Two years ago, when Nvidia first joined the club of trillion-dollar firms, plenty of investors worried that its shares were beginning to look pricey. Yet those who happened to buy a slice of the artificial-intelligence (AI) chipmaker at the time would since have quadrupled their money. On July 9th Nvidia became the first ever company to reach a market value of $4trn. More
Even by the mind-boggling standards of the artificial-intelligence (AI) boom, the growth of CoreWeave is striking. Two years ago the so-called neocloud, which rents out access to AI computing power, was a scrappy startup generating about $200m a year in revenue with a small fleet of data centres. Today things look rather different. Analysts expect it to make over $5bn in sales this year. As of January it operated 28 data centres, with ten more being added this year. Since it listed in March, its market value has rocketed by over 300%, to around $75bn (see chart). More
The Empire State Building, finished in 1931, was erected in just 410 days. That same year construction began on the Hoover Dam. It was meant to take seven years, but was built in five. Such feats now seem hard to imagine. Last year half of America’s construction firms reported that commercial projects they were working on had been delayed or abandoned. In 2008 Californian voters approved a high-speed-rail line connecting Los Angeles to San Francisco, to be finished by 2020. It will be at least a decade late. More
MID-JULY is the time to bare it all. On the beach, this involves swimwear that, au fait with the latest fashion, varies in skimpiness from extreme to disturbing. In the boardroom, it consists of a ritual of corporate exhibitionism known as the summer earnings season. Results from the second three months of the year will trickle out over the next few weeks. Back in April it looked on course to be a distinctly awful quarter. President Donald Trump had just launched his trade war, sending stockmarkets down and bond yields up. Bottom lines were imperilled by rising costs and slowing economic growth. Think walking around in tiny Speedos makes you feel naked? Try fielding analysts’ questions about plunging profits on an earnings call. More
Cognac producers had at least one thing to toast this week. After a months-long dumping investigation into European brandy, the Chinese government announced that 34 producers—including the three biggest, LVMH, Pernod Ricard and Remy Cointreau—had agreed to minimum prices, and so would be exempt from new duties. A 35% tariff for the next five years will apply only to a dribble of producers. More
Shares of WK Kellogg spiked on a report that Ferrero is nearing an agreement to buy the breakfast food company for about $3 billion.
A deal could close as soon as this week, according to The Wall Street Journal.
WK Kellogg, which makes cereals such as Froot Loops and Frosted Flakes, spun off into a standalone company in 2023.
Boxes of various Kellogg’s cereals are displayed on shelves at a Walmart Supercenter on May 6, 2025 in Austin, Texas.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images
Shares of WK Kellogg soared more than 50% on Wednesday following a report that chocolate maker Ferrero is close to a roughly $3 billion deal to buy the cereal company.
The Italian company known for its circular hazelnut chocolates could finalize an acquisition of the legacy breakfast foods business as soon as this week, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
WK Kellogg, which makes U.S. childhood staples such as Froot Loops and Frosted Flakes, spun off into a standalone company in 2023. A separate publicly traded business, Kellanova, now houses snack brands such as Pringles and Cheez-It. M&M owner Mars agreed to buy Kellanova for $36 billion last year in a deal that has not yet closed.
WK Kellogg shares have fallen about 2% this year, and the company has a roughly $1.5 billion market cap.
A Ferrero acquisition of WK Kellogg would add to consolidation in packaged foods. Many American consumers have shunned sugary cereals in favor of breakfast options considered healthier, and other shoppers moved to private label brands after inflation spiked in recent years.
The move would deepen Ferrero’s ambitions in the U.S. market. The third-largest U.S. candy company in May announced a new slate of products to appeal to American consumers, including peanut Nutella and Dr Pepper Tic Tacs. More
When a company accidentally lavishes praise on Adolf Hitler, it may not be surprising that its chief executive promptly decides to step down. Yet in a testament to the turbulence of Linda Yaccarino’s two years at the helm of X, once known as Twitter, this was only one possible reason for her resignation on July 9th. More
Eli Manning says he is no longer interested in purchasing a minority stake in the New York Giants.
The former MVP says NFL team valuations have become too expensive for his taste.
Giants owners hired Moelis & Company to explore a potential sale of “a minority, non-controlling stake,” they said in February.
Former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning is no longer interested in buying a minority stake in his old team, telling CNBC Sport on Wednesday that he’s been priced out.
“Basically, it’s too expensive for me,” Manning said in an interview. “A 1% stake valued at $10 billion turns into a very big number.”
Manning’s comments come as team valuations skyrocket.
In CNBC’s Official NFL Team Valuations published in September, the Giants were valued at $7.85 billion, ranking fourth among the league’s 32 teams.
In December, the Philadelphia Eagles sold a minority stake in the team at a valuation of $8.3 billion — roughly $1 billion higher than where CNBC Sport had valued the team a few months earlier. In May, the San Francisco 49ers sold a 6.2% stake at a valuation of more than $8.5 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. CNBC’s September valuation marked the 49ers at $7.4 billion.
And last month, the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers agreed to sell the majority of the team at a $10 billion valuation, far higher than the franchise’s $7 billion valuation according to CNBC Sport’s Official NBA Team Valuations, published in February.
Eli Manning #10 of the New York Giants warms up prior to the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium on Dec. 29, 2019 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Sarah Stier | Getty Images
Manning said he doesn’t have interest in buying a stake in any other NFL team and that he believes the Giants are deserving of a $10 billion valuation. He also said other complications contributed to his decision to withdraw his name.
“I wouldn’t be able to talk to players that I coached in the Pro Bowl. It was going to affect my day job,” said Manning, adding there could have been conflicts of interest with his role on ESPN’s ManningCast, the alternative Monday Night Football broadcast that he co-hosts with his brother, former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning.
Eli Manning made more than $250 million in career earnings from the Giants and many millions more from endorsements. He owns a production company — Ten Till Productions — and is a partner in the private equity firm Brand Velocity Group.
Minority sale continues
The Mara family, which has owned the Giants since the team’s founding in 1925, currently owns 50% of the team. The Tisch family has owned the other half since 1991.
Both families hired Moelis & Company to explore a potential sale of “a minority, non-controlling stake,” they said in February.
There’s been renewed interest in NFL ownership in recent months. Last year, the league voted to allow private equity firms to take stakes of up to 10% in teams.
CNBC reported in May that investor Julia Koch had submitted a bid for a minority stake in the Giants. Former New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan and billionaire Marc Lasry also teamed up to make a bid, Sportico reported in May.
Manning said he still plans to be very involved in the Giants organization. He told CNBC Sport he has already spoken to the team, focusing on advice to the rookies, earlier this year.
He is also a minority owner in the National Women’s Soccer League’s Gotham FC and TGL’s New York golf team. More
