__Grab the popcorn...__ The latest season of *Big Tech vs. Congress*  [dropped](https://www.npr.org/2020/07/29/894802424/watch-heads-of-amazon-apple-facebook-and-google-testify-on-big-techs-power) yesterday. Besides a few screaming matches and some technical difficulties, important questions were raised around anti-competitive activities of Big Tech companies. Highlights from the stars:

- __[Amazon](https://robinhood.com/stocks/AMZN) CEO Jeff Bezos__ made his Congressional debut. He got grilled on using data from 3rd party vendors to make competing (and cheaper) Amazon products.
- __[Google](https://robinhood.com/stocks/GOOG) CEO Sundar Pichai__ got hammered with questions around favoring Google products or paid ads over relevant search queries. 
- __[Facebook](https://robinhood.com/stocks/FB) CEO Mark Zuckerberg__ got grilled on copying features of successful competitors, or acquiring them to crush threats (especially RE: Instagram). 
- __[Apple](https://robinhood.com/stocks/AAPL) CEO Tim Cook__ got let off easy (the [fewest](https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/07/29/technology/tech-ceos-hearing-testimony?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage) questions), mainly around Apple playing favorites on its App Store and making things overly complicated for developers.

__Grab the PR flashcards...__  All four CEOs took the stance that they *do* face real competition, and that everything they do is to improve products for their customers. Overall, the whole thing was often Congresspeople making their statements without actually listening to answers, and CEOs trying to waste as much time as possible by circumventing questions. Niiice. 

_Big Tech's Congressional Zoom sesh_

Testify

__Will anything actually come from these Congressional TV dramas?...__ The biggest thing would be a change in competition laws. Overall though, these hearings have rarely affected regulation. Buuut: a rare bipartisan unity clearly emerged around hostility to Big Tech (though the reasons varied). This hearing likely serves more as a slap on the hand than a game-changer.



Big Tech CEOs get grilled while trying to prove they're not monopolies

__Major plot twist...__ Three months ago, __[AMC](https://robinhood.com/stocks/AMC)__ banned all __Universal__ movies from its theaters after some  [*Trolls* drama](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/76jnSWZc6iKnCka8DwnCwj/articles/12pFjiFXKs4qKrpQFtdJav/). TLDR: Universal made bank releasing *Trolls World Tour* direct to streaming, and said it'll do both digital and theatrical releases going forward. AMC reacted by excommunicating Universal. Now the two have struck a game-changing truce:

- __They're slashing the theatrical window__ from 75 days to just 17 days for Universal films shown at AMC theaters.
- __Theatrical window:__ The period that a movie has to be exclusively in theaters before release for home viewing.

__An Oscar-worthy win for streamers...__ and a loss for theaters. The window has long been key to theaters' sales. Even though the first three weekends make up the bulk of those, slashing the window from 2.5 months to 2.5 *weeks* encourages people to wait for digital releases (manageable FOMO). 

- __Customers get:__ Savings. While digital rentals will likely cost ~$20, there's no "pay-per-butt" charge. The whole family can watch for the price of 1 (and skip the $17 popcorn). 
- __Universal gets:__ Money. Universal made more off 3 weeks of Trolls online rentals than 5 months of the original theater release. Big reason: streaming platforms take a smaller cut of sales than theaters do.
- __AMC gets:__ A lifeline. Theaters have been closed since March, and AMC could be looking at bankruptcy soon. Now it'll reportedly get a cut of Universal's sales from digital rentals and rights to release new Universal films on its own on-demand service.




_The thrill of the short-lived theatrical window_

Watch

__This could become the status quo...__ AMC is the world’s largest theater chain and Universal is a major studio. Others could follow their major league window-slashing. By the time the pandemic is over, homebound consumers might be used to saving money by watching new movies at home. Short windows might keep getting shorter (or even become non-existent).  


AMC and Universal will slash the theatrical window period in a historic agreement

__Varsity Blues...__ Meal kit company __[Blue Apron](https://robinhood.com/stocks/APRN)__ has been sitting on the bench as its  rival __HelloFresh__ scores all the points. It was worth $2B when it IPO'd in 2017 — now it’s worth just $160M. Then the pandemic lifted the tide for all at-home-cooking ships, and Blue Apron finally got its shot in the game. It delivered:

- __Blue Apron turned a quarterly profit for the 1st time ever__, taking home [$1.1M](https://www.wsj.com/articles/blue-apron-swings-to-profit-amid-pandemic-11596034442?mod=business_lead_pos12) compared to a $7.7M loss during the same quarter last year. 
- __Thank the ARPU:__ Average Revenue Per User. Blue Apron's ARPU surged 25%, with the average customer spending $331 in the quarter (up from $265). Sales jumped 10%.

__But no one was cheering...__ *Sigh*. Despite the profit win, Blue Apron stock plunged 15% because:


- __Growth was underwhelming__, like a poorly seasoned Bok Choy. It added only 20K new customers, a 5% growth bump.
- __$18M will be lost *this* quarter__, according to Blue Apron's unappetizing forecast. Higher labor costs (like employee bonuses) are eating into profits.  

_Blue Apron: "Put me in, Coach"_

Cook

__Blue Apron still has a shrinkage problem...__ It didn't make a profit because it's growing — *it made a profit because the highly unusual pandemic made home-cooking spend surge*. Despite its higher ARPU, Blue Apron's customer count is actually getting *smaller*. It now has 396K customers, down from 449K last year. Investors think the profit was a one-hit pandemic wonder. Since investors are all about *future* growth, they plunged the stock. 



Big Tech CEOs get grilled while trying to prove they're not monopolies

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