What you Need to Know for July 10th

Welcome back!

We saw a nice rally yesterday following a brief bear market for many AI adjacent names. Semis $SMH ( ▲ 2.48% ) had a nice day, plus Middle East tensions cooled. Of course, it feels like we live in a Groundhog Day world where there’s escalation over the weekend, over and over and over again. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that a final peace deal can be reached, but the months of “tensions increase → peace talks continue” create almost weekly volatility for investors.

Let’s get into it.

Today’s Jobs:

1. Ares is hiring a Direct Lending Associate (LA)

2. Ares is hiring an Opportunistic Credit, Value Creation Associate (LA)

3. Houlihan Lokey is hiring a Financial Restructuring Associate (NY)

4. Oaktree is hiring an ABF IR Senior Associate (LA)

You can access top Buyside and Banking jobs on Buyside Hub.

Earnings Corner 💸 

• Levi Strauss & Co $LEVI ( ▼ 2.18% ) revenue beat at $1.56B vs. $1.48B, while EPS beat at $0.28 vs. $0.24. Results were driven by continued strength in its higher margin direct to consumer business, with DTC sales up 11%, e-commerce up 19%, and broad-based growth across regions, product categories, and women’s apparel, as stronger unit sales, pricing, and lower product costs drove margin expansion despite tariff and foreign exchange headwinds. Management raised full-year guidance as it expects continued momentum from its DTC strategy and resilient consumer demand.

• PepsiCo $PEP ( ▼ 3.26% ) revenue beat at $24.18B vs. $23.95B, while EPS slightly missed at $2.20 vs. $2.21. Results were driven by continued strength in international markets, where food volumes rose 3% and beverage volumes rose 2%, helping offset weaker North American demand as higher gas prices, persistent inflation, and tighter consumer budgets weighed on snack and beverage purchases. Growth was also supported by continued demand for zero sugar beverages and healthier snack offerings, lifting organic revenue 2.4%. Management reiterated full-year guidance but said it now expects a more gradual recovery in North America as consumer spending remains under pressure.

On The Move 📈 📉

• Nokia $NOK ( ▲ 7.95% ) jumped after Nokia Defense expanded its partnership with European AI lab NestAI to build AI-enabled command and control, mission planning, and threat detection capabilities for NATO forces.

• nLIGHT $LASR ( ▲ 27.32% ) surged after winning a Pentagon contract for high-energy laser weapons systems, with the initial $44M award carrying potential for up to $627M in additional orders.

• Cerebras Systems $CBRS ( ▲ 9.25% ) rallied after announcing a European data center expansion coming online this year and plans to boost domestic CS-3 chip manufacturing ~7x by 2026 through a Flex partnership. 

• Costco $COST ( ▼ 4.21% ) fell after June sales growth decelerated to 10.6%, its first monthly slowdown of 2026 and slowest pace since February. Wells Fargo flagged “little room for error” given the retailer’s premium 46x P/E.

• Meta Platforms $META ( ▲ 4.7% ) rose after launching a paid Muse Spark 1.1 API for agentic and coding work, its first monetized AI model. The API is priced at ~25% of what Anthropic and OpenAI charge for comparable models.

• Hewlett Packard Enterprise $HPE ( ▲ 9.94% ) popped on continued follow-through from record Q2 results, the official close of the Juniper acquisition, and networking revenue up 148.2% YoY.

IPO Roundup 📍 

• SK Hynix raised $26.5B in the largest-ever US listing by a foreign company, pricing 177.9M ADRs at $149 each. The offering was more than seven times oversubscribed with demand approaching $200B. Shares begin trading Friday on Nasdaq under SKHYV, switching to SKHY on July 13. BofA, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan led the offering alongside 9 other firms.

• DuPont Registry Group filed confidentially for a US IPO that could raise a few hundred million dollars as soon as this year. The luxury car marketplace and media company connects buyers and sellers of supercars, and was last valued at over $1B after an October strategic investment by Perenco president Francois Perrodo. Morgan Stanley, Barclays, Jefferies, and RBC are leading the offering.

• Ennismore Lifestyle Group is set for a US IPO as soon as this year, with parent Accor lining up banks for the potential €3.2B ($3.7B) spinout of the lifestyle hospitality unit. Accor took a 62% stake in 2021 in the company, which runs 200+ hotels including The Hoxton and Mama Shelter plus 500+ restaurants. Goldman Sachs is leading the offering alongside 3 other banks.

For deeper, stock market research upgrade to the WSR Investing Club

Attention Credit Analysts - This is for you guys:

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But the platform is still being built. Which means design partners aren't buying a finished product, they're defining what canonical credit infrastructure looks like for the next decade.

The most competitive credit funds, restructuring advisors, and Am Law firms are already at the table.

Today’s Headlines 📖🍿 

• Blue Origin raises $10B at $130B valuation in first-ever outside funding round: Bezos is contributing $2B himself alongside $4B from Coatue, with the remaining $4B seeing significant demand from outside investors. The raise comes weeks after SpaceX’s record $86B IPO, putting Blue Origin at a steep discount to its rival.

• Oracle was downgraded to BBB-/Stable from BBB/Negative by S&P due to weaker 2027 FCF and OpenAI credit risk. OpenAI accounts for half of its $638B in remaining performance obligations.

• Goldman bans staff prediction-market bets on finance, elections, and war: The bank’s updated policy prohibits event contracts on companies, elections, financial markets, and ceasefire dates. Sports and entertainment bets are still allowed, and repeat violations may lead to termination.

• SpaceXAI and Cursor unveil Grok 4.5 for legal, finance, and coding tasks: The first joint AI model between the two companies is designed to handle long-running tasks across software engineering, legal, and financial services. The release comes weeks after SpaceX formally agreed to acquire Cursor at a $60B valuation.

• Blue Owl launches Kirkwood Infrastructure for data centers: The venture includes 400 miles of network and 40 data centers from a previously acquired Florida fiber provider and will develop, own, and operate fiber infrastructure across the Southeast.

• Apple signs $30B chip deal with Broadcom through 2031: The agreement covers production of 15B+ custom chips for Apple products in the US, with Broadcom expanding its Colorado facilities by $1.5B to support the work. This deal deepens Apple’s domestic semiconductor footprint as it navigates memory supply constraints.

• JPMorgan launches small-cap M&A team to compete with boutiques: The new group will target companies valued between $100M to $500M, below JPMorgan’s existing middle-market focus of $500M-$1B, with plans to hire 75+ bankers to support the push into traditionally boutique-dominated territory.

• The Twinkies nightmare: Smucker’s $5B Hostess acquisition is souring three years in, as snack division sales have declined for six straight quarters and the company has taken a $3B charge on the brand. The culprit is a combination of industry headwinds and operational issues stemming from Smucker's slower distribution model combined with Twinkies' 65-day shelf life.

• Non-traded BDC redemptions hit new high: Average tender requests rose from 9.7% in Q1 to 10.3% in Q2, with 10 of 16 BDCs capping at the 5% quarterly limit, creating a backlog that will keep redemptions elevated through H2. Inflows fell 56% quarter-over-quarter.

• TeraWulf raises $3.5B to build Anthropic-leased data center in Kentucky: The former bitcoin miner signed a 20-year lease with Anthropic expected to generate $19B in revenue, backing a debt package that includes leveraged loans and high-yield bonds.

• Warsh reveals Fed task force members: The five panels, covering communications, balance sheet policy, data, jobs, and inflation frameworks, feature a broad mix of business leaders, academics, and former bankers, including Marc Andreessen, Doug McMillon, and ex-Bank of England Governor Mervyn King. The group plans to challenge Fed orthodoxy, with Warsh already shortening post-meeting statements to reduce forward guidance.

  • On a separate note…former Fed Chair Ben Bernanke is joining Anthropic’s long-term benefit trust, their oversight body that oversees the company's commitment to safe and responsible AI systems.

• Blackstone’s QTS taps leveraged loans for a $2B raise: Project Magnolia is marketing a $1B term loan at S+225-250, plus $1B in other secured debt, to repay construction financing and fund a distribution. JPMorgan leads with Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo as bookrunners.

• Arete downgrades Paramount Skydance to sell on WBD merger debt: The pending $110B Warner Bros. deal would create a media stock with $86B in gross debt, and Arete’s Pierre-Marie d’Ornano called it the “most-levered media deal yet.” He said it’s unclear Paramount’s team has the experience to run a highly levered balance sheet.

• Micron boosts US chip spending to $250B: The $50B increase to Micron’s prior $200B plan runs through 2035, targeting 40% of DRAM production in the US a decade from now and 90,000+ jobs across New York, Idaho and Virginia. Micron also pledged $3B to secure domestic supply chains, including $500M for Taiwanese silicon wafer supplier GlobalWafers under a 10-year agreement.

M&A Transactions💭 

Olaplex Holdings, a science-enabled, technology-driven beauty company, was acquired for $1.723B by Henkel (ETR: HEN3). EV/Revenue was 4.05x. Equiniti and J.P. Morgan advised on the sale.

Kobalt Music Group, operator of an independent music services company, was acquired for $1.5B by Primary Wave Entertainment. Goldman Sachs advised on the sale.

Empower Semiconductor, manufacturer of semiconductors, was acquired for $1.5B by Analog Devices (NAS: ADI). PJT Partners advised on the sale.

Alkira, operator of a network cloud company, was acquired for $475.0M by Lumen Technologies (NYS: LUMN).

National Taxi, provider of taxi and mobility services, was acquired for AED 1.45B by Dubai Taxi Company (DFM: DTC). Lazard and Emirates NBD Capital advised on the sale.

Masoval (OSL: MAS), operates, and develops companies in the aquaculture industry, has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired for NOK 3.386B by SalMar (OSL: SALM). EV/EBITDA was 13.14x and EV/Revenue was 1.8x.

ASSAN, manufacturer of defense equipment, was acquired for $471.0M by Roketsan.

ALL.SPACE, developer of terminal technology, was acquired for $300.0M by York Space Systems (NYS: YSS).

Oma Savings Bank (HEL: OMASP), a Finnish savings bank, has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired for EUR 571.4M by S-Pankki. EV/Net Income was 11.74x and EV/Revenue was 2.66x.

FFG Flensburger Fahrzeugbau, manufacturer of military wheeled and tracked vehicles, has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired for EUR 1.6B by Deutz (ETR: DEX).

New York Media, publisher of print magazines and a subsidiary of Vox Media, was acquired by Lupa Systems for $300.0M.

TruBridge (NAS: TBRG), a provider of healthcare solutions, was acquired for $727.587M by IKS Health (NSE: IKS). EV/EBITDA was 19.24x and EV/Revenue was 2.1x. Solomon Partners advised on the sale.

Scipher Medicine, developer of diagnostics and a precision medicine platform, has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired through a reverse merger by Chemomab Therapeutics (NAS: CMMB). Leerink Partners advised on the transactions.

Russell Investments Group, provider of investment consulting and asset management service, has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired for $2.8B by B Capital Group and California Public Employees’ Retirement Systems.

Private Placement Transactions💭 

Wonder, developer of an online platform, raised $354.4M of venture funding from ARK Ventures.

SambaNova Systems, developer of chips-to-model computing built for an AI platform, raised $1.0B of Series F venture funding led by General Atlantic at a pre-money valuation of $10.0B.

Prime Intellect, developer of an AI-based infrastructure platform, raised $132.42M of Series A venture funding led by Radical Ventures at a pre-money valuation of $867.58M.

Pearl Health, developer of a care-delivery and billing platform, raised $110.0M of Series C venture funding through a combination of debt ad equity at a pre-money valuation of $235.0M. $60.0M of Series C venture funding was led by Andreessen Horowitz.

Allotera Therapeutics, developer of an allosteric drug discovery platform, raised $150.0M of Series C venture funding through a combination of debt ad equity led by Fidelity Management & Research.

Urus Energy, developer of liquefied natural gas infrastructure, has received $350.0M of financing from a Canadian-U.S. Consortium led by Prespero Energy Management and Periodic Energy.

Kraken Technology Group, operator of a maritime technology company, raised GBP 130.0M of Series B venture funding led by DTCP.

Gauntlet, operator of a financial modeling and simulation platform, raised $125.0M of venture funding from SBI Holdings.

Odds of the Day 🍒 

Polymarket traders are pricing in a 74% chance of Spain beating Belgium today.

Noteworthy Chart 🧭

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