Podcast Summary: The Rundown

Host: Zaid Admani
Episode: Gold and Silver Crash, Disney Preps for New CEO
Date: February 2, 2026

Episode Overview

This daily market update dives into the surprising crash in gold, silver, and bitcoin, breaks down Disney’s solid earnings and looming CEO change, and recaps major moves from Oracle, Unity, and Nvidia. Host Zaid Admani keeps the pace brisk, sharing context, market implications, and a few of his opinions. The episode wraps with a “fun fact” for homebuyers, spotlighting a shift in the housing market.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. January Market Recap and Friday’s Sell-off

• Indices:
  • S&P 500 dropped 0.4%, NASDAQ fell 0.9% on Friday.
  • For January, S&P 500 up 1.4%, NASDAQ up nearly 1%, Russell 2000 (small caps) led with a 5% gain.

2. The Metals and Crypto Crash — Gold, Silver & Bitcoin

• What Happened:
  • Gold dropped by 10%, silver over 30% (worst day since 1980), bitcoin down over 10% to below $78,000.
• Key Catalyst:
  • Trump nominates Kevin Warsh for Federal Reserve Chair; Warsh is “historically hawkish” and prefers higher rates to fight inflation.
    • “Higher interest rates are bad for assets like gold, silver, and bitcoin because they don’t pay any interest. So investors would rather hold Treasuries and earn a higher yield on their money.” (Zaid Admani, 01:51)
• Additional Factors:
  • Excessive leverage and speculation in metals markets heightened the crash.
  • Admani references a deeper dive on silver volatility in an earlier episode.

Notable Quote:

“I do think this might have been an overreaction by the market because I doubt Kevin Warsh is going to come in and start hiking rates… but the market seems to be freaked out about this.” (Zaid Admani, 02:10)

3. Upcoming Market Events

• Major company earnings: Palantir, AMD, Google, Eli Lilly, Amazon, and more.
• Anticipated January jobs report (contingent on partial government shutdown ending).

4. Disney’s Earnings and CEO Drama

• Earnings Highlights:
  • Beat Wall Street expectations on both revenue and earnings, driven by streaming and parks.
  • Q4 revenue: just under $26B (+5% YoY), EPS at $1.63.
  • Disney+ and Hulu operating income +72% to $450M.
  • Parks, cruises, and experiences revenue: $10B (record), with operating income up 6% to $3.3B.
    • “Disney’s streaming business is starting to be a bright spot...” (Zaid Admani, 04:03)
• Challenges:
  • Stock fell 6% due to warnings about slowing international tourism to US parks, 35% drop in entertainment division profits, 23% decline in sports profits tied to sports rights costs.
• Leadership Uncertainty:
  • Bob Iger expected to step down before year-end; rumors suggest Josh D’Amaro (parks chief) is the frontrunner for CEO.
  • Investor anxiety: Previous CEO transition (Chapek to Iger) was tumultuous.
    • “The uncertainty around the new CEO is making investors nervous.” (Zaid Admani, 05:50)

5. Oracle’s Massive Funding and AI Bet

• Plan:
  • Oracle will raise up to $50B (debt+stock) to fund AI/data center expansion for clients like OpenAI, Meta, Nvidia, AMD, and TikTok.
• Context:
  • Last year’s $300B deal with OpenAI propelled Oracle’s AI credentials and stock.
  • But data center buildout is costly; free cash flow turned negative and is expected to stay that way until 2030.
  • Stock fell 50% from the September peak, losing $400B in December alone.
    • “Building all these data centers is going to be insanely expensive.” (Zaid Admani, 07:00)
• Risks:
  • Dependency on giant, not-always-profitable customers (e.g., OpenAI).
  • Stock up 3% on cautious optimism, but Admani calls this a “make or break year” for Oracle.

6. Stock Movers: Unity & Nvidia

Unity

• Rebounded after last week’s 24% crash.
• Trigger: Google’s “Project Genie” AI tool lets users create entire games via text prompts, perceived as a threat to Unity’s business.
• Unity powers 70% of the top 1,000 mobile games.
• Admani sees the panic as overblown: Genie is “very early,” real competition is years away. Stock up 8% pre-market.

Nvidia

• Shares down ~2%; $100B OpenAI deal “on ice” per Wall Street Journal.
• CEO Jensen Huang has downplayed the deal’s prospects, citing OpenAI’s business strategy and rising competition (Google, Anthropic).
• Huang still insists Nvidia plans to invest massively in OpenAI “during their next funding round,” but the situation is being closely watched.

7. Housing Market Fun Fact

• Biggest discount in home buying since 2012:
  • 62% of buyers in 2025 paid below asking price; average discount 8%.
  • Over 600,000 more sellers than buyers in December 2025 — largest imbalance on record.
  • Housing market has swung towards buyers, even though home sales remain at a 30-year low (affordability is an ongoing issue).
  • Mortgage rates are trending lower (around 6%), but still well above 2010s averages.
    • “If you’re in a position to buy a house right now, this is the most buyer friendly housing market that we’ve seen in years.” (Zaid Admani, 09:36)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On gold, silver, and bitcoin crash:
  “Gold and silver got absolutely demolished on Friday. Gold dropped more than 10% and silver crashed over 30% which was the worst single day drop since 1980.” (Zaid Admani, 00:53)
• On Disney’s CEO succession:
  “I think there’s some anxiety here from investors because last time Disney picked a new CEO, it was Bob Chapek… he was so bad that Bob Iger had to come back in less than three years.” (Zaid Admani, 05:43)
• On Oracle’s big bet and cash flow challenges:
  “Oracle's free cash flow went negative last year and analysts expect it to stay negative until 2030. On top of that, the company already borrowed $18 billion last year and now they're saying they need $50 billion more.” (Zaid Admani, 07:06)
• On the housing market:
  “For homes that sold below asking, the average discount was around 8%, which is the biggest markdown buyers have seen since 2012.” (Zaid Admani, 09:14)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Markets Recap & Metals Crash: 00:15 – 02:20
• Metals/Bitcoin Sell-off Explained: 02:20 – 03:15
• Upcoming Earnings & Jobs Report: 03:15 – 03:49
• Disney Earnings & CEO Succession: 03:49 – 06:11
• Oracle’s $50B Funding & AI Expansion: 06:11 – 07:40
• Stock Movers (Unity/Nvidia): 07:40 – 08:56
• Housing Market Buyer’s Shift: 08:56 – 09:59

Conclusion

Zaid Admani offers concise, candid analysis of key stories shaping the stock market, with special emphasis on the dramatic crashes in metals and crypto, Disney’s solid results overshadowed by leadership uncertainty, and the high-stakes AI infrastructure battle among tech giants. The episode is ideal for investors wanting a fast yet thorough daily briefing, peppered with market context and relatable insights.