The Compound and Friends

The Compound and Friends

Join Downtown Josh Brown, Michael Batnick, and a rotation of their friends every Friday for expert insight and hot takes on the latest in business and investing.

Recent Episodes

July 17, 2026

You’re About to See the Real AI Winners Stand Up

On episode 251 of The Compound and Friends, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Michael Batnick⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Downtown Josh Brown⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ are joined by Jonathan Thomas, CEO of American Century Investments, to discuss: the remarkable rise of Avantis Investors, why active ETFs are gaining ground, what it takes to build investment products that can outperform without taking excessive risk, whether AI is creating an earnings bubbl
July 14, 2026

IBM Warns, Apple Sues OpenAI, Big Bank Earnings Blow-Out, EPS Bubble, Welcome to Y’all Street

On this episode of What Are Your Thoughts, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Downtown Josh Brown⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Michael Batnick⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ discuss: why Apple vs. OpenAI could reshape Big Tech, IBM's surprising warning and what it says about the AI trade, whether we're living through an "anti-bubble," and the debut of a new high-yield ETF. They also break down the biggest takeaways from bank earnings, including JPMorgan's blockbuster quarte
July 13, 2026

The Number One Question Facing Investors, How the US Became Recession Proof, Why Tech Stocks Might Underperform Going Forward With Datatrek’s Nick Colas and Jessica Rabe

On this episode of What Did We Learn, ⁠Josh Brown⁠, ⁠Nick Colas and Jessica Rabe⁠ discuss whether Tech's leadership is finally cooling off, what history says about rare market extremes, the case for a rotation within mega-cap tech, why semis may have gotten ahead of themselves, and what the Nasdaq's fourth year of a bull market could mean for investors. This episode is sponsored by Federated Hermes. Explore their full ETF lineup at ⁠https://federatedhermes.com/us Sign up for ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Com
July 10, 2026

The Real Ticking Time Bomb with Michael Cembalest

On episode 250 of The Compound and Friends, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Michael Batnick⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Downtown Josh Brown⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ are joined by Michael Cembalest to discuss: the strength of the U.S. dollar, China’s challenge to American economic dominance, foreign demand for Treasuries, the federal debt reckoning, and what the market is getting wrong about central-bank gold buying. This episode is sponsored by Federated H
July 7, 2026

Leveraged ETF Casino, Apple Breaks Out, Sentiment Plunges, Government Stake in OpenAI?

On this episode of What Are Your Thoughts, Downtown Josh Brown and Michael Batnick discuss Apple's breakout to new highs and the bull case for a $400 price target, whether cracks are beginning to show in the AI trade after Samsung's earnings reaction, why consumer sentiment remains deeply pessimistic even as stocks keep climbing, the emerging markets ETF quirk that's rewarding some investors over others, whether we're witnessing one of the strongest earnings-driven bull markets in history, and w
July 3, 2026

Brian Belski Returns!

On episode 249 of The Compound and Friends, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Michael Batnick⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Downtown Josh Brown⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ are joined by returning guest favorite Brian Belski⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to discuss: broadening market leadership, the tech stock rotation, small and mid-caps (SMID), more volatility on the horizon, the potential for no SaaSpocalypse, and much more! This episode is sponsored by WisdomTree. Learn mor
June 30, 2026

Steroid Era With Spencer Jakab, the F***’s Going on With Strategy?, Margin Debt

On this episode of What Are Your Thoughts, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Downtown Josh Brown⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Michael Batnick⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ are back to discuss: why Wall Street's earnings forecasts may be entering a "steroid era," the broadening bull market rally beyond mega-cap tech, whether Strategy's massive Bitcoin bet has become a systemic risk, growing signs of excessive speculation across leveraged markets, and why some software stocks c
June 29, 2026

Invest in the Robot Revolution or Be Crushed by It

On this episode of Live From The Compound, Downtown Josh Brown is joined by Andrew Kang, CEO and co-founder of RoboStrategy (Nasdaq: BOT), to discuss why humanoid robots may be the biggest investment opportunity of the next decade. They cover the rapid rise of physical AI, Andrew's early bet on Figure AI, the economics driving mass adoption, what widespread automation could mean for workers, and why he structured RoboStrategy as a publicly traded investment vehicle to give everyday investors exp
June 26, 2026

Too Early to Get Off the Wave with Ryan Detrick and Sonu Varghese

On episode 248 of The Compound and Friends, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Michael Batnick⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Downtown Josh Brown⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ are joined by Ryan Detrick and Sonu Varghese⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to discuss: Alan Greenspan’s legacy, Fed transparency, AI bubble fears, Micron’s massive run, market rotation, small caps, inflation, gold, Bitcoin, and whether the bull market still has room to run. This episode is sponsored by Nuveen and

About the Hosts

Josh Brown Profile Photo
Josh Brown

co-host

Josh Brown is the CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management where he has spent his career helping people invest and manage their portfolios. He is the co-host of What Are Your Thoughts? and The Compound and Friends podcast.

Michael Batnick Profile Photo
Michael Batnick

co-host

Michael Batnick is a managing partner at Ritholtz Wealth Management. He is the co-host of Animal Spirits, What Are Your Thoughts?, and The Compound & Friends. He is also the author of The Irrelevant Investor Blog.

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