The news: JPMorgan Chase and Coinbase partnered to offer Chase's customers new ways to access crypto. This fall, customers will be able to link Coinbase directly to their bank accounts, buy crypto with Chase credit cards, and convert rewards points to USDC, per a press release. Why this matters: This partnership is a big step toward bridging the gap between traditional finance and crypto. By letting customers use their credit cards to buy crypto or redeem their Chase Ultimate Rewards points for USDC, the companies could accelerate crypto adoption. It’s also another salvo from JPMorgan against data aggregators and open banking firms after the bank announced that it would charge these companies to access customer data—particularly around payments. JPMorgan is integrating directly with Coinbase rather than using APIs from a company like Plaid.
The news: British fintech Revolut is reportedly considering acquiring a US bank to rapidly obtain a US banking license, enabling faster expansion, per The Financial Times. It will likely target a low-cost, nationally chartered bank. Our take: Revolut’s potential acquisition of a US bank reflects a growing trend of successful fintechs becoming banks themselves through strategic acquisition rather than merely being disruptors. PYMNTS reported that multiple fintechs—including Wise, Circle, and Ripple—also recently applied for banking licenses with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. This means banks must lean into what differentiates them from the growing competition beyond charters and insured deposits, like long-standing reputations, excellent customer service, and customer-centric products and services.
The news: United is hosting five days’ worth of exclusive deals for United Chase cardholders beginning August 4. Each day will have its own exclusive, time-sensitive international travel offer. Cardholders will have the chance to fly one way to a mystery location for only 30,000 miles (plus about $35 in taxes and fees). Our take: United, along with its competitors, are looking for ways to reverse slumping sales. Targeting international and premium products, while also strengthening its loyalty program, could be a sage way to turn things around.
The news: Klarna might push its IPO date up as late as September, per a report from Bloomberg. Our take: Whenever Klarna schedules its IPO, it can bank on the strength of its partnerships—like DoorDash, Walmart, Stripe, and Walmart—to sustain its growth. Fintechs have faced a tough environment for IPOs ever since the high-water mark of 2021. Firms are now required to demonstrate better pathways to profitability before going public. However, despite tariffs and geopolitical disturbances, fintechs have the ability to outperform expectations: Take Circle’s blockbuster IPO back in June. With investors hungry for AI-focused companies, Klarna may be well positioned to ride the wave of its peers’ earlier success in the market.
The news: President Trump sent letters to 17 pharma companies, demanding they take action to lower drug prices in the US within 60 days. Our take: We think it’s unrealistic to expect pharma companies to willingly cut their profits despite Trump’s escalated demands. Drugmakers called out in the letter will likely wait out Trump’s deadline and see what he threatens next, knowing they could always legally challenge the most-favored nation order. We also expect more pharma companies to make some of their medicines available through the D2C channel, perhaps seeing it as a reasonable good-faith concession that they hope will get Trump to back off the most-favored nation pricing.
The news: Merck is teaming with McKinsey for a generative AI (genAI) program that streamlines clinical study reports (CSRs). The takeaway: GenAI is ideal for time-intensive precise medical writing and frees content creators for oversight and strategic tasks. While Merck and some others are already using it for regulatory filings, those who stall or keep their pilots in the experimentation phase risk losing valuable time-to-market advantages.
The number of retail media networks (RMNs) worldwide offering competitive conquesting (the ability to target campaigns to competitors’ shoppers) has risen from 10 in Q2 2024 to 15 in Q2 2025, a 50% increase, according to data from Mars United Commerce.
As parents prepare their kids for the new school year, they’re tightening budgets, reusing last year’s supplies, and looking for ways to efficiently check off their lists.
The strategy: In 2023, U.S. Bank launched a nontraditional campaign to promote Asistente Inteligente, its bilingual Spanish voice assistant that debuted the prior year. The bank co-produced “Translators,” a documentary highlighting the challenges faced by millions of children who act as translators for their immigrant families, particularly in financial matters, per Storyboard 18. Our take: This campaign was a masterclass in purpose-driven marketing that doubles as a long-term business strategy. Many financial institutions (FIs) often overlook or superficially address underbanked and immigrant populations. But the GDP of US Latinos is the second-fastest-growing in the world, next to that of consumers in China, per think tank Latino Donor Collaborative. And 25% of US consumers ages 18 and under are part of the Latino community—offering smaller FIs an opportunity to combat their “age problem.”
Etsy and eBay see opportunity to gain share as tariffs burden their competitors and consumers adjust their spending habits. Both companies are well-positioned to benefit from renewed interest in resale as tariffs make buying new more expensive for shoppers. The two platforms also now face less competition from Shein, Temu, and Amazon in online ad auctions—allowing them to be more efficient with marketing spend and reach more potential customers. While neither eBay nor Etsy is fully immune from the effects of tariffs—and their potential drag on the economy and consumer confidence—they are less exposed than most other retailers.
The news: Mastercard and Visa reported strong revenue growth in their most recent quarters. Visa’s net revenues rose 14% YoY in its fiscal year Q3 (ended June 30, 2025). Mastercard’s net revenues for the period rose 17% YoY. Our take: Both Visa and Mastercard understand that they need to innovate to keep their infrastructure competitive in light of the explosion of alternative payment rails—most recently stablecoin initiatives, made possible by the recent passage of the Genius Act.
The news: PayPal posted net revenue growth of 5% YoY at $8.3 billion due to strong performances of Venmo, its debit card, and Braintree, per its earnings report. Our take: PayPal is leaning into its branded experience and tech innovations to power its way through 2025.
The news: JPMorgan Chase is reportedly in late-stage talks to take over the Apple Card portfolio from Goldman Sachs, per The Wall Street Journal. Our take: Apple needs a stable financial partner after a rough road with Goldman Sachs’ regulatory scrutiny and failed experiment with consumer banking.
Consumer goods giants Kraft Heinz and Unilever are moving to stimulate demand in a challenging sales climate by increasing marketing spending on their most popular products. Both companies are betting on marketing to spur demand and improve brand equity in a slower-growth climate. But the question is whether stepped-up marketing will be enough to overcome rising consumer caution, particularly in categories like snacks and personal care, where purchases are more discretionary in a tariff-driven environment. Increased investments in promotions could pressure margins in coming quarters.
The news: CVS’s Q2 earnings topped estimates, buoyed by solid performance in its retail pharmacy segment and signs that its health insurance division is finally turning things around. Our take: CVS may not be thriving compared with earlier in the decade, but it’s in a good position relative to most of its rivals. That’s largely because of its diversified footprint across healthcare (pharmacy, insurance, PBM) that prevents the company from being overexposed in one struggling sector. CVS’ ongoing company turnaround could be a good sign for the similarly structured UnitedHealth, DOJ investigations notwithstanding.
The news: More than 60 healthcare and technology players, including Amazon, Apple, Google, UnitedHealth Group, and OpenAI, signed a voluntary pledge put forth by the Trump administration to make it easier for consumers to access their medical data. Our take: It’s not the first time that industry players have pledged to improve health data sharing—but we haven’t seen enough progress due to a lack of accountability or enforcement. Many consumers also likely have concerns about how tech companies will use and protect their personal information.
The news: Figma’s high-profile IPO—valued at $19.3 billion—lands it squarely in the league of top-tier software-as-a-service (SaaS) platforms and indicates renewed competition in cloud-based tools that agencies rely on for their campaigns. Our take: Instead of being subsumed by Adobe, Figma is now free to chart its own course. Going public gives it the independence to scale, expand its ecosystem, and challenge incumbents directly. For advertisers, Figma remaining independent gives agencies added choice. As creative tools compete for market share, expect faster innovation, more flexible pricing, and features tuned for digital-first campaigns.
The news: Microsoft’s latest earnings reflect more than just a Wall Street beat—they signal a deeper shift in how enterprises are adopting productivity software, cloud infrastructure, and embedded AI to run their businesses. It reported $76.4 billion in revenues, up 18% YoY. Microsoft Cloud made up $46.7 billion of those revenues, up 27% YoY, as cloud demand remains strong across all workloads. Our take: With strong recurring revenue, expanding AI use cases, and leadership across productivity and cloud, Microsoft is increasingly well-insulated from macroeconomic headwinds and well positioned to shape the future of work and software.
50% of US smartphone owners said they’re not willing to pay extra for AI features on their phones, up from 45% in September 2024, according to a May CNET survey.
The data: US consumer spending inched up just 1.4% YoY in Q2, per the US Commerce Department. While that’s up from the tepid 0.5% in Q1, it’s well below the 2.8% growth in spending in 2024, and the fifth-slowest rate since Q3 2021. Goods spending rose 2.2% YoY, up from 0.1% the prior quarter, while services spending increased 1.1% YoY, ahead of the 0.6% in Q1. Our take: Eliminating the de minimis exemption levels the playing field between international ecommerce sellers and domestic retailers—but could also drive up prices for consumers.