Market Beats | Netflix Smashes Wall Street Forecasts; NY Art Advisor Extorts Millions, Blackstone Credit Emerges Hero; U.S. Retail Data Beats Expectations; TSMC Profit Surges, Stock Hits Record High

1. Citadel Employees Triple Stake in Flagship Fund to $9B

2. Blackstone Credit Becomes Top Profit Driver

3. Google Consolidates AI Teams Under DeepMind

4. U.S. Retail Sales Top Forecasts, Economy Shows Resilience

5. TSMC Profits Surge, Stock Hits Record High

6. Netflix Crushes Wall Street Expectations Across the Board

7. NY Art Advisor Pleads Guilty to Multi-Million Dollar Fraud

1. Citadel Employees Triple Stake in Flagship Fund to $9B

Citadel’s flagship Wellington fund, managing $45 billion in assets, now has 20% of its capital from founder Ken Griffin and other insiders — up from 12% in 2019.

Employee investment has tripled over the past five years to around $9 billion. The fund posted a remarkable 25.9% annualized return over that period, with managers receiving sizable bonuses. About half of those bonuses must be reinvested into the fund for 3.5 years.

Head of client strategy Ed O’Reilly said the alignment of staff and investor capital demonstrates strong confidence in Citadel’s strategy.

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2. Blackstone Credit Becomes Top Profit Driver

Blackstone reported a 5.5% year-over-year increase in distributable earnings to $1.28 billion in Q3, or $1.01 per share — beating analyst estimates of $0.91.

Its credit and insurance division brought in $21.4 billion in new inflows, accounting for over half of the firm’s total fundraising.

The unit now manages $354.7 billion — surpassing the real estate arm for the first time. Blackstone’s total AUM stands at $1.1 trillion.

Blackstone shares are up 22% YTD, lagging peers like Apollo, KKR, and Ares.

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3. Google Consolidates AI Teams Under DeepMind

CEO Sundar Pichai announced that the team behind Google’s Gemini AI assistant will be absorbed into DeepMind, continuing the company’s strategy of streamlining AI development.

Additionally, long-time product leader Prabhakar Raghavan will take on the role of Chief Technology Officer.

Google has been restructuring its AI efforts for months to strengthen Gemini and better compete with OpenAI and Anthropic. In April, it merged Google Brain with DeepMind.

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4. U.S. Retail Sales Top Forecasts, Economy Shows Resilience

U.S. retail sales rose 0.4% month-over-month in September after adjusting for inflation. Excluding autos and gas, the increase was 0.7%.

The stronger-than-expected data supports the view that a recession isn’t imminent, although it’s unlikely to deter the Fed from cutting rates by 25 basis points in the near future.

10 out of 13 retail categories posted gains — florists and pet stores performed especially well, followed by apparel and grocery.

Gas station sales fell, while auto sales saw a slight uptick.

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5. TSMC Profits Surge, Stock Hits Record High

Chipmaker TSMC, a key supplier to Nvidia and Apple, raised its 2024 revenue forecast to 30% growth, citing strong demand for advanced AI chips.

Q3 net income surged 54% to $10.1 billion, with Q4 revenue expected to reach $26.9 billion — beating estimates of $24.9 billion.

TSMC’s U.S. ADRs surged as much as 10%, hitting a record high since the company’s 1997 listing. Its market cap briefly surpassed $1 trillion.

The company is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the global AI boom.

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6. Netflix Crushes Wall Street Expectations Across the Board

Netflix posted blowout Q3 results, beating forecasts on every major metric.

Revenue rose 15% YoY to $9.83 billion, while EPS came in at $5.40. The company added 5 million paid subscribers — ahead of the expected 4.52 million.

Since May 2022, Netflix shares have more than quadrupled, rebounding from a sharp decline triggered by slowing growth.

The turnaround came after the company cracked down on password sharing and launched lower-priced tiers, adding 60 million new users in the process.

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7. NY Art Advisor Pleads Guilty to Multi-Million Dollar Fraud

Lisa Schiff, a prominent New York art advisor, pleaded guilty in federal court on Thursday to defrauding high-net-worth clients of millions of dollars. She now faces potential prison time.

Schiff operated galleries in Manhattan’s Tribeca and London under Schiff Fine Art. Clients began filing lawsuits in 2023 after paid-for artworks went undelivered and her galleries abruptly shut down.

Prosecutors say she defrauded at least 12 clients, artists, and foundations — at times selling art without compensating creators or taking client money without making purchases.

Over 800 pieces valued at $3.9 million are currently being liquidated by court-appointed trustees.

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本文内容来自《Financial Times》、《Bloomberg》，以及《The Real Deal》等多家财经新闻媒体。