Market Beats | Tesla Profit Misses Estimates Despite Record EV Sales; Beyond Meat Soars More Than 1,100% in Four Days; Kering Beats Sales Forecasts; Michelin Warns North American Weakness to Persist; Volatility Returns to Wall Street as Megacaps Drop and Gold Slides; Meta Cuts About 600 Jobs at AI Unit; Chinese Developer Zhang Xin Expands New York Real Estate Portfolio

—— Beyond Meat Soars More Than 1,100% in Four Days; Kering Beats Sales Forecasts; Michelin Warns North American Weakness to Persist; Volatility Returns to Wall Street as Megacaps Drop and Gold Slides; Meta Cuts About 600 Jobs at AI Unit; Chinese Developer Zhang Xin Expands New York Real Estate Portfolio; Tesla Profit Misses Estimates Despite Record EV Sales

1. Beyond Meat Soars More Than 1,100% in Four Days

Beyond Meat Inc. shares surged as much as 73% soon after Tuesday’s opening bell, extending their four-day rally to more than 1,100% in a fresh echo of the meme-stock frenzies that have periodically driven huge gains in beaten-down companies favored by day traders.

The struggling maker of plant-based burgers and sausages climbed to as high as $6.28, up from just 52 cents at Thursday’s close. Despite the explosive rebound, the stock remains more than 95% below its 2019 peak.

“It’s definitely a sign that the level of speculation and froth in the market is still extremely high,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak + Co. LLC. The rally began Friday and accelerated Monday after Business Insider reported that trader Demitri Semenikhin had been promoting the stock on social media.

The surge may also have been fueled by a short squeeze, as about 64% of shares available for trading had been sold short as of late September. Roundhill Investments said Monday night on X that it added Beyond Meat to its Roundhill Meme Stock ETF.

Another consumer name popular with meme traders, Krispy Kreme Inc., also rallied this week, jumping 34%.

______

2. Kering Beats Sales Forecasts

Kering SA, the Paris-based luxury group behind Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and Bottega Veneta, reported third-quarter sales that beat expectations, helped by improving demand in North America and new product momentum at Gucci. The update came just weeks after Luca de Meo took over as chief executive.

Comparable revenue fell 5% in the quarter, better than analysts’ estimates of an 8.7% decline. Gucci’s sales dropped 14% — still weak but slightly above forecasts — while both Saint Laurent and Bottega Veneta outperformed projections.

Although Gucci has underperformed peers during the broader luxury slowdown, Kering’s shares have risen roughly one-third this year as investors bet on de Meo’s ability to engineer a turnaround. The new CEO moved quickly, announcing a €4 billion ($4.6 billion) sale of the company’s beauty business to reduce debt and refocus on core fashion operations. “Kering’s performance remains far below that of the market,” de Meo said. “We are working relentlessly on our turnaround.”

Gucci, which contributes about half of Kering’s profit, has struggled with weak consumer demand and has replaced its creative director twice in the past two years. Chief Financial Officer Armelle Poulou said sales in Asia, including China, remained negative but improved thanks to new products such as the mini GG and smaller Giglio bags. North American retail sales also returned to growth, supported by strong demand for the Giglio line.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is advising Hologic, while Citigroup is advising the Blackstone-TPG consortium.

______

3. Michelin Warns North American Weakness to Persist

Some of the world’s largest Bitcoin holders are moving their digital fortunes into Wall Street’s balance sheets, using a new generation of exchange-traded funds to integrate their crypto wealth into the regulated financial system — without selling a single coin.

A regulatory shift in July allowed for in-kind transactions in Bitcoin ETFs, enabling large investors to deposit Bitcoin directly into a fund in exchange for ETF shares. The process, long used in other ETFs, is tax-neutral — no cash changes hands and no taxable sale occurs.

The result: a volatile digital asset becomes a conventional brokerage line item, easier to pledge as collateral, borrow against, or include in estate planning. BlackRock has already processed more than $3 billion worth of these conversions, according to Robbie Mitchnick, its head of digital assets. Bitwise Asset Management and liquidity provider Galaxy have also reported growing demand from wealthy crypto investors eager to move their holdings into traditional wealth platforms.

It marks Bitcoin’s latest transformation — from an anti-establishment experiment to an increasingly institutionalized asset. By swapping coins for ETF shares, investors maintain their crypto exposure while bringing it into a regulated, bank-compatible form. The ETF wrapper legitimizes what was once “off-grid” wealth, turning decentralized assets into collateral that mainstream finance can understand and manage.

Mitchnick said many large holders are realizing “the convenience of keeping their exposure within their existing financial adviser or private-bank relationship.”

______

4. Volatility Returns to Wall Street as Megacaps Drop and Gold Slides

Volatility resurfaced on Wall Street Wednesday as most megacap stocks fell and both gold and cryptocurrencies slid. A report that the Trump administration is weighing new restrictions on software exports to China added to investor unease over trade tensions.

After a strong rally in the S&P 500, calls for consolidation have grown louder, with markets increasingly vulnerable to any negative headlines. A weak outlook from Texas Instruments Inc. and a slump in Netflix Inc. after in-line results fueled caution, while Tesla Inc. — set to kick off megacap earnings season — dropped 2%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 fell 1.2%.

“With equities hovering near record highs and valuations stretched, investors are looking for exceptional fundamentals to justify these lofty prices,” said Fiona Cincotta of City Index. Despite slower market momentum, the share of S&P 500 companies beating earnings expectations this quarter is the highest since 2021, signaling continued corporate resilience.

JPMorgan’s Dubravko Lakos-Bujas said U.S. firms should maintain strong earnings growth, supported by robust AI investments, ongoing deficit spending, and a resilient consumer.

The S&P 500 slipped below 6,700. Tesla lost 2%. Netflix tumbled 10%. Texas Instruments fell 6.5%. Beyond Meat Inc. erased early gains after doubling earlier in the day, echoing previous meme-stock surges.

The 10-year Treasury yield was little changed at 3.97%. Bitcoin dropped 2%. The dollar fluctuated. Gold slid 1.5%. Oil gained 2.5%.

______

5. Meta Cuts About 600 Jobs at AI Unit

Meta Platforms Inc. is cutting roughly 600 jobs from its artificial intelligence division, Meta Superintelligence Labs, as the company seeks to move faster in the competitive AI race.

Affected employees were notified Wednesday, according to an internal memo reviewed by Bloomberg News. The newly formed TBD Lab group — which includes many of Meta’s recent high-paid AI hires — was not impacted by the layoffs.

“By reducing the size of our team, fewer conversations will be required to make a decision, and each person will be more load-bearing and have more scope and impact,” wrote Alexandr Wang, Meta’s chief AI officer, in the memo.

Meta is encouraging affected employees to apply for other roles within the company and will continue hiring across its AI teams, according to a person familiar with the plans who asked not to be identified discussing internal matters. Axios earlier reported the job cuts.

The downsizing marks the latest move by Meta and Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg to stay competitive with rivals like OpenAI and Alphabet Inc.’s Google.

Meta has invested heavily in AI, including a $14.3 billion stake in data-labeling startup Scale AI, which brought Wang to the company to lead its artificial intelligence strategy.

______

6. Chinese Developer Zhang Xin Expands New York Real Estate Portfolio

Chinese property magnate Zhang Xin, known for transforming Beijing’s skyline through her firm Soho China Ltd., is expanding her investments in New York City real estate. Her family office’s real estate arm, Closer Properties, acquired five adjacent parcels at East 79th Street and Lexington Avenue on Manhattan’s Upper East Side from lender W Financial in a $62.5 million all-cash deal, according to a statement released Wednesday.

Closer Properties plans to build a boutique luxury condominium with retail space on the ground floor. The project marks Zhang’s first ground-up development in New York City and comes as many developers have scaled back new construction, reducing Manhattan’s condo pipeline. “Our thesis is to develop boutique-sized luxury condos in historic districts across New York City like the Upper East Side, West Village, and Chelsea,” said Zhang, founder and CEO of Closer Properties. “People love these historic areas, but much of the housing stock is old and lacks services and amenities. Despite higher interest and mortgage rates, demand outweighs that.”

Zhang co-founded Soho China in 1995 with her husband, Pan Shiyi, developing landmark office buildings across Beijing and Shanghai — a career that earned her the nickname “the woman who built Beijing.”

Blackstone Inc. once planned to acquire Soho China but abandoned the deal in 2021. The couple stepped down from leadership roles in 2022 but remain on the company’s board.

______

7. Tesla Profit Misses Estimates Despite Record EV Sales

Tesla Inc. reported third-quarter earnings that fell short of Wall Street expectations despite record electric-vehicle sales, underscoring the pressures automakers face from shifting U.S. policies and rising costs.

Adjusted earnings were 50 cents per share for the period, the company said Wednesday, missing the average analyst estimate of 54 cents compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue came in at $28.1 billion, topping forecasts.

Shares slipped less than 1% in extended New York trading as of 4:10 p.m. Tesla reiterated that it remains “difficult to measure” the impact of changing global trade and fiscal policies on its operations. The company said results will depend on the broader economic environment, as well as its ability to accelerate autonomy development and scale production of key models.

Earlier this month, Tesla reported record third-quarter sales as customers rushed to take advantage of a $7,500 U.S. EV tax credit that expired on September 30, giving a temporary lift to its automotive division.

Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expect Tesla to post a second consecutive year of declining vehicle deliveries.

______