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. © MarketScreener.com - 2026