Market Beats | Dell Donates $6.25 Billion to Give 25 Million Children a $250 Investment Account; Americans Grow Tired of the ‘Slop Bowl’ Trend; SEC Plans to Ease IPO Rules for Small Companies; Costco Sues Trump Administration to Preserve Eligibility for Tariff Refunds; Comcast Seeks Merger of NBCUniversal With Warner Bros. Discovery; Strategy Sets Up $1.4 Billion Reserve to Avoid Forced Bitcoin Sales

—— Dell Donates $6.25 Billion to Give 25 Million Children a $250 Investment Account; Americans Grow Tired of the ‘Slop Bowl’ Trend; SEC Plans to Ease IPO Rules for Small Companies; Costco Sues Trump Administration to Preserve Eligibility for Tariff Refunds; Comcast Seeks Merger of NBCUniversal With Warner Bros. Discovery; Strategy Sets Up $1.4 Billion Reserve to Avoid Forced Bitcoin Sales

1. Dell Donates $6.25 Billion to Give 25 Million Children a $250 Investment Account

In an unprecedented philanthropic move, Michael and Susan Dell will give 25 million American children $250 each to jump-start an investment account for their futures — a total gift of $6.25 billion.

The donation expands the Invest America initiative — commonly known as “Trump accounts” — created earlier this year under President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Under the federal program, the government seeds an account with $1,000 for each child born between 2025 and 2028.

The Dells’ contribution will go to the US Treasury Department and fund accounts for an additional 25 million children, ages 10 and under, who are not eligible for the government-funded portion. Dell said he is initially targeting zip codes with median household incomes below $150,000 and expects to reach 80% of US children in that age range.

“We believe that if every child can see a future worth saving for, we will build something far greater than an account,” Dell said in an interview. “We will build hope, opportunity, and prosperity for generations to come.”

Dell, 60, is the world’s 11th-richest person with a net worth of $148 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, and has been a vocal supporter of the Trump accounts.

In June, the Dell Technologies founder and chief executive joined other major CEOs — including Goldman Sachs’ David Solomon and Uber’s Dara Khosrowshahi — at an “Invest in America” roundtable.

At the event, Trump praised the investment-account initiative and credited Dell with bringing the idea to him. Dell announced that his company would match the government’s $1,000 contribution for employees’ children.

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2. Americans Grow Tired of the ‘Slop Bowl’ Trend

Americans are increasingly turning away from the “slop bowl.”

Chipotle, Sweetgreen and Cava — once stars of the fast-casual boom — are struggling as diners tire of piling pick-your-own ingredients onto rice or greens. Lunchgoers are instead opting for foods with more texture, like sandwiches and tacos, which are filling and often cheaper.

Even Chipotle founder Steve Ells has moved on from the bowl that propelled the chain’s popularity. At his new Manhattan concept, Counter Service, a red neon sign features a lunch bowl crossed out. The restaurant is proudly bowl-free, with a website declaring “we love sandwiches” and “anything, as long as it can go on bread.” “We’ve gone back to handheld,” said Ells, who left Chipotle in 2020. He recalled how the bowl, introduced in 2003, became the chain’s top seller and helped spark the bowl-based boom later adopted by Sweetgreen and Cava. Now, he says Counter Service offers “elevated sandwiches” — including one priced at nearly $16 with dry-rubbed pork loin, salsa verde and broccoli rabe.

Alejandro Paczka, a 28-year-old designer in New York, has cut back on Chipotle lunches in favor of cheaper options like Subway. Part of it is “money,” he said, but much of it is fatigue from eating “slop” — a rising nickname for the bowl trend.

“There’s a resistance to the feeling of, ‘I go to the office and I eat slop,’” Paczka said. “Kind of like cattle.”

In recent weeks, Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., Sweetgreen Inc. and Cava Group Inc. have all slashed their financial guidance, deepening stock declines. Chipotle said revenue from established stores will fall at a low-single-digit rate this year — only the second annual drop since going public nearly 20 years ago, the other being during its 2016 E. coli outbreak.

Together, the three companies have lost $48 billion in market value this year, a drop of about 50%.

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3. SEC Plans to Ease IPO Rules for Small Companies

The nation’s top securities regulator is preparing to make it easier for small companies to go public by cutting mandatory disclosures and scaling back requirements based on firm size.

Such changes could expand the initial public offering pipeline and help revive the shrinking pool of listed companies, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins said in prepared remarks for a Tuesday event at the New York Stock Exchange. Atkins has long lamented that the number of publicly traded firms has fallen to about half of what it was three decades ago.

The revisions include providing companies with an “on-ramp” of at least two years — instead of the current one — to gradually comply with IPO rules, such as phasing in disclosures and investor reports. The agency is also reexamining what qualifies as a small company to reduce regulatory burden.

Atkins noted that the last major update to these definitions was roughly 20 years ago and said compliance costs “may have a disproportionate impact on some companies.”

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4. Costco Sues Trump Administration to Preserve Eligibility for Tariff Refunds

Costco Wholesale Corp. has joined a fast-growing list of businesses suing the Trump administration to ensure they remain eligible for refunds if the US Supreme Court overturns President Donald Trump’s signature global tariffs policy.

According to court filings, dozens of companies have lodged lawsuits in the US Court of International Trade since late October, challenging Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs. Costco is one of the largest corporations to enter the fray, which had previously been driven primarily by small businesses and Democratic state officials. The Supreme Court heard arguments on the tariff case on Nov. 5 under an expedited schedule, though it has not indicated when it will rule.

In the meantime, companies of all sizes have filed similar suits to avoid uncertainty about their eligibility for refunds should the justices strike down Trump’s tariffs. Costco’s complaint, filed Nov. 28, states that the legal action was necessary because it is unclear whether refunds would automatically apply to all businesses that paid duties.

The suit does not disclose how much Costco has paid under Trump’s tariffs. The company says immediate court intervention is needed because Customs and Border Protection denied its request to extend deadlines for finalizing tariff determinations, potentially jeopardizing its ability to recover all duties if the tariffs are invalidated.

White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement: “The economic consequences of failing to uphold President Trump’s lawful tariffs are enormous, and this suit highlights that fact. The White House looks forward to the Supreme Court’s speedy and proper resolution of this matter.”

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5. Comcast Seeks Merger of NBCUniversal With Warner Bros. Discovery

Comcast Corp. is seeking to merge its NBCUniversal division with Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., according to people familiar with the company’s plans.

The people said Comcast made a renewed bid on Monday for part of Warner Bros. that would give it control of the combined entity. Warner Bros. shareholders would receive a mix of cash and stock in the new company. Comcast, based in Philadelphia, is among three bidders in the second round of offers this week and is aiming to create a larger entertainment giant by combining the NBC network, its film and TV studios, and theme parks with Warner Bros. Acquiring HBO Max would further strengthen NBC’s Peacock streaming platform.

Comcast would continue its plan to spin off cable networks such as MS Now and CNBC into a new company called Versant early next year. Warner Bros. would also proceed with separating CNN, TNT and other cable channels into Discovery Global.

Warner Bros. put itself up for sale last month after receiving unsolicited bids, including from Paramount Skydance Corp. Netflix Inc. is also among the three bidders submitting revised offers on Monday. Bloomberg reported Netflix’s bid is largely cash-based and backed by plans to raise tens of billions of dollars via a bridge loan. Like Comcast, Netflix is targeting Warner Bros.’ studio and streaming operations only.

Shares of Comcast rose 1.7% to $27.02 at Tuesday’s close in New York, while Warner Bros. gained 2.8% to $24.53.

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6. Strategy Sets Up $1.4 Billion Reserve to Avoid Forced Bitcoin Sales

Strategy Inc.’s new $1.4 billion reserve gives the Bitcoin accumulator greater flexibility to meet short-term obligations — such as dividend and interest payments — during turbulent markets, according to Chief Executive Officer Phong Le.

Funded through share sales, the reserve is designed to ease investor fears that Strategy might be forced to liquidate Bitcoin to cover ballooning payouts. It provides 21 months of dividend coverage, extendable to two years, without selling any of the firm’s $59 billion Bitcoin holdings.

“We really don’t want to have to utilize that Bitcoin at times when our equity value goes below our Bitcoin holdings,” Le said in a Bloomberg TV interview Tuesday. “Our objective is to pay the dividend into perpetuity.”

The comment reflects a deeper concern: that the market might value Strategy below its assets, forcing sales of Bitcoin at what the company sees as a discount. To prevent that scenario, Strategy is even considering lending out some of its tokens — a significant shift for a firm built on a radical buy-and-hold philosophy.

“When traditional finance firms enter the space, and we have different counterparties, lending Bitcoin is something we would consider and be enthusiastic about,” he said.

Strategy was an enterprise software company until 2020, when co-founder and Chairman Michael Saylor shocked Wall Street by pouring corporate cash into Bitcoin, citing inflation risks.

Initially viewed as a curiosity, the former MicroStrategy became a favorite among speculative investors looking for proxy exposure to Bitcoin during its meteoric rise. Shares surged more than 3,500% at their peak, outperforming all major equity indexes.

But since hitting a record high in November 2024, the stock has fallen around 60%, as post-election crypto enthusiasm faded and more companies adopted their own digital-asset treasury strategies.

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7. Airbus A320 Fleet Needs Fix After Solar Radiation Glitch

Airbus SE cautioned that more than half of its active A320 jetliner family fleet will need a software fix after a recent incident revealed that “intense solar radiation” could corrupt data critical to functioning flight controls. The European planemaker stated that more than 6500 jets in total may be impacted. The advisory follows an unnerving October 30 incident involving a JetBlue aircraft that suffered a computer glitch, resulting in a sudden, unexpected downward pitch without pilot input, though the jet diverted safely with no injuries.

The finding risks becoming a significant headache for Airbus, given the A320 family is its most widely flown aircraft with more than 11 thousand in operation. The malfunction was traced to the plane’s elevator-aileron computer, ELAC 2. Regulators have issued a directive mandating the upgrade before an aircraft’s next regular flight, a necessity Airbus acknowledged will lead to operational disruptions.

American Airlines Group Inc. said about 340 jets are affected, with the vast majority scheduled to receive the update today and tomorrow. While most jets can receive an uncomplicated software update with minimal downtime, about 1000 older jets will require a hardware upgrade, necessitating grounding for the duration of the maintenance.

Hungarian discount carrier Wizz Air Holdings Plc, which operates an Airbus-only fleet, said it has immediately scheduled the necessary maintenance, which may affect some flights over the weekend.

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