• Markets: Stocks were as mixed as an unnecessarily complex mocktail yesterday, with the Dow clinching a record close for the second consecutive day, and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq pulled down by slipping tech stocks. SpaceX sank as investors fretted over the big AI spending revealed in its first earnings report as a public company on Tuesday.

TIME TO SCROLL

Niv Bavarsky

A whole new world of Disneybounding deep dives has just opened up. Disney said yesterday during its earnings call that it has made a deal with TikTok that gives some of the platform’s creators access to its coveted IP, including photos and videos from its flagship properties, as well as those of Lucasfilm, Marvel, Pixar, and FX.

The House of Mouse also said it would feature “thoughtfully curated” user-generated content on its own short-form feed, Verts. Disney introduced the creatively named Verts last spring on Disney+, but so far, it’s been populated by clips from its own TV shows and movies. This marks the first time TikToks will appear off the platform.

Welcome to the clip show. Aside from getting Disney content in front of TikTok’s billions of users, the partnership is aimed at increasing watch time, with Disney hoping you’ll endlessly scroll on its own app when you don’t know what to watch. Netflix, Paramount+, HBO Max, and Peacock have also entered the short-form vertical content market.

Elsewhere in the company…

This was Josh D’Amaro’s second earnings call as CEO, and things seem to be mostly working out for the new boss:

• Disney beat Wall Street’s expectations for operating income and earnings per share, but just missed revenue estimates. The company’s experiences arm, which includes theme parks and cruises, had a stellar quarter, reporting $10 billion in revenue—which is up 10% compared to the same period last year.
• Disney also said it has already sold out of ad spots for next February’s Super Bowl. It was asking $10 million per 30 seconds, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
• Its theatrical releases are doing well…even when they’re not. Toy Story 5 was a hit. The live-action Moana and Mandalorian and Grogu were flops, but D’Amaro told analysts they still drove people to spend money elsewhere, like on merch and theme parks.

In Tomorrowland…the company said it is also looking into launching a free ad-supported streaming channel, like the successful Roku and Tubi. And even after recent layoffs, it said it’s still seeking to cut costs.—MM

      

Sponsored By Frontieras

In today’s dollars, John D. Rockefeller would be worth $435 billion. But oil money is old news, and what’s next might surprise investors in 2026: a $2.1 trillion opportunity* in “clean” coal.

Now is the Rockefeller moment for Frontieras as they reform coal into sulfuric acid, diesel, and other valuable commodities (just like Rockefeller did with oil). With positive public sentiment on coal, the NASDAQ ticker FASF reserved, and the ground broken for their flagship coal reformation plant, Frontieras is positioned for potential growth.

Become an early-stage Frontieras investor and lock in the $9.01 share price before it changes after 11:59pm PT tonight.

World

Tour de headlines

Shady Alassar/Getty Images

🇺🇸 🇮🇷 The US and Iran both said Strait of Hormuz deal was “close.” Yesterday, Iran said it was in the “final stage” of drafting an agreement with mediator Oman that would potentially reopen the waterway. On Tuesday, President Trump said such a deal could happen “tomorrow or the next day,” but by the end of Wednesday in Eastern Time, nothing had been finalized. A major sticking point is that elsewhere, Iran has vowed that the Strait of Hormuz will never again be an open international waterway, as it was before the war began. Trump has previously ruled out any agreement that would give Iran control of the strait.—HVL

👨‍💻Google’s AI leadership gets an overhaul. Like the von Trapp children at bedtime, Google’s Chief Scientist Jeff Dean is saying “so long, farewell,” and leaving the company after 27 years to pursue his own AI startup with three other Google employees. It’s a friendly departure, and his former employer will invest in the company. Meanwhile, the CEO of Google’s DeepMind will step down from that role to become DeepMind’s chair and the new chief scientist, and DeepMind’s technology chief will now head up Google’s AI division. This comes as Google is locked in an existential—and expensive—technology race with AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic. Parent company Alphabet’s stock fell 4% yesterday after the news broke.

🚘 Zoox to become the first control-free robotaxi to charge fares. Amazon’s Zoox will start collecting fares from passengers in Las Vegas on Aug. 10. The entry of Zoox into a market dominated by Alphabet’s Waymo stands out, not just because it’s the autonomous vehicle most likely to be confused with a Dr. Seuss character, but also because it lacks pedals and a steering wheel. Because of this, it needed to get an exemption from federal regulators to operate a robotaxi service. The company said fares will be calculated based on distance and time traveled and displayed in full before booking.—AR

UP OVER

Unsplash

Aussies might soon want to buy their vacation outfits at their destination. The Australian budget airline Jetstar said yesterday that it will charge flyers for carry-on luggage stowed in overhead compartments.

Starting next year, an overhead item will cost at least $18 one way—with one Melbourne–Tokyo round-trip flight charging $194. Small personal items that can fit under the seat will still fly free.

Bag bargain

The airline said its surveys showed that customers view weighing their bags at check-in and finding space in overhead bins as the most stressful parts of flying. It thinks the change will reduce hassle for everyone:

• There will be no more stuffing your pockets to cut weight, as Jetstar won’t weigh bags and said it’ll nix its 15-pound limit for personal items.
• It says less jostling for suitcase space will speed up boarding and reduce delays.

But only 20% of people polled by the Australian site news.com.au said that they were happy with the move.

It’s controversial. Budget airlines worldwide, including Europe’s Ryanair and stateside Frontier, have similar carry-on charges, which they say help subsidize low base fares. But critics argue that the bag fees make it harder to compare the final ticket prices across airlines. The EU recently mandated that carriers display charges for carry-ons on flight booking sites.—SK

      

Reader Poll

GMO FIDO

Kindred Companion Sciences

Alfie and Bailey aren’t like most dogs, or any dog that’s ever existed. Geneticists successfully used gene editing to rid the twin beagles of the main allergy-causing protein found in canines in a world first, biotech startup Kindred Companion Sciences announced yesterday.

Founder Matt Walker, a canine-allergic geneticist whose full name you probably shouldn’t say around dogs, both spearheaded and participated in the experiment:

• Scientists injected CRISPR-edited beagle skin cells into the egg of a beagle surrogate, who then birthed Alfie and Bailey in September 2024.
• Tests found no trace of the allergy-causing protein in either pup’s saliva or fur, and both of them were deemed healthy.
• Walker has kept Bailey as a pet for nearly two years, and said he’s never had an allergic reaction. In allergy prick tests, Walker’s skin didn’t react to the beagles, though it did react to a sample from a poodle and goldendoodle, which are known as hypoallergenic breeds.

Don’t get your credit card out yet, because pups like Alfie and Bailey are years away from becoming commercially available. That may be a bummer for people who weigh their love for dogs against the number of tissues in their bag, but maybe not for animal shelters—some experts said anti-allergy gene editing could steer prospective dog owners away from regular ol’ strays.—ML

      

MOLLY EXPLAINS THE INTERNET

OpenAI’s first influencer trip backfired big time

Wildflower Farms, Auberge Collection

Unless BP Oil is planning a brand activation at an aquarium, this year’s most-hated influencer event will probably be OpenAI’s luxury nature retreat that hit the feed over the weekend.

The ChatGPT maker gathered a group of business-adjacent content creators at the heavily Instagrammable Wildflower Farms in upstate New York, where the itinerary included grassy strolls, beekeeping, ChatGPT classes, and farm-to-table dinners.

Influencer posts about the event—including one captioned “officially letting my ai assistant do the work so I can enjoy more of all this goodness”—incited an online firestorm of greenwashing allegations that rival reactions to Shein’s infamous 2023 brand trip. Comments included: “Wow! Beautiful greenery! They should put a data center there!”

Reaction videos to the influencers’ posts garnered more engagement than the posts themselves. So far, none of them have responded to media requests for comment, but one wrote on LinkedIn that she “didn’t for one second consider [the trip] would be controversial.”—ML

Sponsored By PwC

So…how do people actually use it? Most organizations can explain what their AI does, but far fewer can explain what their people do differently because of it. We asked PwC Principal Shebani Patel what she's seeing organizations struggle with, what investing in people actually looks like in practice, and why many AI initiatives struggle to move beyond productivity gains.

News

What else is brewing

• Eli Lilly easily beat estimates for its earnings yesterday, as demand for its weight loss drugs continues to grow.
• LIV Golf has found an investor to keep it going beyond this season, the league’s CEO Scott O’Neil said. The upstart league has been struggling since Saudi Arabia pulled its backing in April.
• Three Republican state attorneys general subpoenaed Dr. Anthony Fauci for “an official investigation into awards” and “professional opportunities” he received while issuing Covid guidance.
• Etsy is laying off 12% of its staff, about 220 people, as it faces increasing competition.
• OpenAI and Anthropic AI models went rogue again in security testing, this time creating fake identities to trick people into giving up credentials.
• Perez Hilton was hospitalized after the gossip blogger appeared to harm himself during a livestream.

recs

• The NYT names the 50 best thrillers written in the 21st century.
• Science-backed ways to change your limiting beliefs.
• Kitchen experts share the best tools they’ve ever tested in this video.
• The outdoor cooler that will stop your friends from rooting around in your fridge.**

^{*A message from our sponsor. **This is a product recommendation from our writers. When you buy through this link, Morning Brew may earn a commission.}

Play

Brew Mini: Hope you remember your Edgar Allan Poe—it could come in handy today. Play the Mini here.

Three Headlines and a Lie

Three of these headlines are real and one is faker than a totally free weekend in the summer. Can you spot the odd one out?

1. Italian con artist jailed for building ‘world’s oldest and largest amphitheatre’ 20 years ago
2. The internet suddenly loves Emeril, years after his TV stardom
3. How a small Irish town is upending the 50-year legacy of cookbook printing
4. Pete Crow-Armstrong embraces bizarre ‘Babe Ruth didn’t exist’ conspiracy theory

Answer

We made up the one about Irish cookbooks.

Word of the Day

Today’s Word of the Day is: beekeeping, meaning “the branch of agriculture concerned with the production of and caring for bees and honey.” Thanks to Raina from India for the buzzy suggestion. Submit another Word of the Day here.