🔔 The Opening Bell
Good morning.
Apple just handed President Trump a $100 billion victory lap that conveniently helps Apple dodge the new 100% semiconductor tariffs—and sent its stock surging.
And the two most surprising things we’ve seen today:
OpenAI gave ChatGPT Enterprise to the federal government for just $1.
Wall Street analyst Dan Ives is launching… a clothing brand? Can we invest in some big shorts?
More on all this below.
🐝 Redditors Are Comparing This Stock to CoreWeave
This stock is getting serious traction on Reddit right now—mentions of the company are up 485.7% on r/WallStreetBets in the past 24 hours.
According to AltIndex, users think the stock is criminally undervalued—and some think its market cap should look more like CoreWeave’s.
The stock is already seeing some major action on markets today.
Click to see the ticker for free on AltIndex:
📰 Market Headlines

Stocks climbed on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hitting fresh highs as Apple surged more than 5% on news of its massive domestic investment pledge.
The Dow rose 0.2%, the S&P 500 jumped 0.73%, and the Nasdaq soared 1.21%.
Apple announced another $100 billion investment in US manufacturing at a White House event with President Trump, bringing its total domestic commitment to $600 billion. $AAPL ( ▲ 1.27% ) rose 5% on the news. The tech giant partnered with Corning to produce all iPhone and Apple Watch cover glass in Kentucky, plus locked in deals with Samsung for Austin chip production and Texas Instruments for semiconductors.
The move helped Apple dodge President Trump's threatened 100% tariff on semiconductor imports. Companies building in the US got exemptions.
Firefly Aerospace is set to debut on the Nasdaq this morning after raising $868.3 million: it sold 19.3 million shares at $45 each (higher than expected). Markets are buzzing—will this be a repeat of Figma’s IPO where the stock price soars after traders get a hold of it, or will $FLY crash and burn?
President Trump slapped India with an additional 25% tariff, bringing total duties to 50% over Russian oil purchases. The move threatened Apple's supply chain since most US-bound iPhones are manufactured in India. Oil prices jumped over 1% on the news.
Disney beat earnings expectations on parks and streaming, but shares slipped as linear TV revenue cratered. The company struck a deal for ESPN to acquire NFL Media assets, giving the NFL a 10% stake in ESPN.
OpenAI practically gave ChatGPT Enterprise to the federal government for $1 through next year. The company secured a Defense Department contract worth up to $200 million in June and planned to open its first DC office early next year.
President Trump tried to justify the firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer after July's weak jobs report, claiming she "faked" employment numbers before the election to help Democrats. His timeline didn't match reality: the major 818,000 job revision he cited came in August 2024, months before the election.
Fed Governor Adriana Kugler's surprise resignation left President Trump with a strategic opening to either appoint a "shadow chair" to antagonize Jerome Powell or fast-track his preferred Fed successor. President Trump narrowed his shortlist to four candidates, including Kevin Warsh and Kevin Hassett.
Does the US government utilizing AI like ChatGPT concern you?
😱 Fear and Greed Index

Tariff trouble continued today—but investors were appeased by the apparent partnership between the US government and Apple, bringing the whole market up.
📊 Infographic of the Day
BREAKING 🚨: U.S. Housing Market
Home Sellers outnumber Buyers by more than 500,000, the largest gap ever recorded 👀
— #Barchart (#@Barchart)
10:22 PM • Aug 5, 2025
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🧠 The Missing (Market) Links
Bakersfield and Scranton landed on the worst cities list for jobs.
Trump is set to sign an executive order to allow crypto to be put into 401K accounts.
Bank of America’s top analyst picked Robinhood over Coinbase, raising the price target to $119 after Robinhood’s crypto revenue jumped 98% in Q2.
A luxury-brand veteran swapped ad campaigns for compost and built a $50 million business with celebrity partners—and put bees on Lebron’s roof.
Mississippi topped the charts for loan delinquency at 13%, while Iowa and Montana kept rates near 4%.
The Richmond Fed forecasted productivity growth to rebound through 2030, with trend labor productivity expected to hit 2.0%.
🚚 Market movers
Sunoco's $9.1 billion acquisition of Parkland Corp. closed in Q4 2025, expanding its US convenience store count from 76 to 272.
SpartanNash lost over $48 million in its deal with C&S Wholesale Grocers after a customer shifted to in-sourcing operations, lowering the share price.
Duolingo acquired the team behind NextBeat, aiming to enhance its Music course with innovative gaming elements, marking its first UK presence.
Airbnb beat second-quarter expectations with a 13% revenue increase to $3.1 billion.
Bayer's layoffs reached over 12,000 as the company planned to save $2.3 billion by 2026.
🪙 Crypto
US Bitcoin ETFs bled billions during a four-day losing streak, with investors pulling $196 million on Tuesday alone amid stagflation fears.
The broader crypto market dipped 6.7% in August, though analysts see it as a "healthy cooldown" from July's rally.
Michigan’s state pension fund tripled its stake in the ARK Bitcoin ETF, now holding shares worth about $11.3 million.
Nomura-backed Laser Digital won approval to offer over-the-counter crypto derivatives in Dubai.
🤖 AI/Future/Tech News
AI accounting startup Rillet snagged $70 million in fresh funding with its valuation now hovering near $500 million.
OpenAI’s GPT-5 inched closer to launch with early testers praising its coding and problem-solving.
Google committed $1 billion over three years to bring AI training and tools to US universities, including free access to advanced Gemini features for students.
Gemini rolled out Guided Learning, a new AI tutor that breaks down problems step-by-step and adapts explanations with images, diagrams, and quizzes.
Nvidia rejected backdoors and “kill switches” in its AI chips, warning that such features would fracture trust in US tech and open the door to disaster.
🌍 International Markets

🇬🇧 The Bank of England is prepared to cut interest rates to 4.0% from 4.25% on Thursday, though persistent inflation concerns split policymakers.
🇩🇪 German foreign orders unexpectedly fell 3.0% while those from outside the eurozone plunged 7.8%.
🇯🇵 A senior figure in Japan's ruling party warned the Bank of Japan to be cautious about raising rates, citing concerns that higher US tariffs could damage the fragile economic recovery.
🇨🇦🇲🇽 Canadian and Mexican officials convened in Mexico City to coordinate a response to US trade policy.
🎤️ What you said last time

“30+ year time horizon means I'm all in all the time.”
📊 Earnings
AppLovin beat Q2 earnings estimates with a 169% EPS increase and 17% sales growth; shares dipped over 1% in after-hours trading.
Disney exceeded forecasts with streaming gains and raised its annual profit outlook; however, shares fell 3% due to concerns over traditional TV performance.
DraftKings reported a 32-cent EPS on 37% revenue growth, surpassing expectations; shares are set to move out of a buy zone.
Shopify shares soared 21% after topping Q2 revenue estimates and providing strong guidance, as tariff impacts were less severe than anticipated.
Six Flags missed Q2 earnings and revenue forecasts; shares plummeted 19% following a 12% drop in attendance.
E.l.f. Beauty profits fell 30% due to new China tariffs, despite beating top and bottom line expectations; shares remained steady.
Novo Nordisk missed Q2 earnings estimates with revenue slightly below expectations; shares were down premarket.
📢 We want to hear from you
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⭐️ What did you think of today's edition?
📺 What to watch today
That’s all for today. Did I miss anything? Smash the reply button to let me know.
Cheers,
Brandon with Stefan & Wyatt
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