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- 📈 Shell Eyes BP Blockbuster Deal
📈 Shell Eyes BP Blockbuster Deal
Bezos to sell $5B of Amazon stock, Nvidia widens South Bay footprint with $100M, Hyundai to employ humanoid Atlas robots, Trump says he won't remove Fed chair Powell, Shell weighing merits of making move to buy BP
Evelio Silvera
May 05, 2025
Good morning.
⚡ The Fast Five → Bezos to sell $5B of Amazon stock, Nvidia widens South Bay footprint with $100M, Hyundai to employ humanoid Atlas robots, Trump says he won't remove Fed chair Powell, Shell weighing merits of making move to buy BP
🔎 Market Trends → Wall St Week Ahead Fed outlook in focus as US stocks rally picks up steam; US Futures Slip After Apple, Amazon Earnings
And now…
⏱️ Your 5-minute briefing for Monday, May 5, 2025:
MARKET BRIEF
Before the Open
As of market close 05/02/2025.
Pre-Market
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Fear & Greed
Markets in Review
Jobs Pop, Markets Climb — A Soft Landing?
Wall Street closed strong Friday with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both rising 1.5%, while the Dow gained 1.4%, capping a second straight week of gains across all three major indexes.
The Big Picture:
Markets are embracing the “Goldilocks” scenario: job growth is solid, but not overheated—giving the Fed cover to pause, not panic. A 177,000-job gain in April beat expectations, while unemployment held at 4.2%, keeping recession chatter at bay.
Add to that renewed tariff diplomacy with China, and investors found more reasons to lean risk-on. President Trump kept up his call for rate cuts, but traders are betting the Fed will stand pat—for now.
WTI crude dipped 1.2% to $58.53, as OPEC+ weighs a surprise supply boost. Meanwhile, gold climbed 0.6% to $3,239.90, a quiet hedge as inflation expectations evolve.
Market Movers:
📈 DexCom (DXCM) surged 16% after a Q1 sales beat and upbeat guidance reassured investors in the health-tech name.
📉 Apple (AAPL) fell 3.7% despite solid earnings—CEO Tim Cook flagged tariff risks as a June wildcard.
📉 FuboTV (FUBO) tumbled 17% on weak subscriber outlook.
📉 Block (XYZ) plunged 20% as Cash App missed across the board, triggering a price target cut by RBC.
What They’re Saying:
“The April jobs report was strong enough for the Fed to stay sidelined, yet soft enough not to stoke fears of overheating,” — Oxford Economics
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
Events
Today: Institute for Supply Management - ISM Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) - 10:00am
Why You Should Care: It's a leading indicator of economic health - businesses react quickly to market conditions, and their purchasing managers hold perhaps the most current and relevant insight into the company's view of the economy.
Earnings Reports
Today: Ford Motor Company, Clorox, Tyson Foods, Palantir, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Realty Income, Williams Companies
Tomorrow: AMD, Ferrari, Marriott International, Electronic Arts (EA)
MARKET BRIEF
Leading News
Shell Eyes BP: Big Oil's Blockbuster Deal Could Reshape Energy Landscape
Photo Credit: Julian Hochsgejang
Why it matters:
Shell's potential acquisition of BP would create an energy juggernaut with unparalleled scale in a sector desperately seeking efficiencies amid volatile oil prices and the green transition.
Zoom Out:
Shell (SHEL) is exploring a possible acquisition of rival BP (BP), consulting with advisers on the strategic and financial merits of what would be one of the largest deals in oil industry history. The deliberations come as BP's market value has plummeted nearly 30% over the past year.
The valuation gap is striking: Shell's current market capitalization sits at approximately $197 billion, more than double BP's $74 billion. This discrepancy creates a rare opportunity for consolidation at the highest levels of the energy universe.
Key Insights:
Strategic reset underway: BP has struggled to regain investor confidence following former CEO Bernard Looney's aggressive low-carbon pivot. New chief Murray Auchincloss has shifted gears, refocusing on traditional oil operations and asset sales while reducing share buybacks. The market remains unconvinced.
Price pressure cooker: Broader headwinds, including increasing OPEC+ supply and macroeconomic uncertainty, have pushed Brent crude below $70/barrel — creating an environment where scale and efficiency become paramount for profitability.
Shell's disciplined approach: Under CEO Wael Sawan, Shell has been pursuing its own transformation — cutting costs, scaling back underperforming renewable ventures, and doubling down on core fossil fuel businesses. Despite outperforming U.S. competitors Chevron (CVX) and ExxonMobil (XOM), Shell still seeks valuation improvements.
Market Pulse:
"Any major acquisition must deliver strong returns and increase free cash flow per share," Shell CEO Wael Sawan told analysts last week, emphasizing that larger deals would only be considered once the company strengthens its internal performance.
Bull’s Take:
For investors, this potential megamerger signals that Big Oil is embracing consolidation as the path forward in a challenging price environment. With activist investor Elliott circling BP with a 5% stake, the pressure for transformative action creates a rare catalyst for value creation in an underappreciated sector.
Headlines
Nvidia widens South Bay footprint with $100 million-plus property deal (link)
Jeff Bezos to sell nearly $5B of Amazon stock (link)
Hyundai to employ humanoid Atlas robots at U.S. plant in Georgia (link)
Trump says he won't remove Fed chair Powell, says good parts of economy are his doing (link)
CEOs celebrate Warren Buffett as he calls a close on 5,500,000% run (link)
SpaceX launch site approved as new city of Starbase, TX (link)
CRYPTO
Fear & Greed
Headlines
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On the Socials
*Hat-tip to wallstmemes