Ann Berry is joined by Dynex Capital Co-CEO Smriti Popenoe, who explains how mortgage REITs operate and how Dynex invests in agency mortgage-backed securities. Popenoe walks through the mechanics of leverage, interest-rate sensitivity and how those factors affect returns and dividends. They also discuss the Fed’s role in shaping financing costs, the function of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the housing finance system and proposed limits on institutional ownership of residential real estate.

00:00 Dynex Capital Co-CEO Smriti Popenoe Joins

01:03 What Dynex Capital Does and How a Mortgage REIT Works

02:26 How Mortgages Are Sourced Through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

03:44 Government Guarantees, Credit Risk and Mortgage Securities

04:25 Could Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Go Public? Potential Impacts

06:21 Due Diligence and Mortgage Selection at Dynex

06:41 Specified Pools and Managing Prepayment Risk

08:38 Mortgage Yields, Dividends, and Interest Rate Sensitivity

10:49 Leverage Strategy and Risk Management at Dynex

13:55 Competition in the Agency Mortgage REIT Market

15:53 Dynex’s Growth Strategy and Focus on Housing Finance

19:29 Institutional Ownership of Housing and Proposed Regulations

22:01 Portfolio Duration and Weighted Average Life of Mortgages

23:19 Why Dynex Uses a Co-CEO Structure

26:45 Decision-Making, Accountability, and Leadership Structure

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Ann Berry is joined by Gen CEO Vincent Pilette to break down Gen’s business model and growth strategy following its expansion beyond cybersecurity. The conversation covers how brands like Norton, Avast, LifeLock and MoneyLion fit together, how Gen thinks about consumer trust and how financial wellness is being integrated into its core security platform. Pilette also discusses customer adoption, global expansion and how the company evaluates future adjacencies and acquisitions.
00:00 – Gen CEO Vincent Pilette joins
00:41 – Gen’s four business pillars and operating segments
02:26 – Norton’s role in consumer cybersecurity
02:57 – Consumer vs. B2B2C growth strategy
04:15 – Customer journeys across Norton, LifeLock, and MoneyLion
05:07 – Platform integration and challenges with cross-selling
06:59 – Subscriber base and membership structure
07:58 – Global user scale across paid and free customers
08:21 – Financial wellness adoption and growth outlook
09:57 – Positioning Gen for consumers and investors
12:09 – Trust-based solutions
13:33 – Strategic priorities and future expansion areas
17:11 – Customer demand for blockchain-based solutions
18:16 – Geographic mix and international growth strategy
After Earnings is brought to you by Stakeholder Labs and Morning Brew.
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Ann Berry is joined in-studio by CLEAR's CEO Caryn Seidman Becker They review the company’s latest quarter, the rollout of eGates and how the company is preparing for global expansion. Caryn shares what’s driving CLEAR’s growth across travel and enterprise, why healthcare is a major unlock and the ways digital identity is becoming a core layer of modern life.

Highlights include: CLEAR's origin story and buyout from bankruptcy plus how the company navigated this fall's government shutdown.

00:00 — Caryn Seidman Becker Joins

00:53 — What’s Powering Clear’s Momentum

01:49 — eGates, CapEx & Free Cash Flow

02:13 — Airport Footprint & Expansion Plans

04:36 — Fixing Wait Times & Member Experience

06:07 — Travel During the Shutdown

07:23 — Signing Documents With Your Face

09:05 — DeepFakes & Identity Security

10:56 — Government Tech & Verification

11:19 — CLEAR in Entertainment & Events

13:21 — Cybersecurity & Holding Less Data

14:16 — Healthcare & “Killing the Clipboard”

18:49 — Global Travelers & Compliance

19:44 — Clear’s Origin Story

23:59 — Stock Price, Buybacks & Free Cash Flow

25:44 — M&A Outlook

After Earnings is brought to you by Stakeholder Labs and Morning Brew.

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Ann Berry is joined in-studio by Nate Baxter, President & COO of ScottsMiracle-Gro. They discuss how the 160-year-old company is modernizing its iconic brands, balancing innovation with sustainability, and sunsetting its cannabis subsidiary. Nate explores shifting consumer demographics, regional growth strategies and the company’s planned packaging refresh.
Highlights include:
- How Scotts and Miracle-Gro are being reinvented for millennials and Gen Z
- Why ScottsMiracle-Gro is exiting the cannabis business
- How organic and sustainable lawn-care products are shaping the company’s future
00:00 – Nate Baxter Joins
01:06 – Pandemic hangover and the reset
02:33 – Margin recovery and streamlining
03:25 – Brand portfolio and recession resilience
04:50 – Millennials, Gen Z & wellness
06:51 – “Emerging” consumers, kids and pets
09:04 – Organics, biologicals and safety
10:44 – Modernizing packaging and brand aesthetic
11:59 – E-commerce, website revamp and education
13:32 – Exiting cannabis and Hawthorne’s future
15:22 – Why tech and AI matter in lawn care
17:22 – Weather, forecasting and media allocation
18:27 – Seasonality and fall lawn strategy
21:51 – Free cash flow, debt paydown & M&A
24:05 – What a “transformational” deal could be

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On this episode of After Earnings, Ann sits down with Beth Gaspich, the Chief Financial Officer of NiCE - a decades-old enterprise software company looking to transform itself into an AI-driven customer experience platform.
They discuss how NiCE aims to redefine contact centers through automation and conversational AI, NiCE's nearly $1 billion acquisition of Cognigy, and the company’s approach to fraud detection and deepfake prevention.
00:00 — Beth Gaspich joins
02:00 — The history of NiCE
05:00 — AI and automation in contact centers
06:00 — Deepfake detection and data privacy
10:00 — Market perception vs. fundamentals
11:30 — Inside NiCE’s nearly $1 B Cognigy acquisition
13:00 — Balancing profitability and growth
15:20 — Acquisition and capital allocation strategy
18:00 — How NiCE evaluates AI tuck-ins
19:00 — Beth’s career and leadership path
22:00 — How a CFO keeps up with AI
23:40 — The next generation of finance talent
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On this episode of After Earnings, Ann Berry speaks with Steph Guild, Chief Investment Officer at Robinhood, about how the company is expanding beyond active trading into broader wealth management. Guild explains how Robinhood Strategies works and how it aims to help retail investors build long-term portfolios. She also shares her perspective on tokenized assets along with thoughts on prediction markets, retail investor behavior, international growth, and whether today’s market shows signs of a bubble.

00:00 – Steph Guild Joins

00:52 – How Robinhood Keeps Users Active as They Mature

02:02 – Inside “Robinhood Strategies”

03:42 – Lower Minimums and Broader Access

04:06 – Building Portfolios: Balancing ETFs and Single Stocks

07:08 – How Retail Investors Approach Risk and New Assets

10:31 – Mixing Professional Advice with Social Investing

12:42 – Portfolio Positioning in a High-Valuation Market

15:15 – Are We in a Market Bubble?

16:08 – Expanding Internationally

16:52 – Why Tokenized Assets Are Rolling Out in Europe First

18:13 – Tokenization’s Benefits and Early-Stage Limitations

20:50 – How Prediction Markets Can Function as a Hedge

23:04 – Leaving a Legacy Firm for a New Model

25:44 – Taking Career Risks

After Earnings is brought to you by Stakeholder Labs and Morning Brew.

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The content shared on this podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered financial, legal, or investment advice. Brew Markets, Morning Brew and their hosts are not licensed financial advisors. Listeners should conduct their own research and consult with qualified professionals before making any financial decisions or investments. The views expressed are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of Morning Brew or its affiliates. This podcast may include paid endorsements or sponsorships

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On this episode of After Earnings, Ann Berry sits down with Mandy Fields, Chief Financial Officer of e.l.f. Beauty to unpack how the company balances celebrity-led brands, marketing spend and the business realities of tariffs, pricing and growth.

00:00 – Mandy Fields Joins

00:48 – How Marketing Spend Is Driving e.l.f. Beauty’s Growth

02:00 – Working With Celebrity Founders: Hailey Bieber and Alicia Keys

04:00 – Building a Platform for Female-Led Beauty Brands

06:15 – Where e.l.f. Beauty Sees the Strongest Marketing Returns

07:30 – Inside e.l.f. Beauty’s Three-Pillar Growth Strategy

09:20 – Skincare Expansion: rhode, Naturium and e.l.f. Skin

11:00 – Targeting Different Consumers Across the Portfolio

13:00 – How e.l.f. Beauty Approaches Global Expansion

15:10 – rhode’s Retail Debut at Sephora

17:00 – What’s Behind the $1 Billion rhode Deal

19:00 – Managing the Risks of Celebrity Brands

21:00 – Tariffs, China Exposure and Supply Chain Shifts

23:00 – How Shoppers Responded to the $1 Price Increase

24:15 – Investing in Growth: Cash, Technology and M&A

25:45 – Why e.l.f. Beauty Withheld Full-Year Guidance

28:00 – The Future of Beauty Retail Partnerships

After Earnings is brought to you by Stakeholder Labs and Morning Brew.

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On this episode of After Earnings, Ann Berry sits down with Hamilton Lane Co-CEO Erik Hirsch for an in-depth conversation about the future of private markets. They discuss how Hamilton Lane is opening private capital to retail investors, why fund manager selection matters more than thematic bets in today’s environment and how the firm navigates being a publicly traded company.

00:00 – Erik Hirsch Joins

00:38 – AUM vs AUA: How Hamilton Lane Makes Money

02:25 – From Consultant to Asset Manager: Hamilton Lane’s Evolution

03:58 – The Co-Investment Model Explained

06:42 – The Strategic Edge of Scale and Market Insight

08:15 – What’s Working in Private Equity Right Now

09:26 – From Thematic to Manager-Driven Investing

11:08 – Is Private Credit in a Bubble?

12:51 – Inside the Secondary Market Surge

16:33 – Managing a Public Company Focused on Private Assets

18:30 – The Case for Less Frequent Earnings Reporting

20:28 – Democratizing Private Markets for Retail Investors

23:54 – Expanding Retail Access

26:18 – The Trillions in Retail Opportunity

30:55 – Looking Ahead: Tokenization & the Retailization of Private Markets

After Earnings is brought to you by Stakeholder Labs and Morning Brew.

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On the latest episode of After Earnings, Ann Berry sits down with Udemy CEO Hugo Sarrazin to discuss the company’s pivot from a traditional online course marketplace to an AI-powered platform designed to re-skill the global workforce.

Highlights include:

- Udemy’s shift from one-off course sales to a subscription model

- The company’s enterprise push to re-skill workforces at scale

- The future of its instructor-driven marketplace

- How AI can deliver mass personalization in learning

00:00 – Hugo Sarrazin Joins

01:12 – Why the online learning industry is under pressure

02:42 – Udemy’s consumer vs. enterprise business explained

05:56 – How AI enables personalization in learning

08:00 – Marketplace model vs. proprietary content

11:58 – Transition to subscriptions and monetization challenges

15:02 – Is Udemy becoming a digital media company?

16:48 – Enterprise clients and “just-in-time” learning

20:27 – Selling to CTOs, HR, and business leaders

23:33 – Reskilling 92 million workers in the AI era

25:39 – ROI pressure vs. growth opportunity

27:11 – Margins, cash flow, and product investment

29:03 – Hugo Sarrazin’s career journey: McKinsey to CEO

33:40 – Will AI replace consulting?

37:55 – The future of Udemy

After Earnings is brought to you by Stakeholder Labs and Morning Brew.

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On the latest episode of After Earnings, Ann Berry sits down with Amrita Ahuja, the CFO & COO of Block, to break down the company’s recent performance and how it's leveraging its multiple brands to drive long-term growth. The conversation explores Block’s capital allocation strategy, AI-powered underwriting and how each of its businesses from Cash App and Square to Afterpay aims to expand financial access.

00:00 – Amrita Ahuja joins

00:15 – What Ties Block’s Brands Together?

03:06 – How Block Allocates Capital Across Business Units

05:23 – Is Rule of 40 Outdated?

06:34 – How Cash App Grows Market Share

09:14 – Competing with PayPal and Venmo

10:32 – Why Teens Are the Future of Cash App

12:05 – How Cash App Customers Graduate Across Products

14:02 – Integrating Afterpay Into Cash App

15:24 – AI, BNPL, and Personalized Lending

18:22 – Will Block Offer Mortgages or Auto Loans?

19:56 – Block’s M&A Strategy

21:08 – Bitcoin Mining with Proto Rig

After Earnings is brought to you by Stakeholder Labs and Morning Brew.

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