🧢 “To Dad, Love A.I.” – Fathers’ D’AI. Gucci’s Ozempic perfume. Big Concrete’s IPO.
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This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Wednesday, ceviche Wednesday, June 25th. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Yetis, do you remember when we covered Poppy on the pod? Poppy, the prebiotic soda brand that sold to Pepsi for two billion bucks? Guess what? We're getting the Poppy co-founder.

on the pod. Yeah, we're going to interview Poppy's creator, Allison Ellsworth, on this show. So if you've got a question for Poppy, ask us on Instagram, and we'll ask her in the interview. But Jack, in the meantime, we pray fantastic. T-Boy for today's pod. What do we got on the show? For our first story, the big IPO right now is America's biggest cement business. The king of concrete has gone public. Perfecto!

Perfect timing, Jack, because what was your favorite case study in business school, my friend? It was about cement. Yes. And we're going to tell it in the takeaway. For our second story, it's the perfume pop. Gen Z generally, and teen boys in particular, are splurging on fragrances. But another driver of cologne sales right now, it's Ozempic users, and they're doing it for a

concerning reason. And our third and final story. Father's Day was 10 days ago, but we just discovered something wild about it. This year's Father's Day was taken over by AI. This story is about Father's Day AI.

You see what I did there? He gets me every time I do that. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stars. Whoa, what a fantastic mix. No one else is doing that mix, Jack. The biggest new fashion trend is also the most offensive. Jorts have gone from cringe to cool, and Jack and I got the data to back it up. Jorts. Jeans shorts. Yep. It's the most awkward combo since the merman. Picture a pair of Levi's and then cut them off at the knee. Now, when I was 12, my cousin ripped on me for wearing jorts. Really, he publicly humiliated me.

And I've stashed mine in the attic ever since. But Jack, good news. The jorts have moved out of the ick. This is the mullet of fashion, baby. Get this, Yetis. Google searches for jorts are up 5x in the last three years, and sales of jorts have just hit an all-time high.

GQ just named denim shorts the fashion look of 2025. Even Gwyneth Paltrow is wearing jorts these days. But that pair actually cost her $4,125. No joke, got the receipts. Now, what we love about jorts the most, besides the PTSD Nick just gave me...

is that jorts also fit in a long line of hybrid clothing combos. Or as Jack and I like to call it, turducken fashion. Turducken fashion. Yeah, because you've got jorts. Jeans shorts. And you've got jeggings. Jeans leggings. You've got skorts. Skirt shorts. And you've got jackets. Shirt jackets. Although our personal favorite is the cardigown. Is that half cardigan, half gown? Actually, it's half gown, half cardigan, Jack. The most lucrative of all.

was crocodile socks, a.k.a. Crocs. That portmanteau is now worth $6 billion. If you know, you know, and now you know. Isn't a velvettini a velvet bikini? Jack, that's a shh food, but I think, yes, you can wear it in some occasions. Yetis, salute your jorts, and Jack, what's in our three stories? Fifteen years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best

First, a quick word from our sponsor.

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Airbnb. Now, yeah, it is. Jack mentioned his favorite skinny dipping spot. Where was that again? I did. A bunch of people asked me about that. But, Nick, there's nothing better than swimming in Mother Nature with the outfit Mother gave you. I mean, you know what they say. It's not the summer unless you're outside naked at some point and nobody knows it. Now, another way to do that is an outdoor shower. And I should mention...

My place has one of those too. And how is it possible you have an outdoor shower, Jack? Because I'm an Airbnb host. True. Now, I usually spend my Airbnb hosting income on travel for the family, but this time we earmarked it for a home upgrade. Now, Jack, I should point out, I'm no carpenter, but outdoor shower, it ain't cheap. You got the cedar wood install. You got the copper pipes, the French drains. But with the money we're making on Airbnb, it was affordable. We put it in last year. Well played. Yetis, I'm an Airbnb host with my current chalet and with two previous apartments, I'm

I can tell you it's very easy to use. Besties millions don't realize their space could be an Airbnb. You already have an Airbnb. You could be yodeling naked outdoors with fresh shampoo in your hair. In the outdoor shower, paid for by your guests. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at Airbnb.com slash host.

For our first story, the newest IPO on Wall Street is the biggest cement company in America. Because the cement industry is bigger than you realize. Yes, it is. But don't call it a commodity. All right, Jack, let's kick things off with a hero stat. What is the most used substance on Earth after water? After water? It's cement. Oh.

According to MIT. Get this, every second the world uses enough cement to fill a 10-story building. Glass can't do that. No, it can't. And cement, it is not a modern invention, is it not? It goes all the way back to ancient Greece and Rome. Lava-based cement is the reason why the Roman Colosseum is still standing. You're listening to this pod in the Pantheon, you can thank cement. Now, since the 1800s, cement has been a mixture of limestone, clay, and water. We don't need lava anymore.

We swapped it for the limestone. But today, Cement is really the quiet MVP of modern life. And the biggest producer of Cement in America is a company called Amrise. Which leads to the news. The Swiss parent company of Amrise separated the company and spun it out onto the New York Stock Exchange on Monday.

on Monday. It's a brand new publicly traded company after Monday's IPO. It's got $11 billion in revenue, $1 billion in profit, and is worth 30 billion bucks. That's like five, six lifts. This is the Coca-Cola of concrete. It is the Disney of drywall. It is the Procter and Gamble. Nick, I know there's some carpenters listening. Drywall is not concrete.

Of pavement. I was thinking pavement. That's the word I was looking for. That's a little better. I had some more, Jack, but I've run dry. What about asphalt? The Amazon of asphalt? We're pushing the alphabet right now, Jack. We're pushing it. But here was our surprise, besties. The biggest driver of concrete growth is shockingly...

A.I. Here's the context, Yetis. Cement is the most local business we've ever covered. Because cement is so heavy, you have to have local plants sprinkled throughout the country. You gotta have a nearby concrete plant or you're not getting concrete. You can't ship cement from a central hub in Missouri to New York City. It's too heavy. It'll be dry by Tennessee. So Amaraz has done hundreds of acquisitions...

And they now have 1,000 locations across all 50 states. Basically, mom and pop concrete shops sold to Amrise and it became big concrete. But here's the key. Big tech needs AI. AI needs data centers. And you can't build a data center without cement. So the reason this old school cement company is growing as fast as Snapchat? Yeah. It's AI. It's AI.

Yeah, concrete slabs are like mattresses for the servers. They keep them cool. Like we've said, everything digital comes back to something physical. Amri's stock jumped on its IPO because cement is piggybacking on the top trend in tech. That's right. Cement is related to AI. So Jack, could you please pour on a takeaway for us for our buddies over in cement? Commodities only exist in the mind of the inept.

All right, yeah, these incredible business school case study that Jack did at Michigan, that is like burned into his memory. You want to share it with us, Jack? Nick, cement is a commodity, right? Right. And with commodities, the lowest price wins because every product is the same. Wrong. Even cement can be branded and sold for a higher price because people can trust it. And we've got proof in Amrise's IPO paperwork. We do. They mentioned the word brand.

57 times, even though they're in the concrete business. Because this concrete company has an eco-brand with a lower carbon footprint. They've got recycled brands. They sell climate-resistant brands, different price points for their different brands. Bottom line, builders and homeowners are willing to pay more for a brand they perceive as higher quality.

That is how Amrise turned 11 billion bucks in revenue into an impressive $1 billion in profit. Cement. It is the same product in Indiana as in India, but don't call it a commodity. Because commodities only exist in the mind of the inept.

For our second story, the fragrance industry is booming right now. It is the perfume pop, especially for the luxury house, Gucci. Who's driving the perfume surge, though? It's teens, boys, and Ozempic users.

Now, yetis, we have told you about the luxury lull. In this moment of economic uncertainty, you're holding off on buying that $15,000 Birkin bag. That's a next-year purchase. But in the meantime, the parent company of Gucci saw its sales shrink 14% last quarter. But the one division that actually grew was their fragrance division.

That's right. Gucci's fragrance sales jumped 6% last quarter to 71 million euros. People are going gaga for eau de Gucci. Now, overall, fragrance sales in America actually rose 12% in 2024. And for the most expensive type of perfume, sales rose 43% last year. But things get even wilder because it turns out every part of your body is getting spritzed with scents these days. Body spray sales are up 95% last

year. Hair fragrance sales are up 32% last year. It's like winter, Jack. We're layering, but we're doing with colognes right now. Fragrance has become a full-body industry. One sec, Jack. Something's in the air, and I think it's the fragrance business. It smells like pint, smear mint, and is that profit? Jack, that is all the profit. Now, what's so wild about the boom in perfumes, colognes, and fragrances is

It's the people who are driving it. Because Gen Z overall is into fragrances. Yeah, for them, how you smell is just as important as how you look. 83% of Gen Zers are using fragrances according to Cercana. But a New York Times article from last year is titled this.

teen boys get a nose for a $300 cologne? Now, to sprinkle on, sorry, spritz on some context here. When Jack and I, millennials, were teens, we applied a little Old Spice to your armpits and you were done. But high school boys today are spritzing the fancy stuff. That's right. The new male status symbol is a bottle of something you can't pronounce. There's a billion views on TikTok for the hashtag smell maxing.

As teen boys trade out Axe body spray for Aqua de Parma. Head over to the locker room and the football team has ditched deodorant for Christian Dior. But Nick, we haven't even gotten to the biggest surprise of this fragrance story. No, no, no, we haven't, Jack. Do you want to reveal it for the besties out there? Yeah. Ozempic. That's right, Ozempic. GLP-1 is...

is driving fragrance sales too. Yeah, get this, besties. But according to Nielsen, perfume use among weight loss drug users is up 23% since last year. You start using Wagavy, you start buying...

Calvin Klein. Yeah, if it smells, it smells. First the Brotox, now the Ozempic perfume. Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies looking at the perfume pop? If you suppress one sense, you must compensate with another. Now, yetis, Jack and I were surprised that teen boys are driving fragrance sales, but we were more surprised that Ozempic users did. So what's the connection between this weight loss drug and perfume?

It's sense compensation. Yeah, follow us on this one. GLPs dull your cravings for food so you eat less, and that is why you lose weight. But users are now seeking sensory inputs they no longer get from food. Basically, even though your appetite for food is gone, your appetite for satisfaction is not. So weight loss drug users are getting a high on cologne since they don't get a high on cake anymore. Yeah.

Exactly. And the way Jack and I see it, that's actually a big issue for the future of this weight loss drug. Yeah, people derive satisfaction from eating delicious foods. But with Ozempic, that satisfaction goes away. So Ozempic users are spritzing themselves with perfume to make up for it. Because if you suppress one sense, you must compensate with another. Now, a quick word from our sponsor.

The best one yet is sponsored by BetterHelp. All right, Jack, let me set the scene for you. My birthday dinner, we did a pizza party. I rented out a whole spot called the Dough Room in San Francisco. You mess with the pizza dough while you make it. I know. And then what comes next is the most San Francisco thing ever. Basically group therapy over dinner. So all three people on my side of the table were in therapy and all of us were talking about each other's therapy. You know, like one person was saying how their therapist helped them through a

co-worker battle. Another was talking about the future of fatherhood with their therapist. They were stressed about becoming a dad. It's not just San Francisco. Society's views on therapy have changed across the world. True. It's evolved to the point where you had a birthday dinner learning from each other's therapy session. Well, BetterHelp is an easy way to take that leap and find the therapist for you. Because BetterHelp has over 10 years of experience matching people.

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Monarch money. All right, Jack, can I tell you about my SMH? What is that? It stands for my stupid money habit. You ready for this? I just realized I spent $412 last month on taxis. Nick, that's a car payment. I know. I could have probably just bought another car at this point. Now, Nick only realized how much he spent on Ubers, Lyfts, and yellow cabs thanks to Monarch money. Monarch. It isn't just a

budgeting app, it is like a personal CFO. Now, I'm using Monarch Money too. My favorite part? Yes, Jack? I've actually retired my net worth spreadsheet. Seriously. Really? Because I have every single financial account I own linked to Monarch Money. You can immediately see your net worth because Monarch Money refreshes all your account balances instantly. So, to help you track and build your net worth, Monarch Money is offering 50% off your first year for listeners of this pod.

And it's not just us. Over a million households already use Monarch Money. The Wall Street Journal already named it the best budgeting app of 2025. We're not even halfway through the year. No, we're not. And I think I just spent $10 more on a taxi. So besties, get control of your overall finances with Monarch Money. Even though Nick apparently can't. Use code T-Boy at monarchmoney.com in your browser for half off your first year. That's 50% off your first year if you go to monarchmoney.com and use code T-Boy.

For our third and final story, something strange happened a little over a week ago on Father's Day. Everyone wrote the same Father's Day message. We call it Father's Day-I. Because with AI, blandness can replace creativity.

Now, yetis, Jack and I told you in May that the two biggest days of the year for phone calls are Mother's Day and Father's Day. Well, turns out those days are also the top days for Facebook posts as well. But did you notice the Father's Day posts this year were more eloquent than ever? Jack, like your buddy Travis dropped out of high school...

But he wrote a whole poem about his dad this year? When did Travis learn iambic pentameter? How did Travis figure out how to make a haiku? It's not just you, Yetis. It's part of a broader trend that we call Father's Day-I. Father's Day-I. All the Father's Day messages were written by AI. Jack, did Travis just reference a stanza from Maya Angelou? How is that possible? We found the culprit. The source of this viral trend of similar-sounding Father's Day captions...

And we found the smoking gun, too, because on May 20th, Microsoft published this specific blog post. Plan a Father's Day celebration with AI. Now, in the post, Microsoft suggests a handful of prompts to enter into AI to help you for Father's Day. Provide ideas for a short and sweet message I can write in my dad's Father's Day card.

Create an outline for a sentimental Father's Day message. How should I end a Father's Day note? Now, anecdotally, Jack and I can tell you that a lot of people use this, and how do we know that, Jack? Because every Father's Day post last week smelled similar. To my wonderful dad, thank you for always being there with your guidance and your big heart. Your love has been my steady rock through everything, with all my heart, your son. Now, funny thing, besties.

Apparently TikTok noticed this trend as well. Yeah, viral videos of others pointing out Father's Day messages that sounded similar. Because that one-page poem might have impressed your dad who doesn't realize it was written by AI. But eventually, a tidal wave of AI-written blandness will be noticeable to all.

How did my eight-year-old learn Shakespeare? And how did his eight-year-old learn Shakespeare? So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies staring into the AI Father's Day abyss? AI is neither good nor bad. It depends how you use it.

Now, yetis, we're not saying you shouldn't use AI to help you write or come up with ideas. But we are saying that lazy use of AI will result in blandness. Now, in our research, we found some examples that are awesome of using AI to be creative. One son created a 12-month calendar to give to his dad, with each month showing an AI-generated image of his dad doing something he loves,

during that month of the year. I love that example, Jack, because it took effort, thoughtfulness, iteration, and lots of inputs to tell AI precisely what to do that was unique. Generic inputs will result in generic outputs. Unique inputs will result in unique outputs. So Father's Day Eye teaches us this, yetis, if nothing else at all. AI is neither good nor bad. It depends how you use it.

Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for Ceviche Wednesday? America's biggest cement company is now publicly traded after Monday's IPO. But don't call it a commodity because commodities only exist in the mind of the inept.

For our second story, it's the perfume pop. Gen Z is driving a boom in fragrance sales, and Ozempic users are too. Yeah, teen dudes. Because if you suppress one sense, you must compensate with another. And our third and final story is Father's Day Eye. A flood of similar-sounding Father's Day posts were written by AI. Remember, Yetis, AI is neither good nor bad. It depends on how you use it.

But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, President Trump may have had a mission accomplished moment because late Monday he posted that he brokered a historic ceasefire between Iran and Israel. But within 12 hours, both sides had staged attacks on each other to Trump's frustration. He actually cursed about it on TV. Still, stocks rose Tuesday and oil prices fell as investors bet that this truce will hold.

And second, NVIDIA's CEO, Jensen Wang, just sold $865 million of his NVIDIA stock. He pushed the sell button and generated almost a billion dollars in cash. Yeah, he must be buying a second house for his third yacht check. But this is actually part of a pre-planned sale. CEOs must announce publicly in advance when they're selling stock in their own company. It's an SEC rule. Insiders with big stakes must announce their stock sales publicly.

And finally, McDonald's and Krispy Kreme are getting a divorce. It sounded so smart in principle. McDonald's customers could get donuts, Krispy Kreme could get sales. But in a very honest announcement, McDonald's announced that having Krispy Kreme donuts at McDonald's locations wasn't as profitable as they hoped. Krispy Kreme stock is down 70% this year. Apparently donuts are not a treat yourself treat in this economy. Or maybe you just prefer an Egg McMuffin.

And Jack's investment in Krispy Kreme stock has turned into a not-so-sweet treat. Thank goodness I didn't put my whole nest egg in it. I think you hold, Jack. I think you hold. I think so, too. I think you hold. The checker symbol is donut. How could I not hold?

Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Herb Johnson from lovely Lansing, Michigan. I think it's Herb Johnson. He wrote Herb down. Nick, he's not an oregano leaf. As far as we know. Yeti's Los Angeles Lakers sold last week for $10 billion. That is an NBA record. Who sold? Jerry Buss did. Jerry Buss bought the Lakers in 1979 for just $67 million. $67 million.

Now he's selling for $10 billion. But yet, this is what we found fascinating. What if Jerry Puss had put the $67 million he used to buy the Lakers back in 1979 into the S&P 500 instead? If he had just bought stocks instead of buy the Lakers...

It would actually be worth $11 billion today if you include the dividends. You would have made more money in the stock market than from owning the Lakers after all these decades. I think this is bright news for all of us. It means that you don't have to own a professional sports team to gain money and to get rich. It's also the perfect example of opportunity cost. Your money could do one thing with this investment, but it could do another thing with that investment.

But seriously, the S&P 500, great frigging investment. Yeah, but Jack, if he'd invested in the stock market, he wouldn't have been able to hang out with all these cool dudes on the basketball team for the last 50 years. True. The perks of being the Lakers owner is probably pretty cool.

Yetis, you look fantastic for Ceviche Wednesday. If you are wearing jorts today, remember to drop down and give us five stars in a review because your beautiful fashion helps grow the pod. And send your thoughts and prayers to 12-year-old me, who still has emotional scars. Trigger warning on the jorts. I think I need to wear the jorts and not let the jorts wear me. Dragon Eye, we'll see you tomorrow.

And before we go, a happy birthday to little Luke McCall over in San Francisco. Happy 33rd birthday to Paula Ulloa in Orlando, Florida, who loves Abercrombie, Steve Madden, and Costco. Sounds like a stock portfolio right there. And Zab Schlag has turned 15 years old in El Dorado Hills, California. Happy birthday, Zach. Happy birthday to Matthew in New Zealand.

The Kiwi. And Derek and Holly Owens have their anniversary in Bismarck, North Dakota. They are whitewater rafting on the Colorado River to celebrate. And a big shout out to Matt Young from Salt Lake City for sending us some fantastic ideas. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins.

This is Jack. I own stock in Crocs, Amazon, Disney, and Krispy Kreme, as well as Lyft. And Nick and I both own ETFs of the S&P 500. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.

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