Power Players with Brian Sozzi

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Why Robinhood CEO is mixed on a US sovereign wealth fund Feb 26, 2025

Show notes

Robinhood (HOOD) has been on one of the more blistering paces of innovation from the fintech space the last twelve months. The overarching goal? Make the platform way more than a place for a 22-year-old to trade GameStop. Think of a one-stop shop for stocks, crypto, retirement, and even credit cards. Brian Sozzi sits down on the Opening Bid podcast with the person leading the charge at Robinhood on these fronts, co-founder and CEO Vlad Tenev. The company has expanded into event contracts with a successful debut for the election — although efforts to wade into the Super Bowl were frowned upon by lawmakers. In January, the platform provider debuted futures and index options trading.The company has since released Robinhood Legend, billed as a sleeker platform that targets more sophisticated traders. Robinhood Legend allows up to eight charts open in a single window, and it could elevate various technical indicators such as Bollinger Bands. This as the Trump administration eyes stablecoin frameworks this year and explores the potential of a bitcoin reserve — both of which could be major tailwinds to Robinhood and competitors such as Coinbase.

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.

00:00-Vladimir Tenev on Opening Bid

01:40-Building the Robinhood dream

05:00-Reflecting on family

10:04-What's next in crypto for Robinhood?

14:30-SEC ends crypto probe

17:12-The future of 24 hour trading

20:30-HOT TAKE

Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid is hosted by Brian Sozzi, and produced by Rachael Lewis-Krisky.

Vladimir Tenev is the CEO and Co-Founder of Robinhood Markets and, since November 2020, has served as Chief Executive Officer and President of Robinhood Markets.

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Why Nvidia is unstoppable Feb 24, 2025

Show notes

Nvidia earnings are coming in just a few short days, and you can feel the anticipation in the markets. If Nvidia can issue upbeat guidance, it could go a long way to shaking off DeepSeek concerns that rocked the market a few weeks ago. Subpar guidance would not be taken well by investors which continue to bid up the broader market to record highs. Brian Sozzi sits down on the Opening Bid podcast with Navallier & Associates founder and chairman Louis Navallier. The long-time money manager is known for recommending growth stocks that lean into fundamental analysis. Nvidia was one of Navallier’s earliest picks from the AI complex going back to 2019. He has continued to stay bullish on the market darling, going so far as to say it will be the stock of the next decade. So what’s Navallier’s thinking on Nvidia into earnings on Feb. 26? He discusses with Sozzi, and shares other top investing ideas on the AI juggernaut theme.

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.

00:00-Louis Navellier on Opening Bid

02:40-Nvidia: "tail wagging the dog"

06:30-History of big stocks

14:15-Looking at a global recession

19:20-Google did not disappoint

Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid is hosted by Brian Sozzi, and produced by Rachael Lewis-Krisky.

Louis Navellier is one of Wall Street's renowned growth investment advisors. He is the founder and chairman of Navellier & Associates, a money management firm. Mr. Navellier specializes in behavioral finance and utilizes extensive quantitative and fundamental analysis to identify market-beating stocks.

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Why you should diversify out Mag 7 stocks Feb 21, 2025

Show notes

The market has taken a few punches this month in the form of non-stop headlines from the Trump administration. Concerns about policy chaos and tariffs has some investors wondering if the froth in the market needs to simmer down before putting new money to work. Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi sits down on the Opening Bid podcast with Russell Investments president and CIO Kate El-Hillow. Russell Investments has more than $330 billion in assets under management. El-Hillow thinks the AI trade remains one of the better ones to bet on, but there are other ways to do so besides current trending names. While the AI trades have remained generally solid in 2025, they have fluctuated at times amid rising concerns about Trump tariffs. El-Hillow says tariff risk is a real risk to markets and the bottom lines of companies. And what ends up happening with tariffs could influence the Federal Reserve, which, of course, will have ramifications for investors.

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.

00:00-Kate El-Hillow on Opening Bid

00:15-Stocks of the Day: Gamestop, Nvidia, Palentir

02:10-Evaluating a questionably frothy market

05:00-Are people still excited about the Mag 7?

08:15-Tariffs and your portfolio

12:40-Diversification and alternatives

16:00-How to invest in private markets

20:00-HOT TAKE

Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid is hosted by Brian Sozzi, and produced by Rachael Lewis-Krisky.

Kate El-Hillow serves as President and Chief Investment Officer for Russell Investments, the global investment solutions provider founded in 1936 with approximately $325 billion in assets under management. Based in New York, Kate oversees all aspects of the investment division including asset management, implementation, and research to deliver overall client investment solutions.

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Bausch + Lomb aims to shake up contact lenses with deal off the table: EXCLUSIVE Feb 19, 2025

Show notes

Bausch + Lomb said this month it had explored taking the company private with a third-party buyer. No deal was reached as a consortium of private equity firms TPG and Blackstone reportedly backed out. Bausch + Lomb (BLCO) said it would not pursue a transaction at this time. But it reiterated a view that a full separation from Bausch Health Companies (BHC) is still the goal. Bausch Health Companies owns 88.4% of Bausch + Lomb. So what’s next for the the healthcare icon? Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi chats with Bausch + Lomb chairman and CEO Brent Saunders. Saunders is known as one of the biggest dealmakers in the pharmaceutical industry of the past 15 years. Saunders returned to Bausch + Lomb as CEO in March 2023. In May 2013, he was also the CEO of Bausch + Lomb, responsible for its $8.7 billion sale to Valeant Pharmaceuticals. He then took over as the CEO of Forest Laboratories. By February 2014, Saunders orchestrated a sale of the company to Actavis for $25 billion. He assumed the CEO position. From there in November 2014, he pulled off a $70 billion acquisition of Allergan and became its CEO. It's there where Saunders' star quickly rose in media circles, overseeing the commercial success of botox and doing battle with feared activist investor Carl Icahn. Saunders then sold Allergan to Abbvie (ABBV) for $63 billion in a deal that closed in May 2020. He says no deal is imminent for Bausch + Lomb.

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.

00:00-Brent Saunders on Opening Bid

03:00-A vast career leading on route to CEO

06:30-Future of eye care industry

09:30-Consequences of our activities on our eye health

12:15-State of company: Bausch + Lomb

17:50-Health care industry outlook

20:40-HOT TAKE

Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid is hosted by Brian Sozzi, and produced by Rachael Lewis-Krisky.

Brent Saunders is an American biopharma executive and entrepreneur who is the chairman and CEO of the health company Bausch + Lomb.

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Will Netflix and Amazon own all sports programming? Feb 14, 2025

Show notes

The Super Bowl is in the books, with the Philadelphia Eagles delivering a commanding win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Companies paid a steep $8 million for a 30-second TV spot, up from $7 million in 2024. Now, sports and media watchers can return to their regularly scheduled programming. That programming is of high intrigue. For one, rights deals for Formula 1 and the UFC are on the table in 2025. The UFC alone could command a $1 billion a year deal, more than double the one it currently has with Disney-owned ESPN. Media watchers will be looking out for whether both sports end up on streaming channels amid the struggles at legacy media giants.

In the meantime, the NFL can opt out of its rights deal with all media partners except for Disney after the 2028-2029 season. If they do opt out and head to a Netflix that is not hiding its appetite for live sports, it could alter the TV business forever. Yahoo Finance executive editor Brian Sozzi chats with longtime media executive David Levy about these tectonic shifts in the industry, especially on the sports front. Levy spent 32 years running Turner, leading its sports portfolio and even the Cartoon Network. Today, Levy is the founder and co-CEO of Horizon Sports & Experiences—which is making a bold bet on pickleball.

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.

00:00-David Levy on Opening Bid

02:30-What Superbowl numbers say about streaming

05:09-Changing times for established media like Turner, ESPN, ABC

08:50-Podcasters making money has nothing to do with TV

10:45-The rise of pickleball

13:30-Opportunities in women's sports

16:10-Reinvention of sports for programming like fantasy football

21:30-HOT TAKE

Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid is hosted by Brian Sozzi, and produced by Rachael Lewis-Krisky.

Long regarded as one of the media industry’s most influential executives, David Levy currently serves as the co-CEO and founder of Horizon Sports & Experiences – HS&E. HS&E has a core focus on IP creation, and monetization, strategic advisory and consulting media rights, sponsorships, sales and experiential. Prior to HS&E, Levy served as President of Turner, offering content and advertising solutions to some of the most valuable brands in the world to audiences in sports, entertainment, news and children’s programming.

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Why Amazon's robots and AI make their stock still a bull’s favorite Feb 12, 2025

Show notes

Amazon is one of the Magnificent 7 components managing to cling to gains this year, eclipsed only by Meta. The rest of the closely followed trading acronym is down, led by a plunge in Tesla. The gains on Amazon are interesting given how much it plans to spend on capex this year. Similar to Microsoft and Meta this earnings season, Amazon recently uncorked a whopper of a capital spending guide. It sees $104 billion in capital expenditures this year, well above analyst forecasts of $80 billion to $85 billion going into its earnings reports. The Street has opted to stay bullish on Amazon after its results and surprising guidance for two reasons. Most analysts have pointed to a sales reacceleration in the key Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud business later this year, amid the company's aggressive spending. And two, the company is driving a good bit of efficiency out of its bread and butter retail network. But can the bullishness on Amazon be sustained? Yahoo Finance executive editor Brian Sozzi sits down on the Opening Bid podcast with Morgan Stanley managing director Brian Nowak. Nowak has an Overweight rating on Amazon’s stock. Part of Nowak’s call reflects what Amazon is working on in terms of robots, an element to the investment thesis not often discussed.

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.

00:00-Brian Nowak on Opening Bid

01:40-Evaluating Amazon stock post-earnings

04:50-Alexa & AI

08:40-Is Meta's future looking bleak?

14:15-Deep dive into Amazon's robots

18:20-Competitive advantage

20:50-HOT TAKE

Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid is hosted by Brian Sozzi, and produced by Rachael Lewis-Krisky.

By bringing together strategic insights on how consumer Internet companies and leading platforms are changing and monetizing consumer behavior, and incorporating big picture themes into detailed models Brian Nowak leads the Morgan Stanley Internet research team in crafting actionable insights for clients.

Brian Nowak disclosures for companies mentioned in episode:

Amazon.com Inc: Investment relationship: Yes | Individual owns: No | Family owns: No | Company owns: Yes

Meta Platforms Inc: Investment relationship: Yes | Individual owns: No | Family owns: No | Company owns: Yes

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Trump tariffs may trigger a stagflationary shock Feb 10, 2025

Show notes

On paper, the US economy continues to chug along three weeks into the Trump presidency. The January jobs report showed a solid 143,000 jobs created. Inflation is stable. And big cap tech companies such as Amazon and Meta continue to invest aggressively to build out AI infrastructure. While these are positive reads on the economy, it’s certainly not too hard to see the dark clouds forming on the horizon. President Trump has thrust the US into trade wars with China, Mexico and Canada. That stands to reignite inflation and possibly bring rate hikes from the Fed back on the table. Yahoo Finance executive editor Brian Sozzi chats with Apollo Global Management chief economist Torsten Sløk to get his read on the tariff situation. Do tariffs tip the economy into a short-term recession and the markets into a fresh tailspin? Slok also serves up his economic predictions for the rest of 2025.

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.

00:00-Torsten Sløk on Opening Bid

03:30-Impact of tariffs on GDP

06:30-The trade war s**t show

12:45-An inflationary call that stands out

16:45-Why do things look more expense?

Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid is hosted by Brian Sozzi, and produced by Rachael Lewis-Krisky.

Torsten Sløk joined Apollo in August 2020 as Chief Economist and he leads Apollo's macroeconomic and market analysis across the platform.

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The team behind Kansas City Chief star Travis Kelce's finances & fame Feb 07, 2025

Show notes

The Travis Kelce brand continues to hit "New Heights." And it’s not just because he is dating pop icon Taylor Swift! Kelce will go down as one of the best tight ends in NFL history. With that title, Kelce continues to rake in commercial dollars from big brands wanting to hitch their names to his success and personal brand. Kelce’s return to the Super Bowl this year against the Philadelphia Eagles will only strengthen his hand with partners who want to work with him.

But none of this would have been possible without the men beyond the curtain since day one, Kelce's talent and portfolio managers Andre and Aaron Eanes, co-founders of A&A Management Group. Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi sits down with both of them to hear how they manage the brand that is Travis Kelce, as well as his growing financial empire. The brothers also have their own fascinating story and company that could inspire up-and-coming entrepreneurs.

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.

00:00-Andre and Aaron Eanes on Opening Bid

03:00-Evaluating the business in sports

04:50-Investing like Travis Kelce

11:00-Rise of athletes as investors

21:30-The importance of brand value

Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid is hosted by Brian Sozzi, and produced by Rachael Lewis-Krisky.

Andre and Aaron Eanes are brothers from Cleveland, Ohio who established their full service sports and entertainment management company A&A Management in 2012, working with stars liike Travis Kelca

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Why Trump's tariffs may not crush Nike, Lululemon, or other retail stocks Feb 05, 2025

Show notes

The retail sector felt somewhat well, having had a successful 2024 holiday shopping season. Many of the players in the space were looking forward to unemployment staying low and the Federal Reserve pausing rate hikes as key tailwinds to consumer spending in 2025. Then came the start of a trade war by returning President Donald Trump.

The implementation of China tariffs stands to rattle retail supply chains and raise costs, which could hammer profit margins. Bottom lines could also be hurt if price increases related to tariffs get rejected by shoppers. Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi chats with BMO Capital Markets analyst Simeon Siegel about which retailers are most exposed to tariffs. Should investors stay away from these names? The two also discussed the turnaround taking shape at Nike (NKE) under the new CEO, Elliott Hill. Key to the turnaround for Nike will be a better product to take on the likes of Decker’s Outdoor (DECK) and ON Running (ONON).

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.

00:00-Simeon Siegel on Opening Bid

1:25-We're focusing too much on tariffs

3:55-Defining inflation

6:10-We're in a trade-war, how should Nike and Lululemon respond?

10:07-Sell us on Nike's comeback

14:00-HOT TAKE

Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid is hosted by Brian Sozzi, and produced by Rachael Lewis-Krisky.

Simeon Siegel is BMO Capital Markets' Managing Director & Senior Analyst, specializing in Retail and E-commerce. Simeon started his career at Goldman Sachs and his since worked on the #1 ranked Retail franchise at JPMorgan and Nomura | Instinet.

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Why Bill Gates agrees with Nvidia's CEO on quantum's timeline, plus new memoir 'Source Code': EXTENDED CUT Feb 03, 2025

Show notes

Few companies have had the same impact on society as tech giant Microsoft (MSFT). Co-founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the company fundamentally changed how work was done with the invention of Windows. Decades later, the company is back shaking up the world order again amid the AI boom. Microsoft has a lucrative stake in ChatGPT developer OpenAI. It’s powering businesses with the release of Microsoft Co-Pilot. The company has swallowed up a giant acquisition in video publisher Activision Blizzard with relative ease, while also leveraging insights from a LinkedIn business purchased several years ago.

While Gates is no longer involved with the company day-to-day, he remains its spiritual adviser, so to speak. He also remains tremendously active in next-generation technology and trying to cure diseases via the Gates Foundation (formerly the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation). But what is the story behind Gates, who is viewed as one of the most transformational leaders of the past fifty years alongside Apple co-founder Steve Jobs? In Gates' new book titled “Source Code," he aims to pull back the curtain on his childhood and rocketship rise to fame during his Microsoft years. Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi sits down with Gates to drill into the book, as well as get Gates’ views on the future of AI, quantum computing, and healthcare.

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.

00:00-Bill Gates on Opening Bid

00:30-Reflecting on new book "Source Code"

06:30-Early days with Intel and Microsoft

09:30-Learning to code

12:00-Leadership at Microsoft

15:30-Drugs with Paul Allen

16:00-The beginning of Silicon Valley

21:00-Nvidia, AI, and quantum computing

26:00-Public health outlook

Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid is hosted by Brian Sozzi, and produced by Rachael Lewis-Krisky.

Bill Gates needs little introduction; but here's the legend anyway. Bill Gates is a technologist, business leader, and philanthropist. In 1975, he co-founded Microsoft with his childhood friend Paul Allen and today he is chair of the Gates Foundation. Bill is the founder of Breakthrough Energy, an effort to commercialize c lean energy and other climate-related technologies, and TerraPower, a company investing in developing groundbreaking nuclear technologies.

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