🚀 “$XXX” — SpaceX’s sugardaddy deal. Zebra’s Super Bowl stock. Pepsi’s price cut. +Minivan Millennial Dad.

Summary

Podcast Summary: "🚀 $XXX — SpaceX’s sugardaddy deal. Zebra’s Super Bowl stock. Pepsi’s price cut. +Minivan Millennial Dad."

The Best One Yet, February 4, 2026
Hosts: Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell

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Overview

On this pop-biz news-packed episode, Jack and Nick break down three of the most buzzworthy business stories of the day, blending sharp analysis and playful banter. The hosts tackle SpaceX’s headline-grabbing mega-acquisition, Pepsi’s rare consumer-friendly price cut, and the behind-the-scenes Super Bowl tech from Zebra Technologies. The episode keeps things energetic, informative, and perfect for anyone wanting hot takes to pair with their morning oatmeal.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. SpaceX Buys XAI: The “Sugar Daddy Deal”

[05:41–11:40]

• Biggest Acquisition Ever:
  SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, acquired XAI for a reported $250 billion, marking “the biggest acquisition in history” (05:41).
• Setting Up the Ultimate IPO:
  Musk sets the stage for a summer IPO that’s expected to value SpaceX at $1.5 trillion—what the hosts call “a UPO: Ultimate Public Offering” (07:41).
• Inside SpaceX’s Financials:
  • SpaceX made $15 billion in revenue last year—less than a fifth of Tesla’s, yet doubled Tesla’s profits due to its near-monopoly on reusable rocket launches (06:08–06:37).
  • 80% of their revenue now comes from Starlink satellite internet, serving 9 million people (07:05–07:12).
• Why Acquire XAI?
  The move resembles “a bailout” for XAI, which faces steep R&D costs in the AI race: “XAI is in an AI arms race that even Elon Musk can’t afford” (08:42).
• IPO Funds as AI ‘Warchest’: “If Elon wants to win the AI war—which he does—then he needs $1 trillion to do it, and SpaceX’s IPO is where that money’s going to come from” (09:04–09:11).
• Tesla Not Included (Yet):
  Because Elon owns less than 20% of Tesla, he can’t merge it at will—though a merger isn’t ruled out in the future (09:29–09:44).
• Musk’s Epic Shareholder Letter:
  “This June, Elon Musk will write the shareholder letter of his life” (10:13, 11:35).
• Elon’s New Galactic Mission:
  SpaceX aims to “scale to make a sentient sun to understand the universe and extend the light of consciousness to the stars.”
  • Jack: “What does that mean?” (10:41)
  • Nick: “We don’t know what that means.” (10:42)
• Space-Built Data Centers:
  Plan to launch a million satellite data centers—powered by Tesla solar, repaired by Tesla robots, and providing AI services to Earth below (11:04–11:21).

Notable Quotes:

• “It’s like buying something on Facebook Marketplace from yourself.” — Nick (08:31)
• “This is a sugar daddy IPO.” — Jack (09:17)
• “Elon's entire life has come to this moment: selling the SpaceX XAI story to Wall Street.” — Nick (11:32)

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2. Pepsi’s Snack Price Cut: The First Corporate Deflation

[11:40–15:56]

• Pepsi Blinks on Snackflation:
  After four years of rising prices (up 38% since 2020), and declining snack sales, Pepsi is dropping prices by 15% across snacks like Doritos and Lay’s (11:48–12:14).
• Consumer Backlash:
  Massive pushback forced their hand: “Pepsi is doing something you probably didn’t realize a corporation could do. They’re lowering prices across the board.” — Jack (13:07)
  • Direct consumer complaints plus switching to cheaper store brands—private labels at Walmart, Costco, Trader Joe’s, etc.—have taken market share.
• Deflation Arrives:
  The rare occurrence of deflation in a major CPG company:
  “The price of a $5 bag of Doritos will now come down to $4.30. It’s not huge, but it’s a start.” — Nick (13:56)
• Private Label Dominance:
  “Walmart and Costco, they’re at all-time highs. Their private labels are taking a record percentage of sales from Pepsi.” (15:39)
• Lesson from Greek Mythology:
  Takeaway: Pepsi, like Icarus, “didn’t just fly too close to the sun, it stayed up there too long” with its pricing (15:07).
• Stock Impact:
  PepsiCo stock down 17% over 3 years while competitors hit highs (15:48).

Notable Quotes:

• “Snacking has become very expensive.” — Nick (12:38)
• “You don’t know your price until the customer says no. But if they say no nine times, you gotta listen to them.” — Jack (15:48)
• “In Greek mythology, Icarus flew too close to the sun and his wings melted. Well, Pepsi flew too close and stayed up there too long—and the stock melted.” — Nick (15:59)

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3. Zebra Technologies: The NFL’s Hidden Moneyball Engine

[17:31–22:30]

• The NFL’s Undercover Tech Supplier:
  Zebra puts RFID chips in every football, end-zone pylon, first-down chain, and player’s shoulder pads—enabling real-time stat tracking (17:59–18:31).
• Legacy B2B Company Makes Consumer Splash:
  Zebra, traditionally a logistics and retail tracking tech company, is now known as the “Where’s Waldo of tech” thanks to its NFL partnership (18:20-18:23).
• How the System Works:
  • “Every NFL player has two to three computer chips in their shoulder pads and they’re only three grams each. That’s lighter than a sugar packet.” — Jack (19:18–19:29)
  • Zebra chips report player position, speed, and even stats like “average cushion,” 10x per second (19:40, 20:18).
• Data Drives Sports & Safety:
  • Data is used for fans, coaches, and injury prevention—like helmet redesigns.
  • “Moneyball for football, and no one knows that this one logistics company is behind it.” — Jack (21:10)
• Tiny NFL Revenue, Giant Impact:
  NFL deal is <$50M (out of $5B revenue), but brings outsized attention and brand recognition (21:36–21:42).
• B2B Doesn’t Have to Hide:
  “B2B doesn’t mean antisocial. B2B better be seen.” — Jack (21:22, 22:30)
  • Zebra’s real win is using the NFL as a showcase to land enterprise logistics contracts.

Notable Quotes:

• “Looks like Zebra has more data than the CIA these days.” — Nick (19:46)
• “The best marketing move Zebra ever made wasn’t an ad—it was a deal with the NFL.” — Nick (22:05)
• “B2B doesn’t mean be antisocial. B2B better be seen.” — Jack (22:30)

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Mini-Story: The Minivan Millennial Dad

[01:31–03:25]

• Trend: Millennial men—especially elder millennials (about 40)—are embracing the minivan life:
  • Minivan sales rose 21% over the last year (02:02).
  • “Minivans are half the price of an SUV and give you twice the space.” — Jack (02:27)
• Funny Reality Check:
  “You said you’d never fall asleep in front of your kids… and then, boom, here you are putting 10% down on a Ford Windstar.” — Jack (03:10–03:16)

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News Nuggets & Memorable Tidbits

• Disney Gets a New CEO: Josh D’Amaro, a parks veteran, is in (23:18–23:33).
• Gold & Silver Drop; Pandora Stock Slides: Gold/silver prices dip, hurting jewelry giant Pandora (23:33–23:43).
• Amtrak Tracksuits: The rail company pivots to fashion with a tongue-in-cheek “track suit” launch (23:56–24:07).
• Best Fact Yet: Bars make up to 90% profit margins on martinis, but most restaurants only net a 5% total profit, justifying those prices (24:10–24:43).

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Timestamps of Key Segments

• [05:41] — SpaceX’s $250B XAI acquisition explained
• [06:08] — SpaceX vs. Tesla financials & Starlink’s role
• [09:03] — OpenAI, AI costs, and SpaceX’s warchest
• [10:13] — Takeaway: Musk’s shareholder letter & space data plans
• [11:40] — Pepsi announces 15% snack price cut
• [12:38] — How “Snackflation” lost Pepsi market share
• [13:47] — Real deflation: Lower bag prices finally arrive
• [15:07] — Takeaway: Pepsi suffers from Icarus syndrome
• [17:31] — Zebra Technologies powers Super Bowl stat tracking
• [19:29] — Inside the tech: sensors, stats, and new metrics
• [21:22] — Takeaway: The hidden power of B2B consumer relevance

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It’s like buying something on Facebook Marketplace from yourself.” — Nick on the SpaceX/XAI merger (08:31)
• “Pepsi is doing something you probably didn’t realize a corporation could do. They’re lowering prices across the board.” — Jack (13:07)
• “Looks like Zebra has more data than the CIA these days.” — Nick (19:46)
• “B2B better be seen.” — Jack (22:30)
• “Minivans are half the price of an SUV and give you twice the space.” — Jack (02:27)

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Tone & Style

Snappy, witty, and a bit irreverent—Nick and Jack’s chemistry shines as they mix real business insight with puns, callbacks to pop culture, and inside jokes for regular listeners.

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Useful for…

• Busy professionals and news junkies wanting quick, clever business story explainers.
• Investors tracking mega-IPOs or industry shakeups (SpaceX, AI, CPG, sports tech).
• Anyone interested in the business angles of the Super Bowl, snack industry, or tech mergers.

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For more episodes or to engage with polls and fun banter, see the show on your favorite podcast platform.

Transcript

[A]

This is Nick, this is Jack. It's Wednesday, so PGA Wednesday, February 4th. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is the T boy.

[B]

The top three pop business news stories you need to know today.

[A]

Oh, boy. We got a problem, Jack. Yesterday's pod was so good. How are we gonna make today's pod better?

[B]

I felt so good leaving the studio yesterday.

[A]

I know what you mean. I know what you mean.

[B]

I didn't listen to the episode. Cause like, I have finite time and I don't love listening to myself.

[A]

Well, that's awkward, Jack. I listened twice this morning. For us. We got three fantastic stor on today's D boy. What do we got in the show, Jack?

[B]

For our first story, Elon Musk just executed the biggest corporate acquisition ever asterisk setting up the biggest IPO ever this summer.

[A]

Because SpaceX now owns XAI and when it IPO's ticker symbol. What are we thinking, Jack?

[B]

Triple X, quadruple X? For our second story, Pepsi just blinked. They're actually cutting the prices on their Doritos and all of their snacks by.

[A]

15% because PepsiCo is inspired by Greek mythology.

[B]

And our third and final story. At this year's super bowl, one company put chips in every football end zone pylon and every shoulder pad.

[A]

Zebra technology. They are powering the Moneyball effect of the NFL.

[B]

And this company is publicly traded. But yetis before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Whoa. I mean, what.

[A]

I think we did it, Jack. Today's mix. Better than yesterday's mix. Love the pod.

[B]

Well, you haven't said lick yet, Nick. So, yeah, this episode's going pretty well so far. But Nick, you said no way. You would never do it. Not in a million years.

[A]

And yet, besties, here you are buying a minivan.

[B]

Get this. For the first time in years, minivan sales are up in America.

[A]

And the biggest buyer. Who is it, Jack?

[B]

Millennial dudes.

[A]

40 year old guys.

[B]

That's right. Elder millennial men are piling into the.

[A]

Minivan literal age just like they used.

[B]

To when they were kids.

[A]

The new soccer mom. It's a millennial dad, if you don't believe us.

[B]

Well, the data just rolled up in a Honda Odyssey right over there. Plenty of room for everyone.

[A]

Minivan sales rose 21% last year. Outp car sales overall by 10 x.

[B]

393,312 brand new minivans were sold in America in 2025.

[A]

I mean, the only question, Jack, you're thinking. And I'm thinking it.

[B]

Who called Dibs on captaincies.

[A]

I said get out of here, Teddy. That's Jack's younger brother, by the way. Because in this economy, minivans offer a third seat bang for your family buck.

[B]

Minivans are half the price of an SUV and give you twice the space.

[A]

But, Jack, minivans are half the price of an SUV and half the swagger of an suv.

[B]

My wife pretty much says she'll never.

[A]

Ever try to pitch that one. Jeff. And we got more receipts. Besties. Chrysler Specifica. It's the top seller in the country.

[B]

The Toyota sienna. Sales surged 35% last year.

[A]

Our buddy Timmy, God bless him, just embrace the Dodge Grand Caravan like it's a sweet green salad.

[B]

But my wife, not so much. Although, Nick, my trip to Florida, we're taking this year. I rented a minivan. I'm hoping it grows on him.

[A]

Alex, I know you're listening. Unlike Jack, resist. Just keep resisting. But yet, if you are a millennial dad, this puts you in an awkward situation.

[B]

You said you'd never fall asleep in front of your.

[A]

And you said you'd never worry about the thermostat.

[B]

And you said you'd never complain about loud rock and roll music.

[A]

And then, boom, here you are putting 10% down on a Ford WinStar.

[B]

If you're a millennial van dude, drop why in the comments. And hopefully my wife's gonna read this.

[A]

Shotgun. Jack. Let's enter three stories. Fifteen years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet. But the best is the norm.

[B]

Jack.

[A]

Nick. That's it. I don't even think they need to practice.

[B]

50%.

[A]

That's a fat tip. T Boy City on your Liz, if you know, you know. Cause we ready to go. We can't wait no more. So just start the show. Start the show. First, a quick word from our sponsor. Yeah, it is. Jack had a lifelong dream of owning a ski house. But then he married a skier who's better at skiing than him, which put.

[B]

The pressure on to really own a ski house.

[A]

Okay, but still, ski house is very expensive. So what helped make Jack's dream doable? Airbnb.

[B]

I bought the chalet in 2024, and I use it very often with my own family. But when we're not using it, I host it on Airbnb. Especially those three day weekends when ski houses are in most demand.

[A]

The additional income Jack earns from hosting his home on Airbnb, it helps make owning the secondary property President's Day weekend coming up. Nick. A lot of people want to go skiing, Jack.

[B]

I've done a ton of skiing this season already. I want to go to Florida with my family. The extra income I earn from hosting on Airbnb helps offset those travel costs.

[A]

Four adults, four children from just outside Boston. Boom. They just booked a stay on Jack Chalet.

[B]

Primary home or secondary home? If you've got space, you've got opportunity. Hosting on Airbnb helped make my dream possible.

[A]

Besties. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how [e-mail] host.

[C]

Before we had AT&T business Wireless coverage, our delivery GPS wasn't the most reliable. Once our driver had to do a 14 point turn to get back on route. A 14 point turn. An influencer even livestreamed the whole thing. Not good for business. Now with AT&T business Wireless, routes are updating on the fly and deliveries are on time. And the influencer did get us 53 new followers though.

[B]

AT&T business Wireless Connecting changes everything.

[A]

For our first story, Elon SpaceX acquired his other company, Xai, for 250 billion bucks. The biggest acquisition in history.

[B]

It sets up the most important IPO ever too. The IPO of SpaceX. AI. A sugar daddy IPO.

[A]

A sugar daddy IPO. We'll explain. But besties. There has been a ton of news about SpaceX. SpaceX this week, shining a telescope into the most mysterious big company on planet Earth.

[B]

Financials of SpaceX, the private company, were reported by Reuters on Monday. I've never seen SpaceX's numbers before. Until these.

[A]

No, we have not, Jack. These were otherworldly because SpaceX made $15 billion in revenue last year. Could you sprinkle on some context, please, Jack?

[B]

Well, that's less than a fifth of what Tesla made last year. Interesting, but in the profit department, SpaceX doubled Tesla's profits last year.

[A]

And Jack, how is SpaceX doubling profits of Tesl Tesla despite doing a fraction of the business?

[B]

Because they can charge whatever they want for rocket launches.

[A]

Yeah, SpaceX, this guy have an accidental monopoly. They did 84% of US rocket launches last year for one very unique reason.

[B]

They're the only rocket company that reuses their rockets.

[A]

They're like the ultimate rocket recycler. SpaceX has successfully landed and reused rockets 460 times.

[B]

Only one other company has ever successfully reused a rocket that was Blue Origin. And they only did it once.

[A]

But get this, another shocking detail. Up to 80% of SpaceX's revenue, according to Reuters, comes From Starlink's satellite Internet service.

[B]

Nine million people are subscribed to get their WI fi from Elon. Satellites that are up in space.

[A]

Can you hear me now, Jack? Add it up in SpaceX is making money launching rockets and making money charging monthly Internet services like a little Verizon.

[B]

And someday SpaceX could colonize Mars and, like, mine that planet for resources and minerals we don't even know about yet.

[A]

And that is why June's IPO is targeting a record $1.5 trillion valuation. It's not an IPO. It's a Upo ultimate public offering.

[B]

And as we told you last week, Elon is targeting a date for the IPO to coordinate with the galaxy.

[A]

True story. When Jupiter aligns with Venus, that's when we'll get the IPO. It's horoscopically optimized. Basically.

[B]

June 8th or June 9th, that's the deadline.

[A]

Just look at the tarot cards. But, Jack, pause the pod, because that was the first news this week. SpaceX's galactic financial numbers.

[B]

The second news is that SpaceX is officially not profitable anymore.

[A]

That's right, because Elon announced on Monday SpaceX is acquiring his other company, Xai, for a reported 250 billion bucks.

[B]

This is like Elon telling two of his many, many kids that they have to bunk up and move in together.

[A]

But, Jack, this would also make it the biggest acquisition in history with. With an asterisk.

[B]

Elon Musk controls both SpaceX and Xai. So the price of the acquisition, that's irrelevant.

[A]

Yeah, I know what you're saying. It's like. It's like buying something on Facebook Marketplace from yourself.

[B]

Yeah, it doesn't matter what price you're saying. It's from left pocket to right pocket.

[A]

So what do you think this kind of looks like if you analyze it.

[B]

Further, Jack, to us, SpaceX acquiring Xai looks like a bailout of Xai, because Xai is in an AI arms race that even Elon Musk can't afford.

[A]

Basti's Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, they're spending 100 billion bucks a year, year on AI opportunities.

[B]

OpenAI has committed to spend $1 trillion or more on data centers.

[A]

So if Elon wants to win the.

[B]

AI war, which he does, then he.

[A]

Needs $1 trillion to do it. And SpaceX's IPO is where that money's.

[B]

Going to come from. Basically, SpaceX is driving this summer to NASDAQ money, and Xai is going to hit your ride for free.

[A]

Which is why Jack and I are calling SpaceX's IPO. A sugar daddy IPO.

[B]

But talking about daddies and Elon's kids, what about Tesla? Like, are they not going to get in on this mega merger?

[A]

Well, Daddy, Tesla is publicly traded and Elon owns less than 20% of that business, so he cannot single handedly merge it with his SpaceX.

[B]

But we wouldn't be surprised if Tesla does end up merging with SpaceX and Xai Elon's other sibling companies.

[A]

Because all Elon would have to do is convince 30% of Tesla shareholders to vote for that SpaceX merger.

[B]

His pitch would be this. I need to focus on CEOing one company, not several. So I'm going to merge all my companies into one. You want to do this? It's going to be good for you financially.

[A]

And Jack, what do we think the ticker symbol of that company would be?

[B]

E, L, O, N. I was thinking.

[A]

Triple X or is it quadruple X? Which one would you do?

[B]

Guess it could be quadruple X because of the social network.

[A]

Our money's on the quadro X. Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at SpaceX?

[B]

This June, Elon Musk will write the shareholder letter of his life Yetis.

[A]

We are extremely excited to spend entire weekends reading through the S1 IPO paperwork for SpaceX because they're no longer just a space company.

[B]

Well, Elon did tease on Monday the new mission of SpaceX in a press release.

[A]

Here's how he described it. He said their new mission is scaling to make a sentient sun to understand the universe and extend the light of consciousness to the stars.

[B]

What does that mean?

[A]

We don't know what that means.

[B]

Scaling to make a sentient sun. I don't know if he was trolling us or.

[A]

I think that's Robert Frost, Jack. And if you call that poetry, then Elon's press release included some pros as well. Here's the tldr.

[B]

Elon said in his press release that data centers must be built in space because they use too much energy and too much space and too much resources here on Earth.

[A]

So SpaceX AI will launch a million satellites into orbit with built in data centers powering GROK chatbots down on Earth and powered up above by the solar sun.

[B]

And the data centers will probably use Tesla solar panels and be repaired in space by Tesla's humanoid robots, which will.

[A]

All be broadcast to half a billion users on X. Formerly Twitter, now owned by SpaceX. It's complicated yetis, but it all comes together. Besties. Elon's entire Life has come to this moment. Selling the space Xai story to Wall Street.

[B]

This June, Elon Musk will write the shareholder letter of his life.

[A]

For our second story. I'm sorry, is this our first story on deflation, Jack?

[B]

I think it is.

[A]

It is. Besties. After jacking up prices of frickin 38%, Pepsi is reversing. They are cutting their stack prices by.

[B]

15% because Pepsi learned a lesson from Greek mythology.

[A]

Now, yetis, as friends of the show, you may remember on CNN late last year, Jack and I were wondering this one particular question.

[B]

Will this be the year that companies finally give us what we badly want? Lower prices?

[A]

You see, because when Jack and I were kids, Jack grew up with three brothers. So he was like a turkey jerky kind of guy at the gas station, right, Jack?

[B]

No, I was a bag of Doritos guy. And every bag of Doritos had that big yellow FL.50 label on it. But looking at the Instacart app right now, Nick, there's not a single Doritos product in my grocery store for under five bucks.

[A]

Oh, but Jack, it is not just us and it is not just Doritos, is it my friend?

[B]

Snacking has become very expensive.

[A]

According to Jeffrey's investment bank, who definitely does not have Doritos at their office, prices for salty snacks rose 38% from 2020 to 2024.

[B]

$5 snack in 2020 is now a $7 snack.

[A]

Basically, chips are the new chipot, you know.

[B]

And the result of that vicious snackflation.

[A]

Consumer pushback, the smack back on the snacks. PepsiCo just announced their fourth straight year of shrinking snack sales, which leads to this overdue news.

[B]

Pepsi is doing something you probably didn't realize a corporation could do. They're lowering prices across the board.

[A]

According to the Pepsi CEO, quote unquote. Consumers told us they need more value.

[B]

Did they tell you or did they scream at you?

[A]

Because according to the Wall Street Journal, consumers did not just tell the Pepsi CEO. They sent a flood of emails and voicemail messages directly to them.

[B]

And they voted with their feet. They did. By not buying bags of Cool ranch and aisle six because they're seven bucks now. They used to be 50 cents.

[A]

Says the guy who wants a minivan. Now besties. This leads to something shocking and fascinating. Our first major deflation situation.

[B]

We've had inflation for years now and inflation has come down, but overall prices are still rising. This is a story where prices are actually going to fall.

[A]

This is a story of hope. The price of a $5 bag of Doritos will now come down to $4.30. It's not huge, but it's a start. It's baby steps.

[B]

And they're going to include a same size, lower priced label on the bag because we're skeptical. We think this could be another skimflation trick.

[A]

No more sneakflation on us guys. And Pepsi, they're doing it for all their snacks. Lay's Tostitos, Doritos, Cheetos. The whole sin bin is getting a price cut right now.

[B]

And the reason the sales shrinkage situation for Pepsi has been so painful. People are still snacking. They're just snacking on other brands.

[A]

Jack, can I interest you in some Walmart better goods brand or some Sam's Club, Sam's Choice? Or maybe you prefer Costco's Kirkland or how about a little Trader Joe's?

[B]

Private label store brands are the big winners of this inflation situation.

[A]

Which leads though to the big question. Will 15% price cuts summon snackers back to their caloric overlords over at Pepsi?

[B]

I can tell you the answer is yes, because Doritos are a drug. The super bowl is the only time of the year I let myself have Doritos because if I open the bag, it's a guarantee I finish the bag.

[A]

I know we actually mean to sit you down, Alex and I, and have a conversation about this. Jack, not in a minivan. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Pepsi?

[B]

PepsiCo just learned the lesson of Icarus. It didn't just fly too close to the sun, it stayed up there too long.

[A]

Now besties, we've said before, you don't know your price until the customer says no.

[B]

The lesson there's is that if your price has never been rejected by your customer, it means you're probably undervaluing yourself.

[A]

Write that down. It goes for your salary too. But for Pepsi, the customer has been rejecting them a lot.

[B]

For four years, it took an activist investor to force Pepsi to find its value proposition again and make this 15% price correction.

[A]

But you know what yetis? The damage is done. Walmart and Costco, they're at all time highs. Their private labels are taking a record percentage of sales from Pepsi while PepsiCo.

[B]

Stock is down 17% in the last three years.

[A]

So besties, you don't know your price until the customer says no. But if they say no nine times, you got to listen to them.

[B]

In Greek mythology, Icarus flew too close to the sun and his wings melted.

[A]

Well, Pepsi flew too close and stayed up there. Too long and the stock melted. Now a quick word from our sponsor.

[B]

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[A]

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[B]

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[A]

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[A]

I see you in that transaction tab. Jack, what's going on in that transaction tab?

[B]

All of my spending is in that transactions tab, including the way too much I spent on the hotel room with water view.

[A]

Honey, what's going on with my mini bar?

[B]

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[A]

Use code [e-mail] for half off your first year. That's 50% off your first [e-mail] with code T. Boy, in a world where business owners everywhere are burning out, I.

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Just can't do it anymore.

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And are losing their identities to AI.

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Who even am I?

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Only one website builder can save humanity from generic websites.

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It's here. It's really here.

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Wix Harmony, where AI meets hands on control. So you can build the website you want exactly the way you want. Try it for [e-mail] Harmony. For our third and final story. When the super bowl kicks off this Sunday, one company you've never heard of will be the most excited of anyone. That company is Zebra Technologies.

[B]

Because Zebra's chips are in every single football cone and shoulder pad, tracking everything.

[A]

In the game and you didn't even know it. But yetis. Let's start back in 1969. Woodstock had their music festival, we landed on the moon and the Gap made.

[B]

Their first ever sweatshirt. And Zebra was founded in Illinois. Zebra Technologies, a boring beta business that.

[A]

Tracks things basically like the Where's Waldo of tech.

[B]

They do barcodes and barcode scanners, but they specialize in a technology called rfid.

[A]

Rfid, which stands for radio frequency identification. And you have been alarmed by it.

[B]

Because you walked out of a store and your sweater started beeping because the cashier forgot to take off that RFID tag.

[A]

So from J. Crew to UPS Those are the types of businesses using Zebra's RFID tracking tags.

[B]

It's a 12 billion doll publicly traded company. Although the stock is down 40% in.

[A]

The last year, it's more than a lift. But it turns out the same technology tracking your Amazon packages is also tracking Seattle Seahawks wide receivers.

[B]

Because Zebra went from scanning cereal boxes at Walmart to scanning quarterbacks at the Super Bowl.

[A]

Get this, the NFL is this good at making money. They actually sold an official real time on field player tracking provider designation to this company, Zebra Technologies.

[B]

That is the most narrowly scoped designation.

[A]

But Bessie, Jack and I, we discovered this and we were fascinated. I mean, it turns out every NFL player has two to three computer chips in their shoulder pads and they're only three grams each.

[B]

That's lighter than a sugar packet.

[A]

And that chip, that is a Zebra chip. It's also inside the end zone pylons, the first down chains. Every single football used in the game has one of their chips.

[B]

There are 250 zebra chips total on the field at any time, tracking all 22 guys and their movements.

[A]

Looks like Zebra has more data than the CIA these days.

[B]

Now, if you've watched an NFL game, you know that next generation stats are provided by aws. But did you know that the source of that data is these physical sensors from Zebra Technologies?

[A]

And yes, we know you're wondering, besties. These chips are in fact quarterback approved when they're in the footballs.

[B]

Tom Brady made sure they didn't mess with his spiral aerodynamics like his deflated balls did.

[A]

You don't want to throw a wounded duck because of a misplaced chip. That is not good.

[B]

And all these chips, 10 times every second, are sending data back to HQ.

[A]

They capture the location, the speed, the height within an inch, 200 data points per a play.

[B]

When Tyreek Hill was running 30, 30 miles per hour after catching a touchdown pass from Patrick Mahomes, we know his speed because of these sensors.

[A]

They're doing 30,000 stats per game, including ones we'd never heard of before. Jack, do you know what a yak is though?

[B]

Yes. Yards after catch.

[A]

What about kush? C U S h. Do you know what kush is?

[B]

I do not.

[A]

That's average cushion. A distance measured in yards between the wide receiver, the tight end and the defender.

[B]

That's a statistic.

[A]

And they track it with these chips, man, because they're in the shoulder pads.

[B]

And at last year's Super Bowl, Travis Kelce looked up at his girlfriend in the box 438 times before halftime. We know because of Zebra.

[A]

But besties, the data that they're gathering isn't just entertain like collision data from Zebra also helps to redesign the helmets and reduce concussions.

[B]

And snap speed data helps determine if. I don't know, the quarterback's wrist might need some rest.

[A]

Basically, this is Moneyball for football, and no one knows that this one logistics company is behind it.

[B]

They're called Zebra, by the way, because that's a nickname for referees.

[A]

So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Zebra?

[B]

B2B doesn't mean antisocial. B2B better be seen.

[A]

Yetis, Zebra's been with the NFL for 12 years in a reported $50 million a year or $50 million total contract. We actually don't know for sure. It was hard to determine.

[B]

But either way, that is just a tiny fraction of Zebra's $5 billion in revenue that comes from the NFL.

[A]

Here's what Jack and I are thinking. This NFL deal gets 100% of the attention, but it's less than 1% of Zebra's revenues.

[B]

Where Zebra really makes money is with retailers like Aritzia for those security tags. Or logistics companies like UPS to track.

[A]

Packages, even hospitals, all of those. That's like 99% of their sales biz.

[B]

In fact, 80% of Fortune 500 companies use Zebra to track their assets and their people.

[A]

But the best marketing move Zebra ever made wasn't an ad. It was a deal with the NFL.

[B]

How does Zebra snag a client like FedEx? They probably sent the CEO a signed football that has Zebra chips inside.

[A]

Besties, you may work in a B2B business, selling business to business. And those businesses stay in the shadows. They're antisocial. They don't do cool things because they don't sell to consumers.

[B]

But Zebra proves the power of being consumer relevant, even if the customer isn't a consumer.

[A]

B2B. It doesn't mean be antisocial. B2B better be seen. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for saviche Wednesday?

[B]

SpaceX, a profitable company, now owns Xai, a very unprofitable company.

[A]

This is a sugar daddy acquisition. And now Elon has to write the IPO shareholder letter of his life.

[B]

For our second story, PepsiCo is cutting the prices of all snacks by 15%. It's corporate deflation.

[A]

Pepsi didn't just fly too close to the sun on prices. They stayed up there for four years. Way too long.

[B]

And our third and final story. Zebra Technologies is the reason we know the ball Speed of Drake May's passes.

[A]

Zebra's a business to business company, but their sales are up because they're consumer relevant in the Super Bowl.

[B]

But besties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today.

[A]

First, Jack, white smoke hath risen from Cinderella's castle. That means Disney has a new CEO, Josh d'.

[B]

Amaro. Josh is a Georgetown guy and he's worked at Disney's parks division since 1998.

[A]

And second, gold and silver prices are dropping and that's crushing the world's biggest jeweler.

[B]

Pandora's Jewelry stock fell 10% yesterday as Wall street downgraded the stock.

[A]

Since the new Fed, gold and silver prices have plummeted and that's going to be volatile for the jewelry industry. And finally yesterday we told you Nike and Costco collabed on a sneaker. But now Amtrak wants in.

[B]

Amtrak, the railroad business is now in fashion. They launched Amtrak tracksuits.

[A]

Yeah, you get it. Tracksuits you wear on the train tracks. They're trying to combine function with fashion here. It appears.

[B]

They're dripping with nostalgia, by the way.

[A]

Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by legendary Yeti C.J. a guy who buys alcohol for restaurants and prices bar drinks for a living.

[B]

It's true, according to CJ that some bars charge a 90% profit margin for martinis. But as CJ points out, restaurants are a really tough business and we should add that context.

[A]

Those huge cocktail margins are crucial to stay in business and martinis are actually the key to paying the rent.

[B]

The vast majority of restaurants make a total profit margin of less than 5%. Even when you include the huge markups on liquor.

[A]

Yetis. You look fantastic today, Jack. You look like a boomer today. Besties. Today's poll, it's on what should be the ticker symbol of SpaceX. Yesterday's was on shaken not stirred on the martini vote today on Spotify.

[B]

And Nick and I will see you tomorrow.

[A]

If you know, you know. Can't wait. And before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti Brock Ryan Lovie from Panama the country partying it up though in Cancun, Mexico.

[B]

Happy 33rd birthday to Marshall in Chicago.

[A]

Illinois and Sandy Smith. Happy 66th over in Atlanta.

[B]

Happy birthday to Paul Maraglia from Port Washington, New York. Same hometown as my father, Long island.

[A]

Baby and Calvin Chang. Enjoy that birthday down in Sugar Land, Texas.

[B]

Happy birthday to Katie Martell, the legendary yeti living in Tribeca, New York.

[A]

And Scott and Mackenzie Henderson. Enjoy your 12 year anniversary over in Utah.

[B]

Congratulations to Thomas Balz and Brandon Garrett who launched a new business, full motion simulation racing called Racing Ritual in Tempe, Arizona.

[A]

You got this, guys. And Alia Rind has got a new job as a packaging engineer over in New Jersey.

[B]

Happy two year wedding anniversary to longtime lovers Luis and Annabelle.

[A]

They're in Aurora, Illinois, just outside Chicago. Duke Logistics.

[B]

And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T boy.

[A]

Celebrate the wins.

[B]

This is Jack. I own stock of Disney and Amazon. Nick owns stock of Nike. And we both own stock at Chipotle.

[C]

Before we had AT&T business wireless coverage, our delivery GPS wasn't the most reliable. Once our driver had to do a 14 point turn to get back on route. A 14 point turn turn. An influencer even live streamed the whole thing. Not good for business. Now with AT&T business Wireless, routes are updating on the fly and deliveries are on time. And the influencer did get us 53 new followers though.

[B]

AT&T business Wireless connecting changes everything.