Here’s what you need to know today

Companies in the news

• OpenAI activates its “last resort”. CEO Sam Altman previously said that advertising on ChatGPT would only be a “last resort”. Less than 2 years later, OpenAI has announced it will include targeted ads at the bottom of answers in ChatGPT for users on the free or a new ad-supported plan. (Wired)
  
  

• Weight loss pills are now a reality. Novo Nordisk, the Danish drugmaker behind Ozempic, saw shares rise 7% on Friday as Americans embraced its newly launched Wegovy weight-loss pill. In the first 4 days of launch in the US, doctors wrote over 3,000 prescriptions for the pill. It is the first oral GLP-1 drug approved in the US. (Reuters)
  
  

• TSMC remains one of the world’s most important companies. The maker of the world’s most cutting-edge semiconductors reported an amazing set of quarterly results: revenue up 20% and profit up 35% for Q4 and crossing $100 billion in annual revenue for the first time in 2025. In its commentary, the company reported that demand from the AI industry wasn’t slowing down. (CNBC)
  
  

• Australian banks unite to call out Meta. Australia’s Big 4 Banks have united to criticise Meta for its failure to shut down illegal activity on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp as the banks spend hundreds of millions of dollars a year on scam and fraud protection. One example they pointed to, thousands of Facebook groups where users actively sell and rent out ‘mule’ bank accounts for fraud and scams. (Capital Brief)
  
  

• Spotify raises prices, again. The world’s dominant music streaming platform announced its 3rd price rise in 3 years for customers in the US. We had a look here in Australia, we’ve also had 3 in 3 years (September 2023, April 2024 and September 2025). (CNBC)

The Bigger Picture

• Allies fight over Greenland. Several European NATO countries, including the UK, Germany and France, have sent troops to Greenland while US President Trump warned he will impose 10% tariffs on countries who don’t “go along with Greenland.” Presumably bemused, Russia’s spokesman in the Kremlin called Trump’s threats to take over Greenland “extraordinary”. (FT)
  
  

• Europe follows Australia’s lead on social media. TikTok has announced it will roll out new age verification technology across the EU as the European Parliament moves towards an Australian-style age limit on social media. TikTok’s announcement comes as Australia’s eSafety Commissioner reports social media platforms removed 4.7 million accounts held by under-16’s in the first month of Australia’s new law. (The Guardian)

  
  

• Australia to recycle critical minerals. The federal government has announced a $25 million pilot program to recycle solar panels. As well as reducing landfill (just 17% of panels are currently recycled in Australia), the program intends to reuse the critical minerals used in solar panels that are needed for the energy transition. (AFR)

  
  

• Canada and China thaw relations. The relationship has been frosty since 2018 when Canada arrested Huawai’s CFO Meng Wanzhou and China retaliated by arrested two Canadian citizens in China. In 2024, Canada imposed 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs and China responded with tariffs on a range of Canadian agricultural products. However, last week, both countries agreed to lower tariffs and signed several agreements on energy and trade cooperation as they each look to diversify away from trade with the US. (BBC)
  
  

• South Korea’s former President gets 5 years in prison. Yoon Suk Yeol was removed from the Presidency after briefly declaring martial law in December 2024. He was sentenced to 5 years in prison for this declaration and resisting arrest after being impeached. (ABC)

  
  

• German economy returns to growth, just. Germany’s economy grew 0.2% in 2025, the first time it expanded since 2022. Also pleasing for Germany, annual inflation dropped to 1.8% in December, down from 2.3% in November. (Reuters)
  
  

• Trump’s global interventions. As well as ongoing threats over Greenland, US President Trump continued his efforts in Venezuela and Gaza. On Venezuela, he met with opposition leader, María Corina Machado, who gave him her Nobel Prize medal. And on Gaza, Trump named the Gaza Board of Peace, nominating Jared Kushner, Tony Blair and Marco Rubio but no Palestinians. (BBC | ABC)

What’s got us thinking?

Investing is a lifelong journey. Here’s what we’ve been learning lately.

Why we love investing in companies: Amazon case study

This was taken from our recent Essentials series episode titled ‘Essentials: Why We Invest (& You Should Too)’ (Spotify | Apple | YouTube)

Bryce: The fourth reason we love stocks is that it is the only asset class that truly changes for the better over time. You think about buying gold, Bitcoin, you think about buying a bond. They all are what they are when you buy it and when you sell it. Nothing changes. Whereas companies change over time.

We love the Amazon example. 1997 it IPO'd over in the US and it was a book seller. They were selling books and that was it. You compare that to now where they are an AI giant, they're the largest provider of web services globally. That company has drastically changed over the last sort of two decades.

Ren: Well, I mean, to put some numbers to it, it went public in 1997. In 1996, it had done $15.7 million in revenue, selling books. Last year, it did just shy of $600 billion in revenue. The company that you bought at the time and the company that you own today looks fundamentally different.

Bryce: Not only has the price changed, but the number of shares have also changed if you had bought. They've done a number of stock splits across the years. If you had invested at the initial public offering (IPO) with one share, due to the stock splits, you'd now have about 240 shares. So a lot changes and that is all through you doing nothing.

Ren: The share price was $18 when it IPO'd. So if you bought one share for $18, it's now $222. So that's a pretty good growth, but you'd also have 240 shares because of its stock splits. So each $18 you invested is now about $53,000. You could have, in 1997, bought shares in Jeff Bezos's company and done nothing and let him work hard for you, lose all of his hair, get old and build this giant while you just went about your life, and each $18 you invested would be more than $50,000 today. That is why we get so excited about stocks and the fact that it's never been more accessible. And you can do that from your phone starting with $1 is why we want to shout it from the rooftops that if you feel like you don't have a chance to get ahead financially, this is the chance and we want more people to know about it.

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