Plain English with Derek Thompson
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SpaceX, AI Bubble Fears, and The Age of the Trillion-Dollar, Zero-Profit Company
For decades, investors valued companies based on a familiar formula: Grow revenue, earn profits, and reward shareholders. But a new era may be beginning - one where trillion-dollar companies can lose billions of dollars a year and still command enormous valuations. SpaceX recently became one of the world's most valuable public companies despite reporting multibillion-dollar losses. Meanwhile, OpenAI and Anthropic are also racing toward public markets with sky-high valuations and no expectation of near-term profitability. These companies are spending staggering sums on chips, data centers, and AI infrastructure, as they bet that today's losses will create tomorrow's economic winners. Today, Derek is joined by Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson of Ritholtz Wealth Management and the Animal Spirits podcast to explore the rise of the trillion-dollar, zero-profit company and what it says about the future of technology, investing, and the American economy. Subscribe to our YouTube channel here:https://www.youtube.com/@PlainEnglishwithDerekThompson If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at PlainEnglish@Spotify.com. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Ben Carlson and Michael Batnick Producer: Devon Baroldi Additional Production Support: Ben Glicksman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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