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Nasdaq |
24,892.31 |
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S&P |
7,209.01 |
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Dow |
49,652.14 |
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10-Year |
4.390% |
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Bitcoin |
$76,511.98 |
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Alphabet |
$384.80 |
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*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 5:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean. |
- Markets: There was probably a whole lot of Matthew McConaughey-style chest-thumping on Wall Street yesterday after the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed at record highs, rallying after fresh economic data and Big Tech earnings inspired optimism that the AI boom can buoy the economy. That lift helped stocks clinch their best month since 2020.
- Stock spotlight: The tech giants that beat earnings expectations while committing to big spending plans after the market closed on Wednesday were the ones to watch yesterday, with Google parent Alphabet rising and Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft falling.
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Eli Lilly obliterated Wall Street expectations yesterday, quashing any concerns that the drugmaker’s weight loss drug-fueled growth is slowing down. Lilly also raised its full-year sales outlook by $2 billion, expecting big things from its newly launched GLP-1 pill. The details. The drugmaker’s Q1 revenue of $19.8 billion beat Wall Street’s expected $17.62 billion and was up 56%, compared with last year’s first quarter. Lilly is now expecting full-year sales to potentially reach $85 billion, up from its previous high forecast of $83 billion. The revenue boom is thanks to the company’s GLP-1 products:
- Revenue from Mounjaro more than doubled in the last year, jumping 125%, to $8.66 billion in worldwide sales during Q1, compared with the same time last year.
- And revenue from Zepbound was up 80% during the first quarter of the year, compared with the same period last year. The drug brought in $4.16 billion in quarterly US sales.
The golden childAlthough Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic kicked off the GLP-1 craze, Lilly has repeatedly outpaced its rival in the GLP-1 sector. This quarter, it snapped up 60.1% of the US obesity and diabetes drug market, while Novo held 39.4%. But Lilly’s biggest test will be whether the public adopts its new weight loss pill, Foundayo, which was approved just last month. Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy pill had a three-month head start. Still, Lilly CEO Dave Ricks said yesterday that 20,000+ people have already started taking Foundayo, and about 1,000 people start the drug every day. As if pharma giants need more gas…yesterday, the FDA proposed excluding semaglutide (Novo’s active ingredient) and tirzepatide (Lilly’s active ingredient) from the list of drugs that compounders can obtain in bulk. The move, if finalized, would kneecap popular copycat makers like Hims & Hers from producing their own weight loss drugs. GLP-1s are moving markets, even outside pharma: Magnum Ice Cream Company said in its earnings report yesterday that portion-control ice creams helped make up for slower treat sales, as consumer preferences shift with the popularity of weight loss drugs. Meanwhile, Hershey CEO Kirk Tanner reported sharp rises in gum and mint sales, which he chalked up to the unofficial “Ozempic breath” side effect.—MM |
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According to the LIMRA 2024 U.S. Supplemental Health Insurance Total Market Report, Aflac is the #1 provider of supplemental health insurance in the US.* Here’s how they earned this ranking:
- Aflac delivers a wide portfolio of insurance coverage solutions to help with expenses not covered by health insurance through tools that can help simplify enrollments.
- Many plans are offered at no direct cost to businesses, and claims are paid fast and accurately—directly to insureds, unless otherwise assigned.
Create a winning benefits strategy that can work for everyone. Discover Aflac’s solutions today. |
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 Apple’s revenue blasted past analysts’ expectations. The iPhone maker reported earnings after the closing bell yesterday, and the news was pretty good. Apple’s services revenue hit a record $30.98 billion during the fiscal second quarter. Additionally, iPhone sales rose 2%, to ~$57 billion. It’s still the company’s best-selling product after nearly 20 years on the market. CEO Tim Cook said it was the company’s “best March quarter ever,” with “double-digit growth across every geographic segment.”—HVL
 The House voted to end the DHS shutdown. At least one long national nightmare is over. Yesterday, the House voted to approve funding for most of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ending the longest partial shutdown in US history. Without their paychecks, TSA agents—who technically work for DHS—had been calling out sick, leading to long airport security lines. They were set to miss another round of paychecks in days, had the House not voted to restart funding. House Republicans had opposed the plan, which passed the Senate unanimously in March, but acquiesced yesterday under pressure from the party’s moderate wing. The package includes no money for federal immigration enforcement (ICE), which is seen as a win for Democrats.—AE
 US GDP rose last quarter—but so did inflation. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 2% in Q1, up from 0.5% in the fourth quarter of 2025, and a sign of some economic resilience despite the ongoing Iran war. That increase, however, fell short of the 2.2% estimate, and it also came with another major caveat: Due to rising energy prices, inflation rose 0.2% in March to 3.2%, while the Fed’s preferred gauge, which includes gas and grocery prices, jumped 0.7% to 3.5%. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid the conflict in the Middle East has sent oil prices skyrocketing, pushing prices at the pump to over $4.30 per gallon.—AE
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This is why Shania Twain says to dance with the one that brought you: Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced yesterday that it will stop funding LIV Golf, its high-paying disruptor league, leaving players who defected from the PGA Tour in the lurch. This is probably the end of LIV, at least in its current form. The upstart league is looking for new investors after the PIF confirmed weeks of speculation that it was pulling out. But it’s tough to imagine who might be willing and able to fill the Saudi-sized hole left in LIV’s business after the current season ends in August:
- As LIV’s sole backer, the PIF poured $5+ billion into the league since co-founding it in 2021. It reportedly spent $100 million per month on LIV this year. And the league is bleeding money.
- Despite luring top talent with extravagant tournament purses and contracts worth up to $300 million, LIV struggled to sustain US fan interest.
Looking ahead…LIV players who violated their PGA Tour contracts to join LIV may have some groveling to do. “There were rules, and they were broken,” the PGA Tour’s CEO said this week. The league recently offered four elite players a way to come crawling back from LIV, but only one took the deal, at a cost of up to $90 million in reentry fees.—ML |
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Go where business gets taken care of. In Ohio, talent comes first—aka people who spot opportunity and figure out a way to make it happen. Ohio is where businesses can thrive, thanks to its strong infrastructure, cost advantages, and a quality of life that meets today’s high standards. Build something big. |
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Netflix is finally acknowledging that most people looking to kill time while waiting for the bus would rather scroll 30-second videos than watch The Irishman. The streaming service launched a short-form vertical video feed called Clips as part of an app revamp unveiled in the US and eight other countries yesterday. While it sounds like Netflix is entering TikTok’s turf, the streamer insists that Clips won’t be the place to witness a day in the life of a 28-year-old who works in private equity in New York. Instead, Netflix’s algorithmic feed serves clips from the shows and movies in its content library to help viewers discover new titles:
- Eventually, it’ll also feature clips from podcasts, a content genre Netflix has invested heavily into in recent months, as well as live events.
- The streamer will soon let users choose collections of video genres they want to watch, like romance and reality TV.
Big picture: Netflix says Clips is meant to meet people where they’re at—namely, on their phones—to command their eyeballs when they’re not in front of a TV. Netflix’s streaming rivals Peacock and Disney+ also recently launched vertical video feeds.—SK |
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The faces are all changing, and not just because you took too much Benadryl. With social media normalizing cosmetic work, plastic surgery is no longer reserved for the ultrawealthy. Per the New York Times:
- The number of facial procedures in the US last year increased by 19%.
- The three most popular procedures were rhinoplasties (aka nose jobs), face-lifts, and blepharoplasties (eyelid surgeries).
Procedures aren’t necessarily getting cheaper. Instead, young people increasingly appear to be willing to spend on cosmetic work because other purchases, like homes, are out of reach.—AE |
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More time with the people who matter most. Starbucks partners can get up to 18 weeks of paid parental leave, even if they work just 20 hours per week. So they don’t miss a moment as their family grows—even if they miss out on sleep. |
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The feeling of getting a 5/5 on the Brew’s Weekly News Quiz has been compared to your document printing perfectly the first time. It’s that satisfying. Ace the quiz. |
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- US senators voted to ban themselves from trading on prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket amid rising concern about insider trading.
- Maine Gov. Janet Mills dropped out of the race for Senate, paving the way for oyster farmer and Marine veteran Graham Platner to take on incumbent Sen. Susan Collins.
- President Trump pulled his nominee for surgeon general, Casey Means, and replaced her with radiologist and former Fox News contributor Nicole Saphier.
- Amazon is reportedly considering a reboot of The Apprentice, with Donald Trump Jr. as a potential host.
- The Devil Wears Prada 2 opens in theaters today, 20 years after the original. Florals? For spring? Groundbreaking.
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Jigsaw: Warning—this week’s puzzle may make you want to get up and dance. Play the Jigsaw here. Friday puzzleName the longest English word with this property: When you flip it upside down, it stays the same word. Use capital letters. |
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 Share the Brew, watch your referral count climb, and unlock brag-worthy swag. Your friends get smarter. You get rewarded. Win-win. Your referral count: 0 Click to Share Or copy & paste your referral link to others:
morningbrew.com/r/?kid=eaab23a8 |
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SWIMS (h/t Adam Aaronson) Word of the Day Today’s Word of the Day is: acquiesced, meaning “accepted or agreed to reluctantly.” Thanks to Shelley L. from Toronto and many others for the suggestion. Submit another Word of the Day here. |
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