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Luke Kawa

Elon Musk lost $33.9 billion in one day. Here’s what he could have bought instead of tweeting into self-immolation.

The world’s richest man, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, lost $33.9 billion (per Bloomberg) amid a full-blown public tantrum toward US President Donald Trump on Thursday that started with a disagreement over US debt and legislative priorities before escalating into not-thinly-veiled accusations of pedophilia.

Roughly $20 billion of Musk’s disappearing wealth comes from the cratering of shares of Tesla, which had its 11th-worst day on record yesterday.

$33.9 billion is a big number. If you can easily put it in perspective, congratulations; please invite me on one of your mega yachts. But for the rest of us...

  • That’s roughly as much as the Dallas Cowboys, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Rams, and New York Yankees franchises are worth combined, per Forbes’ 2024 annual list.

  • If, instead of tweeting, Musk just decided to send someone random all the money he’d end up losing on Thursday, that person would be the 55th-richest person in the world, per Bloomberg’s RICH <GO> list.

  • You could buy nearly 500,000 Cybertrucks. It’s unclear when you’d be able to take delivery, but that would definitely help Tesla’s forward earnings estimates inflect higher.

  • Musk has shown an interest in mixed martial arts. He’d probably have more flexibility to schedule a scrap with Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg (and line up a ref and some judges willing to score the bout favorably) if he bought TKO, the UFC owner with a market cap of about $33.4 billion.

  • $33.9 billion is nearly enough to account for all the cumulative net income that Tesla has generated over its history as a publicly traded company ($35 billion).

Musk-Trump isn’t the most costly divorce we’ve seen, though. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos settled with Mackenzie Scott for about $38 billion.

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WSJ reports GameStop is preparing an offer for eBay and has quietly been building a stake in the company

GameStop is preparing an offer for eBay and has been quietly building a stake in the company, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal, a move it calls “part of CEO Ryan Cohen’s audacious plan to turn the trailer into a $100 billion-plus juggernaut.”

From WSJ:

GameStop, which has a market value of around $12 billion, has been quietly building a stake in eBay’s shares ahead of a potential offer, the people said. EBay is several times GameStop’s size, with a market value of around $46 billion. 

GameStop could submit an offer for eBay as soon as later this month, the people said. 

If eBay isn’t receptive, Cohen could decide to take the offer directly to eBay’s shareholders, one of the people added. Details of the potential offer for eBay couldn’t be learned. 

Shares of GameStop rose 7.4% after hours following the report, while eBay soared 12%. 

GameStop, which has a market value of around $12 billion, has been quietly building a stake in eBay’s shares ahead of a potential offer, the people said. EBay is several times GameStop’s size, with a market value of around $46 billion. 

GameStop could submit an offer for eBay as soon as later this month, the people said. 

If eBay isn’t receptive, Cohen could decide to take the offer directly to eBay’s shareholders, one of the people added. Details of the potential offer for eBay couldn’t be learned. 

Shares of GameStop rose 7.4% after hours following the report, while eBay soared 12%. 

US airlines pop on report Spirit preparing to shut down as government rescue deal fails to gain support

US airlines are spiking on Friday following a Wall Street Journal report that low-budget carrier Spirit Airlines is preparing to shut down. According to CBS News, the airline could cease operations as early as Saturday, barring an intervention.

In late April, President Trump said he would “love somebody to buy Spirit.” The administration weighed a $500 million rescue package, though it received significant blowback from members of Congress and ultimately didn’t receive support from Spirit’s creditors.

On Friday, Trump told reporters that the administration has given Spirit a “final proposal.”

Shares of Spirit’s rivals surged on the report, with budget carriers like Frontier Airlines and JetBlue climbing by double digits. The big four — Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, and Southwest Airlines — rose by low single digits. Alaska Air and Allegiant also saw a bump.

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Estée Lauder gets a glow-up after earnings beat, guidance hike

Estée Lauder shares are soaring after the beauty giant released Q3 earnings results that topped expectations and raised its full-year outlook, while also expanding its restructuring plan.

The key numbers:

  • Revenue of $3.71 billion (compared to analysts’ estimate of $3.69 billion).

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.91 (estimate: $0.65).

Estée Lauder also lifted its full-year earnings outlook to a range of $2.35 to $2.45 per share, up from $2.05 to $2.25 previously.

The bottom line is getting flattered by job cuts, with management increasing that target to as many as 10,000 roles, up from a prior range of 5,800 to 7,000, as part of a broader effort to streamline operations and shift toward faster-growing sales channels.

The rally comes after a tough stretch for the stock, which is down more than 20% year to date, with the results inspiring hope that its turnaround efforts will bear fruit.

CEO Stéphane de La Faverie said fiscal 2026 is “promising to be the pivotal year we intended,” with the company expecting to restore organic sales growth and expand margins for the first time in four years.

Amid these positive signals, Estée Lauder flagged risks from tariffs, geopolitical tensions, and potential disruptions tied to the Middle East.

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