A Divided and Data-Blind Fed Decision & Walmart’s 3D-Printed Store

Summary

---

Brew Markets – Episode Summary

Episode Title: A Divided and Data-Blind Fed Decision & Walmart’s 3D-Printed Store
Date: December 10, 2025
Host: Ann Berry (Ambery)
Guest/Co-host: John Crateau

---

Overview

In this episode of Brew Markets, Ann Berry breaks down a momentous and controversial Federal Reserve rate decision made amidst lingering data gaps, dives deep into the earnings and strategic pivots of Cracker Barrel and Chewy, and spotlights innovation at GE Vernova and Walmart—including Walmart’s use of 3D printing for constructing new store locations. The tone is sharp, insightful, and conversational, guiding listeners through key financial headlines and market trends.

---

Key Topics & Discussions

1. The Fed’s Controversial Rate Cut

(Discussion begins at 01:06)

• Background:
  The Federal Reserve made its final decision of the year, cutting rates by a quarter of a point. While this was generally expected, mounting controversy surrounds the decision due to persistent inflation (2.8% for the core PCE in September) and a lack of recent government data caused by a prolonged shutdown. The Fed usually prides itself on being data-driven, but this time operated “data blind.”

• Critical Insight:
  Ann questions the wisdom of moving ahead without the full economic picture:

  "The doggedly quote data driven Fed is running data blind if it wants to be consistent. Thanks to the record long government shutdown. Its usual full labor market and pricing metrics for October just weren't available." (Ambery, 02:00)

• Inflation & Labor Market Uncertainty:
  Inflation remains above target, and recent tariff changes haven’t yet eased pricing pressure. Powell referenced a weak housing market and softening labor demand as key factors, but there’s no clear sign of recession.

• Division Within the Fed:
  The vote was the most split since 2019:

  "Two members voted against a cut, one voted for an even deeper 50 basis points." (Ambery, 05:33)

• Liquidity Boost:
  The Fed accelerated short-term Treasury purchases—injecting cash earlier than planned to shore up bank reserves. Unclear communication around why this is happening raises more questions.

• Host’s Take:
  Ann strongly believes the Fed should have waited for incoming data:

  "I just think the Fed should have waited to get next week's data dump. Why not continue to be data driven. Why change now?" (Ambery, 05:45)

---

2. Cracker Barrel Earnings and the Cost of Change

(Discussion begins at 07:15)

• Backdrop:
  Cracker Barrel faced a rough quarter, following controversial changes in branding, food preparation, and store layouts. It sparked accusations of being "woke" and led to calls for CEO Julie Masino’s resignation.

• Earnings Data:

  • Revenue down 5.7% YoY ($797M)
  • Same-store sales down 4.7% YoY
  • EBITDA plunged from $45M last year to $7M this quarter

  "Any press coverage is good press coverage ... This was an expensive move." (Ambery, 08:01)

• Brand Identity Missteps:
  The chain redesigned gift shops and store decor, removed traditional items, and changed food prep—switching to reheated/frozen biscuits, disappointing even senior loyalists.

  "They were cleaning those things up, making the restaurants brighter, and folks missed that experience ... My parents ... like the bland food ... even they were done with Cracker Barrel." (John Crateau, 10:26, 11:19)

• Reversal and Recovery Attempts:
  The new CEO admitted mistakes, bringing back traditional menu items and decor, introducing BOGO (buy-one-get-one) deals, kids-eat-free offers, and corporate restructuring to save costs.

• Activist Shareholder Drama:
  Sardar Biglari, rival chain owner, continues to agitate for change but the board backed the CEO for now.

• Shareholder Response:
  Despite grim financials, transparent communication and a turnaround plan led to a slight share uptick.

  "It looks as though this was one where Cracker Barrel actually being rewarded for laying out a plan." (Ambery, 16:15)

---

3. Chewy’s Steady Growth via Subscriptions

(Discussion begins at 16:47)

• Earnings Highlights:

  • Net sales up 8% YoY to $3.1B
  • EBITDA up 31% ($181M)
  • EPS beat at $0.32
  • 21M active customers (up 5%)

• Business Model Strengths:
  Focus on auto-ship subscriptions ("set it and forget it" pet food and supplies) and premium Chewy Plus memberships ($49-$79/yr) leads to increased spending and retention—even with price hikes.

  "This to me is just an example of when a company proves its value proposition, customers will not only stick with it, but they're going to pay up for it." (Ambery, 19:18)

• Entering Vet Services:
  Chewy now operates 14 vet clinic locations, aiming to mimic Petco’s experiential offerings, using clinics as acquisition and retention tools.

  "Each clinic acts as both an acquisition channel and a retention driver, supporting deeper auto ship and health program anticipation." (John Crateau, 19:56)

• Stock Recovery Challenge:
  Despite solid operations, Chewy’s stock is still far from pandemic highs.

---

4. GE Vernova & Data Center Power Demand

(Discussion begins at 23:00)

• GE Vernova’s Surge:
  Shares jumped 15% after a bullish Investor Day, pointing to huge demand for gas turbines from AI hyperscalers and data center operators.

  "With all the AI build out everyone's been focused on big tech. Everyone's been wondering where the energy is going to come from to power these data centers ... GE Vernova at the moment is capturing attention." (Ambery, 24:04)

---

5. Walmart’s 3D Printed Buildings

(Discussion begins at 24:04)

• Construction Innovation:
  Walmart, in partnership with Alquist 3D, is deploying 3D printing for store construction—faster, more efficient projects (e.g., 8,000 sq. ft. expansion, 5,000 sq. ft. pickup center built in seven days).

  "Walmart is using 3D printers in a partnership to construct more than a dozen new buildings ... At the time was the largest 3D printed commercial structure in the US." (Ambery, 24:27)

---

6. Quick Previews & What’s Next

(Final minutes, 25:18)

• Oracle’s AI investments and debt financing will be a topic tomorrow; concerns mounting about the sustainability and bubble risk within AI, especially as big tech turns to debt.

---

Notable Quotes

• On the Fed’s credibility:

  "Today I see a Fed chair gifting the market an undeserved cut in the first sign that he's either more focused on his legacy or he's losing the courage of his data driven convictions."
  (Ambery, 05:56)

• On Cracker Barrel’s food changes:

  "The biscuits, which were always fine ... suddenly they weren't as good anymore ... They were more dense. The food wasn't coming out hot."
  (John Crateau, 11:03-11:15)

• On subscription business durability:

  "When a company proves its value proposition, customers will not only stick with it, but they're going to pay up for it."
  (Ambery, 19:18)

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Fed Rate Decision Breakdown: 01:06 – 06:00
• Cracker Barrel Earnings & Brand Crisis: 07:15 – 16:30
• Chewy’s Subscription Growth: 16:47 – 21:35
• GE Vernova & Data Center Power Needs: 23:00 – 24:04
• Walmart’s 3D Printing Strategy: 24:04 – 25:18
• Oracle’s Debt for AI and What’s Next: 25:18 – End

---

Memorable Moments

• Ann’s honest frustration with the Fed skipping true data dependency set a clear skeptical tone.
• The deep dive into Cracker Barrel’s brand stumbles included personal anecdotes about the definitive decline in biscuit quality.
• Chewy’s auto-ship service praised as a near-perfect execution of the “set it and forget it” subscription model.
• Walmart’s rapid 3D-printed construction effort spotlit as a signal of retail’s innovative turn.

---

This episode delivers a crisp, insightful tour of high-impact financial stories with Ann Berry’s signature clarity and wit, offering fresh intelligence for investors, market-watchers, and anyone curious about the evolving landscape of business and finance.

Transcript

[Ambery]

The Uniswap wallet makes crypto easier and safer to own and use. Discover new tokens, research confidently, swap instantly, and manage it all securely in one place. The Uniswap trading protocol has powered over $3 trillion in volume, and it's trusted by millions worldwide. Buy your first crypto assets in a few taps and experience the freedom of decentralized finance with Uniswap Tap the banner to get started. Foreign.

Delivers on subscription shipping and Cracker Barrel feels nostalgic for the days of happy customers. Our take on earnings, Walmart's 3D printing entire buildings and GE Venova is riding the power demand wave. We roll through those headlines and it is Fed Rate Day. We break down today's quarter point cut. The cause, the controversy and why we think it's just the wrong call for Wednesday, December 10, it's Blue Markets Daily and I' Manberry.

More market details to come. But first, the Fed's final decision of the year. Chair Jay Powell's last comments of 2025 there's just been so much anticipation and at last the announcement has landed. And that was a quarter point cut today. Though the market generally expected it, a rate cut was actually never a slam a dunk. So just why did the Fed do it? Yes, there's been pressure from the White House to cut, as well as prominent analysts arguing that labor market softness would justify a third rate drop this year if the Fed went in that direction. But the arguments against doing so have been compelling. Inflation has remained stubbornly high, clocking in above the 2% target rate at 2.8 for the core PCE measure for September. That's the last month for which government data is available. And that's just part of the problem. The doggedly quote data driven Fed is running data blind if it wants to be consistent. Thanks to the record long government shutdown. Its usual full labor market and pricing metrics for October just weren't available. And if there's any catch up in getting that information, and it's not clear that there will be completely, it won't come out until next week when November data is due, inconveniently popping up after today's critical decision deadline. Now the Fed already got a pass on a data light decision on October 29 when it made a quarter point cut in the thick of the shutdown data fog. So just where was the data driven part of the Fed today? Especially when non monetary reasons for inflation remain very much in play. Tariffs are still working their way through corporate margins. We saw that in earnings this quarter and while the Trump administration has clearly gotten the memo on affordability concerns, racing reversing tariffs on 200 foods just last month, pricing pressure just hasn't abated yet. Reversals take time. So really, again, why this cut? In his press conference this afternoon, Powell called out the relative weakness of the housing market and softened demand for labour, with risk to employment, quote, rising in recent months. I sat there glued to my TV screen watching this unfold. But there aren't glaringly obvious signs of a recession looming, which you'd expect with rate cuts of this magnitude and speed. Despite, despite what we are hearing in terms of the overall picture, consumers have been trading down. That's true. We've seen that in the strength of Walmart and dollar store stocks through the earnings season. But they haven't stopped spending. In fact, digging into the summary of economic projections released by the Federal Open Market Committee today, median expectations for growth increased for next year, upping to 2.3% real GDP growth in 2026, which is a serious boost from the 1.8% expected rejected just a couple of months ago. And the question is not just why this cut, that's just the headline. Another question is why is the Fed now injecting more liquidity into the financial system? Because the Fed also announced today plans to accelerate to this week purchases of short term Treasuries. So just to de jargonize this, this is a way of getting cash into the banking system and this wasn't supposed to start until April. Now this kind of activity is usually done to prop up bank reserves to make sure there isn't a spike in short term borrowing rates between financial institutions that can work against the Fed when it's actually trying to get rate cuts and getting those rates down. Bank reserves peaked at over $4 trillion in 2021, but they have recently fallen as low as 2.8. So what is it exactly that Powell is seeing in the banking system? We got a little bit of verbiage about that in today's data, but we didn't get enough. So we're going to have to watch the number crunching and, and hear Fed members speak in their own media appearances in coming days to really get to the bottom of this. While today saw the most division in the Fed committee's vote since 2019, two members voted against a cut, one voted for an even deeper 50 basis points. So my own view, if it hasn't come across already, I just think the Fed should have waited to get next week's data dump. Why not continue to be data driven. Why change now? Moving to cut if that seems to still be the right decision in January? Only one cut now is expected for the whole of 2026, so a month's pause to just see what unfolded frankly would have made no difference. Now, I've been a staunch supporter of Jay Powell on television. I've talked about it, I've written about it. Because I do think, despite the criticism he's faced, I do think he's done a solid job over the past six years in hugely uncertain circumstances. It's easy to criticize from the outside, but making decisions in times as challenging and as uncertain as we've seen is hard. But today I see a Fed chair gifting the market an undeserved cut in the first sign that he's either more focused on his legacy or he's losing the courage of his data driven convictions. Coming up, has Cracker Barrel reached the bottom of the keg, leaving it nowhere to go but up? And we look at which retail giant aims to 3D print at least part of its stores.

This message may be shocking to many millennials. If you are one, you might want to sit down. Right now loads of people are searching the following on low rise jeans, halter top, velour tracksuit, puka shell necklace, disc belt. You likely place these in the dark of your closet in 2004, never to be seen again. But if you can find it in yourself to dust them off, there are a lot of people who will give you money for them. Sell on depop where taste recognizes taste. But quarterly earnings are still trickling, trickling in but very, very slowly, a very feeble trickle and they are still though sending stocks moving. So we're going to keep on watching these till earnings seasons completely over. And today we're digging into two companies that saw their shares bounce around quite a lot with by the way the market also bouncing a decent amount today. So let's start with the restaurant that was in the news last quarter. For all the reasons that no company wants to be in the headlines, it became a lightning rod after changing its logo, changing its food prep operations and changing its store layout. There was a lot of change over at Cracker Barrel where leadership was accused of going, quote, woke and there were calls for the CEO to resign. So John, let's start in with Cracker Barrel. I just, I find this fascinating.

[John Crateau]

There's so much going on over there, going on. And just to review, Cracker Barrel was established in 1969 in Lebanon 10. They currently have about 660 locations over 43 states, a market cap nearing $600 million. And on the earnings, total revenue of $797 million was down 5.7% year over year. Same store restaurant sales were down 4.7% year over year.

[Ambery]

They don't like that. Same store sales down for restaurants. That's not good.

[John Crateau]

Exactly. And then EBITDA, a measure of profit. Last year it was $45 million. This quarter, 7 million. Right to last year.

[Ambery]

And why was that?

[John Crateau]

Well, because there was reduced profits due in large part to the spending on advertising and marketing to combat so much bad press.

[Ambery]

This is where it goes. This is just not in the bucket of any press coverage is good press coverage. Any 15 minutes of fame is. Is good fame. This was an expensive move. Right for the quarter. Again, that measure of profit down from 45 million to 7. There's a lot that disappeared into this. Not just goodwill, but real cash went into this attempt at rebranding, reconfiguring stores. The other thing, too, for Cracker Barrel, it lowered its revenue outlook for the fiscal year 2026. We've seen stocks getting absolutely punished for even things. Not as. As onerous as taking your outlook down, just for not revising it upwards. We've seen stocks getting punished. So this has been a whole barrel of bad news for Cracker Barrel. The most striking thing, when you really wrap it all together, is that the company cut its ebitda, again, a measure of profit outlook for the full year 2026, by nearly half. And just to put some number, particularly for the nerds like me who want to know what that means. Originally, Cracker Barrel had laid out a target of about $150 million for 2026 adjusted EBITDA. Now seeing it could be as low as 70 million. And again, just look at its market cap, 600 million market cap. If this company only delivers 70 million in EBITDA next year, it means that this multiple for a business that's having declining growth isn't super attractive. That being said, that being said, it's trying to get its act together.

[John Crateau]

That's right. It wasn't as bad as expected. A loss of $0.74 wasn't as bad as the $0.79 that the analysts expected. And the stock has already been down 50% this year, and so it might already be built in. All right, those are the numbers. And let's go to the narrative, because so much of this is about the narrative of Cracker Barrel. Have you ever been to one?

[Ambery]

I actually haven't. I'm really dying to go to one. I'm going to go out of my way to find one in my travels, but I haven't yet been to a Cracker Barrel.

[John Crateau]

All right, well, there's a couple things that make them unique. And these are points that have been addressed by the CEO of things that people are missing. And the first is this retail shop. Before, you know, we all know, exit through the gift shop to get in and out of the dining room. You go through an old timey gift shop that they call it a. You can get unique gifts and self indulgences.

[Ambery]

Oh, I love that. No, I'm totally game for unique gifts and self indulgences, particularly around the holiday season.

[John Crateau]

Exactly. And part of the revamp was that they were cleaning up these gift shops and folks missed them. The other thing was lots of old timey items on the wall. You know, if you go to planet Hollywood.

[Ambery]

Yes.

[John Crateau]

You see maybe Bruce Springsteen's jeans or something there. This is more old Coke signs and barn tools, also part of the revamp. But they were cleaning those things up, making the restaurants brighter, and folks missed that experience. But the third part is the food. They really changed how they were doing the food this year. And I have to say I've been to Cracker Barrel several times over the years with my parents and they like the bland food in their older years. You know, you can always put some hot sauce on it.

[Ambery]

You always can. Hot sauce anything.

[John Crateau]

And I did notice a change in the food. The biscuits, which were always fine.

[Ambery]

Yeah, Love biscuits.

[John Crateau]

Suddenly they weren't as good anymore.

[Ambery]

What was wrong with them?

[John Crateau]

They were more dense. The food wasn't coming out hot. I could tell that it was under a heat lamp. You know, you ever get a food like that where it's.

[Ambery]

No, I try not to. I try not to get things that's been under a heat lamp, but that sounds really disappointing.

[John Crateau]

It was disappointing. And even folks in my. The seniors in my life were done with Cracker Barrel.

[Ambery]

So here's a question for you. This is a personal question. Did you send it back? Did you send the feedback?

[John Crateau]

No.

[Ambery]

You're not that guy.

[John Crateau]

I'm not that guy. And especially. I'll just be frank.

[Ambery]

Yeah.

[John Crateau]

If the price point is $12 or something, maybe if I was paying $80 at a steak restaurant or something like that, I would expect more.

[Ambery]

So you are that guy who would hunt down the CEO of Wayfair with an email complaining about your product, but you're not the guy who in the moment would just send back his. I wouldn't send it back either. By the way, I really not to sort of create a fuss in places like restaurants.

[John Crateau]

I didn't send back but I didn't go back. But my I tried Denny's next.

[Ambery]

Well, at least you are consistent in being a tough crowd. That's what I wanted to know that you're equal opportunity tough crowd over here with your consumer experiences. As you said in February, Cracker Barrel had in fact gone to freezing and reheating biscuits. So you were not making that up. That truly was the experience. And so look, this was one of many changes to cooking and reheating the food. On today's call, the CEO Julie Messino did say that although certain changes were delivering meaningful savings and it's got to deliver to make up that gap in profit, it became clear, quote, that the new processes at scale made consistent execution more challenging. And we know the the key to happy consumers is consistency. That's right. They want a clear brand identity. They want to know that they're going to get the thing that they're expecting without being disappointed. And this is where Cracker Barrel fell short. Now it took the old timer character of its logo in August. We've talked about that before. We all remember what brew haha came out of that it was intended to attract a wider customer base. But Cracker Barrel end up firing its marketing company reversed that decision. So what is it doing now that's new? Because it's still trying to figure out a way to create some innovation. Right.

[John Crateau]

All eyes were on the press release today and here's a quote. We have adjusted our operational initiatives, menu and marketing to ensure we are consistently delivering delicious food and exceptional experiences. Additionally, we're executing a variety of cost saving initiatives to bolster our financial performance. So my question was how do you do both sides of the house? How do you go back and make the food better and make everyone happy while also being able to afford it and have investors think that you're, you're being fiscally sound.

[Ambery]

Well, you know who did figure that out? I was really lucky. I got to talk to the CEO of Potbelly and I'm disappointed that that company's being acquired because it was a neat little stock. And I remember being so impressed with the CEO of Potbelly because he figured out that execution magic, the alchemy of how do you get productivity up as a result your cost base down while still delivering on new products like a steak sandwich and making sure that you've got folks going back over and over again. Delighted. So Potbelly is someone who has figured.

[John Crateau]

It out and made it a target for acquisition.

[Ambery]

I made a target for acquisition but they are trying to do certain things. It looks like John at cracker barrel at 10 military discount. But by the way, I think they should have been doing that. Everyone should be doing that anyway. Just one person's view. And then they had a couple of specials. I do love the Bogos. Talk about the buy one, get one.

[John Crateau]

Sure. They got a slew of Bogos. Bogo Sunrise Pancake, Bogo Old Timers Breakfast. Kids eat free. All you can eat National Pancake Day. So they're really, they're really trying to win the audience, the customer base back over with these new initiatives. Yeah, they also brought back some fan favorite menu items, but how are they paying for this? And corporate restructuring. That was an emphasis on the call. A layer of management has been removed and there will be further restructuring of the corporate support center.

[Ambery]

It's interesting hearing those Bogos and there's a lot of them. But when you really cut through it and you cut through the jargon, this is Cracker Barrel's way of saying we want to deliver more accessible price points. Right? Kids eat free. All you can eat, buy one, get one. Great marketing slogans, but it's all many different ways of saying we need to get more food in the hands of our customers for a given price point. It's also just worth talking a little bit about the shareholder base we, we've talked about in the past because there's one activist in here. This, this is a pretty unusual situation. And the activist shareholder is Sardar Biglari, who also owns and runs a rival restaurant chain called Steak and Shake, who has been agitating for over a decade, one, to get a seat on the board of this business and two, to actually more recently to exit the CEO. He's very unhappy with Massino. Cracker Barrel shareholders, though, despite, despite the misstep on the branding, did vote last month to keep Mosino in place. So this is very interesting to me. The CEO Mayer Culped said we got it wrong. They reversed that decision around the logo pretty quickly and the shareholders sort of moved on, forgave it. I'm not sure they're going to have a ton of patience though for things like a 50% reduction in your outlook and profit. That's a different beast. So we'll see whether Messina is out of the woods.

[John Crateau]

She was crowing about a little bit of progress today, saying that in recent months the Google star rating for Cracker Barrel has, which is Strongly correlated with traffic, has been running at its highest level since 2020. So she's saying that they're winning people back.

[Ambery]

Well, it looks as though this was one where Cracker Barrel actually being rewarded for laying out a plan. That's the key thing, saying we have a plan to try and get our profit back up, being transparent about it, owning it. And the shares actually did finish up a little bit today. So looks as though the believers are still there. Folks think that the cost savings will work and that actually the company is going to find its way again. Let's, let's switch gears a bit. And from food for John Criteau and his parents, let's move to food for our furry friends. Let's talk about Chewy, the online pet food and supply company.

[John Crateau]

That's right. Chewy trades on the New York Stock Exchange with a market cap of $15 billion.

[Ambery]

Big company.

[John Crateau]

Big launched in 2011. And shares were popping up nearly 4% this morning. That eased down during the day and just like you said, across the board, finished up nearly 3% today. As many stocks did. Net sales out of the earnings of $3.1 billion, up 8% year over year. EBITDA, again, that measure of profit, $181 million, up 31%.

[Ambery]

That's a great outcome. That's a great outcome.

[John Crateau]

And earnings per share of $0.32 beat estimates of $0.30. The company did narrow its sales forecasts for the year, saying that this quarter, this holiday quarter might be a little soft, but otherwise, things positive.

[Ambery]

Yeah. This one to me is so fascinating because Chewy, it's easy to just stick with the headline and say it's all about pets and people spend more on pets and people are humanizing their pets and everyone wants to turn their furry friends into members of their family. But more, more than that to me with Chewy is the nature of its revenue base. Let's just talk about that. This is a subscription business. It's active customers for the quarter. 21 million, up 5% year over year. Just think about that 21 million actively going to chewy.com to buy food for their pets. Now, the net sales per active customer was also up 5% year over year. So just think about that again, 5% more customers spending 5% more. So that, to me, seems very healthy. Now, one of the things that Chewy has been doing, which I do think is a pretty cheeky tactic, but I salute it. I think it's, it's really interesting and it's clearly working, is auto shipping.

[John Crateau]

Yes.

[Ambery]

So it's not just having subscription, it's literally a set it and forget it for food for your pets. So for example, sending out a bag of kibble every three weeks, which is a version of personalization, right? It's understanding the consumption rate and the velocity of using their products with your pets. And then in 2024, the company rolled out Chewy Plus, a membership subscription service like Amazon prime that included both recurring standing orders but rewards like free shipping and discounts. The company said it's been very successful. Clearly a play here on using data and insights into that subscription base in a very impactful way. And if you just take a look at this pricing again, Chewy plus rolled out only last year initially at 49 bucks a year with a 30 day free trial up to $79 in October. I mean, that's just really strong inflation. And the fact that they've still got increased take up and increased numbers just goes to show that attrition has not only not happened, but growth has actually continued in the light of this, which this to me is just an example of when a company proves its value proposition, customers will not only stick with it, but they're going to pay up for it.

[John Crateau]

And the CEO Sumit Singh said on the call, auto ship revenues are highly predictive and allow operational planning to reduce cost and grow margin. All right, so we've talked about Petco and that we've identified their competitive advantage of having a thousand brick and mortar stores. It's where the pets go, it's experiential. They have events, grooming, vet clinics. Well, Chewy, which I think of as an online retailer, is continuing to expand its nascent vet services. They opened the first physical location less than two years ago and then now there's 14 locations in five states. And so this is a real change. And on the call the leadership said each clinic acts as both an acquisition channel and a retention driver, supporting deeper auto ship and health program anticipation. Because again, as we said, if you take your dog in and it gets prescribed some sort of medication, well, there you go. That's another profit center for Chewy, now.

[Ambery]

The source of data, another referral mechanism. Just for comparison, Petco operates over a thousand health and grooming locations, over 250 full service as Vetco Total Care Hospitals. It's pretty ubiquitous. So Chewy didn't explicitly use the word vet in its earnings press release. But it's clearly as an overall strategic matter, even if it wasn't an emphasis for this quarter, something that Chewy is leaning into, it is expensive but just as with humans and experiential in stores to supplement E commerce, so it goes also with pets. Very similar there in terms of the investment thesis. Chewy shares up up 4% year to date. Now if you think about the overall performance of the stock market, 4% year to date is almost like being flat at this point. So there are still things that are being figured out and one of the key issues here is the share price of Chewy did hit about 100 bucks over the pandemic. So it's really, despite its growth, still trying to claw its way back to evaluation that it was always going to be very difficult for it to live on up to. Well, let's take a quick break and when we come back, hyperscalers and AI data centers need energy and we're going to take a look at which legacy company intends to deliver it.

So you're about to make a trade based on a friend's text, but which u do you listen to is it we could buy a house in Tulum.

Get optioning those options.

We could lose everything.

Or let's do a little research, get your head in the trade and make the investment decision that's right for you. Learn [e-mail] TradeSmart.

Ford BlueCruise Hands Free highway driving takes the work out of being behind the wheel, allowing you to relax and reconnect while also staying in control. Enjoy the drive in blue cruise enabled vehicles like the F150 Explorer and Mustang Mach E available feature on equipped vehicles terms apply. Does not replace Safe driving. See ford.combluecruise for more details.

It's 4pm on the east Coast. The markets have closed. I feel like it's been such a long day because I've been waiting all day for the press release and the press conference from the Fed. We don't have a ticker tape. We're going to throw it over to our human ticket. John that's right.

[John Crateau]

All the major indices did finish up after that Fed decision. S&P 500 closed just shy of a record up 2/3 of a percent. The NASDAQ finished up a third of a percent and the Dow finished up the day up a percent.

[Ambery]

Well, here are two interesting companies that we're about to talk about just very quickly. They are both store watts. They've been around forever and they're both doing things that are really innovative. So GE Vanova, let's start there. Their stock price chart described all day today on CNBC as a beautiful stock price chart, which is something you don't hear very often. So I thought this one was exciting to point out. The company is a gas turbines manufacturer. Shares soared 15% today. It did hit a 52% week high and the reason being the company delighted the markets in yesterday's investor day. So it was out there going through its strategic plan in detail, basically saying it's going to move to double its dividend per share and significantly increase its buyback program driven by some outperformance it's expecting through 2028.

[John Crateau]

That's right. Ge Vernova pointed to demand for power driven in no small part by hyperscalers and AI data center operators. And this is also welcome news for me as I have a few shares of GE Vernova stock from when I worked at the then General Election Electric owned NBC. And as we follow the battle for Warner Brothers, it's a good reminder that Strange Media Bedfellows is nothing new.

[Ambery]

Definitely going to keep on watching that one because with all the AI build out everyone's been focused on big tech. Everyone's been wondering where the energy is going to come from to power these data centers. You've got some companies out there with basically no revenue and very little or no profit. And so Jiva Nova at the moment is capturing attention as one that's got a real business, a proven business that's also perhaps standing to gain from these tailwinds. So an interesting one to keep watching. I'm going to move on though to Walmart. Let's talk about what's going on with the retail giant because it's doing something really quite cutting edge. Walmart is using 3D printers in a partnership to construct more than a dozen new buildings. Walmart has aligned with construction company AlQuest 3D. Now last year together they built an almost 8,000square foot addition to one of Walmart stores in Athens, Tennessee which at the time was the largest 3D printed commercial struct the US I saw that story and I was fascinated. So even more so today to learn that more of this is going to come. That's right.

[John Crateau]

Allquist. Also 3D printed a 5,000 square foot Walmart Pickup center in Huntsville, Alabama which took just seven days to complete. I've been following the promise of 3D printing and construction. Building homes seems very complicated, but more simple warehouse structures seems to make a lot of sense.

[Ambery]

Well, just as a final thought for today, there's one company that's reporting after the bell today. So any minute now we are looking at Oracle and here's what I'm going to be looking out for. Oracle has been getting a lot of flack because it has announced that it needs to issue more debt to be able to fulfill some of its investments in AI. And it's that announcement that credit is going to start seeping in more and more and more into the AI trade that has been fueling concerns around Is there an AI bubble? And if so, how much of it is going to be attributed to debt financing? And if so, how much of that is going to be traceable back to the likes of Oracle having to issue more debt? Also, at a point in time where the margins on some of their chip plays have been coming in lower than analysts have expected, it's going to be a little technical. We're going to nerd out, we're going to unpack the details, we're going to try and bust through the jargon. But this is an important one. We're going to come back to it tomorrow. Meanwhile, that's it for today's Blue Markets Daily.

[John Crateau]

Blue Markets Daily is hosted by Ambery and produced by John Crateau, Tark Abdelatif and Emily Milian. Technical direction by Lonnie Fisk. Brittany Ditaco is our audio engineer and the president of Morning Brew Inc. Is Devin Emery. We'd love to hear from you. If you have any feedback a company you'd like us to cover, send an email or Voice memo to brewmarketshoworningbrew.com Wake.

[Ambery]

Up tomorrow with the Morning Brew newsletter and tune in to Neil and Toby on Morning Brew Daily. We'll see you back here tomorrow, same time, same place.

[John Crateau]

Hey, Ryan Reynolds here wishing you a very happy half off holiday because right now Mint Mobile is offering you the gift of 50% off unlimited. To be clear, that's half price, not half the service. Mint is still premium unlimited wireless for a great price. So that means a half day. Yeah, give it a [e-mail] Switch upfront.

[Ambery]

Payment of $45 for 3 month plan equivalent to $15 per month required new customer offer for first 3 months only. Speed slow after 35 gigabytes of network's busy taxes and fees extra. See mintmobile.com.