The Best One Yet - Episode Summary

Episode Title: “Destiny’s Chip” — Nvidia’s Beyonce earnings. Budweiser’s BeatBox acquisition. America’s smaller Zestimate. +Pickle Ball Ban
Date: November 20, 2025
Hosts: Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell

Episode Overview

This fast-paced pop-biz news episode delivers three major business stories shaping markets and culture: Nvidia’s blockbuster earnings (and its “Beyonce” moment), Budweiser’s $700M acquisition of BeatBox (the “Four Loko of wines”) in defiance of beverage trends, and Zillow’s sobering revelation that most American homes are now worth less than last year. Sprinkled throughout are lively banter, listener in-jokes, cultural analogies, and a comedic detour into a national pickleball ban.

The episode is designed to be both informative and energizing, blending data with punchy analogies and memorable quotes to give listeners “takes they can pretend they came up with”—all in about 20 minutes.

Key Discussion Points

1. Nvidia’s “Destiny’s Chip” Earnings — The Celebrity of Reports

Segment Start: [06:37]

Overview:

Nvidia’s latest quarterly earnings smash expectations, sending shockwaves through both the stock market and the wider tech ecosystem. The hosts dub Nvidia the “Beyonce” of the market—so central that its results dictate the mood for everyone else.

Insights & Numbers:

• Nvidia’s chips underpin the current Artificial Intelligence (AI) boom; every tech “hyperscaler” is buying them: Amazon, Meta, Oracle, OpenAI, Alphabet, Microsoft.
• $62 billion worth of Nvidia chips bought by these companies in the last three months.
• “Nvidia brought in $11 billion of profit every month.” ([08:03], Nick)
• “This chip company brought in 47 times more profits than they brought in the same quarter three years ago.” ([08:04], Jack)
• Nvidia’s revenue growth now exceeds the total revenues of 400 of the Fortune 500 companies. ([08:11], Jack)
  • “You’re going to have to write that down, but it’s wild.” ([08:20], Jack)
• Nvidia now makes up 7% of the S&P 500 and 10% of the Nasdaq 100. ([08:52], Jack & Nick)
• The results trigger a 7% jump in Nvidia’s stock and lift the entire tech sector after hours.

Notable Quotes:

• “If Nvidia fails, everyone fails. So, like, no offense to the rest of Destiny’s Child, but it’s kind of like if Beyonce failed, Destiny’s Child would have failed.” ([09:01], Nick)
• “Nvidia alone makes up 7% of the S&P 510. Percent of the NASDAQ 100.” ([08:52], Jack)
• “The proof that AI is not a bubble is in the repeat purchases. The customers are crazy in love.” ([10:44], Nick)

Analysis:

• AI skepticism centers on whether the tech will deliver ROI; the hosts argue that accelerating, repeat purchases of Nvidia chips by “hyperscalers” prove AI’s boom is real, not a bubble.
• “The bear case on AI is that it’s a huge waste… but the opposite is happening.” ([09:59], Nick)
• Takeaway: “The proof is in the repeat purchases.” ([09:57], Jack)

2. Budweiser Buys BeatBox — “Boxed Wine Goes Frankenstein”

Segment Start: [11:05]

Overview:

Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch InBev, or B. InBev) is acquiring BeatBox—an ultra-trendy boxed wine favored by Gen Z—for $700M. This play comes despite overall wine and alcohol consumption declining among young buyers.

Insights & Numbers:

• BeatBox is known as “the Four Loko of wines” and first crossed the hosts’ radar as their “2024 Drink of the Summer” pick.
• It “got a $1 million deal years ago from Mark Cuban on Shark Tank.” ([11:48], Jack)
• The product: 11% alcohol, box size equals two wine glasses, cost is only about $2 per glass ([12:13], Jack).
• Sales have quintupled (5x) from 2020–2022, then sextupled (6x) from 2022–2025 ([12:25], Jack).
• BeatBox “looks more like an energy drink,” targeted squarely at venues and buying habits favored by younger consumers (music festivals, gas stations—not restaurants or classic wine shops).

Trends and Positioning:

• BeatBox wins by repositioning wine from an older, sit-down context to something young, portable, affordable, and party-ready.
• It merges trends: sustainability (paper packaging), fitness (low sugar/cal/cals), and festival culture.

Notable Quotes:

• “Kind of looks like a Capri Sun and a Pinot Noir had a baby. And that baby is 21 years old.” ([12:07], Nick)
• “A trend is not necessarily the truth.” ([15:01], Nick)
• “They repositioned wine from competing with liquor to competing with beer.” ([14:43], Nick)

Takeaway:

• Trend data says wine is declining, but the “truth” is about how you position and sell a product. BeatBox succeeds by creating its own category.
• “It’s never really about the product. It’s about how you position it.” ([14:37], Nick)

3. America’s Shrinking (Z)estimates — A Tale of Two Housing Markets

Segment Start: [16:54]

Overview:

For the first time since 2012, Zillow announces that “53% of American homes are worth less than they did a year ago.” ([17:04], Jack) It’s a major shift in the US real estate market—amounting to a national cooling.

Insights & Data:

• The average home’s value is down 9.57% from its recent peak ([17:04], Nick).
• The market is now divided by region:
  • South & West: Home prices are falling in cities like San Francisco, Austin, Tampa, Denver.
  • Midwest & Northeast: Prices are rising—regional regulations, construction pace, and “NIMBY” policies are driving supply/demand.
• Key reason for the split: construction (south/west) vs. obstruction (northeast/midwest). ([19:22], Nick)
• Housing is becoming a “retirement community”—median homebuyer age is 59 years ([20:06], Jack). First-time buyers’ average age has hit a record 40.

Notable Quotes:

• “America’s housing right now is one big Margaritaville.” ([17:04], Jack)
• “The American housing market: It’s become a retirement community. Looks like margaritas.” ([21:31], Nick)
• “It’s whether your state builds houses or doesn’t build houses.” ([19:14], Jack)

Takeaway:

• More construction = more price moderation; restricted supply = higher prices.
• The aging of homebuyers means fewer young people entering the market, regardless of price swings.

Bonus Story: Pickleball Bans (Opening Segment)

Segment: [02:08–03:48]

America’s fastest-growing sport, pickleball, faces backlash for its noise—the town of Carmel, CA (and even Nantucket) may permanently ban public play. Tech innovation steps in with a “quieter pickleball” (one-tenth the noise, ten times the price), showing how bans can actually boost a brand’s demand.

Memorable Line:
“Sometimes the best thing to happen to a brand is a ban.” ([03:41], Nick)

Additional Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “Nvidia just went full Beyonce… It put the whole band on its back.” ([08:44], Nick)
• On BeatBox: “The box is so neon you need to wear sunglasses.” ([13:54], Jack)
• “You zix that link to your boyfriend even though it’s not for you.” ([17:28], Jack, on Zillow obsession)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Nvidia Earnings Explainer: [06:37–11:00]
• Budweiser/BeatBox Acquisition: [11:05–15:01]
• Zillow & US Housing Market: [16:54–21:00]
• Pickleball Ban & Brand Lessons: [02:08–03:48]
• Art & Toilet Records, Podcast Rankings: [21:40–22:58]
• Best Fact Yet (Grand Central Terminal): [23:08–23:44]

Conclusion & Takeaways

• Nvidia’s success is propping up both markets and AI optimism.
  • “The proof that AI is not a bubble is in the repeat purchases.”
• Budweiser’s acquisition of BeatBox underscores that ‘trends ≠ truths’; it’s all about brand positioning.
• Most US homes are worth less than last year, but construction policy, not demand or cooling alone, dictates who wins and loses.
• The housing market is increasingly for the older crowd; young buyers remain mostly priced out.

This lively episode gives listeners both a zoomed-in and big picture look at business trends—reminding us that great brands, markets, and even sports often grow most when they’re banned, challenged, or reinvented for a new generation.