Jennifer Garner & Once Upon A Farm’s IPO 2/6/26

Summary

Podcast Summary: Squawk Pod – "Jennifer Garner & Once Upon A Farm’s IPO"

Date: February 6, 2026
Host(s): Becky Quick, Joe Kernan, Andrew Ross Sorkin (CNBC)
Key Guests: Jennifer Garner (Actor & Co-founder, Once Upon a Farm), John Foraker (CEO & Co-founder, Once Upon a Farm), Senator Chris Coons

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Overview:

This episode of Squawk Pod focuses on three primary themes:

• Major market volatility and the continued rollercoaster of Bitcoin.
• Elon Musk’s swelling wealth and the implications of his dual focus on Tesla and SpaceX/XAI.
• The IPO of Once Upon a Farm, the organic children’s nutrition brand co-founded by Jennifer Garner.
• Additional coverage of U.S. political gridlock, particularly over Department of Homeland Security funding, with an interview with Senator Chris Coons.

The episode blends market analysis, business founder stories, investment outlooks, and the current political landscape with engaging and candid exchanges between hosts and guests.

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Key Segments & Insights:

1. Market Recap & Volatility

(02:30 – 03:42)

• Becky Quick outlines a tough week for the markets: “It was actually the worst day yesterday for the Dow, the S&P, and the NASDAQ since January 20th.” (02:36)
• Gold and silver prices are more stable compared to the markets, while “Bitcoin as well... has been kind of marching to its own drum of volatility.” (03:36)

Bitcoin Spotlight
(03:42 – 06:07)

• Andrew Ross Sorkin recaps Bitcoin’s bounce after a 13% drop—the worst since mid-2022. “Bitcoin now coming off a 13% drop yesterday. That’s its worst 24 hour period since the middle of 2022.” (03:44)
• Michael Saylor and Bitcoin Treasury discussed: “Strategy has cash reserves to cover dividends and interest for more than two years.” (04:33)
• Joe Kernan reflects on whether crypto volatility is still systemic: “It was really gut wrenching to watch yesterday... if it’s sort of a poster child for leverage and froth, it’s definitely worrisome.” (04:51)
• Becky muses on the status of Bitcoin as an inflation hedge, observing: “That’s been gone for a couple of months.” (06:18)

Memorable Quote:
Joe Kernan (04:52):

"Bitcoin is probably not—and all of crypto probably not—big enough to take down everything... but it’s definitely worrisome."

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2. Elon Musk Becomes World’s First Trillionaire

(07:37 – 13:02)

• Robert Frank details Musk’s new wealth milestone: “Elon Musk... becoming the first person ever to top the $800 billion mark. He’s now worth more than the next three richest people combined.” (07:42)
• Most of Musk’s wealth now comes from SpaceX/XAI’s massive new valuation. “That company was valued at $1.25 trillion as part of that deal. So Elon’s stake is now worth about $540 billion.” (08:14)
• Discussion on compensation and his shifting incentive from Tesla to SpaceX.

Memorable Exchange: Becky Quick (09:37):

"You know what they say, the first trillion is always the hardest. And then I think it—just don’t lose it."

Joe Kernan (12:26) about Musk’s taxes:

"He has also created [wealth] and all the other people that have paid taxes on it. That’s right. All the people that are paying capital gains on their Tesla ship."

Key Discussion Points:

• The fair taxation and public perception of billionaire wealth.
• Musk's dual leadership: Will his focus and innovation shift toward SpaceX?
• Brief speculation on the future—possible company mergers, and impacts on Tesla shareholders.

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3. Once Upon a Farm's IPO: Jennifer Garner & John Foraker

(16:56 – 26:33)

• The Story Behind the Brand
  • Origin: Jennifer Garner says, “I had made my kids baby food. I did not like the process... nothing available in the grocery store that was fresh and organic and delicious.” (17:22)
  • On meeting co-founders: “Business is really leading social change. Could we have a business that’s pushing social change and democratizing nutrition and making it accessible for more kids?” (17:32)
• Going Public
  • Andrew Sorkin notes Once Upon a Farm priced its IPO at $18/share, valuing the company at ~$720 million. (20:20)
  • John Foraker: “I really don’t think there is anybody like us... so our comp is ourselves.” (20:26)
• Impact & Mission
  • First public benefit corporation focused on kids and babies to go public.
  • Foraker details their mission: “To drive systemic change in childhood nutrition for a happier, healthier, more equitable world.” (19:18)
  • Distribution: The brand is in 25,000 doors, spanning Whole Foods, Target, Costco, Walmart, Kroger. (24:02)
• Challenges and Competitive Moat
  • Foraker on shelf space and competitors: “When we launched, we decided to take our first product… into dairy sets where kid yogurt is. And we are competing against all of the biggest companies.” (22:46)
  • Supply chain resilience: “We follow the seasons around the world... we’ve gotten very adept at building that supply chain so that we can be resilient.” (23:28)
• Accessibility
  • Products are premium, but available in both high- and low-income areas thanks to pricing and partnerships:
    “Middle and bottom third income—we index right to the category. Our products are actually very accessible.” (25:09)
  • Commitment to social good: “We’ve also given away over a million meals through Save the Children.” (25:43)
• Garner’s Hands-On Role
  • Sorkin asks how she manages acting and business: “We’ve been on lots of leadership team meetings on Zoom. And she’s sitting in hair and makeup...” (21:21)
  • Garner: “The main way people find out about our product is word of mouth. It’s parent to parent and kid to kid.” (21:39)

Notable Quotes:

• Jennifer Garner (21:01):

  “We know we’re shaping the future of food. We know we’re parents' ally. We know we're feeding babies to big kids. And we’re doing it all as the first public benefit corporation to go public focused on babies and kids.”

• John Foraker (25:09):

  "Our products are actually very accessible because we use price pack architecture… And that's been very successful in making us accessible to a very broad audience."

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4. Senator Chris Coons: DHS Funding Gridlock

(28:44 – 41:34)

• Discussion around the potential government shutdown related to Department of Homeland Security funding disagreements.
• Senator Chris Coons’ Stance:
  • “What I’m asking for, what Democrats are asking for, is that these federal agents follow the same rules that state and local law enforcement follow every day.” (29:20)
  • On the risk of government shutdown: “It is literally the only leverage we have in the minority.” (29:51)
  • Acknowledges the difficulty and negative impact of shutdowns: “I have no enthusiasm for a shutdown.” (30:58)
• Immigration & Border Security Debate:
  • Kernan presses Coons on “20 million illegal immigrants”—Coons disputes the number and clarifies: “A, I disagree that they let in 20 million. And they're double counting quite a few people.” (33:30)
  • Discussion on asylum, enforcement, and bipartisan efforts on new policy.
  • Coons supports transparency, oversight (e.g., body cams), and affirms the balance of law enforcement and humanitarian values.
• Bipartisanship Is Still Alive:
  • “The president signed five of your bills into law in December—These were all bipartisan pieces of legislation.” (36:27)
  • Bills cover national security, adversarial relations (China, Russia, DPRK, Iran), and detained Americans.
• Filibuster/Partisan Tactics:
  • Debates about nuking the filibuster, adding Supreme Court justices.
  • “I would not vote to nuke the filibuster to recognize Puerto Rico and...Washington. I don't think we should expand the Supreme Court.” (40:49, 41:00)

Memorable Quotes:
Sen. Chris Coons (31:05):

“I’ve gotten more calls from Delawareans in the last two weeks about this than anything in years. They want to see action.”

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5. Light-Hearted Moments & Banter

• Hosts joke about celebrity endorsements and commercials (e.g., Jennifer Garner’s Capital One and Samuel L. Jackson, 13:25–14:23).
• Spirited discussion on Super Bowl betting, favorite commercials, and the Coca-Cola vs. Pepsi rivalry. (41:38–43:37)

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Notable Quotes (with timestamps)

• "It was really gut wrenching to watch yesterday. Got to the point where I was saying bitcoin is probably not and all of crypto probably not big enough to take down everything."
  — Joe Kernan (04:52)

• "Big Tech ramps up investment in artificial intelligence... together they are promising that they're going to spend $650 billion this year."
  — Becky Quick (06:56)

• "Musk is, yes, on track to become the world's first trillionaire probably sometime this year."
  — Robert Frank (09:32)

• "Could we have a business that’s pushing social change and democratizing nutrition and making it accessible for more kids?"
  — Jennifer Garner (17:32)

• "Our comp is ourselves. And we got to continue to deliver great business results and social impact results."
  — John Foraker (20:26)

• "We're doing it all as the first public benefit corporation to go public focused on babies and kids."
  — Jennifer Garner (21:01)

• "What I'm asking for, what Democrats are asking for, is that these federal agents follow the same rules that state and local law enforcement follow every day."
  — Senator Chris Coons (29:20)

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• Market Recap & Bitcoin: 02:30 – 06:07
• Elon Musk Trillionaire Segment: 07:37 – 13:02
• Once Upon a Farm IPO:
  • Origins & Mission: 17:11 – 20:48
  • Business Model, Accessibility, Competition: 20:48 – 25:43
  • Social Impact & Garner's Role: 21:01, 25:43
• Senator Chris Coons: DHS Funding & Political Gridlock: 28:44 – 41:34
• Lighter Moments/Super Bowl Ads: 41:38 – 43:37

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Tone & Style

The episode is classic Squawk Box—fast-paced, opinionated, and laced with playful banter. The hosts pepper serious business and policy discussions with humor, direct debate, and on-the-fly analysis. There’s mutual ribbing between the anchors but a respectful tone with guests—even during disagreements.

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Summary for Non-listeners

This episode delivers a lively, timely blend of financial market coverage, an in-depth founder interview for a high-profile food IPO (Once Upon a Farm), and no-holds-barred dialogue about billionaire wealth and political standoff in Washington. Jennifer Garner and John Foraker’s appearance offers an inspiring look at building a purpose-driven business, while Senator Chris Coons gives a frank account of current congressional gridlock—all boiled down with Squawk Box’s signature edge and wit.

Transcript

[Podcast Advertiser]

This episode is brought to you by Schwab Market Update, an original podcast from Charles Schwab. Join host Keith Lansford for this information packed daily market Preview delivered in 10 minutes or less, including projected stock updates, monetary policy decisions and key results and statistics that may impact your trading. Download the latest episode and [e-mail] Market Update podcast or find Schwab Market Update wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jennifer Garner]

The Jack Welch Management Institute at Strayer University helps you go from I know.

[Becky Quick]

The way to I've arrived with our top 10 ranked online MBA. Gain skills you can learn today and apply tomorrow. Get ready to go from make it happen to made it happen and keep striving.

[Jennifer Garner]

Visit strayer.edu Jack WelchMBA to learn more. Strayer University is certified to operate in Virginia by Chev and its many campuses, including at 2121 15th Street north in Arlington, Virginia.

[Producer/Announcer]

Bring in show music please.

[Cameron Costa]

This is Squawk Pod and I am CNBC producer Cameron Costa. On today's episode, a market slide stabilizes maybe as bitcoin bounces off its lows.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

What is it? Is it the Nasdaq? Is it gold?

[Joe Kernan]

Total risk asset?

[Cameron Costa]

And Jennifer Garner joins us. From the big screen to big food, once upon a farm, IPOs today, gosh.

[Jennifer Garner]

Business is really leading social change. Could we have a business that's pushing social change and democratizing nutrition and making it accessible for more kids?

[Cameron Costa]

On Capitol Hill, a standstill over DHS and ICE funding. How Democrats like Senator Chris Coons are trying to honor demands from constituents.

[Senator Chris Coons]

I've gotten more calls from Delawareans in the last two weeks about this than anything in years. They want to see action.

[Cameron Costa]

Plus, Elon Musk now worth more money than the next three richest people combined. Our Robert Frank goes inside wealth.

[Producer/Announcer]

Musk is, yes, on track. Become the world's first trillionaire.

[Cameron Costa]

It's Friday, February 6, 2026, and Squawkpod begins right now.

[Producer/Announcer]

Stand Becky by in 3, 2, 1.

[John Foraker]

Cuer, please.

[Becky Quick]

Good morning, everybody. Welcome to Squawk Box right here on cnbc. We're live from the NASDAQ market site in Times Square. I'm Becky Quick along with Joe Kernan and Andrew Ross Sorkin. It is Friday and that's bringing some relief, particularly if you've been watching the ups and downs of the market this week. If you were just looking at some of the numbers this week, it was actually the worst day yesterday for the Dow, the S and P, and the NASDAQ since January 20th. The NASDAQ and the NASDAQ 100 are both on pace for their worst week since April of last year. That's when we heard about the tariffs. There's been a lot of volatility and it has not been confined to the equity markets. We'll take a very quick look at what's been happening with treasury markets where yields stand right now, 10 year yield is back down below 4.2%. $4.19. The two year is down as well. It's below 3.5% at 3.47. And then gold and silver prices, which have been kind of marching to their own drum of volatility, are relatively more stable this morning. Gold has barely bud. It is well, but it is below $5,000 an ounce at $4,903. Silver is off by about three and a half percent, back below 75 cents at 73, 96. But again, we have seen some huge movements here and this is only the beginning of it. It's also been bitcoin as well.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

Let's talk bitcoin. Let's show you where bitcoin sits. Right now we're at 65,773 bucks. That's a bit better than where we had been yesterday. The cryptocurrency now coming off a 13% drop yesterday. That's its worst 24 hour period since the middle of 2022. This morning, as we discussed, 65 maybe getting closer to $66,000. Bitcoin nearly breaking below the $60,000 mark yesterday. But that's where it seemed to bounce. And more tough news in the crypto sector after yesterday's closing bell. Bitcoin treasury company Strategy reported more than $12 billion fourth quarter loss. Bitcoin now well below strategy's $76,000 average coin acquisition cost. And that's always been the big question. So the company's executive chairman Michael Saylor saying that Strategy has cash reserves to cover dividends and interest for more than two years.

[Becky Quick]

It's been a big turnaround. All of the gains that came in with the Trump administration and the gains in the currency, the cryptocurrency have pulled back. It's now below that. But this was seen as a much more friendly administration to crypto and people kind of thought that that would usher in higher prices across the board for bitcoin and beyond.

[Joe Kernan]

It was really gut wrenching to watch yesterday. Got to the point where I was saying bitcoin is probably not and all of crypto probably not big enough to take down everything. I don't think, although it's worrisome it's not systemic enough, I don't think. But then I thought of the Thai bot and I thought about that. We had some currency problems in Cyprus, the island of Cyprus. So it doesn't, it doesn't take much. And if it's sort of a poster child for leverage and froth, it's definitely worrisome. Now, Katie Stockton said 60 in the 60s. So that was where the charts were shown. Other people said, okay, we had. Remember when it went to 20,000 and then it went to 1500. Tom Lee kept saying it's going back to 20,000. Then it went to 65,000 and came back to 15,000. So 80% pullbacks were not uncommon. But people recently pomp others. Novogratz said the volatility is less, the institutional ownership is less. Maybe we don't get an 80% drawdown. Maybe we get half that, a 40. Well, we got 50 so far because it was 125 and it was down to 63. 62, 61. So we got a 50.

[Becky Quick]

Yeah.

[Joe Kernan]

Does it stop here?

[Becky Quick]

And then it comes back to the questions of bitcoin always being seen as something that was a hedge against inflation. A hedge against, you know. No, that currency and that, that's been.

[Joe Kernan]

Gone for a couple of months.

[Becky Quick]

Right, right.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

And what is it? Is it the Nasdaq? Is it gold?

[Joe Kernan]

Total, an asset, total risk asset that. I mean, bitcoin people say it has no inherent value. They don't understand at all. We understand all the AI and software companies and we see that they're capable of not 50% maybe, but they're capable of the rug being pulled out and this huge airplane. I mean, Amazon, we're going to look at that because everybody is spending so much. Was Amazon also disappointing in terms of, I don't know, some slight growth?

[Becky Quick]

There were some numbers that were slightly spending so much more than people had anticipated. In fact, Amazon shares, as Joe mentioned, are lower following those quarters quarterly, mixed results. The company raising its full year spending forecast to $200 billion as Big Tech ramps up investment in artificial intelligence. If you look at the big four spenders, I think together they are promising that they're going to spend $650 billion this year. And Amazon makes up a huge chunk of that. Elon Musk's net worth potentially blasting off to another world. Thanks to Space X. Robert Frank is here and he joins us with more. Good morning.

[Producer/Announcer]

Great to see you, Becky. Well, Elon Musk week becoming the first person ever to top the $800 billion mark. He's now worth more than the next three richest people combined. That Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Jeff Bezos. Most of his wealth used to come from Tesla. Of course, now two thirds of that wealth comes from SpaceX. He owns about 43% of that newly merged SpaceX and XAI company. That company was valued at one and a quarter trillion dollars as part of that deal. So Elon stake is now worth about $540 billion in that company. Meanwhile his stake in Tesla valued at a mere $300 billion. Musk has always said it's not about the money, but about the voting control. And here too, SpaceX is likely to get more of his focus because he currently controls about only 18% of Tesla and he had about 80% of the voting control itself, SpaceX. Even if he meets all the benchmarks in that new Tesla pay package, his Tesla vote will only be around 25 to 28%. Now the Tesla board itself, highlighting the risk that Space X will command more of Musk's attention. Now that accounts for more of his wealth. In the proxy, the board said, quote, because a majority of Musk's wealth is now derived from other business ventures, the compensation plan a Tesla is needed to prevent him from prioritizing those other ventures. Now SpaceX goes public this year with an even higher valuation. Musk is, yes, on track to become the world's first trillionaire probably sometime this year. For more sign up for the Inside wealth newsletter at cnbc.com/inside wealth. It was funny. I wrote an article in 2024 saying that Musk would likely become the world's first trillionaire sometime in 2027.

[Becky Quick]

Wow.

[Producer/Announcer]

And everybody said that's crazy. And it was actually, it's going to.

[Joe Kernan]

Be earlier than that.

[Becky Quick]

It's pretty impressive.

[Joe Kernan]

And you know what they say, the first trillion is the hardest is always the hardest. And then I think it just don't lose it.

[Becky Quick]

That's what Boone Pickens always said, first billion is the hardest. But then he wrote a book that was called that. But then it was about how to hold onto your billionaire status. Boone like to bet bics.

[Joe Kernan]

So it, I mean it could be. I don't know what it could be. If you ask Ron Baron, he probably thinks it could be 10 trillion. Musk is done.

[Producer/Announcer]

And the interesting thing will be to watch what it means for Tesla shareholders because not only is Musk now more incentivized by SpaceX because of the ownership, the wealth, more importantly the voting control, which is what his issue has always been, but also because shareholders, if you're an Elon Musk fan as a retail investor in you only had one publicly traded company that invested. Now you have a choice. By the way, for many of those investors, space and artificial intelligence is more exciting.

[Becky Quick]

That's what I was just going to say. It's not just for the investors, that it's more inciting. I don't think Tesla necessarily stands a chance. Forget about the compensation plan because it's what he's most interested in. And Elon Musk has always drifted towards whatever interests him at the moment. I don't know that normal incentive structures will work for somebody like him. Not that he doesn't want them. I think control was a huge effort issue on all of these things and I'm a big believer in setting up compensation plans that incentivize properly. But I think in his case it's just where his interests take them.

[Producer/Announcer]

Exactly. And that's why that trillion dollar compensation plan was not normal. Because they know that normal compensation was not going to do it.

[Becky Quick]

Right.

[Producer/Announcer]

But this will be interesting to watch these. If these two companies remains separate and there's some speculation they could eventually merge as well.

[Becky Quick]

I wonder that too. If you just put everything together.

[Producer/Announcer]

Yeah.

[Joe Kernan]

The great debate, and we will have it over and over again is what is the fair taxation for Elon Musk if he's worth a trillion dollars? Well he.

[Producer/Announcer]

Remember he paid $11 billion.

[Joe Kernan]

That was where I was going back. That's where I was going. Because Elizabeth Warren again was saying what we need are to get these bastard billionaires may not have said it that way but like Elon Musk that don't pay taxes now he paid $11 billion. If it's a zero sum game and people are out a trillion because he has a trillion. And that trillion should have been spread out among millions of people then I could see that. But if he is a wealth creator and generated tax revenue to the US government, this South African import, whatever the heck he is, if he generated 11 billion of taxable. Elizabeth Warren in her wildest dreams is not going to contribute $11 billion of revenue to the U.S. government.

[Producer/Announcer]

Yeah. And a lot of people will hold up the world's first trillionaire as a sign of inequality and unfairness.

[Joe Kernan]

But what is this?

[Producer/Announcer]

But look at the amount of wealth.

[Joe Kernan]

He has also created and all the other people that have paid taxes on it. That's right. All the people that are paying capital gains on their Tesla ship.

[Producer/Announcer]

That's right.

[Joe Kernan]

But what is the fair amount? What should he be paying?

[Becky Quick]

What did you say?

[Joe Kernan]

What is the fair amount that he should be paying.

[Becky Quick]

Oh, never mind. I thought you said something. Never mind.

[Joe Kernan]

Is your mind in the gutter again?

[Senator Chris Coons]

No, no, I'm just sitting next to.

[John Foraker]

You, so I know.

[Joe Kernan]

Did I say shih Tzu?

[Becky Quick]

That's what I thought.

[Joe Kernan]

Oh, no, I didn't say Shih Tzu. Although Schitt's Creek. I was watching the Emmys and they say it constantly because of the name of the show. And they win because Schitt's Creek. Schitt's Creek. Schitt's Creek.

[Becky Quick]

Ch is how that's spelled.

[Joe Kernan]

Shit Creek. Okay. It is seven. Thanks, Robert. But what is. What would a progressive say? Elon Musk should be paying more. A lot more.

[Becky Quick]

Once Upon a Farm was co founded by actor Jennifer Garner. She's going to be joining us in the next hour along with the company's CEO.

[Joe Kernan]

See those ads for her? She says, I think you probably know me better from another. Another occupation I have her. Another business. And I think she's talking about being an actor or an actress. But there's no way her acting career makes as much money as that. Capital one.

[Becky Quick]

I was just like the capital one.

[Joe Kernan]

Thing that is such a. You know, it used to be. It used to be there was a Bill was in a. Murray was in a movie about a star doing a commercial over in Japan because that's the way Brad Pitt. They all used to do them over there.

[Becky Quick]

I think they still do in Japan.

[Joe Kernan]

They do. But they do them here now too. It's no longer. I mean, it's so lucrative to do that. Why would you.

[Becky Quick]

And by the way, it's a pretty good gig.

[Joe Kernan]

Samuel L. Samuel L. Jackson, who had been.

[Becky Quick]

It's a pretty good gig when you're a mom. You don't have to travel and be on set for like six months at a time.

[Joe Kernan]

I think he's been in. Someone might have passed him, but he had been in the greatest box office cumulative total for movies. Jurassic park and you know, all the things that he was in Pulp Fiction.

[Becky Quick]

Pulp Fiction, yeah. Yeah.

[Joe Kernan]

Someone might have. Marvel movies might have passed them, but still he's going to do a capital one. I would. What's in your wallet? You know what's in their wallet a lot.

[Senator Chris Coons]

Tease will be next.

[Cameron Costa]

Coming up on Squawk Pod, an A list ipo. Jennifer Garner's Once Upon a Farm hits the public markets today. She and her CEO, John Foraker join Andrew on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

He's calling you literally in between running lines. I mean, how does this work?

[Becky Quick]

Yeah.

[John Foraker]

Oh, we've been on lots of leadership team meetings on Zoom. And she's sitting in hair and makeup.

[Senator Chris Coons]

For an hour and a half.

[Jennifer Garner]

They're like, wait, you have to turn your camera off because we're getting too invested in these eyelashes.

[Becky Quick]

Going on.

[Senator Chris Coons]

Comcast business helps retailers become seamlessly restocking, frictionless paying favorite shopping destinations. It's how nationwide restaurants become touchscreen ordering, quick serving eateries and how hospitals become the patient scanning data, managing healthcare facilities that we all depend on. With leading networking and connectivity, advanced cybersecurity and expert partnership, Comcast business is powering the engine of modern business, powering possibilities. Restrictions apply thy ticket lady, Jennifer of Coolidge. Well, many thanks, good sir.

[Cameron Costa]

Here is my Discover card.

[Becky Quick]

They accept Discover at Renaissance fairs? Yeah, they do here.

[Jennifer Garner]

Discover is accepted at the places I love to shop.

[Becky Quick]

Get it with the times. With the times.

[Jennifer Garner]

You're playing the loot. Yeah.

[Cameron Costa]

And it sounds pretty good, right?

[Senator Chris Coons]

Discover is accepted at 99% of places.

[Producer/Announcer]

That take credit cards nationwide.

[Senator Chris Coons]

Based on the February 2025 Nielsen report.

[Podcast Advertiser]

This episode is brought to you by Schwab Market Update, an original podcast from Charles Schwab. Join host Keith Lansford for this information packed daily market Preview delivered in 10 minutes or including projected stock updates, monetary policy decisions and key results and statistics that may impact your trading. Download the latest episode and [e-mail] MarketUpdatePodcast or find Schwab Market Update. Wherever you get your podcasts.

[Cameron Costa]

You'Re listening to squawkpod. Andrew Ross Sorkin left the set briefly this morning, temporarily swapping the NASDAQ for the New York Stock Exchange to cover a particularly tasty ipo, Once Upon a.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

Farm going public right here at the New York Stock Exchange today. The nutrition company pricing its IPO at $18 a share. That's right in the middle of the range. Joining us right now, first on CNBC are the co founders of the company, John Foraker and Jennifer Gardner. And it's great to have you both here. What a big day.

[Jennifer Garner]

Very big day. Thank you.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

Want to talk about the company and everything, but you guys started on the same day at this company. How did that even happen? How did this whole thing happen?

[Jennifer Garner]

Okay, I met Cassandra Curtis. I had made my kids baby food. I did not like the process. I found it really messy and inconvenient and also confusing. Was I giving my kids the right nutrition? But there was nothing available in the grocery store that was fresh and organic and delicious. So I met Cassandra Curtis and Ari Raz. And they were the originals. And it was just like, what you are doing is amazing. I saw that John Foraker was an angel investor, the first investor. He had run Annie's Organic, taken it public, sold it, and was still running it at General Mills. And so I asked to meet with John. Should I keep going? Our conversation quickly turned from, this would be the most amazing product out there for kids and babies to gosh, business is really leading social change. Could we have a business that's pushing social change and democratizing nutrition and making it accessible for more kids?

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

When you guys first started this or got involved in this, did you think that this was gonna be the outcome?

[John Foraker]

No.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

What did you think the outcome was going to be? Because you had already done this. You've run this playbook before.

[John Foraker]

I knew it was. We knew it was possible, obviously, and we thought it was a really big market opportunity that was out there. There's a lot of food that parents are not their kids love, but parents are not happy necessarily about the ingredients or too much sugar, etc. And we just thought it was a big business opportunity. We never kind of envisioned this. Although I'll say probably about five years ago, we really started saying, you know what, this is turning into something pretty significant. We really could use an IPO someday as a launching pad to that next big chapter of the company's growth.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

And, you know, I'm sure people have come to you to try to buy the company rather than go public. I'm curious though, how you think about that, because you ultimately took any public and then sold it later. And I think, I'm sure there's a lot of people that are watching this thinking, oh, maybe they'll go public and then they'll sell the company later.

[John Foraker]

Yeah, there's. There's been a lot of strategic interest in the business from the beginning, ironically, even when it was the size of a lemonade stand at the very beginning. But, you know, I've come to come to really believe that, like, as a mission driven company, you know, when we first got together that first week with Arian Cassandra, we wrote our mission, which is we exist to drive systemic change in childhood nutrition for a happier health and more equitable world. And when you have a big mission like that and a big market opportunity, we just felt like that us doing it ourselves and driving that with a really strong company and culture was the right way to deliver against that. And that's really why I got involved and Jen got involved is we wanted to drive that change in the, in the Context of a really great business that's connecting with millions and millions of households and making their lives better.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

So for those folks who are watching this now, we're thinking, should we be investing in this company? What do you think the fair comp is for that? I'm sure that your bankers have sat with various spreadsheets showing you the other companies out there, but what do you think is the world with which they should look? This is going to be implied. The implied value is really about $720 million.

[John Foraker]

Yeah, I wouldn't want to call out a specific comp because I really don't think there is anybody like us. You know, we're. We're a unique company in baby and kid nutrition. We have a big market opportunity. We're growing very fast, and I don't really think there is a comp. So, you know, our comp is ourselves. And we got to continue to deliver great business results and social impact results.

[Jennifer Garner]

We hold ourselves to really high standards. We know we're shaping the future future of food. We know we're parents, Ally. We know we're feeding babies to big kids. And we're doing it all as the first public benefit corporation to go public focused on babies and kids.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

And by the way, just mentioned, you know, I think people sometimes they see you as a spokesperson, but you are not just a spokesperson for this company. You were like, not in this case, intimately involved. And we were talking just on count.

[Jennifer Garner]

Drive them all crazy, I was going to say.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

So you're oftentimes, you know, on set, working on some project, and he's calling you literally in between running lines. I mean, how does this work?

[John Foraker]

We've been on lots of leadership team meetings on Zoom. And she's sitting in hair and makeup for an hour and a half, and.

[Jennifer Garner]

They'Re like, wait, you have to turn your camera off because we're getting too invested in these eyelashes going on.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

How much do you think the success or sort of image of the company, though, is in your image?

[Jennifer Garner]

You know, I do think that I'm, you know, inextricably tied to Once Upon a Farm. It is the thing that I'm the most proud of is that parents see me anywhere. You know, walking down the aisle of an airplane and they're like, oh, my gosh, Farmer Jen, we love your products. They've saved our lives. We're so grateful, and that's so gratifying and fun for me. But the main way people find out about our product is word of mouth. It's parent to parent and kid to kid.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

Right. So the company's growing at a fast clip but still losing money. So speak to that and speak to sort of what the line looks like as people are thinking about this as an investor.

[John Foraker]

So on an, on an adjusted EBITDA basis where we basically are running the company right about break even. We've got some non cash charges that are related to derivatives and things like that that are going away at the ipo. But the company has a very strong gross margin structure, contribution margin structure. It's growing fast. We will be a very profitable company. We're very confident in that and in the not too distant future.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

And how do you think about the competition? Competition right now? Because while you've been a pioneer in this space, there are a lot of folks who have taken notice of that and are saying okay, we're going to start selling similar products.

[Joe Kernan]

Yeah.

[John Foraker]

So we, when we first launched this company, when we went across the, we barnstormed across the country talking to retailers, we decided to take our first product which are these cold pressed pouches and put them into dairy sets where kid yogurt is. And we are competing against all of the biggest companies, companies in, in many.

[Jennifer Garner]

Of not easy to hold shelf space in dairy.

[Becky Quick]

Yeah.

[John Foraker]

So we've been competing like that forever and there's always going to be maybe some big consumer packaged company or another emerging brand that will come at us. We just have to be the most innovative and the most connected, driving the.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

Most growth for our retailers in terms of supply chain.

[Joe Kernan]

Yeah.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

Mexico, South America. Huge for you.

[Joe Kernan]

Yeah.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

How are you either weathering the tariff issue and thinking about that going forward?

[John Foraker]

So we have a genius named Larry who has built a team inside our organization and we source all over the world. We follow the seasons around the world because there's always going to be some issue that pops up whether it's tariffs, whether it's climate or climate or there's.

[Jennifer Garner]

Too much rain and it wipes out all the pineapples in one area.

[John Foraker]

So we've gotten very adept at building that supply chain so that we can be resilient in those kinds of, with those kinds of challenges.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

In terms of distribution.

[John Foraker]

Yeah.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

What's sort of the who's working, what's working for you and what's not working for you?

[Jennifer Garner]

This is really cool because we have distribution and we're in 25,000 doors and it's all the way from, you know, Whole Foods to Walmart and everything in between. Whole Foods, Target, Costco, Walmart and who am I forgetting?

[John Foraker]

Kroger.

[Jennifer Garner]

Kroger as they're kind of our. They're kind of our big five.

[John Foraker]

Yeah. And we. So we have really strong distribution at those retailers and we perform in the top third of our categories in terms of velocity. So they view us as a partner that's bringing these households into their chains, which is super important for them, getting young families big shopping baskets for them. And so what we're going to do is continue to build out the business over in our snacking area in dairy. The other big initiative we have is putting baby coolers into the baby aisle, which is bringing fresh baby product into the baby aisle, which is very disruptive. And then we're just going to take the brand around the store into other categories very much like Annie's did, where we think we can be a mom's ally and dad's ally for in the lunchbox.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

In terms of thinking about just the economy and the consumer today, this is considered a premium product. Fair enough. And so how do you sort of see maybe a tell of your cities here in the. In the country?

[John Foraker]

Yeah, it's surprising. People do think of us. We obviously are a premium product, no question about it. So upper third income we certainly way over index, but middle and bottom third income, we index right to the category. Like our products are actually very accessible because we use price pack architecture like going from a single to a four count to an eight count to a 12 count to drive our average unit price down. And that's been very successful in making us accessible to a very broad audience. I mean we sell incredibly well in the 35th or 4,000th Walmart store relative to the best Whole Foods, you know, and everything in between.

[Jennifer Garner]

And if I could just say that's such a huge important part of our mission. I mean we as we're rolling out baby coolers, our WIC line is growing in every one of those coolers so that parents who are using women infant children federally funded money can choose fresh and organic for their babies. Where the first refrigerated fresh brand. We're the first brand to use Equitable Food initiative as one of our to partner with them so that the growers of our food and the pickers have better pay, better care, a seat at the table making decisions. And we've also given away over a million meals through Save the Children.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

Wow, guys, congratulations.

[Jennifer Garner]

Thank you.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

Seeing this all happen. You guys ringing the bell in just a little bit and I'm going to send it back to Becky and Joe.

[Becky Quick]

Thanks, Andrew. Thank you. We'll see you back here in just a few minutes.

[Cameron Costa]

Up next on Squawk Pod, Democrat Senator Chris Coons discusses the latest standstill on Capitol Hill. This time is overfunding for the Department of Homeland Security.

[Senator Chris Coons]

What I'm asking for, what Democrats are asking for, is that these federal agents follow the same rules that state and local law enforcement follow every day.

[Cameron Costa]

We'll be right back.

[Podcast Advertiser]

Building a portfolio with Fidelity Basket Portfolios is kind of like making a sandwich. It's as simple as picking your stocks and ETFs, sort of like your meats and other topics and managing it as one big juicy investment. Now that's pretty good. Learn [e-mail] baskets Investing involves risks, including risk of loss. Fidelity Brokerage Services, LLC Member NYSE sipc.

[Jennifer Garner]

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[Cameron Costa]

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[Cameron Costa]

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[Cameron Costa]

Edu to learn more. What do the steam engine, electricity and AI have in common? They don't just change how we work, they transform entire economies. Where the Internet Lives is an award winning podcast from Google about the unseen world of data centers. This season we're going inside the AI revolution. From farmers using AI to analyze soil data to researchers discovering new medicines, a new era of AI innovation is here. Listen to where the Internet Lives. Wherever you get your podcasts. This is Squawk Pod straight up on Becky.

[Producer/Announcer]

3, 2, 1. Up on Becky Q.

[Becky Quick]

You're watching Square Guacbox right here on cnbc. I'm Becky Quick, along with Joe Kernan and Andrew Sorkin, who will be back with us shortly. House and Senate Democrats at a standstill over future funding of the Department of Homeland Security, which could mean another potential government shutdown just one week from today. Joining us right now is Delaware Democrat Senator Chris Coons. And Senator, I can't believe we're even talking about this. Being back at potentially being a shutdown after the longest shutdown in history that I don't know led to much of anything or anything other than pain and frustration on the average American's part. What's going on?

[Senator Chris Coons]

The last shutdown was about the Affordable Care act and health care costs. This one is about reining in ICE and CBP and if I can put it as simply as possible, what I'm asking for, what Democrats are asking for, is that these federal agents follow the same rules that state and local law enforcement follow every day.

[Becky Quick]

If you shut down the government over this, if you shut down not the government, but if you shut down, let's say we go back to what happens with TSA and airports and people who get caught up in this, is that the way to do this?

[Senator Chris Coons]

It is literally the only leverage we have in the minority. And bluntly, I think our ask is very reasonable. I met with law enforcement leaders from Delaware this week to say help me. Do you think this is something we should deliver on?

[Becky Quick]

Senator, you're a reasonable person. But if that happens and things get shut down again, from the perspective of average Americans or business people who are trying to get around, I understand why.

[Joe Kernan]

Families who have it almost sounded like.

[Becky Quick]

You can't get to a funeral if you can't get to a wedding, if you can't go on a plane.

[Joe Kernan]

It sounded like you were justifying the last shutdown. Like in hindsight you haven't learned a lesson that you're saying, well, okay, we got health care problems, these subsidies. I don't know whether you put the whole issue of rising health care costs and what you were trying to accomplish last time, but that wasn't the right. In hindsight, don't you look back and say, I wish Democrats had not done that.

[Senator Chris Coons]

A core challenge for us is that we are in the minority in both the House and the Senate.

[Joe Kernan]

That happens all the time.

[Senator Chris Coons]

And we're not able to make changes.

[Joe Kernan]

When the Republicans are in the minority, they are in the minority.

[Senator Chris Coons]

They have also used shutdowns to.

[Joe Kernan]

They have. But to the great mortified by it.

[Senator Chris Coons]

I have no enthusiasm for a shutdown. But to be clear, you guys are so skilled. Killings of Renee Goode and Alex Preddy.

[Becky Quick]

Agreed.

[Senator Chris Coons]

I've gotten more calls from Delawareans in the last two weeks about this than anything in years. They want to see action.

[Becky Quick]

Have we not started to see the administration and the president recognize that they went too far with what President Trump has already done A little bit.

[Senator Chris Coons]

He's withdrawn some officers. They're talking about maybe body cams.

[Becky Quick]

Wearing body cams, I think is a great idea.

[Senator Chris Coons]

Of course, this is what every age.

[Becky Quick]

Can't you reach that with that? Aren't they feeling that same pressure that you are getting from your constituency?

[Senator Chris Coons]

So they're going to play for time and hope that the subject changes. We've put forward. I think the risk was that we would overreact.

[Becky Quick]

That's where I'm coming at.

[Senator Chris Coons]

Whoever's focused on this may lose. Right. Body cameras on, masks off, name, ID badge, which every other police department in the country does. And then simple rules of engagement for use of force and for a candidate they wouldn't need. That's the sort of thing we ought.

[Joe Kernan]

To be able to agree with. They wouldn't need masks if the left and Democrats hadn't ginned up the opposition to the point where people think it's okay to break the law by disrupting federal law enforcement officials. Obstructing, disrupting, Kicking out whatever you want to talk to. It's all against the law.

[Senator Chris Coons]

Why does that require masks?

[Joe Kernan]

Because they're getting doxed.

[Senator Chris Coons]

Okay. There should be severe consequences for attacking a police officer or doxing. Like I hear you, police officers need to be safe as they conduct their important job of protecting us and through law and order. But you know there's fewer than 1,000 police officers in Minneapolis to deploy. Four times that overwhelmed Minneapolis. Like, let's be clear. If you roving patrols, a lot of these of masked guys in non standard uniforms. These are not protests.

[Becky Quick]

They're pulling back the.

[Senator Chris Coons]

These are riots. They have to.

[Joe Kernan]

These are riots. These aren't just protests. These aren't first exercising your first amendment rights. These are disrupting federal law enforcement officials trying to do their job.

[Senator Chris Coons]

If you can't stand there and blow a whistle and use a camera when police are doing a police action, then we don't have a First Amendment.

[Joe Kernan]

No, that's fine.

[Senator Chris Coons]

They are claiming that they should be able to enter your home without a judicial warrant with only an administrative warrant. Some of my most conservative colleagues agree you ought to have a judicial warrant. That's a basic one.

[Joe Kernan]

Can you go back to explain to me why the Biden administration let in 20 million illegal immigrants and had a completely open southern border that put us in this position in the first place?

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

Why?

[Senator Chris Coons]

A, I disagree that they let in 20 million.

[Joe Kernan]

Okay, how many?

[Senator Chris Coons]

And they're double counting quite a few people.

[Joe Kernan]

Let's say it was 10 million.

[Senator Chris Coons]

Our biggest policy failure was a open border, which means respecting treaties that we signed decades ago about letting people claim asylum in this country. Near the end of the administration, James Lankford, Kyrsten Sinema negotiated a deal. That is the policy we should now be following. I was in a bipartisan meeting this week to talk about how do we strike the right balance where we actually secure the border where enforcement against criminal aliens happens in a safe and secure way. That respects a democracy, doing law enforcement in a democracy and where we as a country are humane. We're not shocked by what we see on tv.

[Joe Kernan]

Figured out why they. Because there are conspiracy theories why you'd let in 10 million undocumented Democrats.

[Senator Chris Coons]

They're not Democrats.

[Joe Kernan]

I'm kidding. I mean, I'm saying that's the whole. That. And you don't want no ID voting at the same time. You let in all these illegal.

[Senator Chris Coons]

I have to show an ID every time I vote in Delaware. Here's. Look. But you see what I'm saying? You see what I'm saying?

[Joe Kernan]

And Democrats will never lose again, which.

[Senator Chris Coons]

Is left to their own devices.

[Becky Quick]

True.

[Senator Chris Coons]

As you well know.

[Joe Kernan]

God help us.

[Senator Chris Coons]

At the. At the end of the day, Trump ran on three things. Lower your costs, close the border, release the Epstein files. He's closed the border. Costs are not coming down in a significant way, and we need to do more to deliver on that. And the Epstein files.

[Joe Kernan]

But you're not talking about this. Okay. Again, here's another. So, you know inflation means how much things rise. It's not prices going down. That's.

[Senator Chris Coons]

It's also wages coming up.

[Joe Kernan]

Okay. And that's happening. But. But you're not looking for deflation right now. If it goes up 21 and a half percent during the Biden years and it goes up another three, which is too high under Trump. The 21 and a half is still. You own that.

[Senator Chris Coons]

What matters is affordability. Right. So housing affordability has been impacted by the tariffs Trump has put on wallboard from Mexico and plywood from Canada. Groceries have been impacted by tariffs.

[Joe Kernan]

Okay. 21 and a half to three.

[Senator Chris Coons]

I was in Europe meeting with a lot of our core NATO allies after his Greenland gambit and his tariffs. And his chaotic tariff policy is dividing us from our closest allies at exactly the moment when China is the biggest challenge we face. He's focusing on Venezuela, on Cuba, on Iran, on Greenland. And he's not focusing on the thing that matters, which is getting closer to our allies who share our values, who are fighting free market democracies so that we've got the market power to actually get concessions and to constrain China's aggression.

[Becky Quick]

The view from here, and probably from a lot of places in the United States, is that nothing can get done on a bipartisan basis.

[Senator Chris Coons]

Not true.

[Becky Quick]

That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I did not realize. You said the president signed five of your bills into law in December.

[John Foraker]

Correct.

[Becky Quick]

These were all bipartisan pieces of legislation.

[Senator Chris Coons]

Yes, these were Mostly national security related pieces of legislation that relate to tax Taiwan, that relate to our core adversaries. China, Russia, DPRK and Iran. Coming closer, demanding a strategy out of the administration. One bill was with Pete Ricketts, one bill was with David McCormick, one was with Jim Risch about detained Americans and how we should respond when an American is detained. We are doing bipartisan work in the Foreign Relations Committee. We voted out 12 bills just this week. It doesn't get a lot of coverage, but on economic policy and foreign policy, I've gotten bills signed into law this last year. There are folks working together and frankly, on some level, when I say that at home, people say, boy, why doesn't anyone talk about that?

[Becky Quick]

What I'm asking is, is that something that makes you think you can maybe get to a bipartisan issue without shutting down DHS funding next week?

[Senator Chris Coons]

I think what we're asking for, which is that future federal law enforcement follow the same rules as the State Department.

[Becky Quick]

I know what you're asking for, but do you get the sense that there is going to be an off ramp between the two parties at this point?

[Senator Chris Coons]

I hope because we need to deliver results. And to your point about FEMA and TSA and the Coast Guard, I don't want to shut down fema, TSA and the Coast Guard.

[Becky Quick]

It makes it look like the Democrats don't care about homeland security.

[Senator Chris Coons]

I care about homeland security and our country, but I also care about responding to these grotesque acts of overreach.

[Becky Quick]

And do you feel like there is room at the table, movement at the table to do some of these things?

[Senator Chris Coons]

We'll find out this weekend because the leaders have begun talking both, both caucuses, House and Senate Democrats have laid out what I think are perfectly reasonable demands that your average American goes, yeah, okay, that makes sense.

[Joe Kernan]

But once again, you're using funding to get what policies that interest you. And it just is a bad.

[Senator Chris Coons]

These aren't just policies that interest me, Joe. The idea that, you know, you're enforcement.

[Joe Kernan]

I know, but you're shutting down the government. You're shutting down the government.

[Senator Chris Coons]

It's the same rules that NYPD is following right there in Times Square right.

[Joe Kernan]

Now when Republicans do you see roving.

[Senator Chris Coons]

Bands of NYPD senator masks and you're.

[Joe Kernan]

Putting up another red hair. You're shutting down the government because you.

[Senator Chris Coons]

Because how you do police.

[Joe Kernan]

You lost the election. Because you lost the election, which put you in the minority party, doesn't give you the right to shut down the government to get what you want. Let me ask you this but it.

[Senator Chris Coons]

Does mean I have to fight for the core values of our democracy, which includes supporting law enforcement that is accountable, that is transparent, but that doesn't murder American citizens and broadcast.

[Joe Kernan]

When Republicans are in the minority, they have issues that they think whether that you disagree with. You don't want them shutting down the government to force it. If the Democrats take back the House, and it's unlikely, maybe I don't know what the betting markets are now on the Senate. I haven't looked, but who knows?

[Senator Chris Coons]

But there's a path. It's possible, but we'll see what happens.

[Joe Kernan]

In the next Will the Democrats nuke the filibuster, put 15 people on the Supreme Court, make Puerto Rico and Washington make them states? Will all those things happen? No vote ID for suddenly Democrats are federalists. I love it. They want the states to decide on no voting and it's great to see them become federalists. Would all those things happen? Would you think Democrats would do that?

[Senator Chris Coons]

Something positive just happened and I've talked about this in my caucus a lot. A lot of my family and friends say, when are Republicans going to stand up in the Senate to Trump? Trump demanded they end the filibuster. They didn't. Trump demanded that they end the blue slip for judges. They didn't. Trump demanded huge cuts in medical research, nih, cdc, huge cuts in housing, home, cdbg. They didn't. We just passed a bipartisan appropriations bill that rejected huge cuts to bill you would or would be care about.

[Becky Quick]

There are Democrats in the House who are saying Chuck Schumer should get the hell out in their words. Are they?

[Senator Chris Coons]

Look, at the end of the day, finding a middle. Finding a middle path through which we can govern is one of our biggest challenges. And a lot of the redistricting happening in Texas and in other states means that you're squeezing out the last members of the House who are moderates. So we're going to have trouble finding a governing coalition in the center. I hope business will start speaking up and saying we want rule of law, we want stability.

[Joe Kernan]

You would not vote to nuke the filibuster then?

[Senator Chris Coons]

I would not vote to nuke the filibuster to recognize Puerto Rico and the. You said Washington.

[Joe Kernan]

Would you do it on D.C. you wouldn't put them on the Supreme Court. You don't want to.

[Senator Chris Coons]

I don't think we should expand the Supreme Court.

[Joe Kernan]

Okay, Senator Cook, but that means that leaves open that you could move to filibuster for other reasons.

[Senator Chris Coons]

It depends what else is going on. Because we Got three more years. And bluntly, what this president is doing has so re. Shaped our society. I am very busy.

[Joe Kernan]

Will be gone next time. You're not in power, though. Who knows when it is. Maybe it never happens.

[Senator Chris Coons]

Right now with your 20.

[Joe Kernan]

With your 20 million protection. With the 20 million that came in. Maybe it never happened. Maybe you never lose power.

[Senator Chris Coons]

Even Becky's going like this.

[Becky Quick]

All right, Senator, kids are wrapping. Very much. We appreciate it.

[Producer/Announcer]

Thank you.

[Senator Chris Coons]

Great to be on.

[Joe Kernan]

Okay. Who are you taking? Andrew?

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

Should I just take the Patriots just to.

[Joe Kernan]

No, no, I'm taking the Patriots.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

Oh, you're taking.

[Joe Kernan]

I've been taking the Patriots all along. You weren't here. But the reason I am. And I mentioned taking the Knicks.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

That's what I'm doing.

[Joe Kernan]

I'm taking the Knicks. I mentioned Villanova versus Georgetown. Villanova didn't have the. And then I mentioned Houston. I couldn't remember. It was against NC State and Jimmy Valvano and don't give up. Never give up. And then I thought of Mike Tyson, Buster Douglas, which was the craziest thing that so. And you know what?

[Becky Quick]

I'm with you 100%. Except for that. I like Sam Darnold.

[Joe Kernan]

I do, too. We went to Etsy.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

I want to know.

[Joe Kernan]

But I like Bob Kraft and Jonathan. They're my friends and I want.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

Are you taking DraftKings, FanDuel or Kalshee or Polymarket? Which way are you going to bet the game?

[Joe Kernan]

Kalsh are. Oh, no. I don't know.

[Becky Quick]

We just do a Super bowl box.

[Joe Kernan]

I do a DraftKings where we do our own. I may go big on this. I May.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

What's big? 10 bucks.

[Joe Kernan]

25. 25.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

Okay.

[Joe Kernan]

But you know why you don't get an odds boost on over a certain amount. So that's why it's like I try and do it and it says, no, that's too much money. It kind of keeps you from some of your worst impulses. You are excited, as you always are about the commercials.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

I am. And I love.

[Becky Quick]

There's been some fun.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

I love the anthropic commercial.

[Joe Kernan]

That's what we were talking about. I think it's down to see.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

It's a great. It's a great.

[Joe Kernan]

Tell me. I haven't seen it yet. So how does it just.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

They're pretending that they are an AI and it's hilarious.

[Senator Chris Coons]

All a.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

And it's. It's focused straight up at open air.

[Joe Kernan]

At this point, it's what I call.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

AI and you know, Sam, they're all.

[Joe Kernan]

Pretending to be AI because none of them are.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

Sam Altman actually responded to it. He said, we thought it was funny, but then sort of did an explanation of why he thought it was misrepresenting the situation. But it's a, it's a, it's a hard, hard ad for open air.

[Joe Kernan]

I was kidding about the Coke Pepsi rivalry, and apparently that's renewed. I meant that never went away.

[Becky Quick]

That never went away.

[Cameron Costa]

That's Squawk Pod for today. Thanks for listening. And it's Friday. Yay. We made it to the end of another week. Squawk Box is hosted by Joe Kernan, Becky Quick and Andrew Ross Sorkin weekday mornings on cnbc starting at 6 Eastern. You can get the best of that three hour TV show right into your ears when you follow Squawk Pod wherever you're listening now. And please let us know what you think of our work here. Rate Squawk Pod or write a brief review on Apple Podcasts. You can also send us a line on xquawkcnbc. We'll meet you right back here on Monday. Have a great weekend.

[Producer/Announcer]

We are clear. Thanks guys.

[Podcast Advertiser]

Building a portfolio with Fidelity Basket Portfolios is kind of like making a sandwich. It's as simple as picking your stocks and ETFs, sort of like your meats and other topics and managing it as one big juicy investment. Now that's pretty good. Learn more at fidelity. Com Baskets investing involves risks, including risk of loss. Fidelity Brokerage Services llc Member nyse, SIPC.