Anthropic's is bigger than OpenAI's

Look At All That Shareholder Value.

The week brought us a series of earnings results, most of which were overwhelmingly positive. Here are the headlines that stopped us in our tracks: 

👙Victoria’s Secret. The company has raised its guidance due to "better-than-expected" sales and lower tariff costs. Leadership now expects full-year sales to reach up to $7.13B, driven by incredible Q1 momentum. Sales reached $1.56B, up 15% YOY. Comparable sales, including both stores and eCommerce, grew 13%, surpassing an expected 11.4%. CEO Hillary Super attributes these results to a few core areas: focusing efforts on its core product (bras), investing in its stores as a strategic advantage, and finally seeing the fruits of her new leadership team, which was brought on about a year ago to support the VS&Co turnaround.  

💵Five Below. The discount chain may partly have a viral squishy dumpling to thank for its boost in both net sales (32.5%) and comp sales (22.7%). While Five Below’s 49 net new stores likely contributed to its 25.9% YOY traffic boost, its more robust merchandising strategy is resonating with a broader, more diverse customer base. In fact, this diversification has worked so well that it’s nixing its dedicated space for a more expensive assortment altogether. With Q1 2026 closing at $1.3B in net sales, the company anticipates that the fiscal year will bring in $5.4B. 

‍💄Ulta Beauty. Some beauty brands have felt the financial pressure of consumers’ shift in spending, but Ulta Beauty continues to shine. In fact, the company attributed its 11.1% increase in net sales to its prestige beauty partners. The retailer has also thoughtfully diversified its offerings over the past year, from a new Uber Eats partnership to expansion into the K-beauty phenomenon.

Open-Sea Savasana. 

Alo is taking it to the seas. On the heels of two permanent store openings in Cannes and Saint-Tropez, the athleisure brand has rolled out a series of Cannes Film Festival activations, including a takeover of the Hotel Martinez pier and a wellness superyacht, which will sail until the start of the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Monte-Carlo. Those lucky enough to get on board can partake in a series of wellness services, from Pilates to IV treatments and recovery therapies. 

This weeks-long adventure is likely part of Benedetta Petruzzo’s bigger, bolder vision as the new international CEO. She wants to extend the brand’s Wellness Club footprint globally, both on land and at sea. It shows us that wellness is now a luxury, and that being able to invest time and money in your fitness is a clear signal of status. It’s a clear opportunity that many brands are tapping to appeal to Gen Z consumers, but if you want to zig while everyone else zags, you can be like Prada and host a VIP event in an NYC deli.

The Kitchen’s Heating Up. 

Big Cookware is going after Caraway for its PFAS claims. Groupe SEB and Meyer, the makers of All-Clad, T-fal, Farberware, and other brands, filed a lawsuit against the company in February, alleging that its marketing claims lack scientific evidence and have, in turn, harmed the market and consumers. Founder Jordan Nathan started Caraway to create an accessible cookware line without the “forever chemicals” (per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances) found in so many other product lines. Rather than backing away from his challenger approach, Nathan is doubling down, starting a petition and spreading the word about the suit on social media.

You Thought the Erewhon x Balenciaga Collab Was Wild?

Erewhon has become synonymous with “the good life.” The luxury grocer and cafe’s $20 smoothies are catnip for celebs, items from its hot bar go viral on the regular (buffalo cauliflower, anyone?), and consumers are traveling to its Cali-area locations like it’s a religious pilgrimage. On is making a huge statement by going all in on an Erewhon partnership that includes a co-branded juice, a complete capsule collection, and what they call a “community-driven wellness club.” They will tap into Erewhon’s community of shoppers and host a series of running, training, and recovery events in the LA area, turning routine-based shopping trips and periodic social media flexes into a lifetime commitment. This is status by association. The news comes shortly after On rocked its quarterly earnings for Q1 2026. The brand saw net sales up 14.5%, DTC sales up 16.4%, and gross profit margin at 64.2%.

Coffee + Jamz.

Who doesn’t love the energy of a cozy cafe with some vibey tracks playing in the background? Peet’s Coffee knows it, and it’s teaming with SPIN Magazine on a new hunt for “America’s 3PM DJ.” Musicologists and melomaniacs alike can submit their curated playlists of 15 songs they think boost the dreaded afternoon slump. The winner will be named Chief Playlist Officer and receive a four-day trip and VIP tickets to a Chicago-area music festival. The campaign supports Peet’s newest launches: the Middle Ground Half-Caff blend and a summer menu of energy drinks.

Advancement on Our Terms. 

Anthropic, the creator of Claude, filed preliminary paperwork to go public this week, shortly after SpaceX. The milestone IPO values the company at a whopping $965B, giving it a clear edge against OpenAI, which said it was worth $852B. Anthropic has brought on Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs to lead the process, but is simultaneously encouraging the market to pause on AI improvements due to the threat of self-improvement. In short, AI models are advancing so rapidly that the company believes they may reach a point where they can improve themselves without human intervention. The research and analysis were revealed after President Trump signed an executive order to gain oversight into AI models.

Reddit Wranglers. 

In a move that shouldn’t be surprising to anyone, businesses are now infiltrating Reddit to boost their AEO value. In one case, a biohacking subreddit has had to overhaul its content strategy because peptide and hormone replacement therapy companies are spamming its threads. Reddit CEO Steve Huffman has noted that the platform’s focus on authentic, real-life experiences has made it a magnet for LLMs that want to surface the best, most relevant information for users. Now, marketing teams are turning this “safe space” into SPAM soup. We can’t help but get a feeling of déjà vu from the SEO boom of yesteryear, when marketers would cram their content with every word and phrase they wanted to rank for. And we all know the ending of that story.