Michael Burry Calls Another Top as Nvidia Turns Chips Into Collateral
In DHUnplugged #814 'The Doldrums,' Andrew Horowitz and John C. Dvorak dissect Michael Burry's latest market top call, Nvidia's $500B financing pact with Apollo, BlackRock and KKR, Chipotle's salmonella hit, Etsy layoffs, Eli Lilly's blockbuster GLP-1 sales, and Europe's drought.
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DH Unplugged — DHUnplugged #814: The Doldrums
Photo: Horowitz and Dvorak
“Markets live much more in the all-time high range than in the all-time lows. In fact, very difficult, if not impossible, for the markets to hit an all-time low.”
Episode 814 of DH Unplugged, titled 'The Doldrums,' hosted by Andrew Horowitz and John C. Dvorak, arrives on August 18, 2026 with a summer news flow that refuses to sit still. Despite the seasonal lull the title implies, the co-hosts argue that every headline is being amplified as investors try to decide whether all-time highs are sustainable or setting up a reversal. From strategic oil reserves at 10% of prior levels, to Michael Burry's fresh top call, to Nvidia's audacious new financing scheme, the episode maps a market that hates itself but keeps climbing.
Horowitz and Dvorak work through a dense docket of market-moving stories, including:
DH Unplugged — DHUnplugged #814: The Doldrums
Photo: Horowitz and Dvorak
“Markets live much more in the all-time high range than in the all-time lows. In fact, very difficult, if not impossible, for the markets to hit an all-time low.”
- Michael Burry warning of a possible 1987-style drop while shorting Palantir, Nvidia and Tesla via options
- Nvidia's preliminary agreements with Apollo, BlackRock, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs and KKR to mobilize $500 billion for AI infrastructure
- Etsy cutting 220 jobs (roughly 12% of staff) while authorizing a $2 billion buyback
- Chipotle's salmonella outbreak tied to jalapenos, and Sweetgreen's Taylor Farms disaster
- Eli Lilly's Mounjaro at $9.94B and Zepbound at $4.93B in quarterly sales
The show's signature blend of skepticism and humor runs throughout. On the endless parade of bearish forecasts, Horowitz observes:
Markets live much more in the all-time high range than in the all-time lows. In fact, very difficult, if not impossible, for the markets to hit an all-time low.
Dvorak counters with a lens on Jensen Huang's strategy at Nvidia, noting, "it's more important to be depended on than to be profitable," and warning that a Nvidia unwind could combine 1999 enthusiasm with 2007 financialization at far greater magnitude.
The deeper dive lands on Nvidia's move to make compute an investable asset class. Horowitz and Dvorak explain how hyperscaler depreciation schedules collide with Nvidia's accelerating product cycle, and why collateralizing compute (rather than the underlying silicon) is Jensen Huang's answer to nervous financiers. Elsewhere, they unpack Berkshire Hathaway's first net-buyer quarter in 14 quarters under Greg Abel, a new 15% tariff on polysilicon solar imports, drone tariffs benefiting Unusual Machines (UMAC), Donald Trump Jr.'s stake in that name, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's Trump-flavored superlatives, and the still-unrecovered 18-karat gold toilet ripped from Blenheim Palace.
About DH Unplugged
DH Unplugged is a weekly investing and markets podcast hosted by financial advisor Andrew Horowitz and technology commentator John C. Dvorak. The show mixes Fed watching, earnings analysis, tech trends and offbeat cultural observations with a skeptical, conversational tone. New audience features, video, and a redesigned Close to the Pin segment are on the way. Episode 814 is available now at dhunplugged.com and wherever podcasts are heard, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Nvidia's $500 billion AI infrastructure financing plan, and why does it matter?
- Nvidia signed preliminary agreements with Apollo, BlackRock, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs and KKR to mobilize $500 billion for AI infrastructure, effectively turning chips into an investable asset class. Horowitz and Dvorak explain that this collateralizes compute rather than hardware, addressing financier concerns that Nvidia's accelerating product cycles keep slashing the depreciation value of data center collateral underwriting the loans.
- Why is Michael Burry calling a market top, and how do the hosts react?
- Burry warned of a possible 1987-style drop and is shorting Palantir, Nvidia, Tesla and semiconductors via options, citing stretched valuations. Horowitz pushes back, noting that top calls rarely mark actual tops and that markets live far more in all-time-high territory than at lows. He jokes that in the spirit of DH Unplugged, his own call is simply that the market may be higher in the future.
- What happened with Etsy's layoffs and buyback?
- Etsy cut about 220 jobs, roughly 12% of its workforce, while authorizing a $2 billion share buyback. Dvorak argues the buyback signals Etsy has no real answer to competition from Temu, Shein and TikTok Shop, and that its model has drifted from genuine crafts toward resellers repackaging cheap imports, making the company potentially doomed over time.
- Why did Chipotle shares drop, and what does it say about supply chains?
- Minnesota officials linked a salmonella outbreak to Chipotle jalapenos, and the stock fell roughly 8 to 10%, echoing Sweetgreen's earlier Taylor Farms disaster. The hosts argue distribution is dangerously centralized through players like Sysco and Taylor Farms, even though farm-level sourcing is diversified, leaving companies exposed to survivable but painful shocks at the distribution layer.
- How did Eli Lilly's GLP-1 franchise perform?
- Eli Lilly's diabetes drug Mounjaro hit $9.94 billion in quarterly sales, while weight-loss version Zepbound reached $4.93 billion, prompting Lilly to raise revenue guidance. Horowitz notes the two are essentially the same drug marketed for different indications, and that Lilly is pulling ahead of Novo Nordisk, whose original Ozempic is now getting a pill version to help patients avoid injections.
- What is the connection between the new drone tariffs and Donald Trump Jr.?
- The U.S. imposed tariffs on foreign-made drones aimed at China's DJI, which dominates the market after a reverse brain drain from California. Horowitz points out that Donald Trump Jr. holds a large position in domestic drone maker Unusual Machines (UMAC) and sits on its board, and the stock rose on the announcement, raising obvious questions about incentive alignment.
- What changes are coming to the DH Unplugged show itself?
- Horowitz and Dvorak previewed a redesigned website, a video-first format alongside the existing audio stream, more shareable clips, and expanded audience participation. Fan segments like Close to the Pin and weekly stock picks will be enhanced rather than removed. The hosts are asking listeners to donate at dhunplugged.com to fund servers, silencers, equipment and design work needed to accelerate the rollout.
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