The Best One Yet - 👁️ “eyePhone” — Zuck’s screen-in-lens glasses. Kodak’s renaissance moment. Quarterly Earnings psych. +Treadmill trends.

Episode Date: September 17, 2025

Meta leaked that they’re launching new smart glasses today… with a screen on the lens. Kodak is back with a camera that sold out… thanks to Labubu dolls.Trump wants to end quarterly earnings… So we’ll explain the psychology of long-term thinking.Plus, there is 1 fitness fad that is un-disruptable… The Treadmill.$KODK $META $SPYWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of… Sony’s Walkman 🎧Subscribe to The Best Idea Yet: https://wondery.com/links/the-best-idea-yet/ to listen.NEWSLETTER:https://tboypod.com/newsletter OUR 2ND SHOW:Want more business storytelling from us? Check our weekly deepdive show, The Best Idea Yet: The untold origin story of the products you're obsessed with. Listen for free to The Best Idea Yet: https://wondery.com/links/the-best-idea-yet/NEW LISTENERSFill out our 2 minute survey: https://qualtricsxm88y5r986q.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dp1FDYiJgt6lHy6GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Linkedin (Nick): https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/Linkedin (Jack): https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ About Us: The daily pop-biz news show making today’s top stories your business. Formerly known as Robinhood Snacks, The Best One Yet is hosted by Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Wednesday, Sophie Jay Wednesday, September 17th. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Oh, one sec, Jack. Let me check the memo machine because apparently my memos to wear pink on Wednesdays aren't getting through to you over there.

Dude, it's just like fetch. This is not going to be a thing. Slamming salmon Wednesdays. Give up, Barnes. It works. Trust me. It's New York Fashion Week. Jack, three toys for today.

Steve Boy, what do we got on the pod? For our first story, Meta Connect begins today. The two-day product unveil and developer conference of Mark Zuckerberg. But we already got the leak on what Zuck's going to reveal. Raybans, with a screen on the lens for $800. For our second story, the president wants to end quarterly earnings and make them an every six-month thing instead. He wants to kill him.

So Jack and I will explain the psychology behind long-term thinking. And our third and final story is Kodak. Their cameras aren't endangered species, but the Kodak brand is everywhere. Including on a sold-out throwback product, and it's all thanks to Labibu dolls. But Yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Oh, what a mix of stories.

No one else is doing that mix today. Nick, one of the takeaways, I think, is most accurate that we've ever done, is the three Fs of FADs. That's one of our most beloved takeaways, the food, fashion, and fitness three-es. Fats. Those are the three industries most vulnerable to fats. Whatever food, fashion, or fitness is trendy right now, it won't be in five years. But I want to focus on fitness for a second.

Oh, Jack, Fitness, that is the fattiest of the three Fs of Fats. SoulCycle had its cult moment for like three years in the early 20 aughts. Oh, totally. Berries had a big badass boom right when I was in California. Jack, remember the great boxing studio binge of 2015? Everyone was boxing for like 18 months. Full disclosure, we still own shares of Peloton because we hope it comes back. Unfortunately, we didn't sell it after 18 months. But besties, Jack and I just got data that one fitness routine defies all fads. The treadmill. The treadmill. It's the only fitness routine that's fad proof. Here's the news. 57 million Americans use a treadmill today, which is the exact same number as six years ago, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. Every fitness routine

has been way up or way down during the pandemic, but treadmills were just constant. It remains the number one best-selling fitness product doing a billion bucks a year in sales. The only fitness activity more popular than treadmills is walking. And guess what? You can walk on a treadmill. The treadmill technology is just so simple,

it's simply undisruptible. It's like the email of workouts. Oh, totally. It's a technology that just won't go away. But here's the treadmill plot twist, Yeties. Did you know that the treadmill, was actually invented as a torture device. Yeah, 19th century England.

If you committed a crime, they punished you with a few hours on the treadmill. And I think even today, we all get it. Because there's nothing more cruel and unusual than a 20-degree incline on the treadmill. The judge just sentenced you, Jack, to a third-degree bun burner. Dude, you've fallen down on a treadmill before, right? I'm not proud of it, but it's happened. Vesties, the odds are right now you are on a treadmill. So Jack and I will save you the time and hit on three stories.

15 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 an norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%. That's a fat tip. Tea Boy City on your at list.

If you know, you know, because we're ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show. Start the show. First, a quick word from our sponsor. Our first story. Zuckerberg's big unveil is coming tonight. Smart glasses with a screen on the lens. Watch out, Apple.

Meta's new iPhone killer is a literal real iPhone. As in eyeballs, it's the iPhone, and it's being debuted tonight. Oh, Yeties, Jack and I have told you many times that if any device is going to replace the iPhone, it'll be the eyeglass. Really, smart glasses is what we're talking about. And today, Meta hosts Connect.

their big product unveil in developer conference, and they're going to unveil the new meta-rayband sunglasses with a screen on one of the lenses. And Jack and I know that because there was a wild leak yesterday. Meta accidentally uploaded a video to their YouTube page and then really quickly took it down, but the internet does not unsee. We saw it and we could not unsee it,

so we turned it into a story for today's show. So here's the product that'll be announced tonight. These new rayband glasses, you'll be able to get Google Maps turn-by-turn directions in your vision of sight as you're walking from the east side to the west side. Or Jack, you could have navigation on your sunglasses

as you're biking from San Francisco to Sausalito. Or if you're in Barcelona, you can look at a menu in Spanish and the glasses will translate the Spanish letters on the menu to English in front of your eyes on the lens. A mascherito, por favor? C.

Waiter. See. This isn't the future. They're here tonight. Reportedly they're going to sell for 800 bucks a piece, and Zuck will confirm all the details at 5 o'clock Pacific. It's called Meta Rayban Display, because they still are workshop in the name in our opinion, but it is the fourth version of Meta's partnership with Rayban,

and it is the biggest one yet. Now, the keyword is display, because of the screen. But the most important part of this unveil, in our opinion, is your neck. Like, literally, like how you move your neck. Because the groundbreaking technology here is known as HUD, heads up display. Ah, and to quote Jean Valjean from the musical Le Miz, ever since iPhones were invented,

half of our lives have been look down. We've been looking down at our phones. I mean, because you need to see a chiropractor by the time you tune 30 after a decade of staring at your phone. Yeties, smartphones have literally changed the shape of the human body. I think in one or two generations, we're going to have an L-shaped spine because we're all looking down at our phones.

Your great, great grandkids are going to be missing two discs. But if the screen is in the lenses of your glasses, then you can keep your head up all the time. Better posture, no neck friction. And there's no friction in using this product. Now let's get back to the product. The screen is tiny, and

only small bits of information can be on because it's only on one lens. Yeah, it's like big enough for GPS or text messages or chatting with an AI bot. You could use your voice to engage with the screen, or you can use this new wristband meta's going to unveil that is sold separately. Get,

This meta has been working on a wristband since 2019. How does that work, Jack? Hand micro gestures will help you engage with the device, almost like a mouse, but there's no mouse. It's just your hand. It's a mouseless mouse. You swipe a finger on the table, you draw letters, your wrist brand will understand them as commands. Somehow this wristband knows that you just drew the letter S with your fingers. Because great technology feels like magic. But Jack, we should sprinkle on more context about what this is not. And this is. And this is. is not augmented reality. This is not the Orion prototype that Zuck rocked at last year's Metacconnect event.

But these smart glasses do solve the fundamental problem of the smartphone era. Neck friction. It's going to improve all of our posture. And they also show what Zuck's reality labs have been working on with those billions of dollars of R&D. Oh, that's what that went to. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Meta? Hardware gets all the attention, but software gets...

all the profits. Yadis, the big question of any new technology like this is where will the profits go? The operating system, the hardware, will the apps make all the money? With any breakthrough technology, Nick and I have noticed, it's the hardware that gets the looks, but the operating system that cashes the checks. For example, just look at laptops. Gateway, Dell, and Compact, they had all the commercials we saw, but Windows operating system, that made the billions. Look at the television industry. LG, Vizio, and Samsung. They dazzle us with O-L-ED 4K screens, but it's Amazon's Firestick and Roku that controls the screens.

And it's the same with smartphones. HTC, Nokia, and Motorola. They all made smartphones, but they all went out of business because Google's Android controlled the phone and took the profits. Nick, Mark Zuckerberg has hated the last 15 years of having to pay app taxes to Google and Apple. But now Zucks hoping with these new glasses, the hardware gets the attention.

The Rayban sunglasses. But his software makes off the money. The meta money. For our second story, President Trump wants to make the biggest change to Wall Street in decades, kill quarterly earnings. Should companies report how they're doing four times a year or just two? Should they think short term or long term? These are philosophical questions, and we're jumping into them. And we'll explain it with ice cream.

But before we do that, yeties, imagine, just imagine for a second, if you would try to, to file your taxes, not every year, but every quarter. I do not want to imagine that. I mean, Jack, can you please gather your W-2s? I'm going to need your 1099s, that mortgage interest document, and a list of all your charitable donations, please. And you've got to check your numbers twice, because if you're wrong, you could get in trouble. You could get audited. Well, besties, that hell of administrative paperwork is the reality for people who work at publicly publicly traded companies. There are 4,000 publicly traded companies in America, which are the companies whose stocks you can buy on the stock market.

And for all 4,000 of those companies, they bear the burden of reporting audited financials to investors every three months. And that costs time, it costs money, and it costs focus, doesn't it check? Yes, it does, Nick. And the president agrees. He said on Monday it's an inefficient use of resources.

Quarterly earnings are like the emotional equivalent of going on a first date all the time. It's a lot. So President Trump called on the SEC to reduce reporting requirements from every three months to every six months. And since it's his SEC, we expect it to happen. Yes, we do. Unless the president gets distracted and forgets about this issue altogether.

Now, Jack, as a couple of finance guys, can we please sprinkle on some historical economic context here, please? Quarterly earnings became required in America in 1970. So we've had 55 years of quarterly earnings calls. And the reason that we make Uber, Nike, and Comcast all publish information. to the public every quarter? What is it? Transparency. If companies are asking us to buy their stock, then as part owners of the company, we deserve some information updates. I mean, Jack, I got to say, there's something democratic about having a CEO come up to the microphone on a conference call

every three months and answer the big questions. And they have to tell the truth by law, because they'll get sued if they don't. So after the Great Depression stock market crash, the SEC required annual reports back in 1933. And then they upped them to every six months in 1955. And in 1970, we upped it again. We made the transparency and reporting requirement be quarterly. Maybe that's too much, though. Well, Jack, nobody wants another Enron scandal,

and we are all for corporate transparency over here. Another benefit to quarterly earnings, it's fodder for this podcast. Yeah, when Jack and I dive in T-Boy style, we are listening to the earnings calls. We're looking at the transcripts here. We're studying the financials. It's all good stuff.

But sometimes there can be too much of a good thing. Well-intentioned regulations can turn into costly red tape with unintended consequences. Just like ice cream is delicious. But when you eat two pints of ice cream, you vomit it up and swear you'll never have hot fudge again. So if we do end up going from four earnings reports to two, the loss of transparency could be worth the benefits. So that you can enjoy ice cream in a healthy, responsible way. Or the financial benefits in our takeaway. Yeah, they both work.

So Jack wants the takeaway for our buddies who are everyone watching the stock market. If you are sitting in the shade today, it's because someone planted a tree a long time ago. Yeties, we wish we could take credit for that. But it's actually a quote from Warren Buffett. The legendary investor, he thinks that quarterly earnings are just too frequent. In fact, he and Jamie Diamond co-authored an op-ed in 2018 titled, Short-Termism is Harming the Economy. Because the quarterly treadmill of earnings forces companies to focus on the short term not built for the long term. And it might sacrifice what could be a great long-term investment to make sure they hit this quarter's profit goals.

You know what? Our biggest entrepreneur in the country agrees. Elon has not IPOed his company SpaceX because he hates public reporting. And he's constantly threatening to take Tesla private because he hates public reporting. CEOs can only focus on new initiatives for two months before suddenly they got to turn their attention to the next earnings call. And you can see the issue result in the stock market. The number of publicly traded companies is down from 7,000 to 4,000 the last 25 years. That's huge. Partly because companies don't want to go public and have to do all those reports. Ringing the bell in the New York Stock Exchange

is glorious. But then the CEO's got to jump on that earnings treadmill in 10 minutes. Oh my God. And in Europe, this is already the reality. European companies report every six months, not every three. So besties, although it is editorially inconvenient for this podcast, Ultimately, we are for this change because we think being freed from quarterly reporting, CEOs will build for the long term. And if you are sitting in the shade today,

it's because somebody planted a tree a long time ago. Now a quick word from our sponsor. For our third and final story, which if you're on a treadmill right now means you only have five more minutes, by the way. Kodak, the century old camera company, just entered its fashion era.

Their latest retro camera is sold out because they borrowed the best marketing stunt of Labibu dolls. Now, besties, when Jack and I were in business school, some of our favorite case studies that we got to cover were on what not to do as a company. Don't do what Blockbuster, BlackBerry, or Sears did. That's what we paid 80 grand a year for. They didn't see the disruption happening right in front of them. But there is one brand that stands out and that brand is Kodak. Founded in 1892 in Rochester, New York, this camera company pioneered pictures, and they wingmaned your vacation to Disney World in 1998. But it wasn't just photos, right, Jack? Like Kodak was culture. Even Gen Ziers today know what a Kodak moment is. Kodak, they reached their peak valuation of $35 billion in 1997. That's like six lifts. 150,000 employees helped Kodak control 90% of the U.S. film market.

When you said cheese, they printed cash. Until it all crashed in the late 1990s with the rise of the digital camera. But here is the most tragic part of the entire Kodak story. This is Shakespearean. Kodak invented the digital camera, but they wanted to protect their film business so they let other companies take away the industry. Kodak invented what ultimately killed them. And the iPhone, that was Kodak's anti-Kodak moment.

But besties, here's what Jack and I find. fascinating about this story. Kodak still exists. It's actually still a publicly traded company with a billion dollars in revenue and you could buy the stock. The bigger surprise? Kodak has its mojo back, baby. This

137-year-old company is having a renaissance moment. Although Jack, pause the pod, we do have to sprinkle on one catch here. Kodak has kind of flipped industries on us, haven't they? From photos to fashion. That's right. Kodak has a booming licensing business. They're collecting fees from

licensing their logo. They got 44 different contracts going right now. They license their brand to everyone. Luggage, apparel, paint. There are Kodak solar panels. There are Kodak televisions. Kodak binoculars. It's insane. In fact, get this. In South Korea, Kodak's brand is particularly cool for some reason. So cool that they've opened 123 brick and mortar locations to sell Kodak branded everything. Okay, we repeat. There are more. more Kodak physical stores in South Korea than there are J-Crew stores here in America. Licensing is a small but fast-growing part of Kodak's business because cameras are still number one. And just this week, Kodak launched a new camera that they call the Charmira.

It's got 1987 written on the camera, and it reminds you of an old disposable camera. It's tiny. And the kind they'd hand out at the bar mitzvahs when you were younger. This thing's 30 bucks, it's digital, but it gives each picture you snap an old-school filter. so it looks like 1987. It's cute, it's tiny, it's classic, but the key isn't what this camera is. It's how this camera was launched. Because Kodak shockingly borrowed a strategy

from Laboo Boo Boo dolls. Blind boxes. You never know which of the seven versions you're going to get until you open the box. The result? Kodak's new camera sold out everywhere. And they're 99 days till Christmas, priority number one, restocking Kodak new cameras.

They don't want this potential, Kodak moment to become a Kodak foment. Let us buy this thing, Kodak. Oh, not again. Let us buy it. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Kodak? Kodak's not retroing. They're neutroing.

Yeties, we've covered the recent rise of vintage tech on this show. Old tech becoming cool again. There's nothing trendier than for Gen Z to grab a Yahoo.com email address. And yeties, Jack and I have told you that nostalgia never dies. What's old is sold again. But this, this is something new. This is a new twist on retro. It's a nostalgic brand, but adapted and reformatted for contemporary styles.

Because this Kodak camera, it connects to your computer with the USB. It's vintage, but it's compatible with 2025 life. Another example we covered recently, Pan America Airlines. It's back, but different. It's with a business class-only modern luxury approach. Besties, this isn't retro, it's neutral. And Kodak is crushing. neutral. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for Saviche Wednesday? Meta's Mark Zuckerberg

is expected to launch tonight new glasses with a screen on the lens. But remember, with any new tech, the hardware gets the attention, but the software gets the profits. For our second story, the SEC is prioritizing Trump's request to kill quarterly earnings. We think it will help companies think long term instead of short term. Because if you are sitting in the shade today, it's because someone planted a tree a long time ago. And our third, third and final story. Kodaks got confidence. A new retro camera is sold in blind boxes and it's sold out. It ain't retroing yeties. This is new trowing. But besties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, today should be a national holiday because the Federal Reserve

is announcing whether they'll cut interest rates. Jack, our school's open today? They shouldn't be. And as we said on Monday, our central bank is all but certain to do that, cut interest rates. The only question is how much they will cut interest rates by. We'll also be eager to see how they think inflation compares to unemployment as their biggest concerns. In the meantime, Jack and I are taking our kids out of preschool and we'll be watching intently. And second, on Monday, Trump teased that a TikTok deal was coming. On Tuesday, Beijing provided some details. Yeties, here's the update from China.

Beijing says it'll keep the TikTok algorithm, the most valuable part of TikTok, and then license it to the U.S.-owned TikTok. app. If that's true, then the security risk that's always been the problem of TikTok in America will be completely unresolved by this quote-unquote sale. In the meantime, we'll learn more on Friday when the Trump administration meets with Chinese officials to talk trade and TikTok. And finally, warning. Costco just issued an advisory that some of their wine explode spontaneously. Okay, specifically, spontaneously combusting Kirkland Prosecco bottles. Poseco, it's the Italian champagne. Seajack. It's the Italian champagne.

See, Jack, see. And during the fermentation process, apparently there was too much carbon dioxide created in this Italian champagne. So Costco is urging you to wrap your Kirkland Prosecco in a blanket so that if it does explode, it won't hurt anybody. But I'm urging you to set a new world record for how far you can blast that cork. Not a good look for Italy on this one, Jack. Not a good luck. Now time for the best fact yet. This one's sent on by Ann W from lovely Mid-Ey. town Manhattan. The big winner of New York Fashion Week is a clothing donation non-profit. Get this. Goodwill will host a show for the first time ever at this New York Fashion Week. All the looks that the models wear on the catwalk are secondhand and donated items. Yeah, Goodwill is partnering with a

designer who went viral for doing exactly this on social, using Goodwill stuff for fancy fashion. One man's trash is another man's couture. Yadies, you look fantastic right now. And if you're on a treadmill, Dude, if you're on a treadmill, remember, that was originally a torture device. So, honestly, we just respect what you're doing right now. But we're also questioning your decisions. In the meantime, we'll be on a Pelotone. Hoping that thing finally makes a comeback. Jack and I, we'll see you tomorrow, HYH, T-B-O-I.

And before we go, a happy 50th birthday to Yeti, Derek Brewer, down in lovely Los Angeles. This Gen X bestie has been wondering why we don't make more Gen X references, Jack. Well, yeah, we mentioned Gen Z. Millennials, Zillennials. I think we've done more Gen Alpha stories than JetX. And Linus Pegasora has got the 10th Iron Man of their career in Nice France. Remember, Linus, winning this event is possible. And happy anniversary to Ben and Casey Eagleton in Denver, Colorado.

And to anyone else celebrating something today, making a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Amazon, Disney, and Roku, and Nick and I both own stock of Apple.