📈 Nvidia's Next Boss Battle

Perpetual ends $1.4B talks with KKR, Banks flying gold bars from London to NYC, Buffet amasses more cash and sells more stock, AppLovin stock drops, Nvidia earnings report this week

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Good morning.

⚡ The Fast Five → Perpetual ends $1.4B talks with KKR, Banks flying gold bars from London to NYC, Buffet amasses more cash and sells more stock, AppLovin stock drops, Nvidia earnings report this week

🔎 Market Trends → Wall Street ends sharply lower on mounting concerns over economy, tariffs; US Futures Mixed, UnitedHealth Sinks

And now…

⏱️ Your 5-minute briefing for Monday, February 24, 2025:

MARKET BRIEF
Before the Open

As of market close 02/21/2025.

Pre-Market

  • MercadoLibre was the top gainer on the Nasdaq, up 7.1%.

  • Akamai Technologies shares sank nearly 22%, the steepest decline on the S&P 500.

Fear & Greed

 

Markets in Review

Markets Stumble as Inflation Jitters Take Hold

The Nasdaq slid 2.2% to 19,524, while the S&P 500 and Dow each lost 1.7%, closing at 6,013.1 and 43,428, respectively. Consumer discretionary and tech stocks bore the brunt of the decline, while consumer staples eked out a gain.

The Big Picture:

Fresh concerns about inflation and economic growth weighed on equities. Consumer sentiment slumped, and inflation expectations hit their highest levels since late 2023, according to the University of Michigan.

The private sector showed unexpected weakness, with businesses voicing worries about tariffs and fiscal tightening, S&P Global (SPGI) reported. Meanwhile, existing home sales fell more than expected as affordability issues persisted.

Treasury yields dipped amid the uncertainty. The 10-year yield fell 6.6 basis points to 4.43%, while the two-year yield declined 6.4 basis points to 4.20%. WTI crude oil dropped 3.1% to $70.23 per barrel as traders awaited further signals from OPEC.

Market Movers:

  • Akamai (AKAM) sank 22%, leading the S&P 500 lower after issuing downbeat quarterly and full-year guidance.

  • UnitedHealth Group (UNH) slid 7.2%, the worst performer on the Dow, after refuting a Wall Street Journal report that the DOJ had launched a Medicare billing probe.

  • MercadoLibre (MELI) surged 7.1%, topping the Nasdaq after delivering a strong earnings beat late Thursday.

What They’re Saying:

"Mortgage rates have refused to budge for several months despite multiple rounds of short-term interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve," said Lawrence Yun, NAR Chief Economist.

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
Events

  • There are no events scheduled today.

Earnings Reports

  • Today: Public Storage, Zoom, Domino’s, Hims & Hers, Owens Corning, ONEOK, Realty Income, Trip.com

  • Tomorrow: Home Depot, Intuit, Keurig Dr Pepper, CAVA, Extra Space Storage, American Tower, Bank of Montreal (BMO), Workday

MARKET BRIEF
Leading News

Nvidia's Next Boss Battle: The AI Chip Giant Faces Its Moment of Truth

Nvidia logo in 3D. Feel free to contact me through email mariia@shalabaieva.com

Why it matters:

As the $3.4T cornerstone of the AI revolution prepares to report earnings, Nvidia's (NVDA) results will test whether the AI trade still has legs — and whether emerging challengers can actually disrupt the chip titan's dominance.

Zoom Out:

The market's recent DeepSeek scare — where a Chinese AI startup claimed it could match ChatGPT's performance with fewer chips — briefly rattled NVDA investors. But here's the reality check: Nvidia's stock is still up 70%+ over the past year, suggesting the market's conviction remains robust.

Think of this like a video game boss battle: Nvidia keeps leveling up (enter: new Blackwell architecture), but faces fresh challenges (supply chain boss fights, anyone?). The quest for AI supremacy isn't just about raw computing power anymore.

Key Insights:

  • Supply chain subplot: Production hiccups and reported overheating issues with new chips have some major customers playing the waiting game. But BofA analysts see this as merely a "less sizzle" moment, not a fundamental crack in the foundation.

  • The efficiency paradox: While DeepSeek's claims of doing more with less sparked market jitters, Amazon's CEO noted an crucial insight: Lower costs ≠ reduced spending in the AI arms race. (Translation: Big Tech's appetite for chips isn't waning)

Market Pulse:

"DeepSeek is high in novelty claims but time will tell whether it creates a disruption in current AI models," notes Dan Morgan at Synovus, echoing the street's skepticism about quick disruption.

Bull’s Take:

Just as early internet skeptics underestimated the tech revolution, today's AI efficiency concerns may be missing the forest for the trees. With Nvidia expanding into robotics and quantum computing, the company isn't just selling picks and shovels for the AI gold rush — it's building the entire mining infrastructure. For long-term investors, temporary volatility in NVDA might just be the perfect power-up opportunity.

Headlines

  • Australia's Perpetual ends talks with KKR on $1.4 billion sale of wealth, trust units (link)

  • Why banks are flying gold bars on commercial flights from London to NYC (link)

  • ‘We’re ready’: Frank McCourt on possibility of buying TikTok (link)

  • Adnoc Sells $2.84 Billion of Shares in Gas Subsidiary (link)

  • Warren Buffett amasses more cash and sells more stock, but doesn’t explain why in annual letter (link)

  • AppLovin Stock Drops As Bulls, Bears Debate Its Valuation (link)

CRYPTO
Fear & Greed

 

Headlines

  • Bitcoin, Ether Slump as Crypto Prices Dip on Report of Massive $1.5B Bybit Hack (link)

  • Franklin Templeton seeks SEC approval for a Solana ETF involving staking (link)

  • North Korean Hackers Were Behind Crypto's Largest 'Theft of All Time' (link)

DAILY SHARE
On the Socials

*Hat-tip to RampCapitalLLC

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