North America:

  • Tesla: Shares rose after Tesla announced a $2bn investment in xAI, confirmed Cybercab robotaxi plans remain on track, doubled capex to $20bn with a pivot toward autonomy/robots/batteries, while flagging chip constraints and ramp timing for Optimus, ending Austin robotaxi operations and winding down Model S/X production.

  • Meta: Shares jumped after Q1 sales beat expectations, with ad pricing up (+6% YoY), expansion of its AI Business Assistant, stronger LLM integration across apps/ads, a push to flatten teams, and glasses sales more than tripling YoY.

  • Snap: Created an independent unit for AR smart glasses, seeking external funding and stepping up competition with Meta in wearables.

  • Microsoft: Shares fell despite an Azure beat as investors worried about record AI capex and slower cloud growth.

  • JPMorgan: Said the current macro environment looks particularly favorable for bonds and credit markets.

  • The Carlyle Group: Reached a conditional deal to acquire Lukoil’s international assets (~$22bn), stressing OFAC compliance and operational continuity pending approvals.

  • Blackstone: Beat estimates on strong dealmaking, with its Absolute Return platform up ~12% in 2025 and potential moves including becoming a major shareholder in New World Development and providing debt for an Oracle project.

  • Jersey Mike’s: Exploring an IPO at an implied valuation of about $12bn, aiming to raise over $1bn.

  • Liftoff Mobile: Announced key underwriters for its upcoming IPO.

  • Google: Disrupted the IPIDEA residential proxy network by seizing domains to fight fraud, and agreed to pay $135m to settle a lawsuit over allegedly illegal collection of cellular data.

  • MSCI: Indonesia markets sold off on frontier-market downgrade fears, while MSCI also renewed/amended its ETF master index licensing agreements through 2035 with fee changes from 2026.

  • Audax: Considering a sale of BlueCat Networks for more than $1.5bn.

  • Steel Partners: Proposed acquiring a majority stake in InMode at $18/share (29% premium), financed with cash and credit.

Europe:

  • Lukoil: Plans to sell international oil assets to Carlyle after a prior Gunvor deal was blocked by US sanctions.

  • Deutsche Bank: Reported record results (highest-ever pre-tax profit / strongest since 2007), raised shareholder returns (dividend + buyback), though ongoing money-laundering scrutiny remains a key overhang.

  • DWS: Shares jumped after raising mid-term targets (including 10–15% EPS growth to 2028) and announcing an extraordinary dividend.

  • Nokia: Proposed Timo Ihamuotila as new board chair and posted Q4 results above expectations, guiding 2026 operating profit at €2.0–€2.5bn as AI-driven network demand supports momentum.

  • SAP: Shares dropped after Q4 earnings disappointed, though the group reiterated a cloud-led acceleration plan and launched a €10bn share buyback over two years.

  • ABB: Strong earnings release supported the Stockholm market.

  • Telia: Q4 revenue beat expectations; guided to ~3% like-for-like growth in 2026 core earnings despite weak net income.

  • Volvo: Received multiple target price upgrades following its Q4 earnings review.

  • LVMH: Proposed adding Ariane Gorin (Expedia CEO) to its board to strengthen technology expertise.

  • Rémy Cointreau: Q3 sales beat expectations as US strength offset weaker China demand.

  • Swedbank: Beat Q4 expectations, proposed a higher dividend, and plans to repurchase up to 2m shares for employee incentive coverage.

  • Metro Bank: Announced a third redundancy round as broader UK telecom/infrastructure sector job cuts continued (CityFibre), alongside renewed talks on the Chagos Islands deal.

Rest of the World:

  • Hyundai Motor: Announced major recalls (Palisade airbags; instrument panel display failures) and warned 2025 profit may fall due to tariff impacts.

  • Samsung Electronics: Beat profit expectations on AI/data-center memory strength, launched/qualified HBM4, expects HBM revenue to triple by 2026, plans higher memory capex in 2026 but controlled fab growth, and is pushing foundry/AI chip expansion including its US Taylor plant starting operations this year.

  • SK Hynix: Expects tight chip supply to persist, aims to keep 2026 capex at mid-30% of revenue, and is focused on maintaining leadership in next-gen HBM4 amid shifting customer orders.

  • Toyota Motor: Posted record 2025 sales (+4.6% to 11.3m vehicles) and higher annual production, though Japan production was slightly down in December.

  • AstraZeneca: Plans $15bn investment in China through 2030 to expand manufacturing and R&D.