🚀 Power up

Power up: AI is having a banner year. Chipmaker profits are soaring, data centers are booming, and everyday brands are rolling out smarter shopping tools — signs that the AI economy is spreading from labs to living rooms.

The numbers at a glance:

 💼 $31.9B: Nvidia’s quarterly profit, up 65% year over year
 🏗️ $939B by 2028: Projected size of the global data-center market
 🛍️ 50%: Retailers aiming to use AI to personalize online shopping
 📊 96%: Executives who feel an urgency to adopt AI — adoption is broadening even as many remain in pilot mode

— The Editors 

🎤 Record finish: The Weeknd’s “After Hours Til Dawn” tour passed* $1 billion in revenue thanks in part to a sold-out North American leg, setting a record for a male solo act. Concerts are just one stream of artist income these days — bonds backed by music royalties have been a $4.4 billion hit with investors in 2025.

✈️ Travel backup: Starting in February, adult travelers without a REAL ID can use TSA’s Confirm.ID by paying a nonrefundable $45* fee; approvals open a 10-day window to fly. Prefer not to pay? Opt for on-site verification but expect a separate screening that can add up to 30 minutes at the airport. Roughly 94% of travelers already have a compliant ID.

📱 Battery boost: For the first time in 14 years, Apple* is expected to edge past Samsung in 2025 smartphone shipments, with an estimated 243 million units versus 235 million. With the average smartphone sold in 2024 priced around $356,* a record high, consumers now wait an average of 3.88 years* before trading in their phone, the longest stretch to date.

🚇 Line power: Amtrak set* all-time records with 34.5 million customer trips and $2.7 billion in ticket revenue to close out fiscal year 2025. Amtrak riders logged 6.9 billion total miles, amid a broader trend of leisure travelers taking more unhurried journeys and scenic routes. 

End of an (iconic) era

Warren Buffett will step down as Berkshire Hathaway’s CEO after 60 years and hand* the reins of the $1 trillion company to hand-picked successor Greg Abel on January 1. It’s an extraordinary run, given that median CEO tenure has recently fallen to just 4.8 years among large companies.

Apple’s Tim Cook, Disney’s Bob Iger, and Walmart’s Doug McMillon are also expected* to step aside in the coming year, ushering in a new era of leadership.

Just three in ten Americans aspire to a C-suite role, according to Empower research, but 32% still think that work satisfaction comes from being an inspiring leader. 

No change required

Self-serve is powering up the quick-stop economy. Vending is moving beyond sodas and snacks with innovations like Amazon’s new pharmacy kiosks and Chick-fil-A wraps. The market is on track to top $19 billion by 2033 as more items show up in airports, hospitals, and campuses.

Contactless payments are one of the power sources behind the vending boom as 35% of Americans go mostly cashless these days.

Super find

A 10-cent copy of “Superman #1” found in a California attic has become the most expensive* comic book sold at auction for $9.12 million. The price for the 1939 edition crushed the Man of Steel’s debut in 1938’s “Action Comics No. 1,” which sold for $6 million last year.

Sales* of comics and graphic novels in the U.S. and Canada rose 4% to $1.94 billion in 2024, underscoring enduring appeal.

The IRS classifies* rare comic books as “collectibles” — along with other valuables like gold and art — which means individual sales can face up to 28% capital gains tax in some cases.

In case you missed it — read on

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