The 7investing Podcast

On 7investing's Livestream show on August 21, I had a conversation with Upstart Holdings' new CEO Paul Gu that included two very important questions.You see, I had two outstanding questions about Upstart's future strategy that I just wasn't hearing the media or any other investors asking him. So I did.The first was:"Will Upstart's new secured products like Home and Auto loans will be as disruptive as those for unsecured Consumer loans?"Or in other words, will your AI models also have an edge in these new markets too?And the second question was:"How does Upstart intend to use its new banking charter as a competitive advantage rather than as a distraction to its relationship with regional banking customers?"Or in other words, will your new banking charter change your business model?His answers really clarified things and made a ton of sense. This short, 15 minute conversation is a must-watch for any investor who owns -- or may soon own -- shares of Upstart Holdings.0:00 – Welcome & Introduction to Paul Gu, Upstart CEO1:03 – Upstart's Disruptive Approach to Lending2:02 – Question 1: Can Upstart's AI Models Scale to Secured Loans?6:03 – The Strategy: Compounding Growth Beyond Personal Loans7:01 – Why Upstart's Models Keep Getting Better Over Time9:38 – Auto & Home Loan Growth Stats10:03 – Question 2: The National Banking Charter Explained13:38 – What Investors Are Missing About Upstart14:59 – Closing Thoughts & Where to Learn More🔗 Free 7-day 7investing trial: https://7investing.com/subscribe

The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) has fallen roughly 90% from its late-2024 highs, and in this episode of 7investing Live, Simon Erickson digs into why. They break down Trade Desk's second-quarter 2026 results, including slowing revenue growth, declining margins, and back-to-back quarterly misses after eight straight years of beating Wall Street estimates.The conversation covers the company's pricing dispute with ad agency Publicis, rising competition from Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and its own demand-side platform, and Trade Desk's newly hired C-suite team brought in to rebuild client relationships. We also discuss client retention trends, the shifting economics of digital advertising take rates, and whether Trade Desk's AI-powered platforms can help it hold its competitive edge.The episode closes with a look at valuation: is Trade Desk's beaten-down stock price already reflecting its challenges, or does it represent a buying opportunity for patient investors?🔗 Free 7investing trial: https://7investing.com/subscribe⚠️ This is not investing advice. Please do your own research before making any investment decisions.Chapters Timestamp Chapter00:00 Show Open & Welcome02:47 Trade Desk's Historic Run: $13 to $130+ a Share04:43 Q2 2026 Earnings: Slowing Growth, Falling Margins08:12 CEO Jeff Green Blames Macro Headwinds10:08 Weak Q3 Guidance & Two Straight Misses11:58 The Publicis Pricing Dispute13:44 Amazon's New DSP: A Direct Threat17:24 New C-Suite Hires: Rebuilding Client Trust21:06 Valuation Check: Is $13 a Share Justified?24:00 The End of the Cookie Story26:42 Take Rates & Industry Consolidation28:21 Kokai AI Platform: Still Best-in-Class?31:01 Wrap-Up & What's Coming This WeekHashtags#7investing #SimonErickson #TradeDesk #TTD #DigitalAdvertising #StockMarket #Amazon #AdTech #StockAnalysis #Investing

47 days after SpaceX's record-breaking $75 billion IPO — the largest in history — Simon Erickson and Heather Horton dig into whether the stock is a buy now that shares have pulled back from their post-IPO highs. Learn about SpaceX's origin story, Elon Musk's Mars mission, and how the company slashed launch costs from over $18,000 per kilogram down to under $1,000. Simon breaks down SpaceX's three business divisions — Space, AI (xAI/Grok), and Connectivity (Starlink) — and explains why a 75x trailing revenue valuation, upcoming lockup expirations, and the $60 billion Cursor AI acquisition make this a "buyer beware" situation for investors.🔗 Free 7investing trial: https://7investing.com/subscribeThis is Part 1 of a multi-part SpaceX series on 7investing Live, streaming every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10 AM ET.Stocks MentionedPublicly Traded:Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) — mentioned re: GPUs powering SpaceX's data centersAT&T (NYSE:T) — mentioned as a Starlink alternativeVerizon (NYSE:VZ) — mentioned as a Starlink alternativeSpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX)Private/Not Publicly Traded:xAI (SpaceX division)Starlink (SpaceX division)Cursor AI (acquired by SpaceX)AnthropicOpenAIChaptersTime Chapter0:50 Welcome to 7investing Live2:21 SpaceX's Record $75B IPO4:44 SpaceX's Origin Story & Elon's Mars Mission6:51 How SpaceX Slashed Launch Costs9:57 Why SpaceX Isn't Just About Profit10:32 SpaceX's Three Business Divisions12:25 Space Division: Rockets & Launches13:42 AI Division: xAI, Grok & the Colossus Data Center15:42 Connectivity Division: Starlink17:45 Buyer Beware: Is SpaceX Overvalued?18:41 Lockup Expirations Explained19:34 Elon's Voting Power & the Tesla Comparison20:12 The $60B Cursor AI Acquisition22:33 SpaceX's Massive Capital Expenditures27:12 What's Next: Part 2 Preview#7investing #SimonErickson #SpaceX #ElonMusk #Starlink #xAI #IPOStocks #StockMarket #SpaceStocks #InvestingTips

Everyone calls the S&P 500 "the market." But is it really? In this episode of 7investing Live, founder and CEO Simon Erickson breaks down what the market actually is in 2026, and why the benchmark you're using matters more than you think. There are roughly 5,600 companies listed on the NYSE and NASDAQ, yet just 500 of them make up 80% of the total US market value and the top 10 stocks alone now account for a staggering 36.4% of the S&P 500 index.Simon walks through the numbers behind today's market concentration: NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) sitting at the top as a nearly $5 trillion company, the S&P 500's $69 trillion total market cap, and why the index now rises and falls with Big Tech and the AI trade. Then the conversation turns to the more surprising story of 2026: the Russell 2000 small-cap index is up 20.7% year-to-date, nearly double the S&P 500's return, marking its best first half since 1991 and its widest margin of outperformance over the large-cap index since 2001.What's driving the rotation? Simon and Heather dig into mega-cap fatigue, stretched valuations for companies like Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), the worst performer of the top 10 constituents, down 20% this year, 40%+ forecasted earnings growth for small caps, and the under-the-radar AI infrastructure plays like Lumentum (NASDAQ:LITE) hiding in the small-cap fish pond. Plus, a preview of later this week: three small-cap ideas with 20-bagger potential.0:00 - Welcome and 7investing Overview2:00 - Large-Cap Dominance: A closer look at the S&P 5007:02 - The Entire Market: An Introduction to the Russell 3000 Index8:32 - A Small-Cap Index: An Introduction to the Russell 200010:56 - Why are Small Caps Outperforming in 2026?13:40 - Returns of the Top 10 Companies in the S&P 50016:50 - Q&A: Investor behavior and risk toleranceWant to see all of our official stock recommendations? Visit 7investing.com/subscribe and get your first 7 days of premium access completely freePublicly Traded Companies Mentioned:NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA)Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN)Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL, NASDAQ:GOOG)Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.B)Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO)Lumentum (NASDAQ:LITE)Indexes/ETFs referenced: S&P 500 (SPY), Russell 3000, Russell 2000 (IWM)Private / Pre-IPO Companies Mentioned:OpenAIAnthropicHashtags#7investing #SimonErickson #SP500 #Russell2000 #smallcapstocks #stockmarket #investing #stocks #NVIDIA #bigtech #AIstocks #marketanalysis