🗓️ This Week in The Markets
Macro/Market News
President Trump signed a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security through September, ending a partial government shutdown that lasted 11 weeks.
U.S. GDP grew at a 2% annualized rate in the first quarter, falling short of the 2.3% estimate despite significant business investment in AI.
The United Arab Emirates officially left OPEC effective May 1, a move expected to impact global oil supply dynamics.
Company Specific News
Meta ($META ( ▼ 0.52% )) has signed a multibillion-dollar deal to use Amazon's Graviton5 processors for its AI inference workloads.
PayPal ($PYPL ( ▲ 0.6% )) is separating Venmo into a standalone unit to streamline its operations and unlock value, following interest from potential acquirers.
Google’s ($GOOG ( ▲ 0.34% )) Waymo is currently providing more than 500,000 rides per week to its quickly growing userbase, which has expanded to six new cities so far in 2026!
🛒 What the Haul?
Out of 449 TikTok hauls analyzed, these companies appeared the most:
Shein - 42 Appearances (9.4%)
Zara - 39 Appearances (8.7%)
H&M - 30 Appearances (6.7%)
Aritzia - 21 Appearances (4.7%)
Target - 21 Appearances (4.7%)
Hollister - 19 Appearances
(4.2%)
Brandy Melville - 17 Appearances (3.8%)
Aerie - 13 Appearances (2.9%)
Garage - 12 Appearances (2.7%)
Bershka - 12 Appearances (2.7%)
Lululemon - 11 Appearances (2.4%)
Free People - 11 Appearances (2.4%)
Adidas - 11 Appearances (2.4%)
Edikted - 9 Appearances (2%)
Victoria's Secret - 9 Appearances (2%)
Stradivarius - 9 Appearances (2%)
Princess Polly - 9 Appearances (2%)
Sephora - 8 Appearances (1.8%)
Rhode - 8 Appearances (1.8%)
Sol De Janeiro - 8 Appearances (1.8%)
Coach - 8 Appearances (1.8%)
PINK - 7 Appearances (1.6%)
Aeropostale - 7 Appearances (1.6%)
Fashion Nova - 7 Appearances (1.6%)
ASOS - 7 Appearances (1.6%)
Dior - 6 Appearances (1.3%)
Charlotte Tilbury - 6 Appearances (1.3%)
Lush - 6 Appearances (1.3%)
Nike - 6 Appearances (1.3%)
Mango - 6 Appearances (1.3%)
Chanel - 6 Appearances (1.3%)
Glassons - 6 Appearances (1.3%)
Cider - 6 Appearances (1.3%)
New Yorker - 6 Appearances (1.3%)
Wild Fable - 5 Appearances (1.1%)
Hello Kitty - 5 Appearances (1.1%)
Urban Outfitters - 5 Appearances (1.1%)
Biodance - 5 Appearances (1.1%)
Prada - 5 Appearances (1.1%)
Dove - 5 Appearances (1.1%)
Abercrombie & Fitch - 5 Appearances (1.1%)
Guess - 5 Appearances (1.1%)
Gina Tricot - 5 Appearances (1.1%)
Twilio ($TWLO ( ▲ 23.83% )) is up 56% since our coverage in February
In February, we flagged Twilio in one of our Deep Dives as one of “AI’s favorite companies” and it’s up more than 56% since then!
Key Takeaways
Hollister's ($ANF ( ▼ 0.95% )) denim is the one category where the brand is actively losing trust. Creators are calling tops and skorts a "win" and denim a "flop" in the same video. Sizing inconsistencies requiring two-size adjustments and waist-to-hip ratio misses in low-rise styles are generating the kind of specific, repeated complaints that signal a product development problem, not just preference variance. For $ANF, the denim line is the weak link in an otherwise strong momentum story.
Aerie ($AEO ( ▼ 2.76% )) is explicitly capturing sales that Abercrombie ($ANF ( ▼ 0.95% )) can't fulfill. One creator bought at Aerie specifically because a similar tank top was repeatedly sold out at Abercrombie. That's a direct cross-brand demand transfer within the haul data, $AEO is functioning as the overflow valve for $ANF's inventory gaps. Whether that's intentional positioning or accidental, it's generating incremental revenue for Aerie at Abercrombie's expense.
The "Lemonade" yellow is now the most tracked colorway across multiple weeks of haul data. Aritzia's ($ATZ.TSX ( ▲ 2.13% )) butter yellow has appeared consistently across tops, sets, dresses, and loungewear for several consecutive reports. When a single color sustains demand at this level, it stops being a seasonal trend and starts being a brand signature, the kind of association that creates instant recognition on social media and drives impulse purchases when shoppers see it in-store.
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🤖 This Week in AI
Google ($GOOG ( ▲ 0.34% )) has introduced a feature allowing Gemini to generate files like Google Docs, Sheets, Word, and Excel directly within the chat. Users can download these files to their devices, eliminating the need to copy and paste content between applications.
xAI has released Grok 4.3, which offers improved "cost-per-intelligence" compared to previous versions. It scores higher on the Intelligence Index while being one of the lowest-cost models at its intelligence level, performing strongly in instruction following and agentic tasks.
OpenAI and Microsoft ($MSFT ( ▲ 1.63% )) have revised their agreement to end Microsoft's exclusivity over OpenAI's intellectual property. This allows OpenAI to utilize other cloud providers, such as Amazon Bedrock, while Microsoft retains a revenue-sharing arrangement through 2030.
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