Brew Markets – "Healthcare Teaming with Tech & Grocery Wars: Amazon v Walmart"

Podcast: Brew Markets (by Morning Brew)
Host: Ann Berry
Date: January 13, 2026

Episode Overview

Ann Berry, investor and former CEO, hosts a deep-dive into two dominant themes shaping today’s market:

1. How heavyweight players in healthcare and technology (notably Eli Lilly and Nvidia) are revolutionizing medicine through partnerships and AI.
2. The escalating battle between Amazon and Walmart over domination of the American grocery business, with both companies borrowing each other’s best tricks.

She wraps with key market movements and a look at earnings, inflation, oil, airline travel, and regulatory news.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Healthcare’s Tech Revolution

(00:31–05:10)

• J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference: Ann sets the stage, noting a big week for healthcare with major announcements from biotech, pharma, and insurance companies.

  “It's a packed event at which public companies...unleash waves of announcements on their latest developments, from gene editing technology updates to personalized medicine breakthroughs, to of course, the latest in obesity treatments.” (01:07, Ann Berry)

• Obesity Drugs: The GLP-1 Pill Race:

  • Pfizer’s $7B acquisition of Msera, beating out Novo Nordisk.
  • Novo Nordisk’s “WeGovy” oral pill launches January 4th, sending shares up 16% YTD.

• Eli Lilly’s Big Moves:

  • First healthcare company to hit $1T market cap (Nov 2025), up 35% in 6 months.
  • Recent acquisitions and partnerships:
    • $1.2B buyout of Ventix Biosciences (cardiometabolic/brain/inflammation drugs).
    • Expanded partnership with Nimbus Therapeutics using AI for oral obesity treatments.
  • Headline: A blockbuster AI alliance with Nvidia to create a $1B co-innovation lab in San Francisco.

    “Nvidia’s engineers will physically work alongside Lilly’s experts in biology to build AI models designed to accelerate medicine development.” (03:41, Ann Berry)

  • Not just drug discovery: will also use agentic AI, robotics, digital twins in clinical development, manufacturing, and commercial ops.

• Notable Quote:

  “It's like all the buzzwords actually coming together for this particular use case.” (04:29, Ann Berry)

2. The Grocery Wars: Amazon v Walmart

(05:28–14:16)

• Amazon’s Supercenter Play:

  • CEO Andy Jassy’s bullish grocery comments cue up news: a 229,000 square foot retail store (Chicago suburb, Orland Park), 35 acres—bigger than a typical Walmart Supercenter, actually right next to a Costco.

    “The online giant, the OG of e-commerce, Amazon, opening a physical store. And you've got the big box mainstay, Walmart, expanding on delivery. This is how the tables are turned.” (05:58, Ann Berry)

  • The store will include a “limited warehouse component” for both in-store and delivery fulfillment—a direct play from Walmart’s own strategies.

  • Reflects Amazon’s evolving efforts in grocery:

    • Whole Foods acquisition (2017), now 500+ stores.
    • Whole Foods “store within a store” experiment (Oreos, Doritos—processed foods), broadening offerings.

• Walmart’s Tech Push: Drone Delivery:

  • Walmart responds by expanding drone delivery (with Google’s Wing) to 150 more locations (aim: 270 by 2027; potential reach: 40M customers).

  • Wing, born in Google X labs (2012), became an Alphabet business (2018), quietly disrupting last-mile fulfillment.

  • Regulatory Shift Enables Growth:

    • FAA now allows drones beyond the pilot’s line of sight, catalyzing real investment and actual deployments in cities.

  • Real-World Experience/Use Case:

    "Drone delivery is especially helpful when customers need just one to a handful of items fast." (13:29, quoting Walmart SVP Greg Cathy)

  • Ann and John riff on moments of everyday tech use, from stress-induced eyebrow whitening (wedding planning!) to the promise of drone-delivered cosmetics.

  • Market Impact:

    • Walmart shares up 30% past year, increasingly viewed as a “pseudo-tech company.”
    • Amazon up 11% (after huge 2024 rally).

• Memorable Quote:

  “Everyone's trying everything. Spaghetti time.” (06:32, John Croteau)

3. Market Closing & Economic Highs & Lows

(15:39–17:20)

• Indices Down:

  • S&P 500: -0.21%
  • NASDAQ: -0.1%
  • Dow: -0.8%

• Macro Data:

  • December CPI: Headline inflation steady at 2.7% YOY; core CPI 2.6% (below expectations—a good sign).

  • Details:

    • Shelter, food, airline fares up.
    • Gasoline, used cars, eggs (down 8.2%) down.

  • “We're at the point we're having to pass through these fractions of a percent to really try and understand which direction this is going.” (16:25, Ann Berry)

• Political Hot Takes:

  • Former President Trump on Truth Social:

    “Great low inflation numbers for the USA. That means that Jerome too late Powell should cut interest rates meaningfully...” (17:20, John Croteau quoting Trump)

  • Next Fed meeting: Jan 28; no clear signal on rate cuts yet.

4. Geopolitics & Oil

(17:20–20:10)

• Brent Crude up 3% (seven-week high), reflecting volatility and global tensions (notably Iran & Venezuela).

  • Political unrest in Iran (OPEC founding member), Trump cancels talks, promises support for protesters.

• Upcoming Deep-Dive:

  • Friday’s show: Ann teases a jargon-free, expert breakdown on oil and gas markets with Alix Steel (former Bloomberg anchor), encouraging listeners not to miss it:

    “I made it my mission to find the most engaging, high-energy, articulate expert I know of in this industry to join us…” (19:02, Ann Berry)

5. Companies in the News

(20:13–21:35)

• Delta Air Lines Earnings:

  • $14.6B adjusted revenue; up 1.2% YOY but missed targets and guidance.

  • Blames government shutdown and air traffic control strain.

  • CEO Ed Bas emphasizes premium travel:

    “In the coming year, effectively none of our growth in seats will be in the main cabin. Virtually all will be in the premium sector.” (20:38, Ann Berry quoting Ed Bas)

  • Ann personally notes higher cross-country flight prices.

  • Delta's AmEx Credit Card: $8.2B contribution last year alone (as premium travel rebounds).

• Credit Card Rate Cap Debate:

  • Trump proposes 10% cap on credit card interest.
  • Ann promises in-depth coverage once more bank earnings are reported.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Ann Berry (on tech-pharma collaboration):

  “It's like all the buzzwords actually coming together for this particular use case.” (04:29)

• John Croteau (on the grocery wars):

  “Everyone's trying everything. Spaghetti time.” (06:32)

• Greg Cathy, Walmart SVP (as quoted):

  “Drone delivery is especially helpful when customers need just one to a handful of items fast.” (13:29)

• Ann (on egg prices dropping):

  “Egg prices came down 8.2%. Now, we covered the egg company cow main last week. Ticker calm, most bizarre ticker for that company but nevertheless, there it is.” (16:09)

• Ann (on oil & gas show tease):

  “So Friday, please do come back to join us for that conversation.” (19:55)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Healthcare Tech Revolution (Eli Lilly, Nvidia): 00:31–05:10
• Amazon v Walmart Grocery Wars: 05:28–14:16
• Market Closing & Macro Data: 15:39–17:20
• Oil/Geopolitics: 17:20–20:10
• Delta Airlines & Premium Travel: 20:13–21:35
• Closing Remarks & Next Show Tease: 21:35–end

Tone & Style

Ann Berry’s delivery is conversational, brisk, and insightful—peppered with dry humor, data, and pithy commentary. John Croteau adds color, curiosity, and light banter, keeping the dialogue lively and grounded.

For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

This episode is a timely, jargon-light tour through how tech is transforming the healthcare and grocery industries—anchored by real-world business moves with big financial stakes. It connects dots between new product launches, major acquisitions, regulatory shifts, and market responses—without losing sight of both human impact (from obesity treatments to eyebrow drama) and market fun facts (like egg prices and drone-delivered mascara).

If you want to understand the collision of AI, big retail, and consumer habits—or just want the top market headlines distilled with wit—this is a can’t-miss overview.