Market Beats | Nvidia 2020 Acquisition Violates Antitrust Laws in China; Alphabet Hits $3 Trillion Market Value; Musk Buys $1 Billion in Tesla Stock Amid Pay Package Debate; Trump Proposes Shift From Quarterly to Semiannual Earnings Reports; Barclays to Spend Over $1 Billion on Times Square HQ Renovation; Bruce Jacobs Donates $60M to Launch Wharton Master’s in Quantitative Finance; CoreWeave Secures $6.3B Cloud Deal with Nvidia

—— Nvidia 2020 Acquisition Violates Antitrust Laws in China; Alphabet Hits $3 Trillion Market Value; Musk Buys $1 Billion in Tesla Stock Amid Pay Package Debate; Trump Proposes Shift From Quarterly to Semiannual Earnings Reports; Barclays to Spend Over $1 Billion on Times Square HQ Renovation; Bruce Jacobs Donates $60M to Launch Wharton Master’s in Quantitative Finance; CoreWeave Secures $6.3B Cloud Deal with Nvidia

1. Nvidia 2020 Acquisition Violates Antitrust Laws in China

China has ruled that Nvidia Corp. violated its anti-monopoly laws with the company’s 2020 acquisition of Mellanox Technologies Ltd., intensifying trade tensions with Washington during sensitive negotiations.

The State Administration for Market Regulation announced after a preliminary investigation that Nvidia breached the terms of approval granted four years ago, when Beijing had cleared the $7 billion deal on the condition that the chipmaker would not discriminate against Chinese companies. Nvidia’s shares fell about 1% in US trading following the news.

The timing of the ruling coincides with US and Chinese officials holding a second day of high-stakes talks in Madrid over tariffs. Over the weekend, China also launched an anti-dumping probe into semiconductors produced by US companies including Texas Instruments Inc., whose shares dropped as much as 4.7%. Regulators have not specified what remedies they will seek from Nvidia but said further investigations are underway.

President Donald Trump said Monday he plans to speak directly with Xi Jinping on Friday. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed that both sides raised concerns over the Nvidia case’s timing, though they managed to outline a framework to keep TikTok operating in the US.

Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company, has become a key bargaining chip in US-China negotiations due to its dominance in chips powering artificial intelligence platforms used by companies from Meta Platforms to DeepSeek.

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2. Alphabet Hits $3 Trillion Market Value

Alphabet Inc. joined the elite group of companies valued at more than $3 trillion on Monday, marking renewed optimism in Google’s parent company.

Shares climbed as much as 4.3% to $251.22, pushing its market capitalization just over $3 trillion. The stock has surged more than 70% off its April low, adding about $1.2 trillion in value during that span.

Alphabet now sits alongside Nvidia, Microsoft and Apple as the only publicly traded companies above the $3 trillion mark. The latest leg higher followed a favorable antitrust ruling that spared the firm from the harshest remedies regulators had sought, including a forced divestiture of its Chrome browser. That decision came after second-quarter earnings showed rising demand for AI products is boosting sales.

Earlier Monday, Citigroup analyst Ron Josey raised his price target on the stock to $280 from $225, citing “an accelerated product development cycle that is beginning to emerge with greater Gemini adoption across both its Ads and Cloud businesses.”

He added that, despite competition in Search, “we believe Google is executing better across its halo of products, experiencing greater demand, and delivering improved profitability.”

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3. Musk Buys $1 Billion in Tesla Stock Amid Pay Package Debate

The will of late Italian designer Giorgio Armani, who passed away earlier this month at the age of 91, has been published, revealing a precise plan for the future of his namesake fashion empire. The documents instruct Armani’s heirs to sell an initial 15% stake in Giorgio Armani SpA within 18 months to one of three preferred buyers: LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, EssilorLuxottica SA or L’Oréal SA — or another luxury firm of similar standing. After three years, the buyer will be allowed to increase its holding to a controlling majority.

Throughout his lifetime, Armani resisted selling the company, repeatedly rejecting offers in order to preserve its independence. The detailed roadmap laid out in his will came as a surprise to many observers and effectively paves the way for the brand to join a larger luxury conglomerate.

According to analysts Nick Anderson and Harrison Woodin-Lygo at Berenberg, Giorgio Armani SpA is valued between €5 billion and €7 billion ($5.9 billion–$7.9 billion). With its global recognition and reputation as a hallmark of “Made in Italy,” Armani represents a rare strategic acquisition opportunity for the largest players in luxury.

Industry experts believe the sale plan could trigger another wave of consolidation in the luxury sector. Armani, long considered both a design icon and a bastion of independence, may soon become part of the portfolio of one of the industry’s dominant global groups.

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4. Trump Proposes Shift From Quarterly to Semiannual Earnings Reports

Gemini Space Station Inc. surged as much as 64% above its IPO price in its US debut, highlighting strong investor demand in a busy week for listings. The cryptocurrency exchange, founded by the Winklevoss twins, raised $425 million in the offering.

As of 1:51 p.m. Friday, shares traded at $40.02, well above the $28 IPO price, giving the company a market capitalization of more than $3.5 billion. Gemini was previously valued at $7.1 billion in a 2021 funding round. Roughly 20% of shares were allocated to retail investors, including through online brokerages and a directed share program for friends and family.

Founded in 2014, Gemini manages more than $21 billion in assets and offers a crypto exchange, a US dollar-backed stablecoin, staking services, digital asset custody, and a crypto-rewards credit card. Nasdaq Inc. also invested $50 million in a private placement alongside the IPO.

The debut comes amid a resurgence in the US IPO market, with seven sizable deals pricing this week, fueled by strong retail demand.

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5. Barclays to Spend Over $1 Billion on Times Square HQ Renovation

Barclays Plc is preparing to invest at least $1 billion to renovate its skyscraper at 745 Seventh Avenue in New York’s Times Square, making it the latest major financial firm to modernize its office space in the city.

The project, currently in the design phase, will begin construction in mid-2026 and is expected to be completed by 2030, according to a person familiar with the matter. Richard Haworth, head of Barclays’ Americas business, told staff in a memo that “our new regional headquarters in New York is a bold investment we are making in the Americas.”

Other banks are also upgrading their New York presence. JPMorgan Chase is rebuilding its Park Avenue headquarters into a modern tower for more than 14,000 employees, while Citigroup completed a major renovation of its Tribeca skyscraper in 2020, which was at the time the city’s largest private-sector single-occupancy office revamp.

The tower is best known for previously housing Lehman Brothers, whose North American operations Barclays acquired in September 2008, saving about 10,000 Wall Street jobs.

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6. Bruce Jacobs Donates $60M to Launch Wharton Master’s in Quantitative Finance

Bruce Jacobs, co-founder of Jacobs Levy Equity Management, has donated $60 million to the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania — the largest single gift in the school’s history — to establish a new master’s program in quantitative finance.

This marks Wharton’s first new academic degree in 50 years, adding to its globally renowned MBA program. The new one-year program will feature a final-semester research project in collaboration with leading trading firms, with Citadel, Millennium, and Susquehanna set to participate on the advisory board.

Jacobs, 74, earned his PhD in finance at Wharton in 1986 and has long published in academic journals. He said the initiative is intended “to bridge the gap between theory taught at the university and practice in the industry.” He also suggested the program could serve as a foundation for students planning to pursue an MBA to build leadership and management skills.

The program will emphasize themes shaping modern finance, including artificial intelligence, algorithmic trading, and data complexity, while requiring significant math prerequisites. Wharton Dean Erika James said the program highlights how the school is adapting to real-world market forces: “It’s practical, it’s relevant, it’s necessary as a core area that defines the economic landscape.”

The launch comes as UPenn has faced scrutiny from Congress over its handling of antisemitic incidents and recently agreed with the Trump administration to apologize for allowing transgender women to compete in female-only sports.

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7. CoreWeave Secures $6.3B Cloud Deal with Nvidia

CoreWeave Inc. disclosed that shareholder Nvidia Corp. has agreed to purchase $6.3 billion worth of cloud services, according to a regulatory filing on Monday.

The deal, first announced in April 2023, runs through 2032 and obligates Nvidia to buy any unused capacity not consumed by CoreWeave’s other customers. This structure guarantees additional demand as CoreWeave scales to meet surging AI computing requirements.

The company has already locked in other multibillion-dollar agreements, including an $11.9 billion five-year contract with OpenAI signed ahead of its March IPO. Microsoft has also emerged as a top client, accounting for nearly two-thirds of CoreWeave’s revenue last year, according to SEC filings.

Shares of CoreWeave rose 6.9% to $119.73 in New York trading on Monday, giving the stock a nearly 199% gain since going public.

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