Daily Brew // Morning Brew // Update

May 06, 2026

Hail. A full-length trailer for Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey came out yesterday, and the internet is up in arms, because in it, Telemachus refers to his father, Odysseus, as his “dad”—which no one in 1200 BCE would say.

And that was before Telemachus even hits his watermelon ice vape and calls his mom’s suitors chopped.

—Molly Liebergall, Sam Klebanov, Dave Lozo, Matty Merritt, Adam Epstein

In today’s newsletter, we’ll get into:

Beer making a comeback
More AI-driven layoffs
The Roomba creator’s creepy new project

MARKETS

Nasdaq

25,326.13

+1.03%

S&P

7,259.22

+0.81%

Dow

49,298.25

+0.73%

10-Year

4.416%

-3.0 bps

Bitcoin

$81,562.21

+2.04%

Shopify

$107.63

-15.62%

Data is provided by

*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 5:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean.

Markets: Stocks notched fresh records yesterday as the tech sector rallied and the fragile US–Iran ceasefire appeared to (mostly) hold. But, like a guy in a fedora who won’t stop talking about chemtrails, Shopify ruined the party yesterday, tanking by more than 15% after it said the pace of revenue growth is slowing down.

GLUG GLUG GLUG

Beer is back on the menu, boys

Niv Bavarsky

A proverbial ladybug just landed on the cracking-a-cold-one business: The number of drinks sold by Anheuser-Busch, the world’s largest brewer, increased last quarter for the first time in three years, the company reported yesterday, surprising analysts and suggesting that a broader chill in the beer industry may be thawing.

“Cheers to beer,” AB InBev CEO Michel Doukeris said of the promising results, which also included better-than-expected 12% revenue growth. Major gains in Latin American markets drove the beer beat:

The brewer’s Brazil unit notched record growth in sales volumes, sending shares of the Sao Paulo-listed subsidiary soaring by their most in almost 27 years.
AB InBev, which owns Corona and Modelo (except in the US), also exceeded expectations in Mexico, overtaking rival Heineken in the region.

But…that wasn’t enough to turn beer sales positive for the whole continent. In what could be interpreted by Big Ten students as a challenge, overall North American beer sales continued to fall, as persistent inflation and shifting health trends kept US shoppers away from the alcohol aisle.

Good thing AB InBev has expanded into beer that doesn’t get you drunk—revenue from its non-alcohol beverages jumped 27% in the quarter.

Sign of the imbibing times?

Along with AB InBev…

The Danish brewer Carlsberg recently reported that its beer volumes turned positive after rolling downhill last year.
Heineken’s total volumes also grew last quarter after falling in 2025, but the breakthrough was buoyed by sales of mixers and ciders. Heineken’s beer volumes actually fell from the same time last year.

Looking ahead…AB InBev said it’ll beat out both of those rivals this year. Much like other brewers, the company that slings Budweiser, Bud Light, Stella Artois, and Michelob Ultra—now the best-selling beer in the US—expects a significant summertime boost from World Cup festivities.—ML

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WORLD

Tour de headlines

Tom Williams/Getty Images

Trump said he’s pausing “Project Freedom.” In a social media post last night, President Trump announced he was pausing the US operation to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz “for a short period of time” to allow time for an agreement with Iran. Trump’s post came just hours after Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that the US was committed to Project Freedom. Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also said the fragile ceasefire was still holding, even as Iran continued to attack the United Arab Emirates. Both the US and Iran claimed to control the crucial strait yesterday, as maritime traffic came to a near standstill.—AE

Alberta separatists want to leave Canada. Stay Free Alberta submitted over 300,000 signatures (they only needed 178,000) this week that would force a referendum vote on whether the province should secede from the rest of Canada. The group’s main gripe is that the federal government’s green initiatives have stifled the region from producing and exporting oil, costing Alberta billions of dollars. The option to split could be put on the ballot as early as October, though it already faces court challenges. Polls show that support for the separatist movement has increased, but is still in the minority.—MM

The SEC officially proposed semiannual reporting. Just like your friend in a new relationship, you might be hearing from the Walmarts and Amazons of the world less frequently. Following up on President Trump’s demand to end quarterly reporting, the SEC formally introduced a proposal yesterday for twice-a-year company filings instead. Some business leaders have complained that mandatory quarterly reports, which have been required since 1970 and aim to provide transparency for shareholders, are time-consuming and promote short-term thinking. Proponents of the rule say that less-frequent reporting would lead to more market volatility. It could still take years for the rule to change.—MM

AGENTS REPORTING FOR DUTY

Coinbase says it’ll replace employees with AI

Jason Armond/Getty Images

Coinbase is following the biggest Silicon Valley trend since microdosing: announcing it's automating away jobs with AI. The crypto exchange Coinbase said yesterday that it is cutting 14% of its staff—equivalent to about 700 people—in part due to efficiency gains from AI.

While Coinbase’s CEO, Brian Armstrong, said the company’s layoffs are a way to manage costs amid a crypto winter, he claimed AI will allow it to make due with fewer human workers:

Armstrong said the company will rely on employees managing fleets of AI agents, and that it’s experimenting with one-person teams in which a single employee armed with AI performs the functions of engineers, designers, and product managers.
He shared plans to reduce management layers to no more than five corporate rungs under the CEO.

Innovation or desperation?

Several tech companies, including Snap, Block, and Salesforce, recently said they’re reducing headcount due to AI automation. But some skeptics—including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman—argue that many companies are “AI washing” layoffs, aka blaming cuts that would have happened anyway on AI. Critics say that spinning staff cuts as part of innovation or efficiency gains (rather than, you know, business problems) is meant to appeal to investors.

Big picture: Coinbase has had a rough go recently, as slumping crypto prices have reduced trading revenues.—SK

Ship trivia

We’ll give you the name of a ship (real or fictional), and you have to name the captain of said ship.

Santa María
Endurance
The Jolly Roger
Millennium Falcon
The Nebuchadnezzar

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ANSWER

Christopher Columbus
Ernest Shackleton
Captain Hook (Peter Pan)
Han Solo (Star Wars)
Morpheus (The Matrix)

Word of the Day

Today’s Word of the Day is: proponents, meaning “people who support or argue in favor of something.” Thanks to Brian from Hoboken, NJ, for the suggestion. Submit another Word of the Day here.

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☕ Cheers to beer