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ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST

Electronic Arts set to go private in $55 billion deal — the latest in a long line of disappearing stocks

The “Madden” maker is set to join a growing group of listed companies that are deciding to drop out of exchanges.

9/29/25 11:17AM

This morning, video game maker Electronic Arts confirmed that it will be taken private by a consortium including Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund, along with private equity firms Silver Lake and Affinity Partners, in a deal that would value the company at some $55 billion, roughly 25% more than what the company was worth before deal rumors started circling last week.

The deal marks the largest take-private transaction in US history, topping the $45 billion buyout of Texas utility group TXU in 2007. That’s quite a record considering the rise of take-private deals more generally — a trend that’s exploded since 2012 in both count and volume. Per data from Bloomberg, last year saw a whopping 173 deals take stocks off the market, transactions worth some ~$289 billion and change.

More companies are going private — Sherwood News

Private party

Aided by a private markets capital pool that increasingly rivals its public cousin, the swelling dealmaking market is contributing to a broader trend: the slow decline of public markets.

Indeed, many high-profile startups like SpaceX and OpenAI have completely bypassed the hassle of public markets (like quarterly reporting, *cough*), finding no problem raising tens of billions of dollars for their cash-hungry operations.

The combined effect of fewer IPOs and a rise in take-private deals: there are now only half the number of public companies that were listed in the US in 1996, with just 4,010 public equities as of last year.

Thousands of stocks have disappeared — Sherwood News

Related reading: Where did all the stocks go?

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S&P 500 posts weekly gain for its 8th consecutive week

The benchmark index is on its longest weekly winning streak since 2023.

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Hardware stocks jump thanks to server demand and record Lenovo revenue

Server stocks are rallying as Dell, Super Micro Computer, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise ride the momentum of Hong Kong-based Lenovo. The PC maker’s stock rose 19% on Friday, hitting an all-time high, on record Q4 earnings.

Powering the positive earnings report was the company’s AI-related revenue, which grew 84% in the fourth quarter and now makes up over a third of total revenue. Investors seem to think the increased demand for servers could have trickle-down effects for other companies.

“The company’s results and commentary reinforced the outlook for strong AI-infrastructure demand while indicating resilient broader traditional server and storage spending,” wrote Woo Jin Ho, a senior technology analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “Lenovo’s $21 billion AI-server pipeline and remarks that demand is outpacing supply support Dell’s AI-demand momentum and point to robust orders.”

AI’s insatiable computing demand is reshaping the hardware industry and driving up server demand.

Dell will report first-quarter earnings on Thursday, May 28.

Take-Two’s “GTA 6” forecast feels absurdly conservative

Take-Two issued a 2027 net bookings forecast about $1 billion below Wall Street’s estimates. The stock is falling on Friday.

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The D-Wave 2X quantum system, is operated at the NASA Advanced Supercomputing facility's Quantum Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif., as seen on Tuesday December 8, 2015.

Quantum computing CEOs hope “validating” government backing proves their technology is no longer speculative

The government funding is a push to boost the foundational elements of quantum computing to get the industry ready for prime time. The CEOs of Infleqtion and D-Wave give us their thoughts.

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Ross Stores surges as Q1 results beat expectations, full-year guidance raised

Ross shares are rising after the company delivered strong Q1 results, with sales topping Wall Street’s projections.

The stock soared 6.3% just after the open.

Key numbers:

Earnings per share of $2.02 vs. $1.47 year over year (estimate: $1.72).
Sales of $6.01 billion, up 21% year over year (estimate: $5.61 billion).
Comparable sales growth of 17% (estimate: 8.58%).

CEO Jim Conroy attributed the results to better traffic in stores. “Customer traffic was the primary driver of the strong sales trend as compelling merchandise assortments, higher customer acquisition and engagement from our ongoing marketing initiatives, and an improved in‑store experience are resonating with shoppers.”

The company also noted that transaction volume grew across all key demographics, including “income levels, ethnicities, and age groups, including younger customers.” Sales were also likely buoyed by standard seasonal tailwinds, including consumer spending from tax refunds.

Backed by the strong quarter, the company lifted its full-year targets. Ross now projects same-store sales growth of 6% to 7%, up from the prior forecast of 3% to 4%, topping Wall Street’s estimate of 4.64%. It boosted its annual EPS guidance to a range of $7.50 to $7.74, versus the prior outlook of $7.02 to $7.36.

Ross Stores has been one of the retail sector’s standout performers this year, rising around 20% year to date as of Thursday’s close.