🧸 Squishmallows vs. Build-A-Bear

…and ChatGPT will remember you   Resist the urge to pinch your screen (James Manning/Getty Images)   Yesterday’s Market Moves   Dow Jones 38,424 (+0.40%) S&P 500 5,001 (+0.96%) Nasdaq 15,859 (+1.30%) Bitcoin $51,846 (+4.26%) Dow Jones 38,424 (+0.40%) S&P 500 5,001 (+0.96%) Nasdaq 15,859 (+1.30%) Bitcoin $51,846 (+4.26%) Hey Snackers, Watch out for those extra zeros: a typo in [Lyft]( earnings report sent its stock surging more than 60%, but the XL gains reversed after its CFO corrected the slipup. Lyft expects margin expansion of 0.5% — not 5%. Everybody makes [mistakes]( but not everyone has a 10-K. Stocks staged a comeback yesterday following the Dow’s worst day in nearly a year. The Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks outperformed the S&P 500, rising 2.4%. 👀 We're cookin’ up some exciting changes… To make sure you keep getting your daily dose of Snacks, please add noreply-snacks@sherwood.news to your address book. Kidulting Squishmallows maker sues Build-A-Bear as toy companies fight over kidult plushies The cutest legal showdown… Kelly Toys is suing [Build-A-Bear]( accusing the teddy factory of copying its popular Squishmallows plushies. The toys on the hot seat: Build-A-Bear’s “Skoosherz” line, which debuted last month. The copyright-infringement lawsuit includes a side-by-side comparison of three Squishmallows and the first three Skoosherz, which Kelly Toys says customers are calling “cheap Squishmallow knockoffs” ([you be the judge](. Build-A-Bear countersued. - Plushularity: Squishmallows hit shelves in 2017 and went viral in 2020 as Squishfluencers showed off their collections on TikTok. The plushies were the US’s top-selling toy last year, and Kelly Toys said sales of its 3K+ varieties quadrupled in 2022. - Buffett bear: Kelly Toys is owned by Jazwares, which holding company [Berkshire Hathaway]( acquired in 2022 for $12B. Fun fact: Squishmallows made a plushie of investing icon Warren Buffett. When the Beanie Baby gen grows up… Toy execs at Jazwares, Build-A-Bear, Lego, and FAO Schwarz have said adults are driving sales by buying toys for themselves. Analysts said that from 2017 to 2022, toy sales for the 12+ market nearly doubled, spurred by pandemic spending. Toy cos have leaned in: Lego’s botanical line of buildable plants has been a hit (finally, a plant millennials can’t kill), and Build-A-Bear’s 18+ “After Dark” collection features plushies like * checks notes * a stuffed lion in a “Zaddy” shirt holding a martini. THE TAKEAWAY Imitation is flattery… but Kelly Toys, which has also sued Ty and [Alibaba]( over lookalike plushies, won’t take the compliment. Build-A-Bear argues that copyrighting “a pillow-type plush” in an “egg/bell shape” featuring “Asian style Kawaii faces” is too generic to be fair. Dupes of viral products are everywhere. Countless copycats of [Stanley]( cups and Uniqlo shoulder bags test the bounds of copyright law (Uniqlo sued Shein anyway). Remember OpenAI tests ChatGPT “memory,” opening up a can of privacy worms — and possibly a new revenue source? The bot that knows you best… The world’s most famous chatbot is going to remember you. For those tired of repeating the same info to ChatGPT, OpenAI [introduced]( a solution: a memory feature that’ll store info about you to personalize responses. Like: it’ll recall that you’re lactose-intolerant and stop sharing cheese-loaded recipes. The feature, which is being tested with a small number of users, will be turned on by default (though folks can opt out). - No reminder needed: The goal is for CGPT to get smarter and more personalized. For example, the feature will allow users of Books GPT (a custom bot on the GPT store) to get reading suggestions based on past conversations and genres. - Privacy flags raised: OpenAI said it has trained CGPT not to remember sensitive info like health-related convos. Still, the feature may stoke concerns — especially because OpenAI said memory data would be used to train its models. OpenAI-ing another can of worms… While memory should make CGPT more convenient to use, it raises privacy concerns at a time when US and EU regulators are cracking down on tech giants’ data-tracking practices. It could also heighten (already loud) alarm bells among consumers, regulators, and lawmakers (who are drafting AI legislation). In the US, 400+ AI bills have been introduced, while the EU is set to pass a historic AI Act. Meantime, copyright-infringement suits are stacking up. - New player, same moves? OpenAI’s memory feature resembles the tracking that companies like [Meta]( [Google]( and [Amazon]( have been doing for years. They learn how you use their services and build digital profiles… often for ad targeting. THE TAKEAWAY “Memory” could be a Trojan horse for ads… OpenAI has been speeding to monetize its bot, which costs a ton to run. It’s done this with subscriptions like ChatGPT Plus ($20/month) and ChatGPT Enterprise for teams. It’s possible that OpenAI could launch ads to monetize its free CGPT tier. FYI: [Microsoft]( CGPT-powered Bing chatbot has been running ads and sponsored responses. What else we're Snackin' - [Shade]( Mark Zuckerberg knocked [Apple]( Vision Pro, bashing “fanboys” and arguing Meta’s Quest 3 is a better headset for $3K less. Apple cut this year’s Pro production forecasts by 600K. - [Rideshare]( [Uber]( said it’s planning up to a $7B stock buyback to try to reward investors after reporting its first full year of operating profit. It’s upped fares and expanded its ad biz. - [Score]( [ESPN]( and the College Football Playoff org are said to have agreed on a $7.8B broadcast deal (extending an existing contract through 2031). It’s a W for ESPN, which beat back interest from suitors like [Fox](. - [Coiny]( [Bitcoin]( market cap crossed the $1T mark for the first time since 2021 as spot BTC ETFs attract buyers. Crypto-related cos (think: [Coinbase]( miners [Riot]( and [Marathon]( have seen stock prices pop with the approval rally. - [Home]( A report found that in the US’s largest metro hubs, Black Americans own a disproportionately small share of homes. The racial wealth gap contributes to this. Meanwhile, mortgage rates are still near multiyear highs. 🍪 Thanks for Snacking with us! Want to share the Snacks? Invite your friends to sign up [here](. Snack Fact Of the Day Every year, US employers steal tens of billions of dollars from workers [Read more]( Thursday - Singles Awareness Day - Earnings expected from Airbus, Coinbase, Crocs, Deere, DoorDash, DraftKings, Hyatt, Oatly Group, Roku, Shake Shack, Toast, Wendy’s, and Yelp Authors of this Snacks own bitcoin and shares of: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Disney, Microsoft, Riot Platforms, Roku, and Uber Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate... [See more]( [Sherwood Terms and Conditions]( • [Our Editorial Principles]( • [Contact Us](mailto:hellosnacks@sherwoodmedia.com) • [Privacy Policy]( • [Advertise with us](mailto:advertising@sherwoodmedia.com) [Unsubscribe](