The Rundown – November 14, 2025

Episode Title: Tech Stocks Tank, Trump Cuts Tariffs and Burry Calls It Quits
Host: Zaid Admani (Public.com)
Theme:
A turbulent day on Wall Street — tech stocks tumble, crypto collapses, Trump rolls back tariffs to fight food inflation, and Michael Burry winds down his hedge fund. Zaid Admani deciphers why the long-awaited government reopening triggered a market rout, breaks down critical company moves, and reflects on headline-making investing legends in just under 10 minutes.

1. Why the Market Sold Off: Government Reopens, Data Floods In

• Major Indexes Plunge: S&P 500 (-1.7%), Nasdaq (-2.3%), Dow (nearly -800 points).
• Contrary Expectations: Many thought the end of the government shutdown would spark a rally, but the opposite happened.
• Reason:
  • During the 40+ day shutdown, missing government economic data (jobs, inflation, spending) ironically steadied markets—focus stayed on mostly strong corporate earnings.
  • With government reopening, a rush of delayed economic reports is imminent. Investors fear these will “reveal some cracks in the economy.”
• Tech Sector (“AI trade”) Hit Hard:
  • Nvidia, AMD, Oracle, Broadcom all down ~4%.
  • Crypto meltdown: Bitcoin sinks 6% to $95,000 (lowest in 6 months), Ethereum down 10% to ~$3,000.
• Market Rotation:
  • “Investors are bailing on riskier trades and assets and moving their money into more boring sectors like healthcare and energy, but which have had a nice week. Nerds call this a market rotation.” (Zaid Admani, 02:10)
• Bubble Talk:
  • “People have been calling the AI trade a bubble for so long now. Now it’s hard to say if the AI bubble is fully bursting, but this is kind of how it goes. Daily sell offs like this with no major news causing the sell off.” (Zaid, 03:05)
• What’s Next:
  • All eyes on next week’s economic data and Nvidia’s earnings:
    “That earnings report might be the most important of the last five years. So take this weekend to rest because next week it is time to lock in.” (Zaid, 03:40)

2. Tariffs Rollback: Trump Moves to Cut Food Inflation

[04:10]

• Trump administration prepares “broad tariff exemptions on everyday grocery items,” especially for products like coffee and bananas that the US doesn’t grow.
• Context:
  • Coffee: Prices +19% YoY in September.
  • Bananas and beef also costly; beef at record highs due to shrinking cattle herd.
  • Treasury Secretary Scott Besant teased “substantial tariff exemptions in the coming days as part of a bigger affordability push.”
• Political Angle:
  • Elevated food costs a pressing issue for voters, swinging recent elections. “Democrats picked up big wins across the country by hammering the cost of living concerns just like the Republicans did in 2024.”
  • “This is the administration pretty much admitting that their tariffs from earlier this year were leading to higher prices.” (Zaid, 05:05)
• 50-Year Mortgage Proposal: Trump admin floats ultra-long mortgage option to fight the housing affordability crisis.
  • Upcoming deep-dive: Weekend episode dedicated to housing issues.

3. StubHub’s Rocky Earnings Debut

[06:00]

• StubHub, newly public, posts its first earnings — “and it was pretty rough alright.”
• Key numbers:
  • Revenue up 8% ($468M), beat estimates.
  • Ticket sales (GMS): +11% ($2.4B); if you exclude last year’s Taylor Swift-era comps: growth +24%.
  • Earnings per share: -$4.27 (much worse than expected loss of -$2.87); mainly due to a one-time, $1.4B stock-based comp charge.
• The Bombshell:
  • Pulled Q4 guidance, CEO says forecasting is too tough for management this quarter.
  • Investors “did not love hearing that”: shares down 20%+, and nearly 40% off IPO ($23.50) in just two months.
  • “Following their IPO, the stock dropped for five straight trading days.” (Zaid, 07:16)
• Sector Context:
  • Faces fierce secondary ticket market competition (Vivid Seats, SeatGeek, Ticketmaster).
  • Facing regulatory pressure — FTC sued Live Nation/Ticketmaster for alleged illegal resale practices in Sept 2025.
  • Bullish case: Massive 80% gross margin for an online marketplace.

4. Stocks on the Move: Big Pharma & Semiconductors

[08:00]

• Sedara Therapeutics:
  • Shares double after Merck announces a $9.2B buyout ($221/share in cash; 109% premium).
  • Sedara’s pipeline includes a long-acting antiviral promising “single dose universal prevention against all flu strains.”
  • “The pharma industry and all its acquisitions… it’s just, it’s wild stuff to me.” (Zaid, 08:47)
• Applied Materials:
  • Shares tumble as it cuts 2026 outlook due to U.S.-China export restrictions.
  • Despite beating on Q3 revenue and profit, the company warns China business will be pressured; restrictions could cost $600M in 2026 revenue.
  • Stock down 6-7% today but still +30% year-to-date.

5. Michael Burry Shuts Down Scion Asset Management

[09:05]

• Michael Burry (of “The Big Short” fame) is liquidating his hedge fund and returning capital by year’s end.
• Zaid’s Take:
  • “I’m not the biggest Michael Burry fan. I mean, he made one amazing call in 2008 betting against the housing market. But since then, shorting the market hasn’t really worked out.”
  • Burry’s exit letter: “His view of value in securities is not in sync with the markets.”
  • Recent activity: Burry had again warned about tech/AI speculation, shorted Palantir and Nvidia.
  • Irony: “AI stocks are finally starting to wobble right as Michael Burry is walking away. So Michael Burry might finally be right again, but it looks like he might not cash in like he did last time.” (Zaid, 09:55)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• [01:30] “I think not getting any economic data from the government during the shutdown for the last 40-plus days was a good thing for the market because instead of reacting to jobs and inflation data, the market was focused on earnings which have been pretty solid this quarter.” – Zaid Admani
• [02:10] “Investors are bailing on riskier trades and assets and moving their money into more boring sectors like healthcare and energy… Nerds call this a market rotation.” – Zaid
• [03:40] “That earnings report (Nvidia’s) might be the most important of the last five years. So take this weekend to rest because next week it is time to lock in.” – Zaid
• [04:50] “My kids eat a lot of bananas, so I’m definitely feeling that pain.” – Zaid, giving a relatable spin on food inflation.
• [09:44] “I’m not the biggest Michael Burry fan. I mean, he made one amazing call in 2008…but since then, shorting the market hasn’t really worked out.” – Zaid
• [09:55] “AI stocks are finally starting to wobble right as Michael Burry is walking away. So Michael Burry might finally be right again, but it looks like he might not cash in like he did last time.” – Zaid

Key Timestamps

• 00:00-02:00: Market selloff analysis—shutdown, data, and psychology.
• 02:00-04:00: Tech/AI bubble, crypto plunge, sector rotation explained.
• 04:10-06:00: Trump’s tariff rollback and affordability politics.
• 06:00-08:00: StubHub earnings breakdown, competitive/risk context.
• 08:00-09:00: Sedara-Merck deal, Applied Materials guidance cut.
• 09:05-10:00: Michael Burry exits, Zaid’s commentary.

Summary

An action-packed episode—Zaid Admani nimbly recaps a wild market week driven by fears of an economic data deluge, the unraveling of the “AI trade”, political maneuvering against inflation, and headline stories in tech, pharma, and Wall Street personalities. With humor, directness, and clear explanations, Zaid captures why moments like these are pivotal for investors and encourages listeners to brace for next week’s data storm.

(All times MM:SS are approximate as per transcript content.)