Good Morning! New York's share of the venture capital seed funding market declined last year while San Francisco's soared. OpenAI is building AI tools for finance and legal in a direct race with Anthropic. And Princeton abandoned its 2022 pledge to divest from publicly traded oil and gas companies.

Citadel is launching a program that will pay other hedge funds for trading ideas. Blackstone closed its largest Asia private equity fund at over $13 billion. And Victoria's Secret spiked 47% after a big earnings beat and raised sales outlook.

Plus: FS KKR is selling $400 million bonds in a rare junk-rated BDC deal, and what a short seller's conviction might mean for Wall Street.

Get custom-built AI deployments for your firm today.

SQUEEZ OF THE DAY

Elon’s 0.75% IPO Fees

Elon Musk is targeting a $75B raise at a $1.8T valuation in what would be the largest IPO in history, and he's negotiating to pay less than 0.75% in underwriting fees. Smaller IPOs typically pay 4% to 7%, and mega-deals usually clear 1%. Alibaba's $25B listing in 2014 paid roughly 1.2%, about $300M.

The last time banks swallowed 0.75% was GM's post-bankruptcy return in 2010, when Wall Street was under political fire for profiting off a taxpayer-bailed-out automaker. Even Saudi Aramco, the most tightfisted issuer in modern finance, was expected to pay north of 1% before it sidelined global banks entirely.

The math still works, which tells you everything about the size. Less than 0.75% of $75B is still about $500M, one of the biggest fee events ever for a public listing, split across Goldman, Morgan Stanley, and 21 other firms. The two leads take the largest cut, the spoils of a mandate Goldman reportedly won in part by sliding into Musk's DMs on X.

SpaceX, Anthropic, OpenAI, and Alphabet are all hitting public markets within months of each other. The pipeline is historic, but so is the ask, hundreds of billions in new equity hitting investors in a compressed window, with fees already being compressed to keep the mandates.

SpaceX is probably in a category of its own, and the deal will get done. The real question for Wall Street is what comes after: if the market absorbs SpaceX cleanly, the next wave gets easier. If demand cracks under the weight of the queue, the banks that already accepted 0.75% will be doing roadshows for OpenAI and Anthropic in a much harder room.

Takeaway: For bankers, this is a mixed blessing. $500M sounds extraordinary until you remember it's split 23 ways. The league-table credit, the relationship, and the bragging rights are all real. But the economics are thin, the absorption risk is building, and the fee precedent SpaceX just set follows every banker into the next pitch.

PRESENTED BY ENDEX

Endex Releases 1H 2026 Buy-Side Deployment Findings

Endex released key findings from their the large-scale deployments across PE firms, and hedge funds. Here are the end-to-end workflows that ran most frequently in the 1H of 2026:

1. CIM to Excel Ingesting a target's CIM and pulling historicals, segment details, and KPIs

2. Data Cuts Building outputs for datapack and IC memos (e.g., customer overview & concentration, revenue and cost builds)

3. Cohort Retention Analysis Cleaning and normalizing customer data, building MRR waterfall and retention cohort waterfalls

4. LBO Modeling Building sections of a model from scratch including (e.g. M&A scenario modeling, returns analysis)

Custom deployments are critical to embedding the exact workflows, templates, and standards of each firm, for end-to-end automation. In partnership with leading research labs, Endex's team of investment bankers and private equity professionals is bringing firm-specific AI-analyst capabilities to Wall Street.

HEADLINES

Top Reads

• The Big Apple is no longer big enough for New York venture firms (WSJ)

• OpenAI plans AI tools for finance, legal in race with Anthropic (BB)

• Princeton endowment backtracks on oil divestiture pledge (Axios)

• Citadel set to pay for trading ideas from other hedge funds (BB)

• Blackstone raises largest-ever Asia private equity fund (CNBC)

• Victoria's Secret beats Q1 2026 earnings estimates as turnaround gains traction (CNBC)

• FS KKR is selling $400 million bonds in rare junk-rated BDC deal (BB)

• SpaceX IPO employees negotiate together for lower fees, tax-saving tools (BB)

• Rekindled IPOs fuel private equity hopes for exit revival (WSJ)

• Private credit firms, insurers brace for looming legal storm (WSJ)

• Audemars Piguet watch prices remain stable amid Swatch collab buzz (CNBC)

• Trump signs executive order asking AI companies to give government early access to models (CNBC)

• Alphabet's stock wobbles after $80 billion equity fundraising (WSJ)

• What a short seller’s conviction might mean for Wall Street (NYT)

CAPITAL PULSE

Markets Rundown

Market Update

• U.S. equities finished higher as investors prepared for a heavy week of labor-market data

• Cyclical sectors led gains, with materials, energy, and industrials outperforming

• Small caps outperformed, with the Russell 2000 rising 0.9% on stronger-than-expected labor data

• Communication services lagged after concerns around increased AI spending weighed on sentiment

• Treasury yields were little changed, with the 10-year yield at 4.45% and the 2-year yield at 4.05%

• WTI crude oil edged higher toward $94 per barrel as uncertainty around U.S.-Iran negotiations persisted

Labor Market Data Takes Center Stage

• JOLTS job openings increased to 7.6 million, the highest level in roughly two years and a sign labor demand remains firm

• Investors now shift focus to ADP employment data tomorrow and the May jobs report on Friday

• Consensus expectations call for roughly 100,000 payroll additions with unemployment holding steady at 4.3%

• Labor conditions remain balanced, with hiring modest but layoffs still historically low

• Stable employment trends continue to support consumer spending and broader economic growth, even as inflation and geopolitical risks remain key watch items

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Victoria’s Secret ($VSXY) +47% after crushing Q1 estimates and raising its full-year revenue outlook.

• (+) Marvell Technology ($MRVL) +33% because Q1 revenue hit a record as surging custom AI chip demand from hyperscalers drove accelerating data center momentum.

• (–) Virgin Galactic ($SPCE) -39% after announcing plans to redeem $30.5M of first-lien notes by issuing common shares to bondholders.

Prediction Markets

• Game 1 of the NBA Finals starts today.

• Trade on real-world events with Kalshi. Use code OWS to get a $10 bonus when you trade $10.

Private Dealmaking

• Hellman & Friedman, acquired Hyve, a B2B events business, for around $1.8 billion

• Impulse Space, a developer of highly-maneuverable spacecraft, raised $500 million

• DriveNets, an Israeli networking software startup, raised $410 million

• Mach Industries, an aerospace defense-tech startup, raised $300 million

• Spiro, an African electric mobility provider, raised $215 million

• ZutaCore, a liquid cooling startup, raised $100 million

For more PE, VC & M&A deals, subscribe to our Buysiders newsletter.

BOOK OF THE DAY

Off The Ground

Description:
An entrepreneurial story from Case Lawrence about building a business through adversity, near failure, and relentless persistence. The book follows the journey from financial distress to creating a billion-dollar company, exploring the realities of scaling, surviving cash crunches, and making high-stakes decisions under pressure. More than a business memoir, it highlights how resilience, adaptability, and execution often matter more than having the perfect plan.

Book Length: 288 pages
Release Date: May 26, 2026

Ideal For:
Founders, operators, and entrepreneurs navigating uncertainty, scaling challenges, or looking for lessons on resilience and company building.

Most companies do not fail because the vision was wrong, they fail because they run out of time before they figure it out.

DAILY VISUAL

Software Stocks Strike Back

PRESENTED BY STELRIX

How the Rich Don’t Pay Capital Gains Tax

The wealthy don’t just make money differently, they access it differently. Instead of selling appreciating assets and triggering capital gains taxes, many borrow against their portfolios to unlock liquidity while their investments continue compounding in the background. This strategy, often called “buy, borrow, die,” allows investors to use stocks, ETFs, or other assets as collateral for low interest credit without creating a taxable sale event. The advantage is not only tax deferral, but also maintaining ownership, preserving long term market exposure, and keeping compounding intact while still accessing cash when needed. What was once a strategy reserved for ultra high net worth private banking clients is now becoming increasingly accessible through modern investment backed credit platforms, like Stelrix.

Explore Stelrix’s Instagram for luxury and finance news and sign-up for their waitlist today.

DAILY ACUMEN

Cost of Indecision

Not deciding is itself a decision, and it is usually the most expensive one available. The opportunity that quietly closes while you are weighing it. The relationship that drifts because nobody was willing to define it. The position that goes against you while you debate whether to act. Indecision feels like preserving optionality. It functions as a slow, continuous payment to the status quo.

The people who consistently outperform are not necessarily smarter or better informed. They are just willing to act on incomplete information faster than everyone else. Speed of decision-making, given roughly the same inputs, is one of the most underrated edges in any field. The information will never be complete. Waiting for it to be is just a sophisticated form of stalling.

A good decision made quickly almost always beats a great decision made too late.

ENLIGHTENMENT

Short Squeez Picks

• Why do fast-moving leaders fail at their jobs?

• 3 tips for navigating the highs and lows of dating apps

• How aerodynamics and drafting can benefit all runners

• Decluttering tips to make your home feel bigger

• Why you should lean into emotional intelligence for your first job

MEME-A-PALOOZA

Memes of the Day

📣 Partner With Us: Get in front of an audience of over 1 million finance professionals, business leaders, and policy influencers. Submit a partnership inquiry.

📊 Wall Street Comp & Culture Data: Get the most detailed comp, carry, and culture insights across 800+ Wall Street firms. Explore the data.

📈 Grow With Us: Work directly with the Overheard on Wall Street team to scale your finance brand. Schedule your free consult.

🧢 Wall Street Shop: Explore our collection of finance-themed apparel and merchandise. Visit the shop.

📬 Deals Newsletter – Buysiders: A curated roundup of major M&A, private equity, and VC activity. Plus access to private deal flow. Subscribe here.