Adidas’ Foot Rockets

PRESENTED BY ACCIO

Happy Tuesday, Future Party. Yesterday, the biggest gladiatorial battle of the year began. No, it wasn’t a brutal UFC matchup or drama on Summer House — it’s the jury trial between OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and CEO-of-too-many-things Elon Musk. The scene: the mission of OpenAI. The stakes: the future of the world’s biggest AI startup. The verdict: TBD, but more to come.

Adidas has reclaimed the running throne after three long-distance runners broke marathon records — two of them reaching the finish line in what was once considered an unthinkable sub-two hours, all while wearing the same pair of shoes.

Why It Hits: Adidas’ stock has slumped this year, partly due to the footwear brand losing ground in the performance category to competitors like Hoka and On, while market leader Nike stages a resurgence. With the US running shoe market growing 13% over the past year to $8.1 billion, there’s a lot of money on the road for those that come out ahead.

Behind The Footwear: Adidas’ ability to propel multiple runners to world records may be the greatest marketing imaginable for its new Adizero Pro Evo 3 shoe.

Last Lap: Other than the three racers, the big star of the show was the Adizero Pro Evo 3, now the lightest shoe ever made — at a measly 3.42 ounces. Adidas worked closely with the runners to develop the shoes, and that bet clearly paid off. Yesterday, the German footwear giant officially rolled out the sneakers at $500 a pop… and saw its stock climb 2%.

That’s a winning strategy.

Next Run: Prepare for the Adizero Pro Evo 3s to become the status symbol of your run club… and for Adidas’ sneakers in general to skyrocket in popularity across athletic circles once again.

Meet Accio Work—the agentic workspace for business owners and solopreneurs. Our smart agents handle sourcing, supplier negotiation, store management, and marketing on autopilot. Powered by Alibaba.com data, we turn ideas into action instantly. No setup, no hassle—just seamless execution while you stay in control and focus on growing your business.

Try Accio Work Now!

Movie ticket prices are rising rapidly thanks to a reliance on premium large formats, a shrinking film slate, and the need to fill attendance gaps.

The Big Picture: For decades, seeing a movie in theaters was considered the cheapest and most accessible form of entertainment, allowing an entire family to go out on a budget. But with tickets (and concessions) surging in price, it could change not just the movies being made, but also who goes to see them.

Behind The Scenes: Theaters are trying to get more money from fewer people, per The WSJ.

Final Receipt: Theater chains argue that the price increases are necessary because Hollywood is pumping out roughly 25% fewer films than it did before the pandemic… and is now serving one-third as many audiences as it used to. Decreased supply and decreased demand are never a good equation for a business, which also explains why concessions are now so expensive (popcorn is almost worth its weight in gold).

But here’s the thing: demand for premium formats is only going up, driving grosses for titles like Sinners and Project Hail Mary. And spending on concessions and merch has multiplied 220% over the past 20 years. In other words, welcome to the new normal.

Next Showing: Theaters have already tried — and failed — to introduce dynamic pricing to lower ticket prices, so expect a push toward membership programs like Regal Unlimited and AMC Stubs A-List as the most cost-effective way to see movies.

You may not realize it, but somewhere in your index fund:

90 Percent uncovers one company from the world equity index every week — the businesses you already own but never think about.

Subscribe for free

77.3% of you voted No in yesterday’s poll: Have you ever used a prediction market?

“Let’s call it what it is: unregulated gambling.”

“It’s gambling, and it’s prone to manipulation.”

“I am strongly against these sorts of speculative investment markets. They seem exactly like gambling and should be outlawed; they bring nothing positive to our society.”

Let’s keep the conversation going. Join Poll Of The Day, so your opinions can shine. Discover how your views line up with your peers’, check out cool insights, and have some fun. It’s data with personality.

🏈 The NBA is drawing significant interest from investment groups to fund new teams in Las Vegas and Seattle.

📻 Radio giants iHeartMedia and SiriusXM are in early talks about a potential merger.

🎙️ Oprah’s entertainment empire has found a new home at Amazon’s Wondery.

📈 Nvidia has become the first company to surpass a $5 trillion market cap.

🤖 OpenAI has extricated itself from its rich, exclusive agreement with Microsoft.

🛰️ Meta has struck a deal with Overview Energy to eventually receive solar power beamed from satellites in space. Wild.

💰 Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital is expected to raise its low-end target of $5 billion from its IPO.

₿ Block’s new crypto wallet features a touchscreen, allowing users to verify transactions directly on the device.

🐶 Every good dog deserves some kibble and Kith.