‘X’ CEO Steps Down After Two Years & McDonald’s Revamps Their Menu

Summary

Morning Brew Daily: Episode Summary – July 10, 2025

Hosts: Neal Freyman & Toby Howell

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1. Leadership Shake-Up at X: Linda Yaccarino Steps Down

Timestamp: [04:28]

The episode opens with significant news from the tech world: Linda Yaccarino has resigned as CEO of X after a two-year tenure. Yaccarino's departure comes shortly after a disruptive incident involving X's AI chatbot, Grok, which began exhibiting alarming behavior, including praising Hitler and making racist remarks. Although reports suggest that Yaccarino planned her exit prior to the Grok fiasco, this incident undoubtedly added pressure to her role.

Neal Freyman reflects on Yaccarino’s challenging position:
"This was one of the most unique CEO roles in all of corporate America. It often felt like Yaccarino was driving a car whose controls could be overridden at any point by Elon Musk..." ([05:04])

Yaccarino had initially been brought in to stabilize X's advertising revenue, which had plummeted from $127 million in October 2022 to $48 million by January 2023. Leveraging her 11-year experience at NBC Universal and employing strategic measures—including legal threats—she successfully rekindled advertiser confidence, leading to a projected rise in ad revenues for the first time post-takeover. Despite these efforts, Elon Musk's integration of AI into X overshadowed the social media side of the business, ultimately rendering Yaccarino's role unsustainable.

Toby Howell adds:
"Still, if you go back to where X was when Yaccarino first stepped in, it was not in a good place. X's valuation was at an estimated $10 billion, which is far below the $44 billion that Elon initially bought it for. But it has now climbed back to $44 billion..." ([06:01])

The hosts discuss the precariousness of Yaccarino’s successor, emphasizing the necessity for a leader who commands credibility and respect within the advertising industry amidst Elon Musk's overarching influence.

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2. Trump's Copper Tariffs: Market Turbulence and Economic Implications

Timestamp: [07:12] – [11:44]

The discussion shifts to international trade, focusing on President Trump's announcement of a 50% tariff on copper imports, set to take effect on August 1st. This declaration sent copper prices soaring by 13% in a single day, marking the largest one-day gain in history.

Neal Freyman explains the significance of copper:
"Copper is the most important industrial metal in the world, used in sectors spanning housing, transportation, construction, electricity generation, and AI data centers. It's been called the metal with a PhD in economics because its price is closely correlated with global economic growth." ([08:16])

The tariffs aim to boost American domestic production for national security reasons, as copper is the second most used material by the Department of Defense. However, the U.S. currently imports about half of its copper needs, and ramping up domestic production to meet demand is a long-term endeavor.

Toby Howell elaborates on the supply constraints:
"Glencore, a really big copper producer, estimates that global supply must grow by 1 million metric tons a year through 2050 to meet rising demand. That would require adding the equivalent of the world's largest copper mine every single year." ([09:31])

An interesting market phenomenon was highlighted: Comex Exchange copper contracts in New York are now trading at a 25% premium over London Metal Exchange (LME) prices. This discrepancy is attributed to a surge in copper imports by American factories in anticipation of the tariffs, leading to higher local prices.

Neal Freyman notes:
"According to benchmark, US consumers could be paying around $15,000 per metric ton for copper, while the rest of the world pays around $10,000." ([10:36])

The hosts conclude that while there's a temporary surplus of copper in the U.S., the increased costs are set to impact manufacturers and consumers alike, with Goldman Sachs forecasting that approximately 40% of the extra costs will be passed on to consumers.

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3. McDonald's Menu Revamp: Nostalgia Meets Innovation

Timestamp: [12:02] – [14:28]

McDonald's is strategically revamping its menu to counteract recent declines in sales, marking its worst four-quarter stretch in a decade with negative sales growth in three of the past four quarters. To reignite customer interest, McDonald's has reintroduced the beloved snack wrap—which was discontinued in 2016—and launched a spicy McMuffin aimed at attracting spice-loving Gen Z consumers.

Toby Howell highlights McDonald's approach:
"The idea is to shift consumer focus away from the chain's frustratingly high prices and back towards a flurry of new menu items." ([13:27])

Despite the innovation, McDonald's faces significant challenges:
"Over the past decade, the average price of a McDonald's meal has more than doubled, which is the biggest price hike among a dozen fast food chains examined by Chaikin Analytics. And it's over triple the broader inflation rate." ([14:28])

By launching affordable items like the $2.99 snack wrap, McDonald's aims to leverage consumer nostalgia while introducing modern twists to maintain relevance among younger demographics. Toby Howell emphasizes the strategic pricing:
"McDonald's is coming in a little bit lower than people thought, which McDonald's is hoping will bring those people out." ([14:28])

The hosts discuss the potential impact of these changes, noting that with foot traffic declining due to economic pressures, McDonald's innovative menu items might be key to restoring customer engagement.

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4. Neal's Numbers: Key Insights and Statistics

Timestamp: [17:26] – [25:38]

Neal Freyman presents the "Neal's Numbers" segment, delving into three intriguing statistics:

a. Scarlett Johansson: Hollywood's Highest-Grossing Lead Actor

Timestamp: [17:26] – [20:17]

Scarlett Johansson has been recognized as Hollywood's highest-grossing lead actor of all time, with films she's led or ensemble-starred in grossing $14.8 billion globally. This surpasses iconic actors like Samuel L. Jackson ($14.1 billion) and Robert Downey Jr. ($13.4 billion).

Neal Freyman states:
"Scarlett Johansson is now Hollywood's highest grossing lead actor of all time." ([17:26])

Her impressive earnings are largely attributed to her roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), particularly as Black Widow, contributing to blockbuster hits like "Avengers: Endgame" ($2.7 billion) and "Avengers: Infinity War" ($2 billion). Additionally, Johansson's performance in "Jurassic World Rebirth" has already amassed $334 million in its first week, propelling her to the top.

b. Lucid Air EV: Record-Breaking Range

Timestamp: [20:17] – [22:49]

The Lucid Air Grand Touring electric vehicle set a new Guinness World Record by driving 749 miles on a single charge, far surpassing the EPA estimated range of 560 miles. This achievement highlights Lucid’s commitment to battery efficiency and aerodynamic design, with the car boasting a drag coefficient of 0.197—one of the lowest globally.

Neal Freyman comments:
"The drive was recently crowned the longest journey by an electric car on a single charge by Guinness World Records." ([20:17])

Despite the impressive feat, Toby Howell questions whether this record will translate into boosted sales, noting that Lucid delivered 10,241 vehicles in 2024 amidst a competitive EV market.

c. Decline in Social Events: An Epidemic of Loneliness

Timestamp: [22:49] – [25:38]

A concerning trend highlighted by the Census American Time Use survey reveals that Americans are attending or hosting 50% fewer social events between 2003 and 2024. For younger demographics (ages 15-24), the decline is even steeper, with a 70% reduction in party attendance.

Neal Freyman underscores the gravity:
"Americans spend more time alone today than in any period in recorded history. He noted that men who watch TV spend seven hours in front of their screens for every hour they spend hanging out with someone outside their house." ([24:16])

Toby Howell explores the multifaceted causes, including technology's role, changing family dynamics, and modern parenting practices, which prioritize structured activities over spontaneous socializing. The hosts lament the erosion of communal gatherings, urging listeners to reconnect and revive the art of partying.

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5. Final Headlines: Key Business Updates

Timestamp: [26:04] – [30:17]

a. Amazon's Extended Prime Day Faces Challenges

Amazon has expanded its annual Prime Day sale to four days this year. However, early indicators suggest a downturn in sales performance, with some retailers reporting a 41% decline compared to the previous year.

Neal Freyman remarks:
"Consumer psychology revolves around urgency, and when there's no urgency, you aren't going to buy as much as you would otherwise." ([27:06])

The extended duration may have diluted the traditional sense of urgency, leading consumers to delay purchases in anticipation of better deals. Neal shares a personal anecdote:
"From personal experience, there are a lot of great deals on Amazon, but I still haven't bought anything yet because I know there are multiple days to this thing..." ([27:06])

The success of this strategy remains uncertain, with the ultimate outcome hinging on whether the extended period can offset the initial sales dip.

b. Nvidia Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Milestone

In a landmark achievement, Nvidia has become the first company in the world to reach a $4 trillion market capitalization, surpassing tech giants Apple and Microsoft.

Neal Freyman highlights Nvidia's journey:
"Nvidia showed you can be both the tortoise and the hare simultaneously." ([28:51])

Initially recognized for its graphics chips pivotal in video gaming and crypto mining, Nvidia's pivotal role in training large language models has catapulted its valuation. Despite facing challenges such as US tariff threats and export controls, Nvidia's demand resilience and technological advancements have fueled its meteoric rise.

Toby Howell adds:
"Loop Capital predicted that Nvidia stock will rise to a $6 trillion valuation by 2028. Suddenly that doesn't look so far away." ([29:03])

The hosts conclude by reflecting on Nvidia's unprecedented growth trajectory, emphasizing its central role in the AI revolution and pondering the implications of such a dominant market position.

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Conclusion

In this episode of Morning Brew Daily, Neal Freyman and Toby Howell navigate a diverse array of topics, from high-stakes corporate leadership changes and international trade policies to consumer behavior trends and monumental achievements in the tech industry. The hosts provide insightful analyses, supported by relevant data and engaging discussions, offering listeners a comprehensive overview of the latest developments shaping the business and economic landscape.

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Notable Quotes:

• Neal Freyman:
  "This was one of the most unique CEO roles in all of corporate America..." ([05:04])
  "Copper is the most important industrial metal in the world..." ([08:16])
  "Consumer psychology revolves around urgency..." ([27:06])

• Toby Howell:
  "McDonald's is coming in a little bit lower than people thought..." ([14:28])
  "These stats were brutal to look at, but there's a lot of factors that play into it." ([24:16])
  "Loop Capital predicted that Nvidia stock will rise to a $6 trillion valuation by 2028." ([29:03])

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For more insights and daily updates, tune into the Morning Brew Daily podcast available on all major platforms and YouTube.

Transcript

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[Neal Freyman]

Good Morning Brew Daily Show. I'm Neal Freyman.

[Toby Howell]

And I'm Toby Howell.

[Neal Freyman]

Today Linda Yaccarino is out as CEO of X. Was it something Grok said then?

[Toby Howell]

At long last, the McDonald's snack wrap is back. It's Thursday, July 10th. Let's ride.

[Neal Freyman]

Just one week after fireworks, we could be in for another treat in the night sky sky without the need for man made pyrotechnics. Tonight, look to the eastern sky shortly after dark. That's about 853 in New York and you'll see this month's full moon, known as the Buck Moon, rise above the horizon. It's expected to be a spectacular show with the moon appearing far larger than it actually is thanks to the moon illusion, which is when our brain dupes us into thinking the moon is bigger near the horizon than it is overhead. Toby, what does this mean for my horoscope?

[Toby Howell]

I'm Aaliyah this means that you should definitely go moon watching because this effect is super strong in 2025, specifically due to this rare event called a major lunar standstill. This happens once every 18.6 years or so and it's when the moon's orbit is tilted at its most extreme angle. Typically, the moon's orbit is around 5 degrees compared to the Earth's orbit around the sun. And over time, this tilt wobbles just because it's got the sun pulling on it, the earth pulling on it, which causes the moon's path in the sky to slowly shift. It's not a big shift, but when that wobble is at its peak, which it is right now in 2025, the moon's daily path reaches extremes both on the high side and the low side. So it is appearing lower in the sky than usual during its full in new phases. So this July, your season seeing both a seasonal effect because it's summer and the moon already is at its extremes and you're seeing this rare lunar tilt, which is why this makes this moon look really, really big. So go get your picture. Go go get the I don't know how it affects your horoscope, but it's definitely going to look good on your Instagram.

[Neal Freyman]

It will be cool. I'm going to check it out. Pretend I'm in Star Wars. And now a quick word from our sponsor, Mortgage Matchup. Toby, when was the last time you saved thousands of dollars?

[Toby Howell]

Well, I very nearly invested in this ill fated music festival on an island.

[Neal Freyman]

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So check out mortgage matchup.com to speak to a home loan expert. They that's mortgage matchup.com disclaimer United Wholesale Mortgage LLC equal housing lender and MLS number 3038 license in all 50 states and the District of Columbia Ex CEO Linda Yaccarino is now an ex CEO after stepping down yesterday from the platform she helmed since 2023. In a post on X, she thanked Elon Musk for the opportunity to run what she called the global town square, but stopped short of providing a reason for her departure. Yakurino did step down mere hours after Grok X's AI chat bot infused in the platform went haywire, praising Hitler and spouting off racist remarks. Though Yaccarina was reportedly already set to depart before the incident, Grok's episode was far from the only tumultuous period Yakurino oversaw at the company. After taking over what was then called Twitter, Yakurino faced an advertiser exodus, mass layoffs and loosening content moderation policies. Monthly ad revenue from Twitter's top thousand advertisers fell from from 127 million in October 2022 to just 48 million by January 2023. Despite those challenges, she leaned on her 11 years at NBC Universal, as well as some legal threats to woo back advertisers. And it worked. E Marketer is forecasting ad revenue growth for the first time since the takeover this year, but despite stabilizing the business, Yakurino's position was tenuous. After Elon fused X with his artificial intelligence company X this past spring, the higher growth potential of AI took the driver's seat over the lower margin and lower growth social media business. Thus, despite ushering in some improvement to X's finances, Yakirino was an ad dollar shaped peg for an AI sized hole and is now on the outs.

[Neal Freyman]

This was one of the most unique CEO roles in all of corporate America. It often felt like Yakarino was driving a car whose controls could be overridden at any point by Elon Musk and forcing her to swerve and reverse and go in different directions, seemingly at any point. I mean, you could see this a few months into her tenure. At the dealbook conference in 2023, Musk got on stage talking with Andrew Sorkin and then told advertisers who were leaving X to go F themselves, prompting Yaccarino to do this massive cleanup because she was brought in there to woo advertisers back. That kind of threw a, a major wrench in her plan. It seems like she did the best she could given the circumstances. Using carrots, using sticks and legal threats to bring advertisers back. You mentioned that revenue will grow for the first time since 2021, but revenues are still about half what they were before Elon bought the company.

[Toby Howell]

Still, if you go back to where X was when Yakurino first stepped in, it was not in a good place. X's valuation was was at a estimated $10 billion, which is far below the $44 billion that Elon initially bought it for. But it is now climbed back to $44 billion, just north of what he bought it for in 2022. And that happened because she did improve ad revenue. And it also just brought back the investors in this deal hole again because for a while they were deeply underwater. So it did look like she, she improved the bottom line, which is what you know you want a CEO to do. People are saying now too that it is vital for anyone who comes in and replaces Linda Yakarino to have the credibility and respect of the advertising market, which Yakurino worked so hard to build back up. But in the end it just. This merger kind of really hamstrung her because I became much more important for the company. Grok has been shoved into every nook and cranny of this platform at this point. So Yakurino just wasn't necessarily the right person for the role. And, and who knows who the right person for the role is because as you said it is very difficult being a CEO under Elon Musk.

[Neal Freyman]

Yeah, we'll see what happens. I'm sure Tesla shareholders who have watched Elon Musk kind of take a lot of time spending in government away from Tesla as Tesla's share price has declined are very much watching how much time Elon Musk is going to spend on the CEO search and whether he's going to spend more time on actual X business. It didn't seem like he was spending all that much time on X instead of Tesla. He was spending more time in the government. So Tesla shareholders are probably thinking he Here we go again. Another distraction for Elon. Didn't seem like that hurt Tesla share price at all. The search for a new XCO is on of all Trump's tariff threats issued this year, and there have been many, one is spooking American businesses more than any other and the target may surprise you. Copper in off the cuff remarks on Tuesday, Trump said that the US will place a 50% tariff on copper imports and followed that up last night by confirming they'll go into effect on August 1st. The announcement sent the US copper market into a tizzy with prices skyrocketing 13% on Tuesday for their biggest one day gain on record. Prices calmed down a bit yesterday, but are going right back up this morning. Why is copper such a big deal and what does it mean that it's getting more expensive? To put it simply, copper is the most important industrial metal in the world, used in sectors spanning housing, transportation, construction, electricity generation and AI data centers. It's been called the metal with a PhD in economics. The because its price is closely correlated with global economic growth. If people are building pretty much anything, they need copper, Trump said the tariffs are necessary to build up American capacity in the name of national security. As the second most used material by the Department of Defense, copper is an ingredient in aircraft, ships, ammunition, missile defense systems and more Trump mentioned last night. But those long term goals of self sufficiency are clashing with short term reality. Right now, the US Imports about half of its copper needs and it'll take years, if not decades for American producers to meet the country's demands. In the interim, American factories making refrigerators, cars, air conditioners, what have you will need to pay higher prices for their copper and are expected to pass about 40% of those extra costs onto consumers, according to Goldman Sachs. Toby the Wall Street Journal predicted this would be one of the most influential trade moves Trump has made since taking office earlier this year.

[Toby Howell]

Yeah, because copper is just the MVP when it comes to metal, get you a metal that can, you know, be in the pipes of your housing and bring plumbing to your sink in your kitchen, but also power. The AI and clean energy revolution, it just really is in everything. And demand is forecast to keep on rising over the coming years. Glencore, a really big copper producer, estimates that global supply must grow by 1 million metric tons a year through 2050 to meet rising demand. That that would require adding the equivalent of the world's largest copper mine every single year. And that is not an easy thing to do because on average, it takes decades for mines to move to production. Not years, decades. Because of all, you know, the, the work you have to do, the regulatory work you have to do. So it is not a quick process to scale up copper production. So if copper is becoming more expensive, it just constrains everything. It's like a global boa constrictor that is just hurting everything from, you know, domestic manufacturing to overseas manufacturing. Just anything that involves making anything copper is somehow at play there.

[Neal Freyman]

And if you are looking closely at the copper market, which, you know, maybe you are, maybe you're not, something very interesting has happened over the past few days. Contracts on the Comex Exchange, which is in New York, are now at an unprecedented 25% premium over London metal exchange prices. So copper, if you buy it in New York, is going to cost 25% more than if you buy it in London. There's this crazy imbalance that's been happening between the American copper market and the copper market in the rest of the world, and that is directly due to tariffs. There's been over the past few months, an incredible surge in imports by Americans factories to bring over copper. In anticipation of these tariffs, they were floated back in February. No one knew exactly when they were going to go into effect. It looks like August 1st. So there's been this huge import surge of copper into the United States, which has driven up prices now to 25% greater than in London. And that means, according to benchmark, that US consumers could be paying around 15,000 per metric ton for copper, while the rest of the world pays around $10,000.

[Toby Howell]

That's the consolation though, is that because traders saw this coming, they did import all this copper. So there are. There is a lot of copper in the US right now. There's actually more in the US and over in London, which is, you know, the global kind of standard. And so that's the consolation prize. You have a lot. But the bad news is, is that it just costs more. It's trading at this massive premium to copper compared to the rest of the world. So you got it, but you're going to have to pay for it. Like the Backstreet Boys and the Crocs, the McDonald's snack wrap is so back. The beloved item made its triumphant return to menus as the fast food giant tries to turn around sales limper the than a forgotten fry at the bottom of a takeout bag. Along with bringing the snack wrap back, McDonald's also introduced a spicy McMuffin to its breakfast menu to try and woo over spice loving Gen Z. The idea is to shift consumer focus away from the chain's frustratingly high prices and back towards a flurry of new menu items. After 15 straight quarters of rising same store sales coming out of the pandemic, things have taken a turn for the worse. McDonald's has reported negative sales growth in three of the past four quarters, its worst four quarter stretch in a decade. So it's tried to innovate itself out of a corner, including adding McCrispy strips to its menu recently, the first new permanent item in four years and the same strips you'll find in the snack wrap. McDonald's hopes that the lure of the snack wrap, an item that left national Menus back in 2016 that people have been begging for ever since, combined with its affordable $2.99 price point, will lead to a bump in foot traffic. And I tell you what Neal, I will likely be contributing to the bump because I got to see if the snack wrap still slaps.

[Neal Freyman]

I'm sure it does. Very interesting strategy by McDonald's here. In one way they are looking back to the snack wrap which left in 2016 and playing on consumers nostalgia in other ways. They are looking forward with innovation and taking this 50 year old breakfast sandwich, the McMuffin and and putting this very 2025 twist on it which is making it spicy which a lot of younger consumers want right now. And it is trying to shift the narrative away from everyone saying how expensive McDonald's has gotten and people their gripes are well documented. Over the past decade the average price of a McDonald's meal has more than doubled, which is the biggest price hike among a dozen fast food chains examined by Chaikin Analytics. And it's over triple the the broader inflation rate. So everyone who's been complaining about McDonald's prices and saying I'm paying over $10 for this big Mac meal, you know they have every right to complain. McDonald's prices have been soaring with these new introductions. McDonald's does not want you to talk about its price and saying, hey look, a 299 snack wrap.

[Toby Howell]

Go get it, go get it. But also if you look back to its launch price in 2006, it's more than double it. When the snack wrap debuted back then it was a dollar 29 cents but, but it's, you know, adjusting for inflation. That does sound a little bit better there. McDonald's fans. Actually if you sorted through McDonald's Reddit, they thought it was going to debut at $4. So people's expectations were totally warped on this. So McDonald's is coming in a little bit lower than people thought, which McDonald's is hoping will bring those people out. In general, people are just not eating out as much. Spending at restaurants declined almost 1% in May, had a little bit of a jump back in June. But foot traffic is just down in general as people feel a little bit more squeeze here. So McDonald's is hoping that this is coming in at the right time, at the right price point to try to woo back. These people have just who have just been shunning it because McDonald's feels too expensive these days. Up next, talking about numbers, we got Neil's numbers.

[Neal Freyman]

It's certainly an interesting time to be doing business.

[Toby Howell]

Tariffs, trade policies and supply chains. Oh my. As a result, cash flow can feel tighter than ever.

[Neal Freyman]

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[Toby Howell]

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[Neal Freyman]

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[Toby Howell]

And with AI embedded throughout, you can automate a lot of those everyday tasks, letting your team stay strategic.

[Neal Freyman]

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[Toby Howell]

I've never betrayed anyone.

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[Neal Freyman]

Compensated by Webull Financial, LLC, member of FINRA and SIPC. Investing involves risk. More info at webull.com/disclosures welcome to Neil's Numbers, the segment where I share three stats from the week's news that will send you down rabbit holes deeper than light can penetrate for my first number. Scarlett Johansson, take a bow. Or at least take a very expensive vacation because you are now Hollywood's highest grossing lead actor of all time. Movies in which Johansson plays the lead or is a lead ensemble member have raked in $14.8 billion at the global box office, putting her ahead of number two, Samuel L. Jackson and number three, Robert Downey Jr. Johansson claimed the title this week thanks to the lucrative opening of her Jurassic World Rebirth, which has already brought in $334 million seven days after the premiere. But the bulk of Johansson's box office earnings have come from another long running franchise, the Marvel Cinematic Universe. When you are a key player in the mcu, as she is having played Black Widow, you are frequently in movies that are among the highest grossing of all time. Avengers Endgame brought in $2.7 billion Avengers Infinity War 2 billion the Avengers 1.5 billion Avengers Age of Ultron 1.4 billion, Captain America Civil War 1.1 billion and so on. That's another reason why you shouldn't be surprised to see Samuel L. Jackson and Robert Downey Jr. Near the top of the leaderboard. They are also frequent stars in Marvel films, but one thing Johansson has that they don't is efficiency. She is the highest grossing lead actor with just 36 films under her belt, compared to Downey Jr's 45 and Jackson's 71.

[Toby Howell]

I just want to give some respect to Scarlett Johansson too. Outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, she's also had other bangers. The Jungle Brook brought in nearly $1 billion she was in that. Singh, which is an animated film, brought in 630 million. And then Lucy, which was this kind of sci fi thriller, brought in nearly half a billion dollars as well. So she does have range. And she also is a huge Jurassic park fan. So that is why it's very poetic that she wrote Jurassic World's latest movie to this title. She said she wanted to get in the franchise so badly that she told the directors, I will die in the first five minutes. I can get eaten by whatever. I'll do whatever you want, just get me in this film. And then the final shout out I need to make for this list is obviously it's populated very heavily by Marvel Cinematic Universe people. In fact, nine out of the 10 people on the top grossing actors of all time lists do appear in MCU films, except for one, and that is Tom Cruise, the movie star himself. He never janked from the chalice of the mcu. He never drank from Disney's chalice. He might have drank.

[Neal Freyman]

He created his own mc.

[Toby Howell]

He did. He might have drank from some other chalice, but Tom Cruise. You stand alone on this list of.

[Neal Freyman]

MCU movie stars and I'm sure people are curious about the top 10, so I'll run them down real quick. So you know the top three. Number four, Zoe Saldana. Five, Chris Pratt, then Tom Cruise, then Chris Hemsworth, then Vin Diesel, then Dwayne Johnson, then Chris Evans. My second number is 749 miles, which is the distance a Lucid Air Grand Touring electric vehicle drove on a single charge. If that sounds like a heck of a long way without a battery fill up, it is. The drive was recently crowned the longest journey by an electric car on a single charge by Guinness World Records. Lucid is a high end EV maker known for its technological prowess and push for efficiency. So it's always going after these records to show off its shops and it certainly knows how to design the right conditions to pull them off. For example, this record breaking drive began in St. Moritz, Switzerland and ended in Munich, Germany. Now for my central European geography nerds out there, what can you tell me about those two cities? That's right, they're very different in elevation. St. Moritz sits at about 6000ft above sea level, while Munich is located 4300ft below it at 1700ft above sea level. So this car was cruising downhill much of the time, drastically improving its battery efficiency. On top of that, you can do this Drive in around 220 miles on normal routes, while Lucid took nearly 750, which suggests they Took a roundabout route that had a gradual descent the whole way. All that being said, auto experts are very impressed by this feat. But the big question is, can Lucid translate range to sales?

[Toby Howell]

Yeah, they can't really. They delivered 10,241 vehicles in 2024, which isn't bad for a startup. And these vehicles are on the premium end, often costing well into the $100,000 range. So, yeah, it is impressive to have this world record. And Lucid's always wanted to be the king of range, which is why they do stuff like this, a reason why it is so good. Not only is it a very efficient car, they say they have a seven year efficiency lead on all automakers when it comes to their battery packs. But it's also an insanely aerodynamic car. It has a drag coefficient of just 0.197 that is the lowest in the world. Actually. It was just passed by a Chinese maker last year, 0.195. So it is this very low to the ground, very slippery car that cuts through the air efficiently as well as has an efficient battery pack. So those two things combine to create the king of range, even though it was kind of rolling downhill for a lot of this drive.

[Neal Freyman]

I mean, the official estimates from the EPA say the Air Grand Touring's range is 56016 miles and it got 749. So they certainly did some tweaking to juice it by over 200 miles. But, yeah, really cool. All right, my final number will hopefully inspire you to take the initiative and arrange a hangout with people this weekend, because partying is a dying art. According to the Census latest American Time Use survey published last month, the amount of time that Americans spent attending or hosting a social event declined by an astonishing 50% between 2003 and 2024. And the stats for young people will drop your jaw even further. Americans aged 15 to 24 spent 70% less time at parties than they did in 2023. In his newsletter contextualizing these numbers, the writer Derek Thompson declared that Americans spend more time alone today than in any period in recorded history. He noted that men who watch TV spend seven hours in front of their screens for every hour they spend hanging out with someone outside their house. And the typical female pet owner spends more time with their pet than in face to face contact with other humans. The decline in socializing is not a new phenomenon, having started in the 1970s, but it's accelerated dramatically in recent years to the point where health officials are calling our isolation from others an epidemic of loneliness. Toby, it's sad to think that if I invited a 21 year old to a game of beer pong, they may not know what I'm talking about.

[Toby Howell]

These stats were brutal to look at, but there's a lot of factors that play into it. I know the first thought is, oh, it's the phones. It's the phones, which obviously the phones play a role. But Derek Thompson also pointed at things like labor, economics, family dynamics, consumer technology, and then also just modern psychology. One example of that family dynamics that he spoke about is that parenting norms have changed a lot. Americans used to have a lot of kids who they watch less. Now they have fewer kids that they watch more. And he talks about how parents are basically their managers of their kids. They want to get them into colleges, so they're driving them all around to their extracurriculars that they kind of sign them up for, which makes it very hard for those kids to party and then also for adults to party as well, because this family dynamic has just totally shifted as well. And then yes, of course there are the screens. All the way back to the 1980s when the television was kind of coming into every American home. People just started doing everything less with other people and spending more time in front of the TVs. Now smartphones are the new screen that people have their attention drawn towards. So a lot of these middle ring of social connections have atrophied over time, replaced by these distant connections online or these, you know, immediately nuclear family units. So just a lot of different factors combining to make it so no one's partying anymore these days. So throw a party, Neil. Throw a party. If you're listening to this, get people together.

[Neal Freyman]

And one reason is parties may not be that fun if you're not drinking and no one is drinking. I mean, as recently as 1989, the share of high schoolers who said high school seniors who said they'd ever have a drink of alcohol was higher than 90%. Today it's fewer than 50%. Eighth graders in the 1980s were more likely to say they had a sip of alcohol in the previous month than today's high school seniors. So that's been a decline that has certainly contributed to the lack of partying.

[Toby Howell]

Now let's spin to the finish with some final headlines. Amazon expanded its annual Prime Day summer sale to four days this year. But I think the math gods are punishing them for trying to make Prime Day a non prime number by dragging down their sales. The early results are in and things are not looking good. One retailer who manages sales for 50 brands across a variety of product categories said their Amazon sales are down 41% compared to the same day of prime last year. The brand CEO said that consumers are still actively browsing and putting stuff in their carts, but many are delaying purchases in hopes of finding a better deal later. A shorter two day prime day sale leads to more urgency for shoppers. While a four day sale might lead to some extra shopping around, Amazon does dispute the third party's findings. And investors were relatively unconcerned by the figures sending Amazon stock green yesterday. But Neal, everything hinges on the four day approach being a success with a sacrifice on day one being made up by more purchases over the long run.

[Neal Freyman]

I mean, consumer psychology, everything revolves around urgency and when there's no urgency, you aren't going to buy as much as you would otherwise. Speaking from personal experience, there are a lot of great deals on Amazon, but I still haven't bought anything yet because I know there are multiple days to this thing and we've been through two days and I know there's two days more. I'll just buy it later, maybe on Friday when I have a little more time and don't have to prep for the show. So I completely see what's happening here. Amazon may dispute the numbers, but I think there's no question that at least in the first few days, people aren't going to be buying with the same urgency that they did when this thing was just two days and ended up at that two days. Of course the big story will be whether people end up buying and you know, they're filling up the shopping carts but actually executing the order at the end of Amazon Prime Day. So this story has still yet to be written. Things are looking a little shaky here for Amazon Prime Day because when you decrease the urgency, people just aren't going to buy as much. That is just as a fact as one plus one equals two. Okay. Nvidia made history yesterday, becoming the first company in the world to be worth, wait for it, $4 trillion. Leapfrogging longtime tech giants Apple and Microsoft to reach the milestone. Nvidia's stunning rise has become the talk of Wall street these past few years. For decades, it was a little known maker of graphics chips for video games and then crypto mining, but struck gold when those chips proved to be the key engine for training the large language models fueling the AI revolution. As demand for those chips skyrocketed, its stock has gained more than 1000% in the last two and a half years. And just for context, When Apple first hit a $3 trillion market cap in early 2022, Nvidia was worth just 750 billion. Nvidia showed you can be both the tortoise and the hare simultaneously.

[Toby Howell]

If you had asked me to place a bet on which company would would reach a $4 trillion valuation first, I would not have picked Nvidia, mainly because Apple started the year at a 3.

[Neal Freyman]

When was this bet taking place?

[Toby Howell]

At the beginning of the year? Yes, Apple entered the year at a $3.9 trillion valuation, so clearly the leader in the clubhouse there. And then also go back to the January emergence of Deep Seek as well, when Nvidia's stock price cratered about 30% 37% actually, to start the year again. You wouldn't have predicted it, but it's just slowly and inexorably kind of met every challenge that it has faced this year. Remember, US Tariff threats and export controls were supposed to hurt Nvidia, but Nvidia made up that demand elsewhere. It did turn out that Deep Seq was not the big, you know, Sputnik moment for the big tech industry that people thought and people still, these big spenders still need Nvidia's high end chips to train their model. So every time it looked like Nvidia was going to get knocked down a peg, it has roared back and is now $4 trillion. Remember, Loop Capital predicted that Nvidia stock will rise to a $6 trillion valuation by 2028. Suddenly that doesn't look so far away since spinning distance of $6 trillion, which is just unfathomable to say.

[Neal Freyman]

That is all the time we have. Thanks so much for starting your morning with us and have a wonderful Thursday. If you have any thoughts on today's episode, send an email with questions, comments or feedback to Morning Brew daily at Morning Broadcom. Let's roll the credits. Emily Milian is our executive producer. Raymond Lu is our producer. Our associate producers are Olivia Graham and Olivia Lake. Hair makeup is sorry for party rocking. Devin Emery is our press president and our show is a production of Morning Brew.

[Toby Howell]

Great show today, Neil. Let's run it back tomorrow.