making money, strange trends gaining traction, and unconventional paths to profit. Subscribe today
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- Monday: Earnings expected from Opendoor, Cleveland-Cliffs, Becton, Dickinson & Co., Monday.com, and CNA Financial
- Tuesday: December retail sales, November factory orders. Earnings expected from Robinhood, Coca-Cola, CVS, AstraZeneca, Spotify, Fiserv, Marriott, BP, Duke Energy, Lyft, Ford, Zillow, AIG, and Cloudflare
- Wednesday: January jobs report. Earnings expected from McDonald’s, AppLovin, T-Mobile, Shopify, Humana, Cisco, and KraftHeinz
- Thursday: Earnings expected from Dutch Bros, Rivian, Anheuser-Busch, Applied Materials, DraftKings, Pinterest, Arista Networks, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Airbnb, Coinbase, Expedia, and Crocs
- Friday: January CPI. Earnings expected from Moderna, Enbridge, Advance Auto Parts, and Wendy’s
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Advertiser's disclosures:
1, 2, 3 Source: ETFDb.com. Data as of Jan 22 2026. 4 Source: OptionCharts, “Highest Open Interest ETF Options.” Data as of Jan 26 2026. This information must be accompanied or preceded by a current iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF prospectus, which may be obtained by clicking here. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing. The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF is not a commodity pool for purposes of the Commodity Exchange Act. Before making an investment decision, you should carefully consider the risk factors and other information included in the prospectus. Investing involves a high degree of risk, including possible loss of principal. An investment in the Trust is not suitable for all investors, may be deemed speculative and is not intended as a complete investment program. An investment in Shares should be considered only by persons who can bear the risk of total loss associated with an investment in the Trust. Investing in digital assets involves significant risks due to their extreme price volatility and the potential for loss, theft, or compromise of private keys. The value of the shares is closely tied to acceptance, industry developments, and governance changes, making them susceptible to market sentiment. Digital assets represent a new and rapidly evolving industry, and the value of the Shares depends on their acceptance. Changes in the governance of a digital asset network may not receive sufficient support from users and miners, which may negatively affect that digital asset network’s ability to grow and respond to challenges Investing in the Trust comes with risks that could impact the Trust's share value, including large-scale sales by major investors, security threats like breaches and hacking, negative sentiment among speculators, andcompetition from central bank digital currencies and financial initiatives using blockchain technology. A disruption of the internet or a digital asset network would affect the ability to transfer digital assets and, consequently, would impact their value. There can be no assurance that security procedures designed to protect the Trust’s assets will actually work as designed or prove to be successful in safeguarding the Trust’s assets against all possible sources of theft, loss or damage. This information should not be relied upon as research, investment advice, or a recommendation regarding any products, strategies, or any security in particular. This material is strictly for illustrative, educational, or informational purposes and is subject to change. Shares of the Trust are not deposits or other obligations of or guaranteed by BlackRock, Inc., and its affiliates, and are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency. The sponsor of the Trust is iShares Delaware Trust Sponsor LLC (the “Sponsor”). BlackRock Investments, LLC ("BRIL"), assists in the promotion of the Trust. The Sponsor and BRIL are affiliates of BlackRock, Inc. BlackRock is not affiliated with Sherwood. BLACKROCK and iSHARES are trademarks of BlackRock, Inc. or its affiliates. All other trademarks are those of their respective owners. MKTG0226-5150027-EXP0227 |
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Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate... See more |
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