What does turning a wellness trend into a $1 billion brand take? Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi gets the answer from SC Holdings co-founder Jason Stein in this episode of Opening Bid Unfiltered. Stein reveals the data-driven playbook behind AG1’s explosive growth, the future of wearable recovery tech with Hyperice and Nike (NKE), and why youth sports could be the next $40 billion investment frontier. From IPO potential to M&A strategy, he shares insights every growth-focused investor needs to hear. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid Unfiltered brings you a high-octane take on the freshest analyst calls, wildest stock moves, and shrewdest commentary in the business world. Executive Editor Brian Sozzi puts Wall Street's finest through their paces in this essential conversation for every investor, before the stock market opens. Find this episode's transcripts and more episodes of Opening Bid Unfiltered at http://finance.yahoo.com/videos/series/opening-bid/. Thoughts? Questions? Fan mail? Please email us at yfpodcasts@yahooinc.com. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid Unfiltered is hosted by Brian Sozzi and produced by Langston Sessoms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There is being a winner in one’s business career, and then there is Ted Leonsis — arguably one of the most successful business people of the past 20 years. The former top tech and AOL executive has parlayed his success in the C-suite into being a dominant force in the world of sports. He owns Capital One Arena, which is undergoing a nearly $1 billion tech-led renovation. He purchased the WNBA’s Washington Mystics for $10 million in 2005, well before the surge in popularity in the league. He bought the NBA’s Washington Wizards for $310 million 2010, a fraction of what major sports teams are going for today. He purchased the NHL’s Washington Capitals in 1999 for $200 million. So what’s next for Leonsis? Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi talks on the Opening Bid Unfiltered podcast with Leonsis about the business of sports and what opportunities he sees ahead. Leonsis had been rumored to have interest in buying the MLB’s Washington Nationals, for example. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Midway through 2025, the economy finds itself in a fascinating position. Despite considerable Trump tariff uncertainty and sticky inflation, the US economy continues to expand. The job market is staying solid. Corporate America, as seen by earnings results from Delta (DAL), Levi Strauss (LEVI), and JPMorgan Chase (JPM), is performing well on the top and bottom lines. And profit outlooks haven’t been too shabby, either. But that doesn’t mean smooth sailing for the economy into year-end. Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi talks on the Opening Bid Unfiltered podcast with Apollo chief economist Torsten Sløk. Several months ago, Slok didn’t rule out a US recession in part because of Trump's tariffs. Meanwhile, the perception of a non-independent Federal Reserve when Trump announces Jerome Powell’s successor could harm the economy and markets. Sløk shares his perspective on these pressing issues for investors and how dynamics may unfold in the economy as we look forward to 2026. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid Unfiltered brings you a high-octane take on the freshest analyst calls, wildest stock moves, and shrewdest commentary in the business world. Executive Editor Brian Sozzi puts Wall Street's finest through their paces in this essential conversation for every investor, before the stock market opens. Find this episode's transcripts and more episodes of Opening Bid Unfiltered at http://finance.yahoo.com/videos/series/opening-bid/. Thoughts? Questions? Fan mail? Please email us at yfpodcasts@yahooinc.com. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid Unfiltered is hosted by Brian Sozzi and produced by Langston Sessoms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Digital turnarounds take time, and are not guaranteed in a world where Google (GOOGL, GOOG) is dropping AI summaries on the web, Meta's (META) Mark Zuckerberg is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to attract top AI talent, and OpenAI (OPAI.PVT) is upending how the very internet works. Still, many digital founders hope for the best when trying to bring a meandering platform back to life. Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi discusses the Opening Bid Unfiltered podcast with Nextdoor (KIND) co-founder and CEO Nirav Tolia. Tolia co-founded Nextdoor in 2008 and led the company until 2018, when he reportedly left over a board disagreement regarding an acquisition. He returned to the company as CEO in May 2024, finding a social media platform struggling to grow, a weak product, and a sliding market cap. Tolia has since aimed to refocus the organization on the user experience, with initial signs of success in increasing weekly average users. But he concedes the turnaround has a long way to go, and investors are unsure what a complete turnaround will look like. Nextdoor’s market cap has dwindled from $4.3 billion during its SPAC IPO in 2021 to $636 million. Tolia dives deep into his turnaround strategy for Nextdoor, the decision to return as CEO, and what’s next for the digital platform. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid Unfiltered brings you a high-octane take on the freshest analyst calls, wildest stock moves, and shrewdest commentary in the business world. Executive Editor Brian Sozzi puts Wall Street's finest through their paces in this essential conversation for every investor, before the stock market opens. Find this episode's transcripts and more episodes of Opening Bid Unfiltered at http://finance.yahoo.com/videos/series/opening-bid/. Thoughts? Questions? Fan mail? Please email us at yfpodcasts@yahooinc.com. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid Unfiltered is hosted by Brian Sozzi and produced by Langston Sessoms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reebok co-founder Joe Foster and young entrepreneur Ben Weiss are looking to disrupt the status quo in the footwear industry by creating the Syntilay brand. The footwear brand began making AI-created sneakers earlier this year with no sizes and a $150 price tag, and is attempting to use its learnings to scale up its business model. Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi talks on the Opening Bid Unfiltered podcast with Reebok co-founder Joe Foster and Syntilay CEO Ben Weiss. Foster co-founded Reebok in 1958 and exited the business in 1991. That’s after a stretch creating some of the world’s pre-eminent running sneakers, going toe to toe with the likes of Nike (NKE) and Adidas (ADS.DE). Reebok found initial success in female aerobic gyms following its shoes being worn by Jane Fonda. In the years since Foster’s exit, Adidas purchased Reebok for $3.8 billion and sold it to Authentic Brands Group for $2.5 billion in 2022 after years of underperformance. Today, the brand is aiming to reestablish itself in the basketball sneaker market amid the backing of NBA greats Allen Iverson and Shaquille O’Neal. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid Unfiltered brings you a high-octane take on the freshest analyst calls, wildest stock moves, and shrewdest commentary in the business world. Executive Editor Brian Sozzi puts Wall Street's finest through their paces in this essential conversation for every investor, before the stock market opens. Find this episode's transcripts and more episodes of Opening Bid Unfiltered at http://finance.yahoo.com/videos/series/opening-bid/. Thoughts? Questions? Fan mail? Please email us at yfpodcasts@yahooinc.com. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid Unfiltered is hosted by Brian Sozzi and produced by Langston Sessoms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Trump administration is still reportedly keen on starting a sovereign wealth fund. But details have been scant since initial news hit the public in early February. Even if a US sovereign wealth fund gets developed, it will have a hard time amassing the size of Norway’s. Norway has the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world with more than $1.8 trillion in investments spanning stocks, fixed income and real estate. It owns close to 9,000 stocks. Looked at another way, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund owns almost 1.5% of all shares in the world’s listed companies. Some well known holdings include Tesla (TSLA), Nvidia (NVDA), Google (GOOG), among many others. In charge of managing this fund - which was established in 1990 to diversify from Norway’s oil revenue – is Norges Investment Management CEO Nicolai Tangen. Tangen joined as CEO in September 2020 after a successful run as a top hedge fund manager. He gained another five year term as CEO earlier this year, extending his run atop the fund at least until 2030. Yahoo Finance executive editor Brian Sozzi talks on the Opening Bid podcast with Tangen about how he invests and what’s next for markets. Tangen is also the host of the In Good Company podcast, where he interviews other CEOs usually of companies the fund is invested in. Some headline grabbing interviews have included with Twitter founder and Block (XYZ) CEO Jack Dorsey, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and Elliot Management founder Paul Singer. Listen on your favorite podcast platform or watch on our website for full episodes of Opening Bid Unfiltered. Langston Sessoms produces Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid Unfiltered Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In case you missed it, summer is here, judging by the extreme heat gripping the United States. While many power players on Wall Street often use the summer months to hang out on their gas-guzzling yachts or to go on lavish vacations to faraway lands, we are doing anything but here at Yahoo Finance! Why these extreme measures? This will be a volatile few months for the markets, and we want you prepared! For one, geopolitical risk is front and center as President Trump, Iran, and Israel tango. A tariff deadline looms on July 9, as does Trump’s big beautiful bill on July 4. The Federal Reserve may or may not have to move on rates. And the economy has slowed. To that end, we want to highlight some of the most actionable points from our recent chats on Opening Bid Unfiltered. Consider this your guide to understanding the economy and the reasons for the market’s pre-July 4th melt-up. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid Unfiltered brings you a high-octane take on the freshest analyst calls, wildest stock moves, and shrewdest commentary in the business world. Executive Editor Brian Sozzi puts Wall Street's finest through their paces in this essential conversation for every investor, before the stock market opens. Find this episode's transcripts and more episodes of Opening Bid Unfiltered at http://finance.yahoo.com/videos/series/opening-bid/. Thoughts? Questions? Fan mail? Please email us at yfpodcasts@yahooinc.com. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid Unfiltered is hosted by Brian Sozzi and produced by Langston Sessoms Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Some celebrities are as savvy with their money as a typical Wall Street money manager. The only difference is that oftentimes these celebrities have more money than the money manager! Two examples of financial savviness come from NFL great Chad Ochocinco and renowned DJ and producer Diplo. Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi talks on the Opening Bid podcast from Cannes Lions with both celebrities about how they manage their money and why. Ochocinco — a former star wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals — says he slept in his team’s training facility for two years to save money. Diplo says he has sold 75% of his music catalog to fund investments elsewhere. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid Unfiltered brings you a high-octane take on the freshest analyst calls, wildest stock moves, and shrewdest commentary in the business world. Executive Editor Brian Sozzi puts Wall Street's finest through their paces in this essential conversation for every investor, before the stock market opens. Find this episode's transcripts and more episodes of Opening Bid at http://finance.yahoo.com/videos/series/opening-bid/. Thoughts? Questions? Fan mail? Please email us at yfpodcasts@yahooinc.com. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid Unfiltered is hosted by Brian Sozzi and produced by Langston Sessoms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The media industry is undergoing a significant moment of distress. Predicting what’s coming up is easier said than done, even for top executives. But that doesn’t stop folks from trying! Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi talks on the Opening Bid podcast from the Spotify Beach house at the annual Cannes Lions advertising and media conference with Candle Media CEO Kevin Mayer. Mayer spent 25 years as a top Disney executive and was seen as a potential successor to CEO Bob Iger. Mayer weighs in on the future of Disney (DIS), who may succeed Iger, and why Disney may not sell its TV business. Mayer also shared his thoughts on the crumbling legacy TV industry, which has seen streamers like Netflix (NFLX) and Amazon (AMZN) trigger breakups at Comcast (CMCSA) and Warner Bros. (WBDhttps://finance.yahoo.com...). Candle Media is also behind the children’s program Cocomelon — Mayer discusses what’s next for the popular brand. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid, brings you a high-octane take on the freshest analyst calls, wildest stock moves and shrewdest commentary in the business world. Executive Editor Brian Sozzi puts Wall Street's finest through their paces in this essential conversation for every investor - before the stock market opens. Find this episode's transcripts and more episodes of Opening Bid at http://finance.yahoo.com/videos/series/opening-bid/. Thoughts? Questions? Fan mail? Email us at yfpodcasts@yahooinc.com. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid is hosted by Brian Sozzi, and produced by Langston Sessoms Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It could be a pressure cooker of a summer for the US economy, and not because of the warmer weather. Tariffs from the Trump administration don’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon, forcing businesses to raise consumer prices and delay key projects. At the same time, the Federal Reserve is in no hurry to cut interest rates amid stagflation fears. Economic data has also weakened, with the latest evidence being the employment readings from the last three months. Yahoo Finance Executive EditorBrian Sozzi talks on the Opening Bid podcast with the deputy head of BlackRock’s portfolio management group, Mike Pyle. Pyle has spent considerable time in top economic adviser roles in the White House administrations of both Biden and Obama. Before rejoining BlackRock in the fall of 2024, Pyle led former President Joe Biden’s international economic policy efforts. He was Biden’s ‘sherpa', leading key economic negotiations with the G7, G20, and APEC. Pyle reveals his latest outlooks on the economy and markets with Sozzi and his biggest concerns as Trump tariffs begin to take root inside corporate America. Trader Talk with Kenny Polcari on Yahoo Finance delivers expert analysis and actionable insights. Drawing on decades of trading floor experience, we empower you to navigate market volatility and keep your portfolio from getting burned. Watch more episodes of Trader Talk at https://finance.yahoo.com/videos/series/trader-talk/. Thoughts? Questions? Fan mail? Please email us at tradertalk@yahooinc.com. Yahoo Finance’s Trader Talk is hosted by Kenny Polcari and produced by Langston Sessoms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The often hard-charging venture capital industry hasn’t been immune to the economic uncertainty that has hung over markets this year. There were 79 venture capital transactions surpassing the $100-million mark in the first quarter, down from 90 in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to data from EY. Deal volume also inched lower. Information technology continued to dominate venture capital deals – EY’s data shows that IT represented 74% of investment, accounting for seven of the top 10 deals, as investors stayed focused on companies with significant AI opportunities. Brian Sozzi welcomes to the Opening Bid mic General Catalyst CEO Hemant Taneja. General Catalyst is one of the world’s pre-eminent venture capital firms. The company counts itself as an early backer of big names in tech such as Airbnb (ABNB), Circle (CRCL), Stripe (STRI.PVT), Canva, Anduril Industries (ANIN.PVT), and GitLab (GTLB). In May, the company said it invested in 17 growth rounds and 9 seed rounds. Taneja has been with the company for more than 23 years, including nearly five as CEO. He reveals some of his biggest investment themes and takes people inside he is telling the many founders he advises. Megaphone Podcast Copy Template  ShareAsk GeminiFileEditViewInsertFormatDataToolsExtensionsHelp $%123 Default (Arial)     Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid, brings you a high-octane take on the freshest analyst calls, wildest stock moves and shrewdest commentary in the business world. Executive Editor Brian Sozzi puts Wall Street's finest through their paces in this essential conversation for every investor - before the stock market opens. Find this episode's transcripts and more episodes of Opening Bid at http://finance.yahoo.com/videos/series/opening-bid/. Thoughts? Questions? Fan mail? Email us at yfpodcasts@yahooinc.com. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid is hosted by Brian Sozzi, and produced by Langston Sessoms Summarize this table   Davos '25Opening Bid PODTrader Talk PODLNSF PODWealth LIVEAwards 2024Warrior MoneyCap Gains PODYF SPORTS REPORT PODMGU PODInvest 2024Stocks in Translation PODFinancial Freestyle PODMorning Brief LIVECatalysts LIVEMarket Domination LIVEOT: Market Domination LIVE~EX PODCAST MP~EX LIVE MPDecoding RetirementElection SpecialYahoo Finance's Opening Bid, brings you a high-octane take on the freshest analyst calls, wildest stock moves and shrewdest commentary in the business world. Executive Editor Brian Sozzi puts Wall Street's finest through their paces in this essential conversation for every investor - before the stock market opens. Find this episode's transcripts and more episodes of Opening Bid at http://finance.yahoo.com/videos/series/opening-bid/. Thoughts? Questions? Fan mail? Email us at yfpodcasts@yahooinc.com. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid is hosted by Brian Sozzi, and produced by Langston Sessoms Turn on screen reader supportTo enable screen reader support, press ⌘+Option+Z To learn about keyboard shortcuts, press ⌘slash Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The year has turned a bit south for those heavy hitters in the private equity industry as Trump trade turmoil ratchets up angst with companies and top leaders. The value of global buyout deals in the second quarter of this year is poised to drop by 16% compared to the first quarter, according to a new report from consultancy Bain. For the first time in a decade, no buyout fund closed in the first quarter raised more than $5 billion, the report found. Across alternative asset classes, demand now outstrips supply by three times – making it the largest imbalance dating back to 2011. Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi sits down on the Opening Bid podcast with Permira co-CEO Brian Ruder. Permira is a major player in the private equity industry, with a specialty in the consumer and technology spaces. Since being founded in 1985, it has put more than $80 billion of capital to work on deals. Some of its most headline-grabbing plays have been an early stake in Klarna (KLAR.PVT) in 2015 and a deal last year to purchase Squarespace for $6.9 billion. The company boasts 80 companies as part of its investment portfolio. Ruder shares with Sozzi how Permira is navigating the more challenging backdrop for the private equity industry in terms of doing deals to exiting prior ones. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid, brings you a high-octane take on the freshest analyst calls, wildest stock moves and shrewdest commentary in the business world. Executive Editor Brian Sozzi puts Wall Street's finest through their paces in this essential conversation for every investor - before the stock market opens. Find this episode's transcripts and more episodes of Opening Bid at http://finance.yahoo.com/videos/series/opening-bid/. Thoughts? Questions? Fan mail? Email us at yfpodcasts@yahooinc.com. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid is hosted by Brian Sozzi, and produced by Langston Sessoms Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Charting a path toward domination of the digital universe. Roblox is fresh off a better-than-expected first quarter as it gained traction in new gaming genres such as racing and sports amongst children over the age of 13. Sales, daily active users, and bookings all increased by double-digit percentages. Sales clocked in at $1.03 billion, up 29% from the prior year. Bookings—a measure of in-game currency sales—gained 31% to $1.2 billion. Average daily users improved 26% to 97.8 million. Total hours of engagement on the platform increased 30% to 21.7 billion. Roblox (RBLX) had a really strong Q1, with revenue, bookings, and daily active users all up by double digits compared to the same quarter last year. For the full year, Roblox sees revenue of $4.3 billion to $4.365 billion, up about 19.5% year over year. Adjusted operating profits are forecast between $205 million and $265 million. At the midpoint, it would equate to adjusted operating profit growth of about 28%. The strong start to the year has pushed Roblox shares to a 52-week high. Shares are up 165% over the past year. So what’s next for Roblox? Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi talks on the Opening Bid podcast with Roblox founder and CEO Dave Baszucki. Baszucki shares his plans to simulate reality at scale, improve a fledgling advertising business, and take more market share away from traditional video games. He also pushes back on the notion that Roblox isn’t safe for children. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid, brings you a high-octane take on the freshest analyst calls, wildest stock moves and shrewdest commentary in the business world. Executive Editor Brian Sozzi puts Wall Street's finest through their paces in this essential conversation for every investor - before the stock market opens. Find this episode's transcripts and more episodes of Opening Bid at http://finance.yahoo.com/videos/series/opening-bid/. Thoughts? Questions? Fan mail? Email us at yfpodcasts@yahooinc.com. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid is hosted by Brian Sozzi, and produced by Langston Sessoms Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The US economy is showing mixed trends at best as the Trump administration continues to overhaul the global trading system. First quarter GDP fell 0.3%, but is expected to bounce back slightly in the second quarter. Consumer confidence has been on a downtrend. And the world’s biggest consumer companies, including Walmart, Target, and Starbucks, have warned about sluggish spending trends by households. On the flip side, the stock market has recovered from the Liberation Day lows, which has helped to support sentiment among some households. So, where is the economy headed next, given the whirlwind of factors it’s facing? Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi talks on the Opening Bid podcast with Visa Chief Economist Wayne Best. Best is an economics veteran, armed with everything from insights on consumer spending from Visa (V) card swipes to the impact on the economy from the wealth effect of higher stock prices. Sozzi and Best discuss the economy’s biggest challenges and potential surprises. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid, brings you a high-octane take on the freshest analyst calls, wildest stock moves and shrewdest commentary in the business world. Executive Editor Brian Sozzi puts Wall Street's finest through their paces in this essential conversation for every investor - before the stock market opens. Find this episode's transcripts and more episodes of Opening Bid at http://finance.yahoo.com/videos/series/opening-bid/. Thoughts? Questions? Fan mail? Email us at yfpodcasts@yahooinc.com. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid is hosted by Brian Sozzi, and produced by Langston Sessoms Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wild movements in the bond market have been one of the biggest stories on Wall Street in 2025. In part, the climb in yields on US debt has reflected rising concerns about the country’s fiscal position. Those worries have now been compounded by a new Trump tax bill that promises to add trillions to the US’s already bloated deficit. While professionals say investors haven’t lost trust in the US’s ability to honor its debt, they will continue to demand higher yields to compensate for the rising risk. That could have major ramifications in markets for everything from the demand for Nvidia’s (NVDA) stock to housing. Yahoo Finance executive editor Brian Sozzi talks on the Opening Bid podcast with BlackRock (BLK) Global Chief Investment Officer of Fixed Income Rick Rieder, one of the top minds in the bond market. Rieder reveals his latest thinking on fixed income as he manages $2.7 trillion in assets at BlackRock. Rieder also weighs in on the outlook for stocks in the face of what could be higher interest rates for longer from the Federal Reserve. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid, brings you a high-octane take on the freshest analyst calls, wildest stock moves and shrewdest commentary in the business world. Executive Editor Brian Sozzi puts Wall Street's finest through their paces in this essential conversation for every investor - before the stock market opens. Find this episode's transcripts and more episodes of Opening Bid at http://finance.yahoo.com/videos/series/opening-bid/. Thoughts? Questions? Fan mail? Email us at yfpodcasts@yahooinc.com. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid is hosted by Brian Sozzi, and produced by Langston Sessoms Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What started 40 years ago as a company focused on "quality communications" by Irwin Jacobs has morphed into Qualcomm (QCOM) today. The company is one of the biggest players in the chip industry, supplying products to Apple (AAPL) to power its iPhone and to automakers to power their increasingly digital cockpits. The company's market cap stands at an impressive $163 billion. At the helm as CEO since 2021 is 30-year Qualcomm veteran Cristiano Amon, who started at the company as an engineer. Amon has been moving aggressively to diversify the business away from Apple into areas such as industrial applications and, more recently, data centers. Yahoo Finance executive editor Brian Sozzi sits down on the Opening Bid podcast with Amon to discuss the next 40 years for Qualcomm. Amon is fresh off a trip to Saudi Arabia, joining President Donald Trump and other top tech executives. Amon secured a key memorandum of understanding to help Saudi Arabia build out AI data centers. Sozzi and Amon discuss the trip and what greater trade tensions mean for Qualcomm's important China business. Last year, China represented 46% of Qualcomm's sales. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid, brings you a high-octane take on the freshest analyst calls, wildest stock moves and shrewdest commentary in the business world. Executive Editor Brian Sozzi puts Wall Street's finest through their paces in this essential conversation for every investor - before the stock market opens. Find this episode's transcripts and more episodes of Opening Bid at http://finance.yahoo.com/videos/series/opening-bid/. Thoughts? Questions? Fan mail? Email us at yfpodcasts@yahooinc.com. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid is hosted by Brian Sozzi, and produced by Langston Sessoms Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nothing lasts forever. And that old adage apparently applies to the once untouchable US credit rating. The US has lost its last triple-A credit rating, thanks to Moody’s. Moody’s downgraded the US credit rating, blaming large fiscal deficits and rising interest costs. To longtime watchers of the country’s fiscal position, the move by Moody’s comes as no surprise. Deficits have ballooned amid decades of government overspending. The issue stands to worsen in coming years as baby boomers retire and put pressure on entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare. While somewhat symbolic at this point, the action of Moody’s could have negative consequences for the US Treasury market as it calls into question the ability of the country to repay its debts at some point in the future. Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi welcomes to the Opening Bid mic Brookings Institute vice president and director of economic studies Ben Harris. Harris is one of those aforementioned longtime watchers of the US government debt position. He was also a central player in the presidency of Joe Biden in terms of crafting detailed economic plans for the country. What does Harris think about the Trump administration’s handling of the economy? Sozzi and Harris discuss! Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid, brings you a high-octane take on the freshest analyst calls, wildest stock moves and shrewdest commentary in the business world. Executive Editor Brian Sozzi puts Wall Street's finest through their paces in this essential conversation for every investor - before the stock market opens. Find this episode's transcripts and more episodes of Opening Bid at http://finance.yahoo.com/videos/series/opening-bid/. Thoughts? Questions? Fan mail? Email us at yfpodcasts@yahooinc.com. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid is hosted by Brian Sozzi, and produced by Langston Sessoms Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The race to better compete with AI chip darling Nvidia (⁠NVDA⁠) is well underway. Enter Groq (⁠GROQ.PVT⁠). The company makes what it calls language processing units (LPUs). These LPUs are designed to make large language models run faster and more efficiently, unlike Nvidia GPUs that target training models. Groq’s last capital raise was in August 2024, when it raised $640 million from the likes of BlackRock (⁠BLK⁠) and Cisco (⁠CSCO⁠). The company’s valuation at the time stood at $2.8 billion, a fraction of Nvidia’s more than $3 trillion market cap. It currently clocks in at $3.5 billion,⁠ according to Yahoo Finance private markets data⁠. At the helm of Groq is founder and CEO Jonathan Ross. While at Google (⁠GOOG⁠), Ross designed the custom chips that the tech giant would go on to train its AI models on. Yahoo Finance Executive Editor⁠ Brian Sozzi⁠ sits down on the⁠ Opening Bid⁠ podcast with Ross to discuss his future plans for Groq. Ross is fresh off a trip with other key tech executives to Saudi Arabia, joining President Donald Trump in forging a deeper tech relationship with the country. Ross begins by sharing with Sozzi the conversations he had on the ground in Saudi Arabia. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid, brings you a high-octane take on the freshest analyst calls, wildest stock moves and shrewdest commentary in the business world. Executive Editor Brian Sozzi puts Wall Street's finest through their paces in this essential conversation for every investor - before the stock market opens. Find this episode's transcripts and more episodes of Opening Bid at http://finance.yahoo.com/videos/series/opening-bid/. Thoughts? Questions? Fan mail? Email us at yfpodcasts@yahooinc.com. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid is hosted by Brian Sozzi, and produced by Langston Sessoms Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There is arguably no better economic indicator than following demand trends from the largest railroad operators in the United States. Railroads, such as Warren Buffett-owned Burlington Northern and rivals Union Pacific (UNP) and CSX (CSX), haul everything from car parts to steel to coal to food. Therefore, whether the economy is doing badly or well is often captured in the top and bottom lines of railroads, more so than in wonky, backward-looking economic data from the government. With tariffs from the Trump administration starting to weigh on the economy, investors would be wise to check in on railroad operating performance. That’s just what the Yahoo team has done. Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi sits down on the Opening Bid podcast with CSX Corp.'s Joe Hinrichs to discuss current business trends amid the Trump tariff war. Hinrichs has a very unique view of the tariff situation, as he was a long-time top executive at Ford tasked with running its global operations. Are railroads predicting a recession? Does Trump’s ‘Made in America’ focus spell opportunity for railroads long-term? Sozzi and Hinrichs dig in! Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid, brings you a high-octane take on the freshest analyst calls, wildest stock moves and shrewdest commentary in the business world. Executive Editor Brian Sozzi puts Wall Street's finest through their paces in this essential conversation for every investor - before the stock market opens. Find this episode's transcripts and more episodes of Opening Bid at http://finance.yahoo.com/videos/series/opening-bid/. Thoughts? Questions? Fan mail? Email us at yfpodcasts@yahooinc.com. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid is hosted by Brian Sozzi, and produced by Langston Sessoms Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One interesting call out from the latest earnings season is that big-time investments in AI continue despite signs the Trump administration’s tariff policy is weighing on the economy. Earnings results from AI leaders such as Nvidia (NVDA), Microsoft (MSFT), and Meta (META) all indicated aggressive spending on AI projects to support demand from customers. You wouldn’t necessarily put Goldman Sachs in the camp of big AI spenders – but you would be wrong not to do so. The investment bank is investing in generative AI across the company to speed up things such as deal analysis to mundane back-office tasks. Leading the charge on AI at Goldman Sachs is former Amazon AWS exec Marco Argenti. Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi welcomes Argenti to the Opening Bid roundtable to discuss the work being done on the AI front by one of the most prominent investment banks in the world. Argenti says AI will increasingly be embedded into the work of Goldman’s 46,000 employees as it strives for operational efficiencies. The question is, will it make life easier for often overworked junior investment bankers, or are these pet AI projects that may have little return? Sozzi and Argenti dive in! Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid, brings you a high-octane take on the freshest analyst calls, wildest stock moves and shrewdest commentary in the business world. Executive Editor Brian Sozzi puts Wall Street's finest through their paces in this essential conversation for every investor - before the stock market opens. Find this episode's transcripts and more episodes of Opening Bid at http://finance.yahoo.com/videos/series/opening-bid/. Thoughts? Questions? Fan mail? Email us at yfpodcasts@yahooinc.com. Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid is hosted by Brian Sozzi, and produced by Langston Sessoms Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices