March 5, 2025

The Appetizer

“Just like Simone Biles stuck the landing in the Olympics, we’re gonna do the same thing for the state of Texas, for America, and for the world.”

• Firefly CEO Jason Kim on the first fully successful moon landing by a commercially built and operated robotic spacecraft.

Now, on to the numbers. Drum roll, please …

• 226.8 miles: The distance ultrarunner Sophie Power covered over two days on a treadmill, breaking a world record.
• $10,000: The prize a Bucknell University student won after former baseball star Alex Rodriguez made a half-court shot.
• 100: The number of FIS Alpine Ski World Cup wins for Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete and greatest alpine skier of all-time Mikaela Shiffrin.
• $8,306: The average cost of a spring break (March 12-21) trip, up 26% from last year, according to a Florida-based travel insurance comparison engine.
• 445: The number of tech company data centers in the U.S., with another 249 in the pipeline, according to Synergy Research Group.

Dig In
IPO Fever

In finance-speak, a unicorn stock refers to a privately held startup valued at over $1 billion. In other words, the founders and other owners are sitting on a small fortune but aren’t quite ready to share the pie – yet. Kidding (kind of). Some former unicorns you might recognize: Airbnb, Uber, and Reddit. They have since gone public.

Right now, there are over 1,200 unicorns around the world, including a few big names you’d likely recognize. I’d list them here, but my word count is limited. Naturally, that leads us to the big question: What’s the IPO market going to look like this year?

In 2024, we saw 150 U.S. IPOs raise a total of $29 billion – nowhere near the record-breaking $142.4 billion from 2021. Inflation and interest rates likely played the party pooper. So far in 2025, crickets. But, if the stock market remains strong and the Federal Reserve keeps on trimming rates, we might just see some of these unicorns finally make their grand debut. Not to mention the new administration is pushing a business-friendly, less regulated agenda. Stay tuned.

Weekly Specials

The New York Yankees’ long-standing tradition has ended. Owner Hal Steinbrenner announced “well-groomed beards” are now allowed, changing a rule from 1976. However, long hair is still prohibited, so no hockey player “flow” on the field.

In the small New York town of Amagansett, or “Drama-gansett” by some, chaos erupted when an elementary school principal allegedly stole a $25 gift card. The trial, with 1,400 pages of testimony, derailed the principal’s career. Who knew a gift card could cause such a fiasco?

The egg shortage saga continues! Since 2022, the avian flu has wiped out over 140 million egg-laying birds in the U.S., including 17 million in the last two months of 2024. But fear not, Turkey plans to export 420 million eggs to the U.S. this year. Morning frittatas are back on the menu!

In a daring heist, thieves swiped a 215-pound, 18-carat gold toilet from the English country mansion where Winston Churchill was born in under five minutes. The toilet, insured for $6 million, was an art piece titled “America.” But seriously, who thought a gold toilet was a good idea in the first place?

Corporate Lunch

Walmart – sorry, Wally World – got a boost this quarter from an unexpected cohort: six-figure earners! Maybe they are just here for the savings … or maybe it’s the new Walmart Marketplace slinging Chanel and Louis Vuitton bags.

Microsoft has reportedly backed out of leases for the equivalent of two data centers, blaming ahem “facility/power delays.” Sounds an awful lot like the classic “it’s not you, it’s me” breakup line.

Celsius stock got a nice jolt last week after announcing plans to snap up Gen Z-favorite competitor, Alani Nu. If you can’t beat ‘em, buy ‘em.

Big changes are brewing at Starbucks. The company is trimming its menu. Condolences to the Frappuccino lovers – but if your go-to was the iced matcha lemonade, well … you had this coming.

Nvidia’s latest earnings report is in, and surprise, surprise – both revenue and earnings beat expectations again. The chipmaker continues to ride the AI wave.

Unfortunately, it’s official. Party City has turned off the lights for good. For nearly 40 years, the company ruled the balloon bouquet kingdom and the Halloween costume space. Baby boomers, take a deep breath – it’s going to be okay.

Nostalgia is real right now. “Do you want to hop on a Skype call?” More like, “Let’s just hop on a Teams call.” Microsoft is officially pulling the plug on Skype this year.

Diversification does not ensure a profit or protect against loss.

Indices are unmanaged and are not available for direct investment.

Past performance is not indicative of future results.