What you Need to Know for June 24

Author

HY Harry
June 24, 2026

Welcome back.

Chipmakers sold off in whats a bit of a technical cooldown + pressure from these open-source models & frontier model (Anthropic) regulation. Memory stocks $SNDK ( ▼ 13.64% ) , $MU ( ▼ 13.18% ) , and $WDC ( ▼ 8.45% ) plunged after the Korean market crash sent the Kospi down 10% 

Speaking of which…Micron reports earnings today. Brace yourselves, volatility is coming.

Let’s get into it.

Buyside Hub Jobs of the Week:

  1. A Family Office is hiring a Private Equity Associate or VP (Dallas, TX)

  2. Rallyday Partners is hiring a Private Equity Associate (Denver, Colorado)

Here’s a look at the remaining earnings for this week.

  • Wednesday: Micron, Paychex, Trip.com, Jefferies

  • Thursday: Darden Restaurants, McCormick, TD Synnex, Commercial Metals, Acuity

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

  • Wednesday: New Home Sales (634K), Fed Reserve bank stress test results

  • Thursday: Durable goods (-4%), 3rd Estimate GDP (1.6%), Weekly Jobless Claims (225K), Personal Income M/M (0.4%), Consumer Spending M/M (0.5%), PCE Price Index M/M (0.5%), PCE Price Index Y/Y (4.1%), PCE Core Price Index M/M (0.3%), PCE Core Price Index Y/Y (3.4%), Kansas City Fed Survey

  • Friday: Advanced Economic Indicators Report, Wholesale Inventories, Retail Inventories, U. Michigan Final Consumer Survey (48.9)

Earnings Corner 💸 

  • FedEx $FDX ( ▼ 3.51% ) revenue beat at $25.05B vs. $24.0B and EPS beat at $6.31 vs. $5.96. Results were driven by higher shipping rates, a 3% increase in domestic package volumes, stronger U.S. priority shipments and continued network efficiency improvement. However, rising transportation costs, wages, fuel expenses and trade policy headwinds weighed on profitability with operating margins declining from 9.1% last year, to 8.4% this year. Management guided FY27 below expectations.

  • Carnival Corporation $CCL ( ▼ 4.87% ) revenue beat at $6.66B vs. $6.64B, while adjusted EPS beat at $0.41 vs. $0.35. Results were driven by strong pricing, record onboard spending, and continued demand, with customer deposits reaching a record $9.0B and 2026 sailings 93% booked. Strong demand helped offset nearly 30% higher fuel costs and booking pressure in parts of Europe due to Middle East disruptions. Management said demand for 2027 remains ahead of prior-year levels but guided 3Q EPS below expectations, reflecting the ongoing impact of geopolitical and fuel related headwinds

  • KB Home $KBH ( ▲ 0.4% ) revenue beat at $1.11B vs. $1.09B, while EPS missed at $0.43 vs. $0.45. Results reflected continued weakness in the housing market as elevated mortgage rates and affordability pressures weighed on demand. Home deliveries fell 23% y/y and revenue declined 27% as the company sold fewer homes, while operating margin contracted to 2.5% due to lower volumes and increased incentives. Backlog fell 7%, signaling softer future demand. Management guided 3Q housing revenue to $1.2B-$1.35B, roughly in line with expectations.

  • Cerebras $CBRS ( ▲ 1.02% ) revenue beat at $193.4M, rising 92% y/y, while EPS missed at a loss of $0.22. Results were driven by strong AI infrastructure demand as customers including OpenAI and AWS expanded use of Cerebras' inference chips and cloud services. The company highlighted a $20B OpenAI agreement and growing global data center deployments. While revenue growth remained strong, profitability was pressured by ongoing investments in new data-center capacity to support rapid demand growth. Management guided gross margins lower as it temporarily uses third party capacity and incurs additional infrastructure costs while expanding its own network.

On The Move 📈 📉

IPO Roundup 📍 

  • Bending Spoons SpA set IPO terms at $26-$28 per share for up to a $17.8B valuation, trimmed from the $20-22B target reported earlier this month. The Milan-based acquirer of struggling software businesses is seeking to raise up to $1.62B by selling 58M shares, with backers Galileo Quattordici and Baillie Gifford offloading 23.6M of those. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Allen & Co. are leading the offering.

  • EG Group filed confidentially for a US IPO that could raise ~$1B at a ~$9B valuation, with the listing potentially coming as soon as July. The TDR Capital-backed gas station and convenience store operator’s choice of the US over its home UK market continues a trend, after CRH and Flutter Entertainment recently moved their main listings to New York.

  • Israel Aerospace Industries & Rafael Advanced Defense Systems are being weighed for potential US IPOs as Israel considers selling up to 30% stakes in both state defense giants, with reps traveling to the US in mid-July to assess primary or dual listings. IAI is valued at ~$33.7B and Rafael at ~$20B, both makers of the Arrow and Iron Dome anti-missile systems posting record 2025 revenue and order backlogs of $30B+ and $20B+ respectively.

  • Carro is considering a confidential US IPO filing as soon as this month that could raise up to $500M. The SoftBank-backed used car marketplace operates across seven Asian markets and is also weighing a dual listing in Singapore.

  • Sinda Ltd. is targeting up to $345.2M from a combined IPO and private placement, pricing 17.75M shares at $11.25-$13.25 for up to a $2.08B valuation. The Electrum-backed silver miner secured a concurrent $110M placement from Fresnillo and $10M of interest from Franco-Nevada. Morgan Stanley, BNS, and BMO are leading the offering.

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

F2 Raised $24M to Scale its LLM-Agnostic AI Operating System for Private Investors

F2, the compounding intelligence platform for private markets, has raised $24 million in total equity — including a new $14 million seed round led by HighlandX, on top of $10 million previously raised. Backers include Left Lane Capital, NFX, Y Combinator, and Torch Capital.

Now live across 100+ private credit funds and commercial banks, F2 automates screening, underwriting, and portfolio monitoring at 5x throughput, with enterprise-grade security and zero data retention.

What's new for your deal team:

  • Adam — an LLM-agnostic deal agent that's faster, more token-efficient, and more capable than leading frontier models on complex credit work.

  • Institutional Knowledge — a living repository of your team's deal history and context that informs every financial workflow.

The results are showing: monthly active users are up 650%, and deals analyzed have grown 10x to over 15,000 this year.

See what F2 can do for your team at f2.ai. Request a demo today

Today’s Headlines 📖🍿 

  • Morgan Stanley and Apollo cap private credit withdrawals: Apollo capped withdrawals at the standard 5% after redemption requests hit nearly 17%. This comes as Morgan Stanley saw a 11.6% redemption request rate and also capped redemptions at 5%.

  • PE zombie funds set to multiply as exits remain frozen: Over half of investors surveyed by Coller Capital expect managers to extend fund lives past expiration to collect fees, up from 28% in 2024. Portfolio companies have no clear path to liquidity due to sluggish dealmaking and AI-driven software uncertainty.

  • SpaceX’s successful debt raise: Elon’s baby has successfully raised $25B in IG Sr. Uns. financing due in 2036, priced 140bps above treasuries. The new issue has nearly 3x oversubscribed.

  • Bain & Co. is “vibe coding” tools to stress-test software M&A targets: The firm has built hundreds of vibe-coded prototypes using Claude Code to potentially easily replicate SaaS acquisition targets’ core features.

  • Meta launches smart glasses starting at $299: The new Meta Glasses come in three designs under Meta’s own brand, built with EssilorLuxottica but dropping the Ray-Ban and Oakley labels. The starting price is at least $80 less than the second-gen Meta Ray-Ban as Meta pushes to own a hardware platform in the AI era.

  • KKR’s Arctos backs $288M Tennessee stadium district: Arctos Partners has partnered with RVX Ventures and Magellan Development Group on a mixed-use entertainment district next to the University of Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium. The project includes a hotel, apartments, and 100K square feet of entertainment space and adds to PE’s growing push into college sports.

  • Fed’s Goolsbee warns inflation is “going the wrong way”: The Chicago Fed president flagged the rise in services inflation, which can’t be explained by the Iran war energy shocks or tariffs, as particularly concerning due to its persistence. Nearly half of FOMC members projected at least one rate hike this year.

  • Manchester United acquires land for 100,000-seat stadium: The club secured a 25-acre site from Blackstone’s Indurent, which would make it the UK’s largest sporting arena. The move reflects growing Premier League pressure to boost matchday revenue as financial regulators crack down on owner subsidies.

  • Remembering Alan Greenspan: The architect of nearly two decades of US monetary policy under four presidents passed away at 100. He began his career playing clarinet and saxophone alongside Stan Getz before pivoting to economics. He is remembered as much for his deliberate ambiguity in Fed-speak as for his belief that financial literacy was “the civil rights issue of this generation.”

  • Citigroup opens Baltic office to chase European defense spending boom: The bank will open a branch in Lithuania, serving Latvia and Estonia under EU passporting rules, targeting sovereign bonds, government funding, and transaction banking. The three Baltic nations have spent 5%+ of GDP on defense.

  • The Daily Wire is seeking a $100mm investment at a $750mm valuation, as investors are seeking strategic investment following lower paid subscriber numbers. According to Semafor, last year, the right-wing media company generated $48mm of Adj. EBITDA but has started to stumble, making a potential IPO path a little unclear.

M&A Transactions💭 

Vibe.co, developer of a programmatic advertising platform, has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired by Walmart (NAS: WMT) for an undisclosed amount.

Teamshares, operator of an employee ownership platform, acquired Live Oak Acquisition through a $746.0M reverse merger, resulting in the combined entity trading on the NASDAQ Exchange under the ticker symbol TMS. EV/EBITDA was 39.26x and EV/Revenue was 1.52x. Santander advised on the transaction.

Peel Mining (ASX: PEX), an Australian company focused on exploring and developing precious, base, and specialty metals, has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired for AUD 214.0M by Aeris Resources (ASX: AIS). EV/Cash Flow 18.8x.

Arcosa (NYS: ACA), a manufacturer and producer of infrastructure-related products, has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired for $8.5B by CRH (NY: CRH). EV/EBITDA was 15.19x and EV/Revenue was 3.01x. Evercore Group and Goldman Sachs advised on the sale.

Zimmermann PV-Steel Group, manufacturer of solar mounting systems, has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired for EUR 330.0M by Nextpower (NAS: NXT).

Ultra Mission Solutions, developer of mission-critical software, has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired for $720.0M by Booz Allen (NYS: BAH). Baird Partners advised on the sale.

Stellus Capital Management (NYS: SCM), a closed-end, on-diversified management investment company, was acquired for $882.134M by Ridgepost Capital (NSS: RPC). EV/Net Income was 37.21x and EV/Revenue was 9.82x. Goldman Sachs advised on the sale.

Made Group, producer of beverages and provider of private-label and co-packing services, has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired for $2.0B by Dahonee (PAR: BN). The potential transaction values the company at an estimated $3.3B. EV/Revenue was 8.52x. Bank of America advised on the sale.

Emmerson Resources (ASX: ERM), a Perth-based explorer, was acquired for AUD 311.1M by Pan Africa Resources (LON: PAF). Berenberg Bank, BMO Capital Markets, and Canaccord Genuity advised on the sale.

Apogee Therapeutics (NAS: APGE), a clinical-stage biotechnology company, has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired for $10.125B by AbbVie (NYS: ABBV). EV/Cash Flow was 29.38x. Jefferies and Goldman Sachs advised on the sale.

Aechelon Technology, developer of a defense software, was acquired for $12.7B by Shield AI. J.P. Morgan advised on the sale.

Eide Bailly, an accounting firm, sells sake to Reverence Capital Partners at a $1.8B valuation.

Ultima Furniture Systems, manufacturer of wooden kitchen furniture and fitted kitchen systems, was acquired for GBP 390.0M by Howden Joinery Group (LON: HWDN).

Ramsdens Holding (LO: RFX), a diversified financial services provider, has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired for GBP 206.0M by Chess Bidco. EV/EBITDA was 6.49x and EV/Revenue was 1.38x.

GeoPura, provider of renewable energy, has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired for GBP 301.1M by Ballard Power Systems (TSE: BLDP). Barclays advised on the sale.

VACUUMSCHMELZE, manufacturer and distributor of magnetic materials, has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired for $1.9B by Energy Fuels (TSE: EFR). Jefferies advised on the sale.

Astreya, provider of IT consulting and advisory services, was acquired for $600.0M by Cognizant Technology Solutions (NAS: CTSH). EV/Revenue was 1.07x.

Private Placement Transactions💭 

Upscale AI, developer of an AI networking company, raised $390.0M of Series A1 venture funding led by Premji Invest, Tiger Global Management, and Xora Innovation at a ore-money valuation of $1.61B.

Peregrine, developer of a decision and operations management platform, raised $250.0M of Series D venture funding led by Sequoia Capital at a pre-money valuation of $6.55B.

Nearfield Instruments, developer of a high throughput scanning probe, raised $380.0M of Series D venture funding led by Fidelity Management & Research Company at a pre-money valuation of $1.22B.

Groq, developer of AI inference hardware, raised $650.0M of venture funding led by Disruptive and Infinitum Partners.

CRED, developer of a credit card payment application, raised $900.0M of Series H venture funding from Meta Platform at a pre-money valuation of $3.6B.

Bionyra, developer of biological therapeutics, raised $165.0M of Series A venture funding led by Jeito and Sofinnova Partners.

Baseten, developer of AI inference infrastructure, raised $1.5B of Series F venture funding led by Sands Capital, Spark Capital, Wellington Management, Altimeter Capital Management, 01 Advisors, and Conviction Partners at a pre-money valuation of $11.5B.

Osanni Bio, operator of a biotechnology company, raised $190.0M of Series B venture funding led by Patient Square Capital.

Cadence, operator of a digital healthcare company, raised $100.0M of Series C venture funding led by Spark Capital.

Odds of the Day 🍒 

Polymarket traders are pricing in a 38% chance of a 25bps rate hike in September.

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