— BYD Launches $233,450 Supercar; Berkshire Hathaway’s Market Value Nears $1 Trillion; Microsoft Acquires OpenAI Competitor; Walton Family Sells Walmart Shares; Jamie Dimon Sells JPMorgan Shares; U.S. Home Prices Accelerate; Newmark’s Profits Surge 468%.
1. BYD Launches $233,450 Supercar
On Sunday, Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD unveiled its U9 supercar, priced at ¥1.68 million ($233,450), designed to compete with Ferrari and Lamborghini.
Initially, the U9 will only be sold in the Chinese market. The car accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in just 2.36 seconds, with a top speed of 309.19 km/h.
In the last quarter of 2023, BYD surpassed Tesla to become the world’s best-selling electric car company. The company mainly sells affordable electric cars.
BYD believes that demand for high-end electric cars remains strong, with higher profit margins for its products.
Today, BYD’s stock rose by up to 4.7%, and Chairman Wang Chuanfu revealed plans to repurchase ¥400 million worth of shares.
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2. Berkshire Hathaway’s Market Value Nears $1 Trillion
Before today’s opening, Berkshire Hathaway’s stock rose by as much as 5.5%, bringing its market value close to $1 trillion.
Berkshire’s latest earnings report, released last Saturday, showed that operating profit in the fourth quarter reached $8.48 billion, up from $6.63 billion a year earlier, largely benefiting from insurance underwriting and increased investment income from higher interest rates.
Last year, Berkshire’s stock rose by 15%, and the increase year-to-date has already reached 17%.
Berkshire’s Class A stock surpassed $600,000, while its more traded Class B shares also exceeded $400.
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3. Microsoft Acquires OpenAI Competitor
Today, Mistral AI, a major French competitor to OpenAI, announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft.
Microsoft Azure cloud users will now be able to use AI models developed by Mistral, which are similar to those developed by OpenAI, but Mistral’s models are open-source.
In the field of artificial intelligence, Microsoft has already formed a partnership with OpenAI and invested $13 billion in the latter. Due to the close relationship between the two companies, it is believed that Microsoft could face antitrust investigations from the EU and the UK.
Warner stated that, in order to generate more revenue, the company has started selling its works to platforms such as Netflix.
Source：Bloomberg – Microsoft Strikes Deal With France’s Mistral, OpenAI Rival
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4. Walton Family Sells Walmart Shares
According to filings with the U.S. SEC, the Walton family, one of the world’s wealthiest families, sold a total of 8.82 million shares of Walmart between February 21 and 23, amounting to $1.5 billion.
Walmart’s stock has risen 11% this year, surpassing the S&P Retail index’s 3% increase. On February 20, Walmart’s stock reached a new all-time high following better-than-expected earnings.
The Walton family’s investment trust, Walton Family Holdings Trust, holds 45% of Walmart’s outstanding shares.
According to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, the Walton family’s net worth could be as high as $274 billion.
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5. Jamie Dimon Sells JPMorgan Shares
According to filings with the U.S. SEC, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and his family sold a total of 822,000 shares, worth $150 million. This marks the first time Dimon has sold shares since becoming CEO 18 years ago.
Under his leadership, JPMorgan’s stock has consistently outperformed its peers and the broader market, recently reaching an all-time high.
As of last Thursday, after the sale, Dimon still holds 7.7 million JPMorgan shares. The bank announced in October that Dimon could sell up to 1 million shares in total.
JPMorgan reported a record net interest income last year, and the company’s stock surged 27%.
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6. U.S. Home Prices Accelerate
According to data released today by the U.S. government, January new home sales increased by 1.5% month-over-month, reaching an annualized 661,000 units, below economists’ expectations of 684,000.
With mortgage rates beginning to decline this year, both builder and buyer confidence have improved, providing some support to the second-hand home market.
However, since the Federal Reserve indicated there is no rush to cut interest rates, mortgage rates have begun to rise again, and the brief window for affordable home purchases is gradually closing.
In January, the median home price fell to $420,700 due to increased market supply. New home supply rose to 456,000 units, marking the largest monthly increase in over a year.
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7. Newmark’s Profits Surge 468%
Commercial real estate firm Newmark reported a staggering 468% increase in net income to $36.5 million in its latest earnings report, with revenue rising from $607 million last year to $747 million.
Newmark helped bankrupt regional banks sell $50 billion in loans, setting a U.S. record.
CFO Michael Rispoli expects revenue to increase by 3% to 7% this year. With a large number of commercial real estate loans maturing soon, the company hopes to profit from refinancing opportunities.
Sales in Newmark’s real estate investment and loan brokerage segments increased by 168% and 185%, respectively.
Source：The Real Deal – Newmark net income jumps 468% in Q4
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This content is sourced from Financial Times, Bloomberg, and The Real Deal, among other financial news outlets.