Snap’s “Crucible Moment” Flops On Wall Street

**SPEAKER_1** (0:01)
Support for the show comes from Ferragamo. This Father's Day, Ferragamo presents there the Things I Have Learned From You collection, because a father's influence is reflected in the details, in the way they dress, in the appreciation of materials, and in making considered choices. These elements build over time and become part of a shared identity. And Ferragamo wants to highlight the style, assertiveness, and poise that are naturally showcased with the everyday moments between a father and the ones they love.
Discover Ferragamo's Father's Day gifting selection at ferragamo.com or in-store.

**Ed Elson** (0:34)
Support for the show comes from Odoo. Running a business takes everything you've got, and a lot of the tools out there that are supposed to make your life easier just aren't great at talking to each other. And that means you end up having to toggle between a dozen different apps and services just to keep the lights on.
Enough of that. Now there is Odoo, the all-in-one, fully integrated platform that might actually help you get it all done. Thousands of businesses have made the switch, so why not you try Odoo for free at odoo.com. That's odoo.com.

**SPEAKER_1** (1:12)
Support for the show comes from VCX, the public ticker for private tech. The US stock market started history's greatest wave of wealth creation, from factory workers in Detroit to farmers in Omaha.
Anyone can own a piece of the great American companies. But today, our most innovative companies are staying private longer, which means everyday Americans are missing out. Until now. Introducing VCX, the public ticker for private tech, now available wherever you buy stocks. Visit getvcx.com for more info. That's getvcx.com. Carefully consider the investment material before investing, including objectives, risks, charges and expenses. This and other information can be found in the fund's prospectus at getvcx.com. This is a paid sponsorship.

**Ed Elson** (2:02)
If money is evil, then that building is hell.
Welcome to Prof G Markets. I'm Ed Elson. It is June 18th. Let's check in on yesterday's market vitals.
The major indices tumbled following the Federal Reserve's press conference. More on that in a moment. Treasury yields spiked, as did the dollar. And the odds of a rate hike before the year end are now at 62% on Cauchy. Meanwhile, SpaceX declined for the first time since it went public, ending the day down 5%.
Okay, what's happening? Snap just unveiled its new augmented reality glasses. And despite a lot of anticipation and a lot of hype, it was a bit of a flop. The glasses, called Snap Specs, feature an in-frame display which overlays apps onto the real world. They're priced at $2,195, making them significantly more expensive than Meta's Ray-Ban display glasses, which started $800. CEO Evan Spiegel called Snap Specs a leapfrog advancement and the computer of the future. But the market doesn't seem to agree. The stock closed down almost 8% today, and it's now off 40% over the past year. So, here to tell us more about the Snap Specs and potentially why it was such a flop to Wall Street, we're speaking with Mark Gurman, managing editor and chief correspondent for Bloomberg News. Mark, thank you for joining us. These glasses are all over my social media feed and not in a good way. Everyone is making fun of them. And I've got to say, I've looked at these things, I've seen the way that they sit on Evan Spiegel's face, particularly his ears. And I just think this thing is way too heavy and cumbersome and they don't seem to look very good. And I wonder if that's the problem here. What do you make of these snap specs and also the reaction to them?

**Mark Gurman** (4:12)
I think for the available technology today, something that has augmented reality, something that's an all-in-one wearable headset, I think the design actually is quite good. And I think the price is actually quite reasonable for the tech. Now, I don't think it's reasonable for a mass consumer. I don't think anything of this ilk is going to become a hit at $2,200 US.
But I do think for what the state of this technology is, they are in a fairly good place. I think the 8% decline in their stock is more a reaction to how expensive these are to develop and build and how much money SNAP is putting into this product that is unlikely to become a smash hit. So I think that's what the concern is stemming from. But in terms of the technology, it's intense technology. It's advanced technology.
And I think it's an exercise that's showing us what eventually is going to be a mainstream computing form factor, because I do heavily believe in the augmented reality category. I'm just not sure SNAP is going to be the one to take it to that next level.