What you Need to Know for August 4th

How SpaceX's First Earnings Report Went

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HY Harry
August 05, 2026

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Welcome back!

We’ve undergone one of the most remarkable three-day bull market runs. For reference, the S&P being up nearly 5% in just 4 days compares to the historic November 2020 covid-vaccine announcement driven rally. Like we said the other day, this selloff was more technically driven, and as a result, many AI names have dramatically risen. Many of which are Leopold’s old holdings…don’t get high on leverage kids.

Notably too, Palantir’s dramatic report shows that the decentralization of AI trade is taking hold. Alex Karp called it more like companies taking back their sovereignty…and even compared Anthropic to Marxism.

Here’s a look at the earnings still to come this week:

  • Wednesday: Eli Lilly, Uber, Disney, CVS, Western Digital, Shopify, DoorDash, Block, AppLovin, Allstate, Occidental Petroleum, McKesson, Phillips 66, CF Industries, eBay, Expedia, Novo Nordisk, Kraft Heinz, Honeywell Aerospace, Duolingo, Dutch Bros, e.l.f. Beauty, SharkNinja, Zillow

  • Thursday: Airbnb, Constellation Energy, ConocoPhillips, Datadog, DraftKings, Cloudflare, Monster Beverage, Keurig Dr Pepper, Republic Services, Restaurant Brands International, Roku, Texas Roadhouse, Twilio, Toyota, US Foods, Warner Bros. Discovery, Zoetis, Parker-Hannifin, Howmet Aerospace, Aflac, American International Group

  • Friday: Berkshire Hathaway (expected on Saturday), Take-Two Interactive, Vistra, Under Armour, Wendy’s, Oklo, PPL, Fluor

    Here’s a look at economic data this week (estimates are in quotations).

  • Wednesday: ADP employment (75,000), S&P final U.S. services PMI, ISM services (54.4%)

  • Thursday: Initial jobless claims (200,000), U.S. productivity (0.7%), Wholesale inventories

  • Friday: U.S. employment report (85,000), U.S. unemployment rate (4.3%), U.S. hourly wages (0.3%), Hourly wages y/y, Consumer credit ($12.0B)

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Earnings Corner 💸 

  • SpaceX $SPCX ( ▲ 9.43% ) Revenue beat at $7.81B vs. $6.93B, while EPS beat with a better than expected loss of ($0.09). Results were driven by strong growth across Starlink, AI, and launch services, with revenue nearly doubling YoY. However, record AI infrastructure spending pushed capex to $18.4B, keeping the company unprofitable and weighing on shares (down -7% after hours). Mgmt. said AI investments are already generating returns, reaffirmed plans to aggressively expand AI compute capacity, and announced Nvidia will remain its exclusive AI chip supplier and called Nvidia “the best AI computer”

  • Palantir $PLTR ( ▲ 29.46% ) Revenue beat at $1.94B vs. $1.80B, while EPS beat at $0.41 vs. $0.35. Results were driven by 149% U.S. commercial revenue growth, 90% U.S. government revenue growth, record deal activity with 220 contracts over $1M, and $1.22B in FCF as AI adoption accelerated across enterprise and government customers. The company raised FY revenue guidance to $8.16B from $7.65B-$7.66B and increased its U.S. commercial outlook, as CEO Alex Karp called the quarter “otherworldly” and pointed to accelerating demand for sovereign AI.

Following yesterday’s move, Alex Karp is August 5th’s WSR MVP:

From Alex Karp’s 2025 interview with Sourcery

  • AMD $AMD ( ▲ 7.0% ) Revenue beat at $11.5B vs. $11.3B and EPS beat at $1.66 vs. $1.62. Results were driven by 107% Data Center revenue growth as demand for CPUs and Instinct AI chips accelerated, along with continued hyperscaler spending on AI infrastructure. Shares fell as the market was taken a back by the steep rise in capex to $808mm, vs $282mm y/y. Shares were down -8% at time of writing.

  • Snap $SNAP ( ▲ 14.88% ) Top and bottom line beat, driven by improving advertising demand as large advertisers returned and SMB spending remained strong, 85% growth in high margin subscription revenue from Snapchat+, Memories, and Lens+, expanding margins from cost discipline and restructuring, and positive FCF. AI powered advertising tools also improved campaign performance, driving increased ad spending.

  • McDonald’s $MCD ( ▲ 1.17% ) Revenue missed at $7.10B vs. $7.13B, while adjusted EPS beat at $3.38 vs. $3.32. Results were driven by 1.3% global comp sales growth and stronger international performance, but U.S. traffic fell due to weak value execution, fewer digital offers, and softer marketing. The company named a new U.S. president to improve execution, while mgmt expects new beverages, better value offerings, and operational improvements to help restore U.S. momentum.

  • Spotify $SPOT ( ▼ 1.68% ) Revenue beat at €4.78B, while EPS missed at €2.61. Results were driven by 14% revenue growth, a record 300M Premium subscribers, record GMs, and continued monetization of its user base. However, higher AI investment costs and weaker user growth guidance than expected raised concerns.

  • Apollo $APO ( ▲ 2.92% ) Revenue beat at $1.43B, while EPS missed at $2.11 vs. $2.17. Results were driven by record fee-related and spread-related earnings, record $60B inflows, $74B of originations, and continued growth in credit and retirement services, lifting AUM above $1T. However, weaker realized investment gains and fewer asset sales reduced performance fees, offsetting the strength in its more recurring fee and insurance businesses and leading to the EPS miss.

  • Match Group $MTCH ( ▲ 1.73% ) Revenue missed and EPS beat as the business saw continued strength at Hinge, which helped offset ongoing weakness at Tinder. However, paying users fell 6% YoY, and weaker Q3 revenue guidance overshadowed early signs of recovery and has the stock -10% after hours.

  • Mattel $MAT ( ▼ 0.13% ) Revenue beat and EPS missed due to continued tariff overhang. Results were driven by strong demand for Hot Wheels, action figures, digital games, and North America, helping sales grow despite a challenging consumer environment. However, higher tariffs, inflation, royalty costs, and increased spending on advertising and brand investments squeezed margins and weighed on earnings. The company reaffirmed FY guidance of $5.5-$5.7B of sales.

On The Move 📈 📉

IPO Roundup 📍 

  • Latigo Biotherapeutics Inc. is targeting up to $288M in its IPO, pricing shares at a range of $16-$18 for up to a $1.1B valuation. The Blue Owl-backed non-opioid painkiller developer’s lead candidate shows ~50% greater analgesic effect than Vicodin in trials. Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, Leerink Partners, and Guggenheim Securities are leading the offering.

  • BlossomHill Therapeutics, co-founded by Turning Point Therapeutics veteran Peter Li, is targeting up to $132.8M in its IPO at up to a $494.4M valuation. The San Diego cancer biotech is pricing shares at a range of $15-$17. JPMorgan, Leerink Partners, Guggenheim Securities, LifeSci Capital, and H.C. Wainwright are leading the offering.

Latest WSR IC Piece

Yesterday, we put out a piece on Celsius Holdings $CELH ( ▲ 4.64% ) in advance of tomorrow’s earnings. To access, upgrade to the WSR Investing Club

Today’s Headlines 📖🍿 

  • Blackstone is in early talks with investors on a proposed $36B+ debt package to finance Anthropic’s purchase of Google chips. The size, structure, and even whether Blackstone will ultimately lead the financing are still being discussed.

  • NTT Data Group is planning to spend at least $9B through 2033 to quadruple its computing capacity in Japan to 1 gigawatt. The country’s biggest data center operator will add ~750MW over seven years to meet AI demand, and expects fiscal-year spending on data centers to grow 33% to ~$3.3B.

  • Citadel Securities forecasts $500B+ of debt across public and private markets by 2028 to fund AI chips, which could become one of the largest new sectors in investment-grade credit. Most issuance would be 3-5 year to match chip lifespan, and chip-makers alone are estimated to issue $250B+ in 2028.

  • Jackson Walker agrees to pay a $15M settlement to the Justice Department over a former partner’s undisclosed relationship with a bankruptcy judge. Beyond monetary reparations, the deal will also require the firm to strengthen its conflict-review procedures and undergo an independent review.

  • Polymarket is in talks for a new funding round at a $20B+ valuation. Polymarket’s revenue topped $1B after launching its regulated US exchange in May, and its April round drew a $600M investment from NYSE parent ICE.

  • Robinhood is launching Robinhood Ventures Fund II, a closed-end fund investing in Y Combinator startups. The IPO would offer 7.6M shares at $25 each, pricing August 12 and trading on the NYSE as RVII. It’s the firm’s second such vehicle after Fund I raised $315.4M in March and now holds stakes in Databricks, Stripe, and Canva.

  • Paramount’s Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition trial date is set for March 2, 2027, with the trial set to run for 12 court days. The delay is costly for Paramount, which owes Warner Bros. shareholders roughly $7M per day in “ticking fees” starting October 1, putting the total well over $1.2Bn by the time the ruling comes.

  • OpenAI’s first influencer brand trip, a luxury upstate New York retreat meant to teach creators to use ChatGPT Work, drew online backlash over its optics. Commenters cited the timing against OpenAI’s $500Bn Ohio data center deal and $200M Pentagon contract, showing that more broad creator audiences hold extremely negative views of AI and AI-associated companies.

  • The FTC is scrutinizing Covetrus’ proposed $3.5Bn acquisition of MWI Animal Health, sending information demands to customers and rivals about the deal’s impact on product availability and practice-management software. Covetrus, owned by Clayton Dubilier & Rice and TPG, already controls 25% of the practice-management software market.

  • LSU closes media rights deal with private investors by securing over $100M in exchange for a minority stake in future media revenue. The funding will help address rising athletic expenses, though the agreement raises concerns about the long-term cost of monetizing future revenue streams.

  • Jefferies received new evidence of fake invoices tied to iron ore trader Sapphire Minmentals Corp. This draws into question Jefferies’ financing and coverage, and sheds even more light on receivables finance risk following last year’s collapse of First Brands Group.

  • Continuation funds secure larger profit shares by negotiating richer carried interest during the first half of 2026. More than one-third of transactions awarded general partners a greater share of future profits, reflecting strong bargaining power in the secondary market.

  • Apollo’s newest flagship private equity fund has raised $12Bn toward a $25Bn target, which would make it Apollo’s largest such fund. President Jim Zelter cited strong investor support across geographies, even as Apollo’s realized performance fees fell 40% YoY to $130M in Q2.

  • Bridgepoint Group is looking to sell €1Bn of private credit stakes through a continuation vehicle, letting existing investors cash out while new investors enter. This follows a wave of similar GP-led secondaries deals, including Crescent Capital’s $3.2Bn sale to Pantheon, Coller Capital’s $2.3Bn Benefit Street Partners continuation fund, and Ares’ pending €3Bn bundled sale of European direct-lending stakes.

  • Manulife | Comvest Credit Partners closes record fundraise, securing $5.4B for its latest private credit fund. The vehicle exceeded its fundraising target with support from both existing and new institutional investors. The capital will be used to originate loans to middle-market companies across North America.

  • MetLife Investment Management closed MIPEP, its 3rd private equity platform fund, with $1.2Bn in commitments. It purchased $754M of private equity, venture, and co-investment interests, and $966M in funded/unfunded commitments from MetLife affiliates via a managed secondary sale.

  • Onyx Partners has renewed its bid for 117 J.C. Penney properties, offering $934M with a target close of September 25th after a similar deal fell through last December. The stores are the last remaining assets from Copper Property CTL Pass Through Trust, formed during J.C. Penney’s 2020 bankruptcy.

Interesting Quote of the Day:

“I think the only real thing that matters is whether or not what’s going on with Anthropic in the labs is real or not. Like that, it’s so dwarfing to what is going on in the world.

Obviously, I’m not trying to discount what’s going on in both wars. Inflation. If AI is real, it’s so hyper-deflationary to so many things over the long term that it’s really hard to take risk.

I’ve been managing third-party money for almost 25 years. I think it’s as hard of an environment to probability-weight what the world looks like in 12 months to 24 months as it’s been in a really long time. That’s not for credit.”

John Zito on Apollo’s Earnings Call when asked on what risks he’s worried about

M&A Transactions💭 

Lantheus Medical Imaging (NAS: LNTH), a radiopharmaceutical-focused company, has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired for approximately $8.0B by Curium Pharma. Morgan Stanley and Solomon Partners advised on the sale.

Integer Holdings (NYS: ITGR), a manufacturer of medical device components, has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired for $4.31B by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. EV/EBITDA was 13.95x and EV/Revenue was 2.34x.

Middlebury Holdings, operator of a stock exchange, was acquired for $300.0M by TMX Group (TSE: X).

Yellow.ai, developer of a conversational AI platform, has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Bluerock Acquisition through a reverse merger for $175.0M, resulting in the combined entity trading on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol YAI. Cantor Fitzgerald and Brookline Capital Markets advised on the transaction.

VodafoneZiggo Group Holding, provider of integrated communication and entertainment services, was acquired for EUR 1.0B by Liberty Global (NAS: LBTYA).

SK TNS, manufacturer of communication networking equipment, has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired for KRW 375.0B by KCA Partners and F2 Telecom. 

Shinko Shoji, engaged in the sale and import/export of electronic components, was acquired for JPY 30.378B by Kaga Electronics (TKS: 8154). EV/EBITDA was 14.57x and EV/Revenue was 0.44x. Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities, Monex., and Tokai Tokyo Securities advised on the sale.

SABIC, provider of engineering thermoplastics services across Europe and the Americas, was acquired for $450.0M by Mutares. EV/Revenue was 0.87x. J.P. Morgan, Lazard, and Goldman Sachs advised on the sale.

Momentum Midstream, operator of a midstream energy firm, has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired for $5.5B by Williams Companies (NYS: WMB). The transaction consists of $3.5B in cash and debt consideration and roughly $2.0B of Williams equity. Barclays and Jefferies Financial Group advised on the sale.

Kanebridge, distributor of industrial fasteners, has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired for $315.0M by The Hillman Group (NAS: HLMN). Piper Sandler advised on the sale.

iMerit, developer of an AI data annotation and model evaluation platform, was acquired for $310.0M by ExlService Holdings (NAS: EXLS). Avendus Capital advised on the sale.

Galera Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company, was acquired for $350.0M by Obsidian Therapeutics. EV/EBITDA was 2.35x and EV/Net Income was 5.44x. Lucid Capital Markets advised on the sale.

Full Swing Golf, developer and manufacturer of multi-sport simulators, was acquired for $530.0M by Versant Media Group (NANS: VSNT). Moelis & Company advised on the sale.

Eastdil Secured Savills, operator of a real estate investment bank, was acquired for $1.125B by Savills (LON: SVS). EV/Revenue was 2.36x.

Cardinal Midstream Partners, provider of midstream energy infrastructure services, was acquired for $752.0M by San Mateo Midstream.

BioCatch, developer of behavioral biometrics, has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired for $2.4B by Visa (NYS: V).

Atkore (NYS: ATKR), a manufacturer of electrical products, has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired for $3.8B by Prysmain (MIL: PRY). EV/Revenue was 1.3x. Citigroup and J.P. Morgan advised on the sale.

AerFin, provider of buy, sell, lease, and repair services intended for the aircraft, engines, and parts operators and repair organizations, has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired for JPY 100.0B by AORIX Aviation Systems. Rothschild & Co advised on the sale.

Segro (LON: SGRO), owns, manages, and develops industrial and logistics space, has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired for $18.8B by Prologis (NYS: PLD). Eastdil Secured Savills, Evercore Group, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Rothschild & Co, Goldman Sachs, and UBS Group advised on the sale.

Command Alkon, developer and distributor of software and hardware products, has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired for $715.0M by Francisco Partners. Evercore Group advised on the sale.

Airtable, developer of low-code app-building software, has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired for $1.285B by Bending Spoons (NAS: BSP).

Private Placement Transactions💭 

Valar Atomics, developer of modular reactor technology designed to provide scalable clean energy, raised $1.0B of Series B venture funding led by Sequoia.

Qiuzhi Technology, developer of embodied intelligent robots, raised over $100.0M of venture funding from SummitView Capital, Beijing Zinglian Zhaoji Private Equity Fund Management, and Fortune Capital.

Zenity, developer of security and governance platform, raised $125.0M of Series C venture funding led by Norwest.

Olix, developer of an AI deployment platform, raised GBP 236.81M of Series B venture funding from Hummingbird, Hudson River Trading, and Arm at a pre-money valuation of GBP 2.21B.

Mariana Minerals, developer of a software-first minerals platform, raised $310.0M of Series B venture funding led Khosla Ventures at a pre-money valuation of $1.19B.

Horizon3, developer of a security automation platform, raised $250.0M of Series E venture funding led by NightDragon and New Enterprise Associates at a pre-money valuation of $1.75B.

Base Power, operator of a residential energy and battery backup service company, raised $1.0B of Series D venture funding led by Valor Equity Partners, Addition, JP Morgan Chase, and Ribbit Capital at a pre-money valuation of $12.0B.

PaXini Tech, manufacturer of embodied sensing technologies, raised CNY 1.0B of venture funding led BOC International.

Kesh, developer of digital banking platform, raised BRL 550.0M of venture funding led by Leste Group.

Happyrobot, developer of an enterprise-grade platform, raised $150.0M of Series C venture funding led by Prysm Capital and Eurazeo at a pre-money valuation of $1.05B.

Firmus Technologies, provider of AI-infrastructure systems, raised $505.0M of venture funding in a deal led by Nvidia and Coatue Management at a pre-money valuation of $5.0B.

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