Episode Summary
Executive Summary: The episode rapidly reviews major tech earnings and strategic shifts: Amazon’s profit was hit by a Rivian markdown even as AWS remained dominant, Apple delivered strong revenue but faced supply chain and guidance concerns, China signaled a softer stance on tech regulation to support growth, Airbnb formalized a fully distributed hybrid model with periodic in-person gatherings, and Snap launched a tiny camera drone that fits its consumer hardware strategy. The show also features an OK Boomer interview on podcasting, VC, and creator-led career paths.
Main Topics: Amazon Q1 earnings and the Rivian markdown: Amazon’s revenue grew modestly, but operating income and net income were dragged down by a large non-cash loss tied to its Rivian stake. The discussion emphasized AWS as the true profit engine and debated whether Amazon’s retail business is effectively scale-first, margin-light infrastructure. Apple Q1/fiscal Q2 earnings and services mix: Apple posted strong top-line and net income growth, with iPhone still the main driver and services increasingly meaningful. The hosts highlighted limited guidance, recurring supply-chain issues, and how Apple One bundling deepens recurring revenue and ecosystem lock-in. China easing pressure on its tech sector: A report from the South China Morning Post suggested Chinese leadership may slow implementation of restrictive tech rules after COVID shutdowns and economic headwinds. The conversation framed this as a pragmatic retreat that could help entrepreneurs and stabilize growth targets. Airbnb’s intentional remote-work operating model: Brian Chesky announced that Airbnb employees can live and work anywhere, keep compensation unchanged across locations, and gather in person quarterly. The hosts praised the deliberate design of the model and discussed productivity, culture, and possible monitoring backlash against remote-work abuse. Snap’s Pixy drone and hardware strategy: Snap introduced a tiny flying camera drone, Pixy, priced for consumers and designed for simple social-content capture. The discussion positioned it as consistent with Snap’s playful brand and ongoing investment in AR/hardware as a differentiator. OK Boomer interview: podcasting as a path into VC: Rachel and Landon Campbell discussed how podcasting can create deal flow, build networks, and unlock investing opportunities. They also gave practical advice on consistency, distribution, community-building, and technical setup for aspiring creators.
Key Arguments: Amazon’s earnings weakness was largely an accounting/mark-to-market issue from Rivian, not a collapse in the core business. AWS is portrayed as Amazon’s standout asset and possibly worthy of a standalone tracking stock or spinout. Amazon’s retail/e-commerce business is still viewed as a long-term infrastructure play where profitability is secondary to scale and logistics reach. Apple’s iPhone remains the company’s core revenue pillar, but services and Apple One show the ecosystem is becoming more durable and recurring. Apple’s lack of guidance and repeated supply-chain references indicate investors should treat supply constraints as a persistent issue. China is backing off tech regulation because overregulation plus zero-COVID and macro stress is hurting growth and entrepreneurship. Airbnb’s remote-work policy is not just permissive but operationally designed around a quarterly in-person cadence and a multiyear product roadmap. Remote-work freedom may lead to increased employee monitoring if some workers abuse the privilege or hold multiple jobs. Snap’s hardware bets are aligned with its youthful, creator-focused identity and can extend the platform beyond software. Podcasting can function as a career accelerator, especially for networking, distribution, and venture capital access, but success requires consistency and a pipeline of content.
Data Points: Amazon Q1 2022 net revenue: $116.4 billion - Amazon reported quarterly revenue up 7% year over year. Amazon operating income: $3.7 billion - Amazon’s operating income fell 58.4% year over year. Amazon net loss: $3.8 billion - Compared with net income of $8.1 billion in the prior year quarter; driven largely by Rivian markdown. Rivian investment loss: $7.6 billion - Non-cash loss that heavily impacted Amazon’s reported results. Apple total revenue: $97.2 billion - Apple’s revenue increased 9% in its fiscal Q2/Q1 earnings discussion. Apple net income: $22.8 billion - Apple continued its high-profit performance. Apple iPhone revenue: $50 billion - Roughly half of Apple’s total quarterly revenue came from iPhone. Apple Mac revenue: $10.4 billion - Part of Apple’s hardware mix for the quarter. Apple services revenue: $19.8 billion - The services segment included App Store, iCloud, music, news, arcade, and TV. Apple PE ratio: 26 - Discussed as evidence the stock was relatively fully valued. Amazon PE ratio: 59 - Mentioned in comparison to other large-cap tech companies. AWS share of Amazon profit: Implied dominant / “prints money” - Hosts argued AWS is the key margin driver and separate from retail economics. China growth target: 5.5% - Relaxation of tech regulation was linked to supporting this growth target. Airbnb countries for flexible work: 170 countries - Employees can live and work in 170 countries for up to 90 days per location. Airbnb in-person cadence: Quarterly, about one week at a time - The company will gather teams in person every quarter. Snap Pixy price: $230 - Consumer price for the flying camera drone. Snap drone size: Pocket-size - Described as tiny, though the hosts joked it looked like thick-cut toast. Podcast audience platform stat: YouTube is reportedly the top listening platform - Landon discussed that many listeners now consume podcasts on YouTube rather than only Spotify/Apple. Podcast creator attrition stat: 90% quit after episode 3 - Used to emphasize how difficult consistency is for new podcasters. Landon’s production cadence: 3 to 4 interviews banked - Advice for maintaining consistency and avoiding content gaps. Remote-work travel expectation: 4 times a year, 4 to 5 days each - Jason says remote employees should expect periodic company gatherings.
Pivotal Quotes: "Live by the gun, die by the gun." — Jason Calacanis: On Amazon’s Rivian-related markdown and the risks of volatile startup investments. "Today we’re announcing that Airbnb employees can live and work anywhere." — Brian Chesky: Referenced through Chesky’s Twitter announcement describing Airbnb’s distributed workforce model. "If not for the podcast, I wouldn’t have this cool job with Jason. I wouldn’t have opportunities to invest." — Landon Campbell: On how podcasting created career and investing opportunities.
Implications: Listeners get a clear read on how megacap tech is being valued, how China’s policy shift may affect startups, and how remote work and creator media are reshaping hiring, culture, and VC access. The theme: distribution, flexibility, and ecosystem power matter more than ever.
From the Episode
Here. Live by the gun, die by the gun. Live by the sword, die by the sword. I said Rivian was absurdly overvalued. The market eventually agreed. I said Amazon should have sold their entire stake as quick as possible, but that would probably not be allowed. They probably had a lockup. And so here they are, a giant markdown, I guess. I don't know if it's technically a loss because they didn't put that money in, but they had to mark down the value of that investment. This happened to Uber. This happens countless times. You have some investment that goes supernova and then it comes back down to Earth. I wonder if there was any drop off in the core delivery business, because I know the AWS business is still a juggernaut. Am I correct? Boo Ming. Booming, in fact. In fact, so much so that there was a tweet from Anshu Sharma saying they need to add a tracking stock on AWS as a stand-alone business unit, maybe even a full spin-out and holding company.
Airbnb CEO Brian Chuski tweeted the following yesterday, Thursday. Today we're announcing that Airbnb employees can live and work anywhere. Our design for working at Airbnb has five key features. One, you can work from home or the office, whatever works best for you. You can move anywhere in the company and your compensation will not change. That's a big one. You have the flexibility to live and work in 170 countries for up to 90 days a year in each location. And then he says we will meet up regularly for team gatherings. Most employees will connect to. In person every quarter for about a week at a time, and some more frequently. Love that plan. And then he says, to pull this off, we'll operate off of a multi-year roadmap with two major product releases a year, which will keep us working in a highly coordinated way. This last part is the one I find so interesting. Yeah. So, working, why do you find it super interesting? I just think that the idea of actually altering your business strategy around your remote workforce in such an intentional way is so freaking smart because it's an actual adaptation to.
Further than that, I mean, my podcast has served as an awesome resource for deal flow. I've been able to have so many young founders on my show to really learn more about their companies, ask the questions that you can kind of equate to due diligence when investing, and has opened up a lot of unique opportunities. So, if not for the podcast, I wouldn't have this cool job with Jason. I wouldn't have opportunities to invest. So, it's been a wonderful vehicle to really get me into some cool new. Industries and sectors. Yeah. Who would have thought that having a podcast that does well helps with deal flow? I never, never would have heard that before. Yeah, yeah. So Jason says all the time that he loves hiring young people. We are two of the young people that he has hired. What is it like working for somebody who has done just that? He's done so much in media, and it has definitely helped him have quite awesome investments along with him just being a very smart person. He's killed it in that space. How has it been learning under Jason?
About This Week in Startups
Jason Calacanis covers startups, tech, markets, media, and all the hottest topics in business and technology. He also interviews the world’s greatest founders, operators, investors, and innovators.