Buy the dip
Buy the dip
Robinhood traders bought the dip — and that one, that one, and that one
SELL THE RIP
SELL THE RIP
OpenAI employees are cashing out their shares, dozens making $30 million each
Inflation blip
Inflation blip
Smartphones are 12% cheaper than last year, according to the latest inflation data... except they’re not
EchoStar rises as FCC approves $40 billion wireless spectrum sale to SpaceX and AT&T
Oklo whipsaws after posting slightly worse-than-anticipated Q1 loss
Google launches Googlebook, an AI-first, Android-ready successor to the Chromebook
Nintendo brings back the $500 Switch 2 bundle before the console’s September price hike
Report: China seeking access to Anthropic’s Mythos model
Memory stocks fall after prominent South Korean policymaker floats “citizen dividend” from AI tax revenues
Latest News
Deep Dives
- The power play behind Hyperion, Mark Zuckerberg’s colossal data center being built in rural Louisiana
- Clean energy investment hit a new record last quarter, mostly driven by EVs
- The cruise industry is booming thanks to younger consumers looking to “seacation”
- Reading an article online? It’s now a coin flip whether it was authored by a human or AI
Latest Stories
EchoStar rises as FCC approves $40 billion wireless spectrum sale to SpaceX and AT&T
EchoStar is up more than 7% in premarket trading Wednesday after the FCC said on Tuesday that it had approved the telecommunications company’s roughly $40 billion spectrum sale to SpaceX and AT&T, saying the two deals would “accelerate Internet speeds, strengthen competition, and bolster rural service.”
According to the FCC’s two separate orders, AT&T is buying about 50 MHz of EchoStar’s nationwide spectrum for roughly $23 billion to expand its 5G network, while SpaceX is buying about 65 MHz of EchoStar’s spectrum for around $17 billion to support Starlink’s next-generation direct-to-device service.
The approval caps a yearlong FCC review of EchoStar’s wireless spectrum licenses, which drew intervention from President Trump, who encouraged the company and FCC Chair Brendan Carr to reach an “amicable resolution.”
Still, the approval comes with a major condition; the FCC requires EchoStar to set up a $2.4 billion escrow account to cover potential obligations tied to disputes over work under its spectrum licenses — a requirement EchoStar called “unprecedented,” adding it is “evaluating next steps.”
Oklo whipsaws after posting slightly worse-than-anticipated Q1 loss
Nuclear energy company Oklo is whipsawing in postmarket trading after posting Q1 results.
Here are the key first-quarter numbers:
Net income of -$33.1 million, or a $0.19 loss per share (compared to analyst estimates of -$29.5 million in income and a $0.19 loss per share).
Shares of America’s most valuable zero-revenue company were down over 2% just after the bell before rebounding to trade 3% higher, and then fell into the red again; its price-to-sales ratio remained unchanged throughout.
Oklo is a longtime retail darling. The reaction to these results can be a good read into traders’ appetite for speculative investments, which is probably more useful information than knowing precisely how much money it lost in a three-month period.
Not content with merely powering the AI boom at some point in the future, Oklo also plans on utilizing the technology to develop its reactors. Ahead of its earnings announcement on Tuesday, management teased new AI-integrated workflows for Oklo’s up-and-coming facilities:
“The project scope includes the development and application of technical guidance on model setup, benchmarking and validation strategies, and AI agents to accelerate existing workflows.”
Last week, Oklo announced that it had cleared another regulatory hurdle for its Aurora Powerhouse reactor, currently under construction in Idaho. The nuclear reactor would, if completed, could produce up to 75 megawatts of electricity using Oklo’s small, fast-fission technology, enough to power tens of thousands of homes or cater to the high energy demands of AI data centers.
Oklo and companies like NuScale and TerraPower have benefited from the Trump administration’s streamlined permitting process. And as AI data centers continue to push up demand, Oklo is up over 150% over the past year.
One of the most reliable market sentiment signals comes from options trading, where the balance between put and call activity reflects investors’ expectations about where the market may go next. We take a look at how the Nasdaq Options Pulse dataset translates this data into actionable insights that can give traders a competitive edge.
Google launches Googlebook, an AI-first, Android-ready successor to the Chromebook
At its Android event today, Google teased a new AI-first, Android-compatible laptop called Googlebook. The company is marketing the device, coming out this fall, as a premium successor to its budget-friendly Chromebook, though it has yet to release a price. It does, however, mention the word “premium” four times in the blog post. Much like how the original Chromebook placed cloud tech and ChromeOS at its center, this new model highlights the company’s latest tech — namely AI — through Gemini.
In a feature called “Magic Pointer,” users can wiggle their cursor to pull up contextual information about anything on the screen. “Point at a date in an email to set up a meeting, or select two images — like your living room and a new couch — to instantly visualize them together,” the company said as an example. In a long-anticipated move, the device also deepens ecosystem ties, allowing users to run Android phone apps natively on the desktop.
The announcement comes just two months after Apple announced the MacBook Neo, a rare foray by the iPhone maker into the lower-cost laptop market dominated by the Chromebook.
In a feature called “Magic Pointer,” users can wiggle their cursor to pull up contextual information about anything on the screen. “Point at a date in an email to set up a meeting, or select two images — like your living room and a new couch — to instantly visualize them together,” the company said as an example. In a long-anticipated move, the device also deepens ecosystem ties, allowing users to run Android phone apps natively on the desktop.
The announcement comes just two months after Apple announced the MacBook Neo, a rare foray by the iPhone maker into the lower-cost laptop market dominated by the Chromebook.
Nintendo brings back the $500 Switch 2 bundle before the console’s September price hike
The Switch 2 bundle has returned, about five months after it reportedly ended production.
Nintendo on Tuesday announced a “Choose Your Game Bundle,” launching at select retailers beginning next month and continuing “while supplies last.”
The bundle method has proven lucrative for Nintendo thus far. The company’s $500 “Mario Kart World” bundle was available at launch but ended production amid tariffs and memory prices last year. Nintendo is now effectively bringing it back, allowing customers to bundle a new Switch 2 with either “Mario Kart,” “Pokémon Pokopia,” or “Donkey Kong Bananza” for $500.
Last week, Nintendo announced it would hike the price of the Switch 2 by $50 to $499.99 beginning in September, joining console rivals Sony and Microsoft.
The bundle method has proven lucrative for Nintendo thus far. The company’s $500 “Mario Kart World” bundle was available at launch but ended production amid tariffs and memory prices last year. Nintendo is now effectively bringing it back, allowing customers to bundle a new Switch 2 with either “Mario Kart,” “Pokémon Pokopia,” or “Donkey Kong Bananza” for $500.
Last week, Nintendo announced it would hike the price of the Switch 2 by $50 to $499.99 beginning in September, joining console rivals Sony and Microsoft.
Report: China seeking access to Anthropic’s Mythos model
Anthropic’s unreleased AI model Mythos has sent shock waves through companies and governments around the world, fearful of what the model will mean for cybersecurity. Even the US Treasury Department scrambled to secure access to harden its defenses ahead of a wide release.
Anthropic is currently sharing access to Mythos only to a short list of companies and government agencies.
The New York Times is reporting that China is seeking access to Mythos as well, setting off alarms in the White House. At a Singapore conference last month, an employee from a Chinese think tank reportedly approached representatives from Anthropic, seeking access to Mythos — a move that was interpreted in Washington as a potential effort to secure access for the Chinese government. According to the report, Anthropic declined that request.
As AI models rapidly gain powerful new capabilities, the US government is wrestling over what kinds of controls (if any) it should apply to prevent American technology from being used by our rivals.
The Washington Post reports that an executive order from the Trump administration that would allow US intelligence agencies to evaluate new AI models before release may be imminent.
The New York Times is reporting that China is seeking access to Mythos as well, setting off alarms in the White House. At a Singapore conference last month, an employee from a Chinese think tank reportedly approached representatives from Anthropic, seeking access to Mythos — a move that was interpreted in Washington as a potential effort to secure access for the Chinese government. According to the report, Anthropic declined that request.
As AI models rapidly gain powerful new capabilities, the US government is wrestling over what kinds of controls (if any) it should apply to prevent American technology from being used by our rivals.
The Washington Post reports that an executive order from the Trump administration that would allow US intelligence agencies to evaluate new AI models before release may be imminent.
Cryptocurrency theft has become a huge source of state revenue for North Korea.
Between 2016 and early 2026, threat actors linked to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) have stolen ~$6.75 billion across 263 documented incidents, security services provider CertiK estimated in a report published Tuesday morning.
The data likely falls short of the actual magnitude, as hundreds of smaller exploits against individuals and early-stage projects remain underreported.
“DPRK actors have consistently targeted humans and supply chain weaknesses rather than smart contract code vulnerabilities,” the report stated. “Across nearly a decade of operations, their primary attack vector has rarely been code. It has almost always been people.”
For example, North Korea’s more than $270 million exploit on solana-based protocol Drift was six months in the making. It involved Drift contributors physically meeting in multiple industry conferences across several countries with people claiming to be part of a quantitative trading firm.
DPRK actors who siphoned $625 million from the Ronin network in 2022 also used a social element: an exploiter impersonated a job recruiter on LinkedIn and provided a fake offer to an employee at Sky Mavis, the firm backing Ronin, through a PDF infected with malicious spyware.
“They are state employees executing a strategic mandate with the full backing of a nuclear-armed government. Their persistence, resources, and willingness to invest months in a single operation reflect institutional incentives that no criminal enterprise can match,” the report added.
“The fundamental challenge remains: North Korea has weaponized cryptocurrency theft as an essential revenue stream for regime survival. Until that incentive structure changes, the threat will persist and evolve.”
Last month, the decentralized finance ecosystem saw 28 hacks, the highest monthly number of exploits ever, totaling $635.2 million, with the largest coming from ethereum-native protocol KelpDAO.
Memory stocks fall after prominent South Korean policymaker floats “citizen dividend” from AI tax revenues
US memory stocks are getting slammed on Tuesday after South Korean policymaker Kim Yong-beom suggested that citizens should get a “national dividend” funded by AI profits.
Now, those remarks have since been watered down: South Korea’s “Blue House” (or presidential office) said these remarks reflected the official’s personal views. Kim later indicated that his suggestion referred to excess tax revenues from leading chip giants, rather than any new windfall tax.
The KOSPI Index, and top weights Samsung and SK Hynix, finished off their lows after this clarification, but the damage still spread stateside.
Are Micron, Sandisk, Western Digital, and Seagate Technology Holdings South Korean companies?
<checks notes>
No, they are not.
But they are memory stocks, and this seems to have been enough of a catalyst to throw a wrench into the skyward trend for the cohort.
Along with being highly correlated by the nature of their businesses, US memory stocks also recently started to trade in the same vehicle as their South Korean counterparts. The Roundhill Memory ETF — the fastest ever to surpass $6 billion in assets, per Bloomberg Intelligence — holds all of these companies within the same wrapper.
The near parabolic run in these stocks had raised the risk that this group could reverse course for any reason — or no reason whatsoever. (Remember Google’s TurboQuant? I don’t.)
Smartphones are 12% cheaper than last year, according to the latest inflation data... except they’re not
Phones are one of a few important categories that get quality, or “hedonic,” adjustments in the Consumer Price Index — which make their price go down in the official statistics.
T1 Energy posts much smaller-than-feared quarterly loss
T1 Energy shares are whipsawing in early trading after the solar equipment maker reported its Q1 financial results today, posting a quarterly loss far smaller than feared.
Key numbers:
Loss per share: $0.08 (estimate: $0.18).
Revenue: $177.65 million.
Operating expenses: $51.6 million.
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash: $123.7 million.
Shares were up nearly double digits in premarket trading, but have since proceeded to dip into the red.
Management highlighted the operational ramp-up at its G1_Dallas facility and continued progress on its flagship G2_Austin solar cell plant. The company is targeting a larger financing solution, which includes a significant debt component, to fund its capex needs for Phase 1 of G2_Austin.
Following a successful $160 million convertible note offering in April, the company said it has reduced its remaining Phase 1 funding requirement to approximately $225 million.
“Our team made excellent progress during the first quarter to advance our top priorities,” said Dan Barcelo, CEO and chairman of T1 Energy. “As we look ahead, we are focused on hitting key construction milestones, targeting a comprehensive financing package for G2_Austin in the second quarter, building our offtake coverage through our developer customer base, and driving profitability as T1 grows.”
Netflix on Tuesday announced that it has spent more than $135 billion on licensing and original film and TV over the past decade.
“While other entertainment companies pull back, we’re leaning in — spending tens of billions of dollars on content every year, investing in production facilities from Spain to New Jersey,” co-CEO Ted Sarandos said in a blog post accompanying a new interactive site called “The Netflix Effect.”
According to Netflix, the company has contributed $325 billion to the global economy in that time, creating more than 425,000 jobs.
As Sherwood News has previously reported, Netflix continues to increase its content spend, but that investment has notably slowed in recent years when weighed against revenue, dropping from a content spend ratio of $0.72 per $1 of revenue in December 2019 to $0.40 per $1 in March. This year, the company has projected a content spend of $20 billion, up 10% year over year. The company’s annual revenue forecast is between $50.7 billion and $51.7 billion.
All that spending has paid off for Netflix, too: the streamer has pulled in more than $46 billion in profit over the past decade.
Reuters report pours water on Tesla’s Texas Robotaxi expansion
Nearly a month after Tesla announced that its Robotaxis had expanded to Houston and Dallas, reporters from Reuters say the service is still in a “beta-testing phase.”
They reported long wait times — when the service was available at all — and drop-offs that were 15-minute walks from the intended destination. In one instance, a reporter waited nearly two hours for a Robotaxi to arrive to take a trip that should have been a 20-minute drive, and after that long pickup wait time, experienced a circuitous route and a drop-off distant from the intended destination.
When the service launched in Houston and Dallas, we observed it included just one driverless Robotaxi in each. (Notably, the company’s existing services in Austin and the Bay Area still have safety monitors present on most rides.) Now, data from Robotaxi Tracker still shows a single driverless vehicle available in the past week in Dallas, and three in Houston.
As we noted during Tesla’s most recent earnings report, the company has updated its language around the half dozen markets it had planned to expand to in the first half of this year to say that “preparations [are] underway.”
Robotaxis, of course, are central to Tesla’s value proposition, which has pivoted from vehicles to autonomy and AI.
When the service launched in Houston and Dallas, we observed it included just one driverless Robotaxi in each. (Notably, the company’s existing services in Austin and the Bay Area still have safety monitors present on most rides.) Now, data from Robotaxi Tracker still shows a single driverless vehicle available in the past week in Dallas, and three in Houston.
As we noted during Tesla’s most recent earnings report, the company has updated its language around the half dozen markets it had planned to expand to in the first half of this year to say that “preparations [are] underway.”
Robotaxis, of course, are central to Tesla’s value proposition, which has pivoted from vehicles to autonomy and AI.
Quantum Computing soars after posting better-than-expected Q1 sales
Shares of Quantum Computing are mooning in early trading after the company posted better-than-expected Q1 sales.
For the period ended March 31, QCi reported:
Revenue of $3.7 million (compared to analyst estimates of $3.1 million).
A loss per share of $0.02 (estimate: a $0.05 loss).
The boost in sales was primarily linked to the two acquisitions that closed in the quarter, of Luminar Semiconductor and NuCrypt.
Despite having the most straightforward name (and ticker) connected to the theme, Quantum Computing is seemingly less focused on developing hardware that leaves classical supercomputers in the dust, and more driven to carve out a supporting role in the AI boom.
For instance, earlier this year, the company announced that its NeuraWave photonics computing platform designed for edge inference cases was deployment-ready. This technology includes a plug-in card that aims to accelerate the processing and decision-making capabilities of AI-enabled machines in resource-limited environments using photonics (light) to reduce heat.
“QCi made significant operational progress in the first quarter of 2026, furthering our mission of delivering accessible, scalable, and affordable quantum machines and photonic solutions for practical use across high-growth markets, including high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, aerospace and defense, and advanced sensing and imaging,” said CEO Dr. Yuping Huang in the press release. “As demand for faster and more efficient data processing grows, it is becoming increasingly clear that photonics will be a critical component of future technological advancements given its low power consumption and ability to operate at room temperature.”
Hims enters a “strategic pivot” following blowback from its copycat Wegovy pill
After selling compounded GLP-1 drugs for two years, Hims is launching an expensive shift to branded treatments.
Core inflation rises by more than expected in April
The April reading of the Consumer Price Index showed headline inflation rose 0.6% month on month, with core inflation (which strips out volatile food and energy prices) rising 0.4%.
Economists had anticipated inflation rising 0.6% month on month on a headline basis, with core up 0.3% versus March.
Headline inflation rose 3.8% on an annual basis.
Prediction markets indicated a high degree of confidence in a 0.6% monthly rise for headline CPI, and anticipated an annual increase of 3.7%, with less than 50% odds of rising more than that.
(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)
The recent stability in labor market data coupled with the potential for another oil-induced inflation shock in light of the Iran war and closure of the Strait of Hormuz have prompted traders to price the end of the Federal Reserve’s easing cycle. Federal funds futures pricing implies a hike is a more than 50% probable at next March’s meeting.
Prediction markets are less hawkish, pricing in 41% odds of a hike before July 2027 while still expecting a return to tightening in the second half of next year.
Waymo recalls 3,800 robotaxis after software issue leads to flood incident
Alphabet-owned Waymo is recalling 3,791 autonomous vehicles in the United States over a software glitch affecting its self-driving robotaxis. The recall follows an April 20 incident in which an unoccupied Waymo drove into a flooded lane in San Antonio, prompting Waymo to review similar scenarios. Waymo said there were no injuries from the incident.
The recall targets a software flaw that may allow vehicles to maintain high speeds when entering standing water, increasing the risk of a crash, Reuters reported, citing a statement by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The recall adds to a string of investigations this year focusing on the technology’s performance in complex environments. Back in January, Waymo struck a child near a Santa Monica elementary school, and the vehicles have been involved in several instances of passing stopped school buses.
As of early 2026, the company operates about 3,000 robotaxis across ~10 US metropolitan areas, providing over 500,000 paid rides per week.
The recall targets a software flaw that may allow vehicles to maintain high speeds when entering standing water, increasing the risk of a crash, Reuters reported, citing a statement by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The recall adds to a string of investigations this year focusing on the technology’s performance in complex environments. Back in January, Waymo struck a child near a Santa Monica elementary school, and the vehicles have been involved in several instances of passing stopped school buses.
As of early 2026, the company operates about 3,000 robotaxis across ~10 US metropolitan areas, providing over 500,000 paid rides per week.
Amazon rolls out 30-minute delivery in 4 cities with plans to expand to dozens more
Amazon is officially escalating the logistics arms race with the rollout of Amazon Now, a new service promising 30-minute delivery on thousands of grocery items and household essentials — Amazon mentioned AirPods, laundry detergent, and toothpaste — across dozens of US cities. Currently live in Seattle, Atlanta, Dallas, and Philadelphia, the service leverages a network of hyperlocal micro-fulfillment centers “strategically placed close to where customers live and work” to bypass traditional shipping delays.
For orders more than $15, Prime members pay a $3.99 delivery fee per order, while non-Prime members pay $13.99. By targeting the “need it right now” market, Amazon is directly challenging the dominance of local convenience stores and quick-commerce rivals like Walmart and Instacart, betting that customers will pay a premium to have their impulse buys arrive before they even have time to rethink them.
This might trigger flashbacks for those who remember the dot-com bubble startups Webvan, which scheduled same-day grocery delivery in 30-minute intervals, or Kozmo.com, which offered one-hour delivery on convenient store basics and DVDs. The difference? While Webvan and Kozmo.com built their delivery networks from scratch before there was demand, Amazon is simply layering speed onto its already massive logistics engine and customer base.
For orders more than $15, Prime members pay a $3.99 delivery fee per order, while non-Prime members pay $13.99. By targeting the “need it right now” market, Amazon is directly challenging the dominance of local convenience stores and quick-commerce rivals like Walmart and Instacart, betting that customers will pay a premium to have their impulse buys arrive before they even have time to rethink them.
This might trigger flashbacks for those who remember the dot-com bubble startups Webvan, which scheduled same-day grocery delivery in 30-minute intervals, or Kozmo.com, which offered one-hour delivery on convenient store basics and DVDs. The difference? While Webvan and Kozmo.com built their delivery networks from scratch before there was demand, Amazon is simply layering speed onto its already massive logistics engine and customer base.