What you Need to Know for June 26

More than a Memory

Author

HY Harry
June 26, 2026

In partnership with

Welcome back.

Word of the day - memory. We are in the middle of one of the most dramatic bottlenecks in recent memory, with the big 3 memory players squeezing their customers. This has been great for Micron and our friends in South Korea (Here’s our piece on South Korea from WSR IC earlier this month btw). Sandisk and Corning had nice days as well.

The Kospi is down -8% at time of writing though following news that Samsung and SK Hynix are set to announce massive new investments, exceeding hundreds of billions of dollars on Monday.

Of course, it comes with a price, as the hyperscalers dragged the markets down yesterday. And this will hit on the consumer side, as yesterday, Apple announced they’re raising Mac prices and XBox is raising console prices.

There’s been a bit of an unwind in other parts of the market - with oil obviously going down as the peace deal firms up, plus some space, crypto, and other speculative names trading off. Notably too, the Software rebound has been a bit short-lived, with many of those names retracing lows, while Private Credit managers are cooling off after a recent recovery rally.

Let’s get into it.

Earnings Corner 💸 

  • Micron $MICR ( 0.0% ) revenue beat at $41.5B vs. $36.0B, while EPS beat at $25.11 vs. $19.72. Results were driven by surging AI memory demand as hyperscalers continued investing heavily in AI infrastructure, tightening HBM supply, strengthening Micron's pricing power, and driving record gross margins (84.9%) and earnings.

  • Paychex $PAYX ( ▲ 0.44% ) revenue beat at $1.61B vs. $1.60B and EPS beat at $1.32. Results were driven by continued growth in payroll, HR, and employee benefits services, helped by contributions from the Paycor acquisition and expanding operating margins of 37.7%. However, management guided for slower fiscal 2027 revenue growth of 5%–6% as the benefit from the acquisition begins to normalize and organic payroll growth is expected to moderate amid a softer hiring environment, overshadowing the beat.

  • Trip.com $TCOM ( ▼ 12.55% ) revenue beat at $2.35B vs. $2.33B, while EPS slightly missed at $0.83. Results were driven by resilient global travel demand, with strong growth across accommodations, transportation, package tours, and corporate travel, while inbound China bookings surged roughly 90% (y/y) and international OTA bookings rose about 65% as the company expanded its global platform and AI-powered travel services. However, management issued cautious Q2 revenue guidance, expecting revenue growth of 3%–8% as higher airfares, constrained airline capacity, softer long haul travel demand, and regulatory changes that are expected to weigh on near term growth.

  • Jeffries $JEF ( ▼ 9.15% ) top and bottom line missed with revenue at $2.21B vs. $2.22B and EPS coming in at $1.02. Investment banking remained a bright spot, with advisory and underwriting revenue jumping 57% to a record $1.21B as M&A, equity issuance, and capital markets activity rebounded, while equities trading also reached a record. However, results were weighed down by a 35% decline in asset management revenue due to weaker investment returns and lower fund fees, while higher compensation, technology, brokerage, and clearing costs limited the company's ability to convert record dealmaking activity into stronger earnings.

  • Darden restaurants $DRI ( ▼ 0.32% ) revenue slightly missed at $3.72B vs. $3.73B while EPS beat at $3.66. Sales growth was supported by an extra reporting week, 43 net new restaurant openings, and 4.6% same store sales growth, led by LongHorn Steakhouse where comps rose 9.5% as strong guest traffic and value focused consumers continued to favor the chain. However, Olive Garden comps grew just 2.4% and fine dining comps only rose 1.9%, both below expectations, showing demand remained uneven across the portfolio. Management guided FY27 sales to $13.60B-$13.75B, roughly in line with expectations, while EPS outlook came in below expectations as the company assumes no meaningful improvement in industry demand.

  • McCormick $MKC ( ▲ 1.58% ) revenue beat at $1.94B vs. $1.91B, while EPS beat at $0.80 vs. $0.69. Results were driven by higher pricing, continued strength in its Flavor Solutions business, and resilient consumer demand as more meals were prepared at home, while tariff refunds and productivity initiatives helped expand gross profit nearly 25% despite elevated commodity costs. Management reaffirmed FY26 guidance, expecting the pending Unilever Foods acquisition to provide additional long term earnings accretion, while noting that the outlook still reflects an uncertain consumer environment and higher costs tied to geopolitical disruptions.

On The Move 📈 📉

IPO Roundup 📍 

  • OpenAI may delay its blockbuster IPO to 2027, with CEO Sam Altman pushing for a $1T target versus its $730B-$852B last private valuation. Advisors presented two options: wait until 2027 to grow into the $1T target, or accept a lower price to fast-track a late 2026 listing. Altman reportedly rejected any compromise on the trillion-dollar figure.

  • Doncasters Group surged in its NYSE debut Thursday after pricing at $33, $1 above its $28-$32 range, with shares jumping 42% to ~$47 for a ~$4.8B valuation. The aerospace and industrial gas turbine parts maker raised $919.38M by selling 27.86M shares versus 23.33M originally marketed. Jefferies and Morgan Stanley led the offering.

  • Reformation Inc. filed publicly for a US IPO Thursday, with the Permira-backed sustainable womenswear brand disclosing $112.3M in Q1 revenue versus $86.1M a year earlier. The brand has 1.14M active customers and 90% of revenue comes from direct-to-consumer sales. JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley are leading the offering.

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Today’s Headlines 📖🍿 

  • GDP and economic data: 1Q26 GDP was revised up to 2.1%, driven by a downward revision to imports, but consumer spending was softer than expected. Real final sales to private purchasers were revised down to 1.7%. Core PCE held at 4.4%, and the PCE price index came in at 4.6%, reinforcing the higher-for-longer rate backdrop heading into the back half of the year.

  • Blue Owl is in advanced talks for a 5-10% stake in the Cleveland Cavaliers: The deal would flow through Blue Owl’s Dyal HomeCourt Partners fund, which already holds stakes in the Hawks, Kings, and Timberwolves. This deal values the Cavaliers at $4.86B per Sportico.

  • Blackstone Mortgage Trust takes a hit on a $343M Chicago Tower loan: 601W Companies missed a maturity payoff deadline on the 40-story, 73% occupied tower purchased for $310M in 2018, as downtown Chicago office vacancy sits at 27% with values still depressed post-pandemic. $BXMT ( ▼ 0.69% ) shares slipped on the news.

  • White Party rejection: A member of Will Makris’ Zero Bond social club was reportedly laughed off after offering $2M to attend Michael Rubin’s Hamptons white party, which draws ~375 celebrities and athletes, including Tom Brady, Kim Kardashian, and Drake.

  • Bumble explores sale as valuation collapses from $7B IPO to $388M: The Austin-based dating app is working with Morgan Stanley on a potential sale as Q1 2026 revenue fell 14.1% to $212.4M and paying users dropped 21.1% to 3.2M. CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd is trying to rebuild the app with an AI assistant called Bee to revive growth.

  • JPMorgan names co-presidents as Marianne Lake exits: Lake, a contender to replace Dimon, departed after 25 years. Doug Petno and Troy Rohrbaugh were promoted to co-presidents and are now seen as front-runners to succeed CEO Jamie Dimon.

  • Microsoft hikes Xbox prices for a third time since late 2025: Series S 512GB jumps to $500 and Series X 1TB Disc to $800, with Microsoft citing storage and memory prices that have risen 2.5x and are on track to double again by fall 2027. The hike comes hours after Apple raised hardware prices by $100-$300, both driven by AI component cost spikes.

  • Trump administration asks OpenAI to stagger GPT-5.6 release: Sam Altman told staff that the US government wants OpenAI to release the model to 20 trusted partners via Amazon Bedrock before a broader rollout. The request comes weeks after Anthropic suspended Mythos 5 and Fable 5 under government pressure.

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M&A Transactions💭 

Pharos Energy (LON: PHAR), an independent oil and gas exploration company, has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired for GBP 116.6M by Ratio Petroleum (TAE: RTPT). EV/EBITDA was 2.81x and EV/Revenue was 1.36x. Rothschild & Co advised on the sale.

iMerit, developer of an AI data annotation and model evaluation platform, has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired for $310.0M by ExlService Holdings (NAS: EXLS).

First Reliance Bank, a commercial bank, has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired for $242.784M by Colony Bank (NYS: CBAN). EV/Net Income was 19.07x and EV/Revenue was 4.95x. Hovde Group advised on the sale.

Everllence, manufacturer of industrial-scale propulsion, has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired for EUR 7.4B by Bain Capital. EV/Revenue was 1.55x. J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs advised on the sale.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NAS: CNTA), a clinical stage biotechnology company, was acquired for $7.8B by Lilly USA (NYS: LLY). Centerview Partners and Jefferies advised on the sale.

Agility Robotics, manufacturer of humanoid robots, has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Churchill Capital XI through a $420.0M reverse merger, resulting in the combined entity trading on the exchange under the ticker symbol AGLT. BTIG advised on the transaction.

Nabha Power, producer of electricity, was acquired for INR 36.324B by Torrent Power (BOM: 532779).

Keyton Holding, operator of a chain of retirement villages, has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired for $525.0M by Aware Super. The transaction values the company at an estimated $2.09B.

Clearwater Analytics Holding, a back-office functions platform, was acquired for $8.4B by Permira, Warburg Pincus, Francisco Partners, and Temasek Holdings. EV/EBITDA was 78.08x and EV/Revenue was 10.17x. J.P. Morgan and PJT Partners advised on the sale.

Biocare Medical, developer of immunohistochemistry and molecular diagnostic reagents, was acquired for $950.0M by Agilent Technologies (NYS: A). EV/Revenue was 10.56x. Jefferies advised on the sale.

Bio-Techne (NAS: TECH), a life sciences manufacturer, has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired for $11.716B by Merck (ETR: MRK). EV/EBITDA was 46.18x and EV/Revenue was 9.68x.

Ballestra, manufacturer of processing equipment, was acquired for EUR 148.2M by Nextchem. EV/Revenue was 0.65x. Rothschild & Co advised on the sale.

Arizona Sonoran Copper Company (TSE: ASCU), a mineral exploration company, was acquired for CAD 2.0B by HudBay Minerals (TSE: HBM). EV/Cash Flow was 23.6x. Origin Merchant Partners and Soctiabank advised on the sale.

Private Placement Transactions💭 

Underscore, developer of energy coordination software, raised $120.0M of venture funding led by Andreesen Horowitz.

Trase Systems, developer of an AI-based enterprise platform, raised $107.0M of seed funding led by ARCH Venture Partners.

Taktile, developer of a decision engine platform, raised $110.0M of Series C venture funding led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

Stegra, operator of a steel production plant, raised EUR 1.4B of venture funding led by Wallenberg Investments.

RunPod, developer of an online GPU platform, raised $100.0M of venture funding led by Summit Partners at a pre-money valuation of $900.0M.

RQ Bio, operator of a biotechnology company, raised $115.0M of Series A venture funding led by Frazier Healthcare Partners.

Ollin, developer of ophthalmic therapeutics, raised $156.25M of Series B venture funding led by ARCH Venture Partners and TCG Crossover Management.

Assort Health, developer of a conversational AI platform, raised $120.0M of Series C venture funding led by Menlo Ventures at a pre-money valuation of $1.08B.

Norm Ai, developer of a regulatory AI agent platform, raised $120.0M of venture funding from undisclosed investors.

Scaled Cognition, developer of a foundational model, raised $100.0M of Series A venture funding led by Khosla Ventures.

Quaise Energy, developer of deep geothermal energy technology platform, raised $200.0M of venture funding led by Idemitsu Kosan.

General intuition, operator of a frontier AI research lab, raised $320.0M of venture funding led by Khosla Ventures at a pre-money valuation of $1.98B.

Alan, developer of an online digital insurance platform, raised EUR 480.0M of Series G venture funding led by Prosus at a pre-money valuation of EUR 5.02B.

Airwallex, operator of a global payments and financial platform, raised $320.0M of Series H venture funding led by Addition at a pre-money valuation of $10.68B.

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