The Best One Yet - 🐔 “Man’s new best friend” — Tractor Supply’s real estate insight. Whirlpool’s espresso machines. AI = Corporate Ozempic.

Episode Date: April 29, 2024

We won the Webby Award for “Best Business Podcast”! And we can’t thank you enough. 🎊Tractor Supply, the publicly-traded farm store, sells live chickens and is enjoying a record high stock price — And it’s winning because Millennials are migrating from the city to the country (still).Google and Microsoft are $2 trillion and $3 trillion companies because they’re winning in Artificial Intelligence — For every other company, AI is corporate Ozempic.And Whirlpool is pivoting from washing machines to coffee and espresso machines — Because all the major macro trends are turning you into a Bougie Barista.For behind the scenes footage from our Live show last week, follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/tboypodOr watch out live show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCly3md3CbnTFJP83lVUEcjwAnd subscribe to the best newsletter yet: tboypod.com/newsletter$TSCO $WHR $META $AAPL $GOOG $MSFT $NVDA Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. Welcome back. It is Monday, April 29th. And today's pod. Today's pod is the best one yet. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Yetis, thank you to everyone who attended our New York City live show.

Jack and I just flew back. Dude, I signed three autographs last week. And I know you did too. Can I just say that your Jay is the best Jay in the business, Jack? To those who couldn't make it last week in New York, we hope to visit your city soon. Yes, we do. And check out the video on YouTube if you want to watch the whole thing. It was an incredible live show.

We're still riding a hot. In the meantime, Jack and I spent the weekend preparing three fantastic stories. For our first story, with washing machine sales down, Whirlpool is making a pivot to espresso. Whirlpool wants to become your at-home, boogie barista. For our second story, happy earning season. We've got an update on the biggest earnings trend of all. AI has become corporate O-Zempec.

And our third and final story, is tractor supply. The publicly traded farm store just gave us an insight into real estate trends. And how chickens are the new puppies. They sell chickens at their stores. Honey, we gotta walk the rooster.

But Yetis, before we had that wonderful mix of stories. It pooped on me and it gave me an egg. I don't know. Yeti, oh, what a great mix of stories. Love the mix of stories today, Jack. This past Friday, Nick and I celebrated the winds big time. Oh, we totally celebrated the wins. But on Monday, Yeties today, Jack,

and I, we just got to whip up some gratitude. Because we just finished up the biggest week in the history of this show. And honestly, Jack and I were talking about this, one of the happiest weeks of our entire lives. First of all, Nick and I got back together again for a full week in New York City, which is where this podcast began. It's where the show began. And New York, you were looking fantastic out there. Then, after our live show, we took the day off on Friday to spend some time with our families. We were walking through Central Park. The birds were church. and the trees were looking beautiful. But the highlight was on Covee Wednesday.

We had a T-Boy live show at City Winery in New York City with 400 screaming fans. It was incredible. Jack, I've never hugged so many people and I know you haven't either, man. It was friggin awesome. I loved every selfie and every moment I spent with every listener at the show. Oh, and Jack, plus there was so much that happened last week that we didn't even get to share with everyone yet. Like, after the show, Nick and I hit up our favorite pizza spot where we met up with a bunch

of fans. Artichoke pizza across the street from the whole venue. It was amazing. Have you ever had an artichoke slice? It's the heaviest slice of pie in the five burrows. You got to live with your legs, not your back. Yeties, Jack and I, we ended up celebrating with 25 besties at artichoke pizza until 1 a.m. It was awesome.

I keep saying it was awesome, but everyone was. Jack, you signed a T-shirt again while you had a pepperoni slice in one hand and the pen in the other hand. Oh, and we haven't even told you about the epic finale, the cherry on top. Yet this, it's official. We've won the Webby Award. That's right. Last week, the Webby Awards announced that the best one yet is the best business podcast. We won the Best Business Podcast Award and Yetis, it is thanks to all your voting, voting, and more voting. The judges nominated us, you took it home by voting for us.

We literally won the award on the same day as the live show. It was amazing. Like we said, last week was one of the happiest of our lives. But besties, as Jack and I were preparing for today's pod, here's what we were thinking. You just can't celebrate the wins without thanking those who got you. you there. So thank you to all the besties who attended the live recording in New York. And thank you to all the Yetis who were voting for that Webby Award. Nick, thank you for being such a terrific co-host and best friends. Jack, thank you for performing incredibly last week. Everyone involved in this show, our producer Adam, our creative director, Rachel, we all performed and had a phenomenal week. They were at

the top of their games until one in the morning with a pizza in their hand. I feel like I'm standing on the top of a mountain. You are all the best ones yet. Yetis, thank you so much. Jack, let's hit our three stories, man. 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 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. First, a quick word from our sponsor. For our first story, washer and doctor. Dryer sales are slowing down. So Whirlpool needs a miracle. That's why this home appliance company is betting on the trendiest home appliance, the espresso machine. Whirlpool is betting on the bougie barista. Worldpool, the $5 billion American appliance icon.

If you mention Maytag at their office, you're fired. Oh yeah. Back in 1911, Whirlpool actually patented the first ever electric washing machine. not too shabby. 110 years later, Whirlpool was a pandemic powerhouse. Yes, it was. Yeti, during the pandemic,

World Pool stock almost doubled during those lockdowns. Because in 2021, you renovated your fridge and you pipped out your pantry. And Whirlpool was loving every minute of it. You redid your dryer too. But Jack and I should point out

since that pandemic high, Whirlpool stock has fallen 62%. Why? Because the housing market is slowed down. Inflation has pushed prices up. and you just don't need another dryer. You don't. You got one. You're probably good for like 20 years, Jack. That's why sales have shrank at Whirlpool for seven of the last nine quarters.

Jack and I jumped in T-Boy style to Whirlpool, and Whirlpool is just drowning right now. But Whirlpool recently announced they've pivoted their business. Yeties, here's the news. Whirlpool wants to become a bougie barista. Whirlpool is now the leading seller of at-home do-it-yourself espresso machines for latte-loven millennials. You know who you are out there. You know who you are. You're doing foam art in the morning? It's like you think you're Bob Ross. Because you'll pay a small fortune for a medium-sized machine to make yourself that large regular. Darling from Duncan, not loving this trend, Jack.

Yet he's last year, Whirlpool began selling espresso machines under their KitchenAid brand for up to $2,000 per machine. Jack, I feel like we need to do a full disclosure here because like you're in the market for these things right now. Like you are the trend. You're who we're talking about. Dude, I'm waiting for one of our show's sponsors to buy me one of these first. free. Like I so desperately don't want to buy one myself. Wait, but Jack, have you ever seen a La Marzoka espresso machine? Have you seen this? Is that Italian? Sounds expensive. Oh, it's like the down payment of a car. Dude, I visited the website once for an espresso machine. It's all I see in Instagram now. Ads for Espresso machines. Oh yeah, mattress, mattress. You're going to want the La Marzoka and powder blue,

by the way. Yeah, it is. Whirlpool is making a semi-automatic espresso machine for 700 bucks. A fully automatic one for 2,000 bucks. And this thing, it's grinding beans and froth and milk. Capuccino? Capuchie, yes. Yeah, he's Whirlpool. Whirlpool is hoping that more of us want to recreate blue bottle-worthy cortados in Casa. And here's the girl math. You already spend them five bucks a day at Starbucks. So you'll actually save money if you buy this $2,000 machine and making them at home.

Yeah, the double digit latte is it could become single digit lattes. And here's Whirlpool's math. These boogie items allow them to set a really high price, a really high markup. Get this. Whirlpool actually makes twice the profit margin from an espresso machine than they make on a refrigerator. That's why your buddy Timmy has gone full, boogie barista. He's got his own secret lavender latte recipes bragging about. But yet he's Whirlpool isn't starting this espresso trend. They're following an espresso trend that already exists. And this espresso trend, it's actually based on a lot of macroeconomic

trends. So Jack, can you whip up a decaf takeaway for our buddies over at Whirlpool? The espresso machine has replaced the air fryer as the appliance de jour. It is Jack and I noticed that it's not just Whirlpool pivoting to at-home coffee, so did their big rival Bosch just last year. And Pinterest confirms it. Searches for coffee bar styling jumped 1,200% in the last four years. And here are the three reasons why, because coffee consumption is at an all-time high. Two-thirds of Americans drank a cup of coffee today, so interest in at-home coffee machines

is naturally up. And coffee prices are also at an all-time. time high. So you want to save a buck or two by brewing your own coffee at home. And work from home is not going away. So you can't necessarily pop into your Starbucks on the way to work. Besties add it all up and more coffee craving plus painful coffee prices plus hanging out at home, that equals bougie barista. The trend is your friend. Those are the three macro trends that aren't going away that explain this espresso frenzy. Last year we told you how the air friar suddenly dominated appliance sales. This year, it's the at home coffee bar. Espresso machining

encouraged, frother required. Ah, the espresso machine. It's replaced the air friar as the appliance du jour. KitchenAid, if you want to sponsor the show, I'm really in the market for a free espresso machine. For our second story, two specific companies are dominating earnings right now. Google and Microsoft. And it's all because AI has become corporate OZempic.

But first of all, Jack, we almost forgot. happy holidays, happy earnings season, everybody. We are halfway through the first quarter earnings report. And guess what? Three quarters of the companies who have announced beat their expectations for profits. Not too shabby. Can you sprinkle on a little context for us, Jack? Ironically, beating expectations is the expectation.

According to facts that 74% of the time, companies beat their earnings forecast. Beating expectations is the expectations. But here's why Jack and I wanted to cover the stories, Yetis. Jack and I have noticed that so far this earning season, there's a really interesting outlier. There's two outliers, actually. Google and Microsoft, because they have outperformed the most. Get this. Google, it stock jumped 10% on Friday to an all-time high.

And Microsoft, their stock jumped to an almost all-time high. And it's not that Google and Microsoft are just leading the AI Innovation Revolution. No, here's the key. Microsoft and Google are. leading in the AI business model. Can we go back to one of our favorite Seinfeld episodes ever? I love this quote. All right, you got to hit this quote, Jack.

Remember when Jerry reserves a car at the car rental place, but his car is not there? How does Jerry respond? See, you know how to take the reservation. You just don't know how to hold the reservation. And that's really the most important part of the reservation, the holding. Anybody can just take them. Well, he says the way Jack and I see it. It's the same with AI.

Like, anyone can offer AI. But the most important part is making money on AI. The most important part is having a business model. Well, let's look at Google and Microsoft. Both companies charge 20 bucks a month for access to their premium AI assistance. Google's Gemini is for Gmail geniuses. And Microsoft's co-pilot is for spreadsheet jockeys. Now, besties, the interesting thing here is that we told you last week,

Zuck is doing the opposite of Google and Microsoft. Meta had a really splashy AI announcement last week, but they announced no business model to go along with it. Like Instagram now has a new AI feature, but it's totally free. It's free for anyone to you. Same with Facebook, same with WhatsApp. Meta is offering its AI assistance to the whole world for free. Yeah, like go on Instagram right now and go to use their AI and ask them for a chicken recipe.

It's going to be free. But that free thing that meta is offering, it ain't cheap. Zuck announced last week, he's spending $10 billion each quarter to build out a meta's AI offerings. Jack, maybe that is why meta's stock dropped 10% last week. That is why meta stock had its worst day in 18 months last week. Because it's dishing out AI for free like Oprah. Because as Jerry Seinfeld taught us, any company can have an AI. You have to make money on the AI. The important part is the business model. It's not the AI innovation. It's the AI business model. Google and Microsoft have an AI business model. Meta doesn't. So Jack,

What's the takeaway for actually all the companies in the stock market? For everyone else, AI is corporate Ozempic. Yeah, it is full disclosure. That is a quote from Scott Galloway. Scott Galloway, the guy who we were facing head-to-head in the Webby Awards last week. It's a perfect analogy. AI is like corporate Ozambic. Because Ozambic is a miracle drug that suddenly helps people cut weight

and improve their lifestyle in a way they never could. AI is similar. It helps companies cut costs and improve revenue in a way they never. never previously could. For example, companies can offer better customer service at a fraction of the cost thanks to AI bots. Or companies can price their products better thanks to insights from AI. Now, it is early in the AI revolution, but we expect broad-based corporate profits to rise thanks to AI. Not just from Google and Microsoft, but from everybody that leverages AI. Because across the board, AI is becoming corporate Ozempic. Now a quick word from our

sponsor. For our third and final story, it's tractor supply. Tractor supply stock just hit an all-time high because of chickens. But tractor supply also gives us an insight into real estate. Oh, Jack, full disclosure. I've never actually been to a tractor supply, but I envision that it's like the Bloomingdale's of farming. I have been to a tractor supply. There's one down the road, and there's a whole section of the store labeled horse. His tractor supply is like if Target and John Deere had a baby at a Home Depot in Iowa. The stock is up 26% this year to an all-time high. Tractor Supply is winning Wall Street.

Yeah, Tractor Supply. It's now worth $30 billion. That's six lifts. So Nick and I jumped in T-Boy's Dye's Rewards Report, and we noticed two interesting things we wanted to highlight. The first interesting thing we noticed was it was chickens. Because every tractor supply store sells live baby chicks. Yeah, and apparently we're talking about pet chickens here.

Cluck on this yet. These tractor supply sells live chickens that are apparently pets. The CEO describes this as a kind of retail theater in our stores. And I agree because my sons love checking out these chickens when they check out the store with me. I can see the pods and loving it. Yeah. According to the tractor supplies CEO, chickens have become, get this, their source of growth as your third pet. The CEO says chickens are like America's third pet.

That happens to lay eggs too. Apparently millennials are living their homestead fantasy by building a henhouse. even in like the Brooklyn backyards these days, Jack. In fact, one out of every five tractor supply company loyalty members has bought a chicken from tractor supply. I'm sorry, Jack, can you sit down, stand up and lay an egg? Can you repeat that for us, please? 20% of tractor supply loyalty members bought a chicken at tractor supply.

Man's best friend has feathers. Jack, you know how we always say P-U-P-P-Y? People ultimately prioritize puppies. People ultimately prioritize poultry. I think it's for the eggs, Nick. We'll leave it open-ended. But yet he's here's what Jack and I found fascinating about this story. The reason why tractor supply stock is up is actually bigger than chickens. The reason the stock is up is humans.

Apparently the CEO of this company says that there's been a significant migration of humans from cities to rural areas. We saw this at the start of the pandemic, but the tractor supply CEO says it persists. Call Reba McIntyre, rural America is alive and well, cowboy boots and all, baby. The CEO said there's a lot. a net migration from cities to rural America. Albeit a lesser number than during the peak pandemic, but it continues. And it benefits tractor supply. Your buddy, Timmy got a rooster and a ranch upstate.

And now he's a card carrying tractor supply member. He replaced all birds with real birds. Okay, but here's the real surprise, right, Jack? What is it, man? Millennials aren't going back to the farm for fun. Millennials are going country for a different reason. So, Jack, can you go full-off? on us and tell us what's the takeaway for our buddies over a tractor supply?

One force can rule them all. Ah, Yeti is the most powerful force in the economy right now. It's real estate. Real estate is the variable that most drives consumer sentiment, it most drives consumer spending, and it completely drives where we live. Yeah, as the tractor supply CEO put it, affordable housing is the driving force behind the rural renaissance. Millennials are going country because millennial homebuyers,

face a double whammy. Record high real estate prices and really high interest rates. Just last week, the Wall Street Journal had two articles. Record home prices in New York City, record home prices in San Francisco. And guess what? Rent prices in those cities are at record highs, too. There's no escaping the high cost of real estate and cities. So many millennials are grabbing a hoe and hitting the farm. And they're doing with pet chickens. They're buying two acres instead of two bedrooms. Because sometimes one forest rules them all. And for millennials right now, that one-four is real estate. Jack, can you whip up the takeaways for us to kick off the week?

Whirlpool has added a line of KitchenAid espresso machines to boost their at-home appliance sales. Because the espresso machine has replaced the air friar as the appliance du jour. And Jack really wants one. For free, ideally. For our second story, stocks of Google and Microsoft both popped Friday as they showed profits jumping with the AI. As Scott said, for all other companies, AI is like corporate Ozempic.

a sudden miracle way to cut costs and get more profitable. And our third and final story is tractor supply. The stock has had an all-time high as city-dwelling millennials continue migrating out to the country. Because one-force can rule them all. And right now for millennials, that one-force is real estate. But Yeties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. Like we said, happy earnings season.

We've got the second half of earnings, a big week of earnings. Yeties, here's who's reporting this week. Amazon, Apple, McDonald's, and more. Domino's, Starbucks, PayPal, Coca-Cola, Berkshire Hathaway. It's the gift of earning season, and it just keeps on giving check. And second, last week, President Biden signed into law the bill that Congress passed, which forces TikTok to be sold. The owner of TikTok, BightDance, reportedly has zero intentions to sell TikTok,

so instead, they're going to sue. But if their lawsuit fails, and if BightDance refuses to sell TikTok, then in 270 days, TikTok will get banned. And finally, Chipotle stock just hit an all-time high. And Chipotle actually has kind of a hilarious problem. They're selling so much barbecua and chicken al-Pasor that they're running out. So get this. They ask their staff to stop asking for barbicot and chicken al-pastar in their employee meal.

So fritas. Everyone just gets so fritos. So that sounds kind of brutal because a hardworking Chipotle burrito master deserves the burrito of their choice. Yeah. So Chipotle just reversed that decision. And now if you work at Chipotle, you can get chicken again. But for a week, if you wanted Barbicola, it was Barba Noah. Yeah, and he's Jackman actually wrote about that in our weekly Saturday newsletter.

So definitely subscribe and you can get fresh stories from Teaboy. You can subscribe at T-Boypod.com slash newsletter. But now it is time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Brandon Hall from New York City. Last week, we did a live show in Manhattan. But next time, maybe we should do a live show in Brooklyn, Jack. Because if Brooklyn were its own city, which it used to be, by the way, it would be the fourth largest city in the United States. We repeat Brooklyn would be the fourth largest city in America after New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

2.6 million people live in the borough of Brooklyn. That's almost the population of Chicago. It's also like six Wyoming's, we should point out. I'll tell you, every time a famous person we check out their Wikipedia, chances are they're from Brooklyn. Jerry Seinfeld from Long Island, but Brooklyn is on Long Island. But everyone, everyone is basically from Brooklyn. Is Brooklyn on Long Island? I know geographically it is, but I don't, I'm not sure culturally it is. I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that question, Jack.

Yeties, you look fantastic to start the week. Jack, you are glowing right now. What a fun week together, man. That really was just, I was the best one we've ever had together. Dude, this week's off to a good start. The show has been so much fun to record. You're looking great. Yeties, you look fantastic.

If you haven't yet, click to follow us so you get T-Boy every single day. And remember to follow T-Boy pod on Instagram for behind-the-scenes footage from last week. If you know, you know. And Jack, we've got some more shoutouts from our New York live show that we didn't get to. Here they go. Yeties, Carl and Shannon, the Toledo guy and the Raleigh-Gal, are getting married in just one week. Congratulations, guys. Congratulations to Nishat, who's celebrating a birthday with his fiancé Jazzlin in Jersey City.

And Tyler, Megan, and Dr. Mango are moving to the West Coast, but they join the show from Hell's Kitchen and we're looking fantastic. And a huge shout out to Allison and Scott Star from Brooklyn, New York. And we had a wonderful date night with Nina and Anton Lexon from Jersey, who were celebrating life, T-boy style. Happy two-year anniversary to Stephanie Shea and Brandon Hall from Brooklyn. And James McLeod from Buffalo, New York is always hitting us up on Insta, and we had a wonderful celebration with. Happy 30th birthday to Bell Hastings from the Upper East Side, by the whole girl squad. And Emma, the bride-to-be,

just moved to New York City from California. Congratulations on the upcoming wedding. And Nick, you know when you apply for a job and you get a callback from that job? Kim just got that. She's making a career switch, got the callback, celebrating big time with Sam.

And congratulations to Yeti, Michael Sheck, who's 85 years old and get this jack, has done 10,000 steps a day for 365 straight days. And congratulations to Anamesh Agarwal, and Michelle Lee, who just got engaged in San Francisco. And Kate Maserachio just had her first half marathon in Brooklyn. She dominated the race, and now she is recovering with her family. Happy 33rd birthday to Jeff Siptack,

who's turning 33 in Houston, Texas, and wants a live show in the lone star state ASAP. And Lava Triplets has turned 21 years old. Congratulations in Tucson, Arizona. Happy birthday to Reed Johnson in Minnetonka, Minnesota. And to everyone who celebrated with us at Artichoke, Pizza until 1 a.m. Celebrate the wanes. This is Jack. I own stock of Amazon and Berkshire Hathway, and Nick and I both on stock of Apple and Chipotle.