Good Afternoon. After Friday’s surge, markets cooled today while investors wait on Nvidia’s earnings to set the next move. Outside of Wall Street, Cracker Barrel is learning rebrands can backfire, German business optimism is rising (even if the economy isn’t), and Temu’s parent is paying a steep price for its discount wars. Let’s get into it.

—Rosie, Wyatt, Evan & Conor

🔥 What’s Hot: 🔥

🥶 What’s Not: 🥶

1. Waiting on Nvidia

The News: U.S. stocks were muted Monday after last week’s record-setting surge, with traders eyeing Nvidia’s earnings as the next big catalyst. The AI chipmaker, now the most valuable stock in the S&P 500, reports Wednesday, with Wall Street expecting $46 billion in revenue and $1.01 per share in earnings. Nvidia shares are up 32% this year and have nearly doubled since April’s market low, making its results a litmus test not just for tech, but the entire rally.

Why It Matters: Nvidia faces Wall Street’s high expectations two years into AI boom. Nvidia’s report could decide whether AI still has enough hype to keep pushing stocks higher, or whether investors start cashing out their winnings. With Powell’s “rate cuts coming soon” hint already priced in, Wall Street is looking to earnings for its next sugar rush. For now, everyone’s waiting on Nvidia because in 2025, the market feels less like the S&P 500 and more like the S&P 1.
Source: finance.yahoo.com

2. Cracker Barrel responds to fierce logo backlash after stock plunge

The News: Cracker Barrel is trying to calm customers after its biggest brand refresh in nearly 50 years backfired. The company’s stock tumbled 7% last week, erasing nearly $100 million in market value, after unveiling a new text-only logo that dropped “Uncle Herschel,” the iconic character who had leaned against a barrel since 1977. In a statement Monday, the chain acknowledged the backlash but doubled down on its $700 million modernization push. Cracker Barrel reassured diners that Herschel isn’t gone for good, he’ll remain on menus, signage, and in its country stores, while promising the “rocking chairs, peg games, and Americana” that define the brand aren’t going anywhere.

Why It Matters: Logo changes aren’t just about design, they’re cultural flashpoints that can spark political pile-ons and shareholder selloffs. Cracker Barrel is walking a fine line: updating its image to attract younger diners without alienating the core customers who see nostalgia as part of the meal. For now, the logo swap is costing it in the markets. Turns out messing with Uncle Herschel is riskier than messing with Grandma’s cornbread recipe.
Source: newsweek.com

3. Margin Debt tops $1 Trillion

The News: Margin debt—the money investors borrow from brokers to buy stocks—hit a record high in July, topping $1 trillion for the first time ever, according to FINRA data. The milestone is sparking familiar chatter about whether borrowing at this scale is a sign of market euphoria. But analysts caution that rising debt isn’t always a red flag: much of the increase simply reflects higher stock prices, since short-sellers and leveraged traders must post more collateral as valuations rise. Brokerages are the big winners here. Robinhood’s margin lending nearly doubled year-over-year, while Charles Schwab and Interactive Brokers saw their loan books grow more than 15%. That, plus fee income from trading, has supercharged brokerage stocks—Robinhood shares are up 400% in the past year, far outpacing the S&P 500’s 13% gain.

Why It Matters: Record margin debt doesn’t guarantee a bubble, but it does mean Wall Street’s pipes are running hotter than ever. For brokerages, lending to investors is a lucrative business model until markets turn. If stocks tumble, investors unwind borrowing, collateral requirements shrink, and margin income collapses just as fast as it grew.

For everyday investors, margin can make the market look taller than it really is but skyscrapers built on stilts don’t stand forever. If you’re tempted to lever up, recall the old adage: the market can stay irrational longer than your margin account can stay solvent.
Source: wsj.com

4. Gemini and Ripple launch XRP Mastercard

The News: Gemini, Ripple, and Mastercard unveiled the XRP Mastercard Monday, promising up to 4% cashback in XRP on everyday purchases with no annual fee. Backed by a $75M Ripple-Gemini investment, the card instantly converts swipes into XRP rewards and works across Mastercard’s global network. Gemini also added Ripple’s stablecoin RLUSD as a base currency for all U.S. trading pairs. Despite the hype, XRP fell nearly 2% as the broader crypto market cooled.

Why It Matters: The launch marks a big step in crypto’s long-promised shift from speculation to utility making XRP spendable at gas stations, restaurants, and grocery stores. But for investors asking ‘how do I play this?’—yes, you can buy XRP directly on most exchanges. What you can’t do yet is buy a spot XRP ETF in the U.S., though several big names have filings pending with the SEC like Franklin Templeton and WisdomTree are pending with the SEC ahead of an October deadline, and analysts think XRP could be the first altcoin ETF to get the green light after Bitcoin and Ethereum. Until then, the XRP Mastercard is less about Wall Street allocations and more about real-world adoption. Because sure, you can’t buy an XRP ETF yet—but you can pay for your eggs at Cracker Barrel with XRP rewards. Progress, one swipe at a time.
Source: gemini.com

5. Apple will launch enterprise AI tools with ChatGPT controls

The News: Apple is rolling out a new suite of enterprise tools in September that give businesses granular control over artificial intelligence features, including the ability to configure OpenAI’s ChatGPT for Enterprise. IT administrators will be able to decide whether employee AI requests can access external cloud services like ChatGPT or be restricted to Apple’s on-device processing. Crucially, the framework isn’t hard-coded to OpenAI, meaning Apple has left the door open for future integrations with other AI providers. The updates are part of a broader enterprise push. Apple says the goal is to modernize IT operations while maintaining its emphasis on privacy and control.

Why It Matters: With more than 5 million businesses already using ChatGPT for Enterprise, Apple is signaling it won’t let Microsoft, Google, or OpenAI alone define the future of workplace AI. Instead, it’s offering companies flexibility: use Apple’s privacy-focused AI where you can, plug in external AI where you must, and manage it all from one dashboard. For enterprises, that balance of control + optionality could prove attractive—especially for firms nervous about data security. And for Apple, the strategy extends its AI ambitions beyond consumers into the corporate world, where budgets are bigger, churn is lower, and once you’re in, you tend to stay. For shareholders, the pitch is clear: if Apple can become as indispensable to IT departments as it is to consumers, the result isn’t just stickier enterprise adoption, it’s a new recurring revenue stream that could rival services like iCloud and AppleCare.
Source: techcrunch.com

1. Korean scientists turn chip “waste” into 3x better energy

The News: Researchers at Korea’s Institute of Science and Technology discovered that what was once seen as wasted energy in semiconductors, electron “spin loss”, can actually improve efficiency. Their experiments showed spin loss can drive magnetic memory switches with up to three times better energy performance than traditional methods. The finding upends decades of spintronics research and could lead to ultra-low-power AI chips, neuromorphic processors, and memory systems that integrate easily with today’s manufacturing processes.

Why It Matters: AI hardware is running headfirst into an energy wall: training and running large models consumes massive amounts of power. This breakthrough suggests future chips might flip 1s and 0s not by fighting wasted energy but by using it. If scalable, it could shrink power bills for data centers, extend battery life for mobile AI devices, and accelerate next-gen chip designs in a market expected to hit $40B+ this year. In short, less wasted spin, more win.
Source: sciencedaily.com

2. Temu parent PDD beats revenue but profit plunges

The News: PDD Holdings, owner of Temu and Pinduoduo, posted mixed Q2 results Monday—revenue rose 7% to $14.5B, beating estimates, but operating profit tumbled 21% to $3.6B. The drop reflects the steep costs of subsidies, coupons, and merchant support as PDD battles Alibaba and even ByteDance’s Douyin in China’s cutthroat e-commerce market. Net income fell 4% to $4.3B, though still better than the double-digit decline many analysts feared.

Why It Matters: The end of the U.S. de minimis loophole has gutted Temu’s price advantage, forcing it to hike prices, reroute logistics through U.S. warehouses, and spend heavily to keep merchants and consumers engaged. That explains both PDD’s profit squeeze and Temu’s sharp drop in U.S. app downloads and active users. For shoppers, the era of $2 gadgets shipped straight from China is fading. For investors, tariffs are reshaping global e-commerce and leveling the playing field for Amazon and Walmart back home.
Source: wsj.com

3. German business sentiment rises to highest level in more than a year

The News: German business sentiment rose for the eighth straight month, with the Ifo Business Climate Index hitting 89.0 in August, its highest reading since May 2024. The gain was driven by improving expectations (91.6 vs. 90.7 in July), even as companies judged current conditions slightly weaker. The optimism comes despite Germany’s economy shrinking 0.3% last quarter and forecasts of just 0.1% GDP growth this quarter. Analysts point to fiscal stimulus and defense-spending exemptions as helping prop up sentiment, though fundamentals remain fragile.

Why It Matters: Germany is Europe’s industrial engine, so its outlook often sets the tone for the broader eurozone economy. The rebound in sentiment suggests businesses see light at the end of the tunnel, but tariffs, weak exports, and lingering inflation still weigh heavily. For investors, it’s a reminder that markets can trade on psychology as much as hard data but until Germany’s growth moves beyond flatlining, the optimism may be running on fumes.
Source: reuters.com

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