Hello, N2K’ers!

Markets ticked up again yesterday to new records, but was Prime Day a boom or a bust? We caught up with the mayor who wants all city staff to use AI and the creator of a new Zoom vets for pets service. Plus: Is Coca-Cola going to revert to real sugar in its U.S. flagship drink?

We have more answers to these and more questions than Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.

—Matt Davis, Need2Know Chedditor

News You Need2Know

• Wall Street hits record led by tech and PepsiCo

• So was Prime Day a success or what?

• Zoom vets for pets are here

• San Jose’s mayor wants all his staff using AI

• Is Coca-Cola going to revert to real sugar?

What’s the stock market up to, eh?

$SPX ( ▼ 0.03% ) $DJI ( ▼ 0.37% ) $NDX ( ▼ 0.05% )

Companies mentioned in today’s newsletter

$TSM ( ▼ 2.12% )  $NVDA ( ▼ 0.67% )  $PEP ( ▼ 1.51% )  $UAL ( ▲ 1.29% )  $AMZN ( ▲ 0.97% )  $COKE ( ▼ 0.49% )  

Wall Street hits record led by tech and PepsiCo

Today would be a good day to check your 401(k), since you asked. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing $TSM ( ▼ 2.12% ) Co., a key player in the tech industry, reported a remarkable 61% increase in quarterly net income yesterday. “We’re seeing strong demand from artificial intelligence and other customers,” the company said, which pushed its stock up 4.1%. Nvidia $NVDA ( ▼ 0.67% ) also contributed to the tech surge, rising 1.2%.

PepsiCo $PEP ( ▼ 1.51% ) also outperformed Wall Street’s expectations, seeing its stock jump 7%. United Airlines $UAL ( ▲ 1.29% ) also joined the momentum, reporting stronger-than-expected profits, while noting an “acceleration in demand from customers.” Economic data released yesterday also bolstered market optimism, with retail spending and manufacturing growth surpassing forecasts.

Song of the day: Dexter in the newsagent; ‘Special’

Londoner Charmaine Ayoku specializes in hushed acoustic ballads and down-home dance pop under her alter-ego, “dexter in the newsagent.” Her new song, “Special,” is full of fluttering guitar figures and puttering beats. “I can love you like you want me to,” she sings.“I can’t be on my own.” Yes. That’s the spirit of desperation we’re all seeking in this summer’s pop music, Charmaine. You “go,” girl. “Go!”

So was Prime Day a success or what?

If you have to ask a question like that, I think you probably already know the answer. While Amazon $AMZN ( ▲ 0.97% ) declared this year's extended four-day sale as its "biggest Prime Day ever," specific sales figures were not disclosed, making the true impact of the event hard to gauge.

My sense is that they didn’t disclose sales figures because they were down. Data from Momentum Commerce showed that Prime Day sales were down by 41% on Day 1 compared to last year, for example.

Initial headlines suggested a "pullback comparable to first day of Prime Day year over year," said Jason Del Rey with Fortune Magazine. But with the extended duration, "it may have just taken a little longer. You don't have that same initial urgency," he said. In fact, "it seems like Amazon performed just fine. Prime Day performed fine."

No, Jason. That’s not it, my man. Say it like it is! Anyone can eat more hotdogs in four days than they can in two, but it’s not comparing hot dogs to hot dogs, is it? 🌭

Jason did point out some interesting shifts in Amazon's reporting. This year, "Amazon did not specify how many products were sold," a departure from previous years where they'd tout figures like "more than 300 million products sold." He also highlights a "funky" reporting method regarding record sales, where Amazon compared the four-day 2025 event (all discount days) to prior four-day periods that only included a two-day Prime Day. "For me, that was kind of like, well, of course this year should outperform," Del Rey observed, suggesting "this wasn't a home run."

It’s true. Regarding popular items, "the most popular items not surprisingly were some of the household, you know, mainstream electronics brands. So think Apple AirPods, think Amazon's own devices, which they heavily discount." He even contributed to these sales, noting his family "may have even chipped in a bit to the Prime Day sales number with a fire stick." We’ve got two of those!

Del Rey sees possible trouble ahead for the retailer if AI-driven shopping concierges go out and make purchases for shoppers on rival platforms. While Prime Day certainly drove sales due to "steep discounts," Del Rey ultimately categorizes this year as "an okay, not an amazing Prime Day to me." 

It seems the extended format and reporting changes make a clear "boom" or "bust" declaration more nuanced than ever, and yet I’m happy to make one. It was a bust.

Today on the ‘gram: A 19-inch-wide car in Italy

Post of the day: Imagine getting busted like this!

Quote of the Day

Zoom vets for pets are here

Pet care costs are up, leaving many owners struggling to provide essential veterinary services. Enter Joe Spector, co-founder of Hims & Hers and now Dutch, a leading “veterinary telehealth platform.” He’s on a mission to make quality pet care affordable and accessible, and he believes telehealth is the key.

"I started Dutch because I kept having experiences with my own dog, Eddie, where the cost of veterinary care was outrageously expensive. And I knew that it didn't have to be this way," Joe told us. Dutch offers a revolutionary solution: "You can talk to a veterinarian right away, day and night, for less than 10 bucks a month. It's super cheap, it's super convenient, and of course the pets love it."

Dutch vets "are available to actually provide prescription medication when necessary to patients, which ultimately solves their problem and makes veterinary care far cheaper than it is today."

Spector leverages his experience from Hims & Hers, recognizing a similar unmet need in pet care. "Hims always wanted to solve the big problem. And the big problems often involved medication," he notes. Dutch tackles the "hard part" of pet care: "helping you have a full 360 experience of taking your pet on a Friday night when they're vomiting and providing them treatment and care that same night so that your pet can feel better without having to spend $1,000 at urgent care."

"Veterinarians are able to do telehealth from home on their own time," he said, allowing for more flexible and cost-effective scheduling. This "dramatically lowers the cost of veterinarians, which ultimately we can pass on to consumers."

Dutch has a major partnership with Pet Meds, allowing them to connect pet owners with veterinarians for prescriptions seamlessly. Joe is also bullish on the impact of AI: "AI is going to revolutionize veterinary care, it will make our vets far more efficient, and it will also provide much faster answers to consumers." 

Should you check your 401(k) today?

👍️ 

Yes.

San Jose’s mayor wants all his staff using AI

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan is pioneering the use of AI, specifically ChatGPT, to streamline city operations and communication in Silicon Valley’s largest city. “Elected officials do a tremendous amount of public speaking,” Mahan explained, detailing how ChatGPT helps draft talking points, speeches, and even portions of the city’s $5.6 billion budget.

Far from shying away from AI, Mahan is encouraging its adoption by San Jose’s nearly 7,000 government workers. “The idea is to try things, be really transparent, look for problems, flag them, and share them,” he said, rattling off some remarks which I’m sure he definitely put a lot into.

By next year, San Jose aims to have 1,000 employees — 15% of its workforce — trained to use AI tools for tasks such as responding to pothole complaints or analyzing surveillance footage. Andrea Arjona Amador, a city worker who leads electric mobility programs, credits ChatGPT with helping her craft a winning grant proposal for $12 million in funding for electric vehicle chargers. “The way it used to work, we spent a lot of evenings and weekends trying to get grants to the finish line,” she said.

Despite these successes, Mahan stresses the importance of human oversight. “You still need a human being in the loop,” he cautioned. “You can’t just press a couple of buttons and trust the output.”

Let us know what you think of this development in today’s poll below!

Is Coca-Cola going to revert to real sugar?

President Donald Trump has announced that Coca-Cola $COKE ( ▼ 0.49% ) plans to revert to using real cane sugar in its flagship U.S. soft drink at his suggestion. However, Coca-Cola has yet to confirm the move directly.

“I have been speaking to Coca-Cola about using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so,” Trump said on social media, calling it a “very good move.” 

A Coca-Cola spokesperson appreciated the president’s “enthusiasm” but provided no concrete details, stating that more updates on their products would come soon.

For years, Coca-Cola fans who prefer cane sugar have relied on imported Mexican Coca-Cola, which has been available in U.S. markets since 2005. Any shift from high-fructose corn syrup to cane sugar in domestic production would likely impact U.S. corn farmers.

Amazingly John Bode, President and CEO of the Corn Refiners Association, opposed the idea, saying, “Replacing high fructose corn syrup with cane sugar would cost thousands of American food manufacturing jobs, depress farm income, and boost imports of foreign sugar — all with no nutritional benefit.”

Personally I long for the days when they made Marlboro red cigarettes with real sugar, but I suspect I’m conflating unrelated memories in my Mexican Coke-addled mind. It’s like the movie “Bladerunner” where they implant memories in the replicants’ brains, except I’m a reformed smoker, not a robot, and I implanted the memories myself. (Are you feeling okay, Matt? — Ed).

Sorry I had ChatGPT write that last paragraph on the advice of the Mayor of San Jose. Or did I?

Poll of the Day: Mayor GPT?

Poll Results: The Pitt should win more Emmys

We asked: If you could give the Emmy for best TV show of 2025 who would win?

You answered:

🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ The Penguin (66)

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Severance (90)

 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 The Pitt (163)

🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ The Diplomat (68)

 🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Poker Face (45)

 🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Paradise (47)

 🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ Only Murders In The Building (119)

598 Votes via @beehiiv polls