Hey Snackers,
ChatGPT has been unseated as the most popular free app in the iOS store, with the top two spots both going to… Chick-fil-A. The chicken chain announced the return of “Code Moo” this week, a game available only on its original app. Over 100,000 new downloaders raced to get rewards including waffle fries and nuggets. It also rolled out new cow-centric content that is moo-ving downloads of its other app — in fact, it got more downloads on Monday than in the 29 days before that, combined.
A tumultuous session saw stocks fall into the red and hit session lows following reports that Fed Chair Jerome Powell would soon be fired by President Donald Trump, only for the president to deny those reports, leading major indexes to snap back to finish near their highs of the day. The S&P 500 ended up 0.3%, the Nasdaq 100 inched up 0.1%, and the Russell 2000 rallied 1%.
As Taco Bell’s Crunchwrap turns 20, it’s time to celebrate true innovation
Taco Bell sells 100 million Crunchwraps every year, and we’ve now seen 20 years since its June 22, 2005, launch. The Crunchwrap concept had languished in development for a decade while corporate recipe developers at Taco Bell labored to turn a folded tortilla into a structural masterpiece that could be reproduced tens of thousands of times a day around the country. It became the fastest-selling menu item in the chain’s history, moving 51 million units in its first six weeks.
The Crunchwrap has spawned legions of imitators, but remains a major accomplishment in culinary innovation in its own right.
Straightforwardly, designing anything that’s produced on the order of millions is a supreme challenge, and that’s not even factoring in whether or not it actually sticks.
That’s one reason that top-notch chefs are willing to leave gigs at high-end, exclusive restaurants to run the menu at national food chains. That kind of role means a chef can create dishes at, say, Sonic that would reach more diners in an hour than they would in a year at the trendy joint.
Sure, you can gauge a product by its mimics. But the reality that the Crunchwrap has remained a staple on Taco Bell’s ever-changing menu board is a victory in its own right.
The Takeaway
There’s a bigger lesson here. As everyone from home cooks to professional chefs to major outlets follow the lead of big brands by concocting vegan Crunchwraps or “better” Big Macs, there are still people for whom the genuine articles have meaning — be that as an indulgence, a tradition, a last resort, or quick and affordable means to an end. Even with a proliferation of dupes, Taco Bell sells 100 million Crunchwraps every year and McDonald’s sells 550 million Big Macs annually in the US alone.
This $674B Industry Missed the Bigger Picture
TV video streaming exploded into a $674.25B market in 2024 — driven by the hours we spend lost in entertainment.
But there’s a much bigger habit consuming our time, with value that’s waiting to be unlocked.
Smartphone screen time.
We spend over 30 hours a week glued to our phones. Mode Mobile is pioneering ways to turn those hours into real income.
Their EarnPhone unlocks 10+ revenue streams from everyday phone use, helping users earn over $325M so far. Deloitte named them North America’s fastest-growing software company in 2023 after their revenue soared 32,481% from 2019-2022.1
This industry is still in its infancy — and you can invest in the company that’s at the forefront of unlocking its value.
⏰ Their pre-IPO offering3 is over 95% full – this is your last chance to invest at $0.30/share2.
Which American cities are really the most ready for AI?
Just 30 top-performing metro areas capture two-thirds of all AI job postings, based on a new analysis from nonprofit Brookings Metro. The report looked at data from 195 of the largest US metropolitan areas to determine where they stood as far as AI talent, innovation, and adoption.
Brookings found that much of AI opportunity is concentrated among the usual suspects, with the Bay Area accounting for 13% of national job postings featuring AI skills and San Francisco and San Jose the only “Superstars” on the list.
Combined with the “Star Hubs,” which includes places like Seattle, Austin, and Washington, DC, the 30 top-performing metro areas captured 67% of total AI job postings.
“While the Bay Area’s dominance isn’t going down, we see other places rising up the ranks,” Shriya Methkupally, senior research assistant at Brookings Metro, told Sherwood News.
More than half of US metro areas were in the bottom two tiers, suggesting “significant shortfalls in talent pipelines, research infrastructure, and enterprise adoption.”
The Takeaway
While the Superstars are only on the West Coast, Star Hubs and Emerging Centers are popping up in places around the country, including within the Sun Belt and the Rust Belt. The spread of those metro areas are separated out by category and ranked by AI job postings per 100 people employed in the area — it’s very cool, so definitely give it a look.
The Best Thing We Read Today
Tariffs might be starting to show in America’s inflation rate — but where are prices rising the most?
According to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, consumer prices rose 2.7% year over year in June, slightly above expectations and the fastest pace since February. President Trump’s sweeping tariffs may finally be filtering through to nudge up prices on a range of goods. Beyond the monthly ups and downs, we charted what inflation has hit hardest — and the categories where prices have actually fallen — in the last 12 months.
They’re calling it the ‘Freedom Dividend’
Tech titans are championing Universal Income — also coined the “Freedom Dividend” — as AI threatens to eliminate millions of jobs.
But here’s the critical question few are asking: who will pay for it?
Instead of relying on taxpayer funding, Mode Mobile turns screen time into currency, already paying out $325M to +50M users.
⚠️ And this is your last chance to invest in Mode at $0.30/share.2
Off The Charts
Yesterday’s Big Daily Movers
Rigetti shares went into an excited state as its quantum system achieved a new milestone
Semiconductor industry keystone ASML tumbled after saying growth next year isn’t guaranteed
Peter Thiel’s fund revealed a 9.1% stake in BitMine and the shares took off
Johnson & Johnson popped as its “grind it out” year pays off, with sales jumping
What Else We're Snackin'
Be skeptical of people who want to sell you things like access to private credit
We charted the mentions of “stablecoins” on earnings calls of S&P 500 companies
As more OpenAI researchers defect to Meta, we annotated a pic from a 2024 OpenAI video to show who’s now missing
Mode Mobile’s last two rounds sold out after raising $46M+ from over 21K investors — and only a few spots remain in the current round. Last chance to invest in Mode at $0.30/share – round 95% full.2
Snack Fact Of The Day
The largest piece of the planet Mars found on Earth just sold for $5.3 million.
Today's Events
June retail sales
Earnings expected from Abbott Laboratories, Marsh & McLennan, PepsiCo, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, GE Aerospace, Netflix, and Interactive Brokers
1 The rankings are based on submitted applications and public company database research, with winners selected based on their fiscal-year revenue growth percentage over a three-year period. See Deloitte 2023 Technology Fast 500™rankings for further details under historical rankings.
2 A minimum investment of $990.90 is required. Please read the offering circular and related risks at invest.modemobile.com. This is a paid advertisement for Mode Mobile’s Regulation A+ Offering.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investing in private company securities is not suitable for all investors because it is highly speculative and involves a high degree of risk. It should only be considered a long-term investment. You must be prepared to withstand a total loss of your investment. Private company securities are also highly illiquid, and there is no guarantee that a market will develop for such securities.
DealMaker Securities LLC, a registered broker-dealer, and member of FINRA | SIPC, located at 105 Maxess Road, Suite 124, Melville, NY 11747, is the Intermediary for this offering and is not an affiliate of or connected with the Issuer. Please check our background on FINRA's BrokerCheck.
3 Mode Mobile recently received their ticker reservation with Nasdaq ($MODE), indicating an intent to IPO in the next 24 months. Any IPO timing is unknown and general steps to be accepted for an IPO have not been undertaken at this point. An intent to IPO is no guarantee that an actual IPO will occur.