The world’s shipping chaos is pushing mega-retailers to make new investments: their own cargo ships.

Why it matters: It’s one way big companies are trying to circumvent the pandemic-fueled supply chain crisis that’s left store shelves sparse.

What’s happening: Home Depot and Walmart are among those chartering vessels in the mad dash to get stuff from overseas.

• "We have a ship that's solely going to be ours and it's just going to go back and forth … 100% dedicated to Home Depot," the company’s COO said.
• Merchants are "chartering vessels specifically for Walmart goods," though some items are still out of stock more than usual, CFO Brett Biggs told investors last week.

The intrigue: Chartering a vessel can cost around $40,000 per day, per one estimate cited by NBC News — in other words, a rounding error for corporate giants.

• Some transportation service companies are expanding offerings for chartering vessels in response "to high demand from existing retail customers," NBC reports.

But it’s likely not an option for smaller shops. That may make it more difficult for them to compete, at a time when pandemic pains have faded faster for bigger players.

One reason: Most other retailers aren’t bringing in nearly enough merchandise to fill a vessel — something that makes it economical for their giant counterparts.

• “For most other companies, this mismatch makes chartering vessels economically out of reach,” says Nate Herman, a policy executive at trade group American Apparel & Footwear Association.

It’s been 10 years since Tim Cook permanently took the helm of Apple, now the most valuable public company on the planet.

The Cook era by the numbers:

• 100+: The number of acquisitions under Cook, per CNN — including the $3 billion Beats purchase.
• $111 billion: Apple’s sales in its most recent, record-breaking holiday quarter. That's quadruple the revenue in the same quarter in 2011, The Verge reports.
• 47%: The share of revenue last year that came from the company’s flagship product — the iPhone, first unveiled by Steve Jobs.

Thought bubble via Axios’ Ina Fried: Cook's legacy is likely to hinge on whether he can transform Apple's longer-term bets around health care or autonomous vehicles into significant businesses.

👓 Eyewear brand Warby Parker will go public via direct listing. (Filing)

💉 Goldman Sachs will require vaccinations for anyone entering its offices — the most prominent player on Wall Street to issue a mandate. (New York Times)

🚨 California has expanded its anti-discrimination lawsuit against Activision Blizzard, adding temporary workers to the female full-time employees of whom it is suing on behalf. (Axios)

• The state also alleges the game-maker has interfered with its investigation.

People are back to cleaning and fixing their teeth, Axios' Bob Herman reports.

The big picture: The coronavirus almost completely halted the operations of dentists and orthodontists last spring. But since then, sales of dental equipment and supplies have doubled over the past year as more people got vaccinated and returned to their dentists' offices.

What they're saying: "We are at or near pre-pandemic growth rates," Patterson Companies CEO Mark Walchirk said in June. "Dentists continue investing in their practices."

• The higher volumes have resulted in dentists and orthodontists ordering more dental implants, imaging machines, tools, teeth aligners, software and other supplies.

Keep reading.

Airbnb will begin housing 20,000 Afghan refugees globally starting today free of charge, Axios' Noah Garfinkel writes.

• The stays will be funded with money from Airbnb and CEO Brian Chesky and contributions to the Airbnb.org Refugee Fund.
• No word on how long the company will house refugees.

What they're saying: "I hope this inspires other business leaders to do the same. There's no time to waste," Chesky wrote.

Countries and charitable organizations around the world have pledged to help Afghan refugees, as many continue to flee the country in droves, following the Taliban's takeover of the country.

"[W]e are seeing some shift in consumer spending, the impact has been less pronounced."