__Fur ballin' out...__ The cutest trend to accelerate in the corona-conomy: puppy love. Pet adoption soared 60% in March and April as homebound Americans took in pandemic pups and kittens to keep them company (and spice up their social lives). Online pet supply deliverer __[Chewy](https://robinhood.com/stocks/CHWY)__ thrived on the furry frenzy:

- __+46%:__ How much Chewy's sales [soared](https://www.thestreet.com/investing/chewy-beats-sales-earnings-estimates#:~:text=For%20the%20quarter%2C%20Chewy%20reported,18%20cent%20expected%20by%20analysts.) last quarter. Pet parents stocked up on chewy bones, peanut butter treats, and adorable toys to pamper WFH companions.
- __$3.4M:__ Chewy's profit, unlike the previous quarter (where it actually *lost* money). Chewy wasn't expected to dig up a quarterly profit until 2021.
- __2.5M:__ The number of new customers who made Chewy pet profiles last quarter — 25% of those profiles were for new pets. 

__Chewed too hard...__ Chewy stock, which is up 66% for the year, actually dipped on the earnings. Investors were expecting even more pawesome results, given the whole pet adoption hype. But Chewy believes it has something more lasting and more valuable than a pandemic surge....

_Waiting for the Chewy delivery_

Deliver

__Customer service is Chewy's real profit puppy...__ Chewy retains customers long-term thanks to its focus on customer service. That came in clutch when the demand surge caused shipping delays in March/April. Chewy promises a human will pick up its 24/7 customer hotline within *6 seconds* (we tried it — it's legit). It's even sent customers [oil paintings](https://www.distractify.com/p/chewy-dog-food-refund) of their pets. Who can stay mad with a Picasso-style bulldog? 

Chewy thrives on puppy-palooza (but investors expected a bigger treat)

__Applied the wrong filter...__ __[Zoom](https://robinhood.com/stocks/ZM)__. An American human rights org hosted a Zoom conference to commemorate the lives lost in Tiananmen Square 31 years ago. Then Zoom [shut](https://www.axios.com/zoom-closes-chinese-user-account-tiananmen-square-f218fed1-69af-4bdd-aac4-7eaf67f34084.html) the account down. Zooming out...

- __Tiananmen Square Massacre:__ In 1989, a million pro-democracy protesters hit the streets of Beijing against repressive Communist leaders/policies. The Chinese government cracked down hard, killing hundreds, thousands, or "[at least 10K](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-42465516)" people (exact number is unknown).
- __Censored:__ In China, it's illegal to discuss what happened in Tiananmen Square. So since Chinese citizens joined the conference, Zoom decided to shut down the US-based account "to comply with local law."
- __Zoom's response:__ "It is not in Zoom’s power to change the laws of governments opposed to free speech.” So what *is* in companies' power?

__What this company did...__ __Pocket Casts__, a popular podcast app, just [said](https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/11/21287436/pocket-casts-castro-china-apple-government-pressure) it won't censor content based on China's requests: “We believe podcasting is and should remain free of government censorship.” That principled move resulted in Pocket Casts getting removed from the App Store in China yesterday. 

- __"All-or-nothing" approach:__ Tech companies aren't thrilled to get blocked off from billions of potential users in China. But Pocket Casts went "all-or-nothing."
- __"Censored" approach:__ What Zoom just chose. Also, what __LinkedIn__ does by offering a censored version of itself in China. In 2018, __[Google](https://robinhood.com/stocks/GOOGL)__ worked on a censored search engine for Chinese users, but backed down after US public outcry.


_When Zoom locks you out of your own account_

Censor

__The world has two internets...__ What else is blocked in China? Facebook, Google, Twitter, Wikipedia, Reddit, Slack, and pretty much every other platform that freely spews people's every thought. Tech companies have to decide if they'll go "all-or-nothing" or "censored" with China. Either way, China has had no problem creating its own gov-censored social copycats (like __WeChat__ for WhatsApp and __Weibo__ for Twitter).

Zoom shuts down a human rights account to comply with Chinese law

__Clear the confetti from the NYSE floor...__ After an impressive three-month rally when the S&P 500 gained 45%, stocks just plunged. Investors bit their nails over health [stats](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/10/texas-reports-a-third-straight-day-of-record-coronavirus-hospitalizations.html) flowing out of newly reopened states:

- __Texas__ reported its [3rd](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/10/texas-reports-a-third-straight-day-of-record-coronavirus-hospitalizations.html) straight day of record COVID-19 hospitalizations (2,153 on Wednesday) — it was one of the first states to reopen.
- __Florida__ had the biggest jump in cases since March, and South Carolina hit a record high. California said nine counties saw a spike in new cases and hospitalizations.

__No parties at the Fed, either...__ On Wednesday, the Fed projected that it would keep interest rates close to zero through *at least* 2022. The Fed [wants](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/6zAABrs8yPYr7bhE4fZ3pd/articles/6uylQQIpW8xRU8cpJAiDKp/) us to spend our $$$ on stocks/stuff and take out low-interest loans (instead of hoarding it in a savings account). 

- __Problem?__ That 2-year economic stimulation effort suggests the Fed's outlook is grim. The near-zero rates are aggressive, but the Fed thinks they're necessary to stay afloat.
- Even though unemployment filings last week were the lowest in 11 weeks, __21M Americans__ are still collecting unemployment benefits.  
- Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin [said](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/11/treasury-secretary-mnuchin-says-we-cant-shut-down-the-economy-again.html) that shutting down the economy again to slow the spread __isn’t a viable option__. Investors think it's possible (and panic-inducing).

_Investors waking up on Thursday_

Drop

__Investors were ignoring the inevitable...__  Public health experts have said that when states re-open, infections will likely spike. Economists have said it'll take years, not months, to recover from the financial damage coronavirus wreaked. Buuut: falling cases, a wave of reopenings, and a surprisingly [positive](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/4uDJgIDwf0SsVfEGLojAI5/articles/7rW4ozXTrGfVlyThVMCo1C) May job report kept investors optimistic. Markets were down just 5% from their record highs — until yesterday.


Chewy thrives on puppy-palooza (but investors expected a bigger treat)

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