This is Nick. This is Jack. And Happy “-giving season”. Because first, we had “friends-giving,” which is early Thanksgiving, but with friends. Then we had “drinks-giving,” everyone’s home, getting together with buddies for a drink the Wednesday before Turkey Day. But we think this has franchise potential:

• There’s also LINKS-Giving: Play a round of golf before dinner.

• Or RINKS-Giving: Go ice skating after the meal.

• Or SHRINKS-Giving: When you see your therapist before seeing your family.

And of course, DINKS-Giving: Double-Income-No-Kids Thanksgiving. You’re not flying to see family, you’re flying to Fiji. Casserole in Cleveland? You’re having Paella in Ibiza. Whichever one you’re celebrating, we’re celebrating with you. We’ll see you again on Monday.

🚨 Breaking 🚨 : Late Tuesday night OpenAI’s board brought back Sam Altman as CEO, just 4 days after firing him. It’s in response to demands by employees, 97% of whom signed a letter that they’d quit unless their leader was rehired. The agreement also includes a new initial board of Bret Taylor (Chair), Larry Summers, and Adam D'Angelo. What a rollercoaster ride.

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1) Achieved: The Holy Grail of Capitalism 

Amazon is set to air the first-ever Black Friday NFL football game — it’s the most Black Friday thing ever. 

Backing up: Last year, Amazon bought the rights to the NFL’s Thursday Night game in a 10-year deal. But that conflicts with the NFL’s annual Turkey Day game. Lions and Cowboys have tossed the pigskin on the holiday for the last 40 years.

• 📺 And it works: Last year, 42M people watched the Turkey Bowl on Fox (Giants vs. Cowboys), pairing their yams with men in tights. 

• 🏈 In this deal: Because of that tradition, Amazon got every Thursday Night game, except Thanksgiving. Amazon doesn’t like the word “except”…

So Bezos and company got the NFL to make up for it with a game on the biggest Friday of the year. Jets/Dolphins, only on Amazon Prime. And Amazon has some tricks in store the first ever Black Friday football game:

• 🛍️ Shoppable ads: Commercials will have QR codes on the screen with exclusive deals. Imagine: Scan now to get 30% off Dominos wings after Kickoff. 

• 🛒 Or Amazon will flash an Air Fryer ad during Half-Time… and one QR-code scan later, that fryer’s in your Prime shopping cart.

The Takeaway →

Amazon is shooting for the holy grail: Content merging with commerce. Commercial QR codes remove the gap between seeing an ad for 30% off wings and hitting “order now.” Now, all you have to do (to get elbows-deep in buffalo sauce) is scan the barcode. Black Friday, Football, and Amazon… It’s the Holy Grail of American Capitalism.

2) Compliments are Out

According to Bloomberg number-crunchers, in the last year, compliments to CEOs have become more rare. For those whose love language is “words of affirmation” — Trigger warning.

After publishing quarterly earnings, CEOs let analysts ask questions on a conference call. The questions often open with a quick compliment: “Stacy here from Morgan Stanley, just want to say great quarter guys, solid performance all-around.” But not anymore: Praise is down like Threads usage.

• 📉  Kudos Counters at Bloomberg tabulated that “good jobs” fell 25% in Q3 from the quarter before.

• 👎 That’s the lowest level of compliments since peak-Covid.

• 😔 Typical calls: got just 1 compliment. It’s on the CEO’s fridge now.

But here’s why that’s strange: Earnings results have been good — 82% of S&P 500 companies beat expectations, with profits rising 6% on average in Q3. And stocks are just 5% away from a record high…so why just 1 compliment?

The Takeaway →

Wall Street is reading the room. Recession worries have come back like fanny packs. By not woo-hooing CEOs, Wall Street’s acknowledging the economic stew in the room…

• 🫢 Layoffs are climbing, the unemployment rate is too, there’s war in Israel and Ukraine, and the US presidential election is already flooding the airwaves. 

• 🫢 While profits and the stock market are hot right now, the Street is showing empathy.

On the pod

🦃 The most controversial dish at Thanksgiving: Cranberries. To hear about Ocean Spray — which produces 65% of the world’s cranberries — listen to today’s pod.

Here’s what else you need to know today —

🙏 Israel and Hamas reached a deal on a 4-day cease-fire beginning Thursday morning. Israel will release Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of Hamas-held Israeli hostages. The cease-fire also will allow for more humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.

🫰 The founder of Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, is stepping down after pleading guilty to money laundering violations. His company will pay $4.3B to settle the case.

🫰🫰 Nvidia, the chip company, just announced that revenues tripled in the 3rd quarter. Their chips are also the brains that power AI. 

🏝️ San Francisco’s only private island is for sale for $25M. It’s in the Bay, you just need to build a house (and a boat). 

 💸 Shakira settled a tax lawsuit with the Spanish government by paying $19M. And tax evasion doesn’t lie either.

🍩 Krispy Kreme was downgraded on JP Morgan’s report that its donuts aren’t always fresh. Turns out, some boxes may contain donuts that were made beyond 24 hours. 

👕 American Eagle’s stock just plummeted on a weak holiday sales outlook. Meanwhile, Abercrombie raised its outlook, defying the status quo of the apparel industry as a whole.

Question →

Will you be releasing merch soon?

Answer →

Yes, real soon. Keep your 👀 👀 out.

Do you have The Almost Best Question Yet? Submit yours here.

And one more thing. What topic are you steering clear of at the Thanksgiving table?

—Nick & Jack