Google’s Antitrust Trial, Birkenstock’s IPO, and Surge Pricing at the Pub | Prof G Markets

[@LevelofClarity]

I appreciate when Scott and Ed disagree. I think a little bit of heat brings out the best pros and cons when they discuss various topics. Great show, guys.

[@varsaysirleaf9569]

Agree! Loved the back and forth on the topic of monopoly abuse.

[@jessejoy1480]

Calling the slow hours "happy hour" for a discount feels better than surge pricing for the customer. Same idea with spin.

[@zbenne05]

This show really makes me appreciate how important charisma is in a host

[@soSEW-COB]

Haha Prof G is fun eh. True on host

[@superhandsomeman784]

Surge pricing is great... except when your flight lands and ride share prices jump from $35 to $150 for the same ride.

[@MikeSJWebster]

Apple R&D is being spent largely on new silicon chips, new AI research, health research connected to iWatch, etc. iPhone redesigns and headsets are not the only things Apple thinks are worth spending on.

[@Haimoimoi]

Exactly right. The blind spot of a lot of modern finance folks is that R&Ds investments over time are inexplicable, rather than the key way new products actually come to market. Few folks in established industries just turn on metaphorical lightbulbs and then magically you have new products a quarter later. That headset was being paid for years ago.

[@dianedean4170]

Scott, is brilliant in his forecast of how much wealth will spread up and across the economy when certain monopolies are divided into smaller companies. We need to find the smart people who will get on board with these moves and shake it loose and let it flow. Great discussion Scott and Ed🎉❤😊

[@ksimon81]

Re: Surge procing - Scott is focused on discounts at different times, but the pubs are looking at increasing prices at busy times. That's why it's so unpopular. People like matinee movie tickets being cheaper, but would HATE opening night tickets being jacked up.

[@GrantLeeEdwards]

I think it was implied that he understands the issue, but is simply highlighting how behavior may be expected to shift in response. Those most sensitive to rush-hour surge pricing will adjust and take advantage of reduced pricing. I find it more objectionable when a dynamic pricing model exploits unexpected events where customers don’t have the option to plan ahead & avoid the rush. And where they gouge rather than incrementally raise pricing. Uber during weather events, etc.

[@rolfjacobson833]

great show again. and i have never owed a pair of birkenstocks

[@cavemankiwi]

I always thought of birkenstocks, as the Subaru of shoes.

[@sguttag]

I think Scott is dead wrong on the writers. The impact of the writers/SAG strike are the type of things that are not felt immediately. But the pipeline of motion picture entertainment (both theatrical and TV) is emptying. So, in time, that cupboard will be bare. The shareholders of the media companies will become progressively more outraged over the lack of earnings. As it is, they're having to explain massive losses. Additionally, as it turns out, both Drew and Bill have backed down, for now and halted resuming their shows. The producers are interested in coming back to the bargaining table.

[@RaphaelRRangel]

Pretty expensive sandals, OMG!

[@omoladeodetara]

43:50 Friedberg could smell the Uranus joke a mile away

[@zanebarrett23]

Do they not have happy hour in British pubs? That's "surge" pricing as well.

[@tarqvin7471]

Scott’s articulation of the differences between the UAW and WGA strikes was thought provoking, but I am frustrated at his inability to see that a future without human minds behind creative enterprise where AI generates content is doomed to be iterative and boring. He totally gets it when it comes to automotive executive compensation but doesn’t see the same trend with streaming services profits and residuals being lower than ever before.

[@TeresaKayWilliams]

Awwww man! You were in my town, Atlanta!

[@PaulLembo]

The market’s reaction to Tesla’s announcement is the stupidity of people that don’t understand AI and are buying hype.

[@titan-0016]

True that but it made millionaires in last 3 years than a cutting edge invention company like Qualcomm who got hammered despite new tech , good PE, dividend etc. Whatever conventional wisdom was for valuation is not holding ground anymore

[@craigcorbett7226]

Sack surge pricing. It hits those who work. Happy Hours for none busy times that the students, OAP’s and those who are unemployed can go to.

[@BodyByBenSLC]

9:00 well maybe people could afford homes if money went to paying wages and not trading invisible pieces of companies Scott.

[@GeoffKimo]

Dear Prof G Team: there is a mistake on the graph shown at the 28:58 mark --AWS is listed TWICE on the pie chart. Can this be fixed? Otherwise, we love the Show, its contents, and its graphs!!!

[@iGaryTheSnail]

Crocs is a great comparison for Birkenstocks ! ❤

[@montpelier3]

I just paid $18 for a small digital clock on Amazon. I couldn't stop laughing at myself when I opened it up.

[@GrantLeeEdwards]

Crocs is the nearest comparable to Birckenstock. They’ve managed to stay relevant & outperform, whereas many assumed their pandemic bubble would dramatically pop. Could be the next Birckenstock.

[@tonynelson5229]

If Amazon should spin AWS does the same follow for Google/GCP and Microsoft/Azure?

[@Uustal]

Hotels actually have already now surge/variable pricing, it is nothing new there.

[@jonnynz]

Utilities (power) variable price. Which is a core need

[@JuanRuiz-nm3xu]

Birkenstock ipo good call

[@HughJass-313]

Never even heard of Birkenshite footwear.... 😜

[@tonywilson4713]

HEY SCOTT: On Tik Tok. *_Imagine if an authoritarian state wanted a really good surveillance system where it could track its people, know who they met from analysing photos and knew who you were calling and communicating with what would it look like._* At the basic level Tik Tok tracks your location and has access to you photo library which you give it permission to do. Anyone who understands even basic firewall technology knows that if you give an app access PAST or THROUGH your firewall it can then it can do other things. This has been confirmed in Australia (my country) by our security agencies and we now know that Tik Tok can access phone logs and SMS histories. They didn't publicly confirm if Tik Tok could access microphones and/or cameras but then if they can access everything else what do you think??? Tik Tok might have started as fun sing song social media dance app but its lot more than that now. Since you're on Tik Tok understand that the CCP already has a file on you and you are being tracked.

[@blasefaire7877]

apple's R&D spending also includes flushing out ideas just to file for patients. This is a sector that often gets overlooked, I'm sure it worth their time if they are filing something like 4000-6000 patients a year which they can potentially secure future revenue via licensing and /or they choose to implement the IP in their own products.

[@ezquiet]

Is S Galloway still locked out of twitter? If so, is he active on any other platform?

[@gordonsteen8415]

Birkenstock is a one trick pony. It has a tons of competitors that innovate. Crocks are more fun. It is a great product.

[@jong3397]

FYI... Your solo podcast and Pivot have not starting all week on Spotify. Others shows have been jusy fine. Hope you can sorrt out the problem.

[@lailaalfaddil7389]

I will be forever grateful to you, you changed my whole life and I will continue to preach on your behalf for the whole world to hear you saved me from huge financial debt with just a small investment, thank you *JENNY PAMOGAS CANAYA* .

[@susannnico]

I'm surprised you know her. I've been making a lot of profits investing with her for a few months now.

[@gaitanoeugenecampbell6962]

I think Tesla is more of a Tech company than a Auto company

[@RagedContinuum]

nothing worse than hearing that youtube makes a lot of money

[@Traderbear]

Look at the Tesla resales these days. They are depreciating far quicker than ICE vehicles because of battery degradation concerns.

[@MorRobots]

Mediocre software is being polite to the traditional car maker's. Mediocre is probably accurate description of a Tessa car. The question is how fast can the traditional manufacturers can close the gap and also make the transition to electric offerings someone like myself would be willing to buy.

[@c.p.267]

I don't get that argument against google: If you had the best product, why do you pay Apple 10bn.....that's like asking GM, Mercedes, BMW, Nike, Adidas, Nestle and every other company why they advertise. It's not even close to Microsoft pushing Internet Explorer by making it a headache and close to impossible to deinstall IE back in the day. A couple of clicks & you can change your default search engine, no downloads or (de)installation mess needed. To me paying to be the default engine on Apple devices is like paying for giant billboards/screens on Time Square or advertising spots at the Superbowl: Raise awareness for the brand/product. And Microsoft or other big tech companies could shell out the same money, but they choose not to. If Bing was an equally good product and google had their market share in large part because of being the default engine on Apple, Microsoft would have spent that money years ago to cut into alphabets revenue.....

[@MFunkibut]

If Google isn't paying Apple to be the default search engine then somebody else will because Apple isn't just going to go "Oh - we'll make this the default search engine and we won't charge company X any money...." [unless of course that company is Apple which also brings up other/different monopoly concerns].

[@shatzofhudson]

lol speaking of Apple being fucking trash...the shit they've been doing with browsers on iOS since the inception of the iPhone makes mid-90s Microsoft look like a petty shoplifter.

[@PristinePerceptions]

Hey Prof G team, it'd be great if you could match the loudness of Scott's and Ed's voices a bit. Scott tends to mumble (with occasional yells) and Ed's generally louder but consistent. This makes it hard to listen to this, say, while driving. I have to keep messing with the volume every few minutes. Love the show though!

[@HughJass-313]

Nah... It's fine as is

[@shakthidhasan4544]

Guys wonderful content but for Christ sake whenever Proof G is in the zone and is discussing and contemplating an issue his volume is so low. Need to work on that guys. Love the show

[@BlueSkyOcean]

Surge pricing is great for who? Is it not like the beer gets cheaper. The business raise the price and they get the benefit...not consumers.Who has money now to spend???? Companies made this to like a norm so we suppose to believe that we are paying more for getting a better product or service..????

[@tonynelson5229]

Can Microsoft not afford to pay Apple $12b/yr? Can’t they be the highest bidder? Isn’t that capitalism?

[@jamieosz]

13:00 I personally miss Kimmel, Colbert and Bill Maher's shows a lot, seems like a big loss to the political conversation to not have the standup sections of these shows any more. On the other hand, maybe in some ways there is a silver lining in that the various indictments of Trump et al. seem to have a bit more gravitas when they're not a punchline on these shows every night.

[@10XRIEL]

It’s not your toe you need to dip in Ed. FYI

[@matthewmelange]

39:10 wtf is a birkenstock? lol - to drop the joke I've seen their sandals before, I've just never known the name. I just thought they were random sandalS from a random sandal makerS (notice the plural - did not recognize them as a singular brand). I just texted my mom & dad what's a birkenstock and please don't buy me any. - I'm skeptical of Birkenstock as a long term play because it's just sandals. As opposed to athletic shoes, you can't really pay celebrities/athlete's to wear/play in them. So there's no association of 'if I buy this, I can slam dunk like Mike.' I guess 1 thing you should've touched on is what can Birkenstock do/has that no other sandal maker can replicate?

[@shatzofhudson]

Youre not wrong. I've never met anyone under the age 45 that owns a pair of Birkenstocks, much less knows what they are. This ipo has boomer written all over it, and much like the boomers, we're all hoping they'll hurry up and die.

[@andreaqui1653]

I know Google and Amazon are growth companies....but it would sure be nice if they paid a small dividend. Google paid a like a 0.5% dividend for a short time during covid....that attracted me to frontload Google in my portfolio. Then they took it away :(