July 15, 2026

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Salutations. Today is the day after the MLB All-Star Game, which is usually the slowest sports day of the year, with none of the Big Four North American leagues holding competitive games.

But this year, there’s some relief for sports fans, thanks to the World Cup semifinal between England and Argentina at 3pm ET. Americans haven’t been this grateful for soccer since it introduced them to Channing Tatum in She’s the Man.

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

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

Banks smashing trading records
NY’s data center ban
Explosive diarrhea

Markets

Nasdaq

26,107.01

+0.90%

S&P

7,543.82

+0.38%

Dow

52,508.27

+0.02%

10-Year

4.585%

-2.0 bps

Bitcoin

$64,470.63

+3.75%

Lucid

$4.62

-16.15%

Data is provided by

*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 4:30pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean.

Markets: Stocks swung back up yesterday after cooler-than-expected inflation and blockbuster bank earnings put investors in a cheery mood. At the complete opposite end of the spectrum was Lucid, which plunged and was halted for volatility following a report that it was considering bankruptcy (which it denied).

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BROKEN RECORDS

Banks have never been this profitable

Mike Kemp/Getty Images

The five biggest banks in the US reported record earnings that exceeded even the rosiest of expectations yesterday, thanks to the AI boom and the trading volatility created by the war with Iran.

JPMorgan, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup combined to report $49 billion in profits in the latest quarter. How did these wise Wall Street institutions flourish in Q2, while many people on Main Street struggled to afford gas and groceries?

Trading profits: The $85 billion IPO from SpaceX brought bullish retail investors out in droves and netted the banks involved ~$500 million. The trading volatility around the repeated opening and closing of the Strait of Hormuz, and the back-and-forth on AI representing either a brighter future or the end of the world, also drove revenue for banks.
Fees: No, not the $3 fee for using an ATM. The much higher ones that come from investment banking during a rush of mergers and acquisitions, along with deals for AI companies building out their infrastructure.

Proceed with caution

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon tempered excitement during the bank’s earnings call. While he lauded the “resiliency” of the US economy, saying business conditions are nearly “as good as it gets,” Dimon also warned: “Several risks are shifting below the surface like tectonic plates, including geopolitical tensions and wars, sticky inflation, large global fiscal deficits, and elevated asset prices.” He added, “We cannot predict how these forces will ultimately play out.”

Zoom out: During Goldman Sachs’s earnings call, ⁠CEO David Solomon said the banking industry “is in the middle of an AI capex super cycle” due to AI infrastructure buildouts. Then there are the AI IPOs in the offing: Anthropic’s will be led by Goldman and Morgan Stanley, while OpenAI is still deciding which banks will be involved.—DL

Hydration break brainstorm

Hochul said the moratorium will give regulators time to study how to ensure that the facilities don’t raise local electricity bills, undermine the water supply, or cause noise pollution. The governor plans to require large data centers to produce their own electricity or pay extra to access New York’s grid. She also wants to have operators invest in grid infrastructure, while removing tax subsidies.

Environmental activists and some fellow Democratic politicians cheered the pause.
But local unions said it threatens construction jobs and tax revenues, plus some critics said it gives China an advantage in the AI race.

Meanwhile, Hochul is weighing whether to sign into law a stricter moratorium recently passed by the state legislature.

Beyond New York…lawmakers in several states are pushing for new data center pauses. Meanwhile, the White House opted for a lighter touch, recently getting tech giants to pledge to cover the energy generation for new data centers.

Big picture: Most Americans say they oppose nearby data center construction, and the Financial Times reports that local pushback disrupted $130 billion worth of US projects in Q1 of 2026.—SK

Reader poll

Do you think data centers should be banned in your state?

Yes, forever.
Yes, but just until they clear up environmental and energy concerns.
No, I'm cool with them.

Ignored business machines

IBM told investors that it was surprised by just how much the AI frenzy is eating into its corporate customers’ budgets:

IBM’s new gadget, the industrial computer z17, didn’t get as much takeup as it expected.
Sales of software, a product category IBM was banking on to drive growth, also slowed.
The company earned $2.93 per share in Q2, below the $3.01 that analysts projected.

Plus…IBM admitted that it was further hurt by Anthropic’s release of the Mythos AI model, which has forced companies to spend elsewhere to fortify their cyber defenses amid worries that the tech could help hackers.—SK

Hot dog trivia

Today is National Hot Dog Day. Which two European cities, in neighboring countries, claim to have invented the hot dog? Hint: Think of other names for hot dogs.

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Answer

Frankfurt, Germany (frankfurter) and Vienna, Austria (wiener)

Word of the Day

Today’s Word of the Day is: ennead, meaning “a group or set of nine.” Thanks to Caleb from South Carolina for the suggestion. Submit another Word of the Day here.

✳︎ A Note From EnergyX

Energy Exploration Technologies, Inc. (“EnergyX”) has engaged Morning Brew to publish this communication in connection with EnergyX’s ongoing Regulation A offering. Morning Brew has been paid in cash and may receive additional compensation. Morning Brew and/or its affiliates do not currently hold securities of EnergyX.

This compensation and any current or future ownership interest could create a conflict of interest. Please consider this disclosure alongside EnergyX’s offering materials. EnergyX’s Regulation A offering has been qualified by the SEC. Offers and sales may be made only by means of the qualified offering circular. Before investing, carefully review the offering circular, including the risk factors. The offering circular is available at invest.energyx.com/.

Comparisons to other companies are for informational purposes only and should not imply similar results. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Market shortfall are forward‑looking estimates and are subject to substantial uncertainty.

Written by Adam Epstein, Dave Lozo, Sam Klebanov, and Matty Merritt

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