🗓️ This Week in The Markets
Macro/Market News
In 2025, the U.S. saw net negative migration for the first time since the Great Depression. Record numbers of citizens relocated to Europe and Latin America, driven by remote work opportunities and a search for lower living costs.
Global smartphone shipments are projected to fall by 11–13% in 2026. This would mark the sharpest decline on record, driven largely by memory shortages caused by AI demand, which are pushing device prices higher.
The core producer price index (PPI), a key measure of wholesale inflation, rose by 0.8% last month. This significantly exceeded economist expectations of 0.3% and outpaced the 0.6% recorded in December.
Company Specific News
AMD ($AMD ( ▼ 1.7% )) secured a major deal to supply up to $60 billion in AI chips to Meta ($META ( ▼ 1.34% )) over the next five years. The agreement includes MI450 GPUs and custom CPUs, with Meta receiving warrants to potentially buy up to 10% of AMD.
Block ($XYZ ( ▲ 16.82% )) announced it is laying off more than 4,000 employees, nearly 40% of its staff, citing efficiency gains from AI. Shares rallied 18% following the announcement.
After a competitive pursuit, Netflix ($NFLX ( ▲ 13.77% )) dropped its $82.7 billion bid for Warner Bros. Discovery ($WBD ( ▼ 2.19% )), clearing the way for Paramount’s ($PSKY ( ▲ 20.84% )) $111 billion takeover. Netflix and Paramount shares both jumped 8% on the news.
🛒 What the Haul?
Out of 412 TikTok hauls analyzed, these companies appeared the most:
Zara - 60 Appearances (14.6%)
Shein - 40 Appearances (9.7%)
Hollister - 24 Appearances (5.8%)
Lululemon - 18 Appearances (4.4%)
H&M - 17 Appearances (4.1%)
Target - 14 Appearances (3.4%)
Brandy Melville - 14 Appearances (3.4%)
Garage - 13 Appearances (3.2%)
Bershka - 13 Appearances (3.2%)
Aritzia - 13 Appearances (3.2%)
Nike - 13 Appearances (3.2%)
Alo Yoga - 13 Appearances (3.2%)
Adidas - 12 Appearances (2.9%)
Aerie - 11 Appearances (2.7%)
Victoria's Secret - 11 Appearances (2.7%)
Edikted - 11 Appearances (2.7%)
Sephora - 11 Appearances (2.7%)
Dior - 10 Appearances (2.4%)
Skims - 9 Appearances (2.2%)
Louis Vuitton - 9 Appearances (2.2%)
Chanel - 9 Appearances (2.2%)
Ross - 8 Appearances (1.9%)
Wild Fable - 8 Appearances (1.9%)
Fashion Nova - 8 Appearances (1.9%)
Princess Polly - 8 Appearances (1.9%)
Cider - 8 Appearances (1.9%)
Starbucks - 8 Appearances (1.9%)
Pandora - 8 Appearances (1.9%)
Rhode - 8 Appearances (1.9%)
Free People - 8 Appearances (1.9%)
Hello Kitty - 7 Appearances (1.7%)
Jellycat - 7 Appearances (1.7%)
Dove - 7 Appearances (1.7%)
Uniqlo - 7 Appearances (1.7%)
Abercrombie - 6 Appearances (1.5%)
Old Navy - 6 Appearances (1.5%)
Urban Outfitters - 6 Appearances (1.5%)
White Fox - 6 Appearances (1.5%)
New Yorker - 6 Appearances (1.5%)
iPhone - 6 Appearances (1.5%)
Primark - 6 Appearances (1.5%)
Ugg - 6 Appearances (1.5%)
Amazon - 5 Appearances (1.2%)
American Eagle - 5 Appearances (1.2%)
Aeropostale - 5 Appearances (1.2%)
Bath & Body Works - 5 Appearances (1.2%)
Charlotte Tilbury - 5
Appearances (1.2%)
ASOS - 5 Appearances (1.2%)
New Balance - 5 Appearances (1.2%)
Glassons - 5 Appearances (1.2%)
Key Takeaways
Garage ($GRGD) is quietly building a Skims-adjacent brand perception. Being compared to Skims ("giving Skims vibes") on a fast-fashion budget is powerful positioning. The color-drop strategy, naming shades like "Armadillo Brown" and "Fig Fantasy", is driving collector behavior where creators buy the same piece in every new colorway.
Target's ($TGT ( ▼ 0.87% )) "dupe economy" strategy is compounding. With ~65 items purchased, Target continues to capture spend by offering aesthetic alignment with Brandy Melville, Free People, and Intimissimi at a fraction of the price. The $35 sweatshirt compared to Free People and the "Intimissimi dupe" camisoles show that Target is systematically targeting mid-tier brands' most viral silhouettes.
Hollister's ($ANF ( ▼ 1.2% )) Y2K revival is accelerating. The brand has moved from trending (#3 last week) to the top spot, with creators saying it feels like being "transported back to 2009." The reversible items strategy (camis, bikini tops) is landing as a "two-for-one" value play that reinforces the affordable positioning against pricier competitors.
🤖 This Week in AI
Google ($GOOG ( ▲ 1.39% )) released a major upgrade to its viral image generation model, Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image). The new version claims the #1 spot on text-to-image leaderboards while being significantly faster and costing half as much as its predecessor.
Perplexity launched Perplexity Computer, a digital worker that unifies 19 different AI models into a single system. It is designed to autonomously execute complex workflows and connect to various applications.
IBM ($IBM ( ▼ 0.74% )) shares plunged 13% after Anthropic demonstrated that its "Claude Code" tool could modernize legacy COBOL systems, potentially threatening IBM’s core mainframe business.
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