Good Morning! Apollo is emerging as the early winner from the private credit panic. Dunkin' owner Inspire Brands filed confidentially for a US IPO. And e-scooter company Lime filed to go public despite a $59M net loss on $887M in revenue.

Michael Burry says today's market feels like the last months of the 1999-2000 bubble. And Apollo and Blackstone are weighing a $35B financing package for Broadcom.

Plus: How 46 firms accounted for half the wealth generated by the stock market over the past 100 years, PE firms are tapping Europe's junk market for dividends as exits stall, and is protein or fiber more important in your diet?

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SQUEEZ OF THE DAY

Latest 6,000% Meme Stock

GameStop-like meme stock energy is back. But this time, it’s an obscure space company competing with SpaceX. AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ: ASTS), the satellite company trying to beam cell service directly to regular phones from space, has become one of the wildest stocks in the market.

At its peak, shares were up nearly 6,000% over 22 months, turning a forgotten SPAC-era name into a $25 billion company. That makes AST bigger than nearly a third of the S&P 500. And annual revenue is just a paltry $71 million. 

The rally is being powered by a 50,000-strong online investor community called the SpaceMob, led by an anonymous hype man known only as the Kook. When the stock sells off, the Kook posts rallying cries on X, the SpaceMob piles in, and the dip becomes what they call a "Kook Bottom." 

Members track AST's satellites, monitor parking-lot activity at company facilities, and debate the company's future like they are covering the next Nvidia. It is part due diligence, part cult, part Reddit fever dream, and it looks like it’s working.

To be fair, AST is not a bankrupt mall retailer. The company has real technology, real deals with AT&T, Verizon, and Vodafone, and Alphabet as one of its largest shareholders.

The bull case is that AST becomes critical infrastructure for space-based cellular coverage in markets where traditional towers don't exist. The bear case is that it is fighting SpaceX, Amazon, and gravity itself while trading at a valuation that already assumes it wins. 

And rival SpaceX is reportedly preparing for an IPO and has discussed setting aside as much as 30% of shares for retail investors, potentially more than $20 billion in stock orders for individual buyers. Elon Musk already understands retail better than almost anyone on Wall Street, and AST's 6,000% run is proof that the crowd still has enormous firepower when it finds the right story.

The ride is not smooth. AST has already fallen more than 40% from its January peak, still needs to launch dozens more satellites, and has to prove the business model before the dream pricing becomes indefensible. 

Takeaway: Meme mania didn't die, and retail is buying a satellite company because it might become the SpaceX of public markets. AST has a shot at something enormous but it also has a $25B valuation, $71M in revenue, and an online mob calling bottoms with surfer memes. That's the modern market in one trade: fundamentals, fandom, and financial insanity, all strapped to the same rocket.

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HEADLINES

Top Reads

• Jane Street notches record quarter with $16.1 billion of trading revenue (BB)

• Dunkin' owner Inspire Brands confidentially files for IPO (CNBC)

• Apollo is emerging as the early winner from private credit panic (BB)

• Lime files for IPO with plans for Nasdaq listing (Axios)

• Michael Burry says the market today feels like 'the last months of the 1999-2000 bubble' (CNBC)

• Apollo, Blackstone weigh $35 billion financing for Broadcom (BB)

• 46 firms accounted for half the wealth generated by the stock market over the past 100 years  (CNBC)

• PE firms tap Europe’s junk market for dividends as exits stall (BB)

• Anthropic's Mythos set off a cybersecurity 'hysteria.' Experts say the threat was already here (CNBC)

• Jack Daniel's and BuzzBallz: Sazerac sees potential in their pairing (BB)

• Meta embrace of AI is making its employees miserable (NYT)

• Rocket Lab surges 34% in best day ever on revenue beat, record-setting launch deal (CNBC) 

• Micron surges more than 30% on week as memory chip rally goes parabolic (CNBC)

• States crack down on tax break for wealthy investors (CNBC) 

• Risk of $5 gasoline can no longer be dismissed, JPMorgan says (BB)

• SoftBank cuts target for OpenAI margin loan by 40% to $6 billion (BB)

• Hedge fund trader gazumps Millennium again to join Citadel (BB)

• The hottest ETF since bitcoin mania just added $1 billion in a day (CNBC)

• Fitness wearable Whoop to offer on-demand clinician access to U.S. users (CNBC) 

• Citi targets $700 billion of prime balances in hedge fund push (BB)

CAPITAL PULSE

Markets Rundown

Market Update

• Stocks reached fresh record highs, with the S&P 500 posting its sixth straight weekly gain

• Better-than-expected employment data reinforced confidence in the economy’s resilience

• Optimism around a potential Iran peace agreement continued to support sentiment

• Technology and semiconductor stocks once again led the market higher

• Treasury yields and the U.S. dollar both moved lower as inflation concerns eased modestly

Labor Market Remains a Major Support

• April payrolls significantly exceeded expectations, pointing to improving labor-market momentum

• The unemployment rate held steady, while hiring broadened across more sectors

• Recent labor data now suggests conditions are not just stabilizing, but potentially strengthening

• Healthy employment trends should continue supporting household spending despite elevated energy costs

• Stronger labor conditions likely keep the Fed on hold for now, with rate cuts pushed toward later in the year

Earnings Continue to Power the Rally

• Earnings remain the clearest driver behind equity-market strength

• First-quarter S&P 500 profit growth is tracking above 25%, far stronger than expected earlier in the quarter

• Technology continues to dominate, supported by strong AI infrastructure and semiconductor demand

• High corporate profit margins are helping offset geopolitical uncertainty and elevated oil prices

• Broad earnings strength across sectors is reducing dependence on only a few mega-cap winners

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Rocket Lab ($RKLB) +34% after posting record Q1 revenue of $200M (+64% YoY) and announcing its largest launch contract ever.

• (–) CoreWeave ($CRWV) -11% because Q1 earnings showed an adjusted loss of $1.12/share, wider than the $0.90 expected

• (–) Cloudfare ($NET) -24% after announcing it would cut roughly 20% of its workforce as part of an AI-driven restructuring.

Prediction Markets

• Strange videos of UFOs have been surfacing of X recently.

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

Private Dealmaking

• Moonshot AI, a Beijing-based AI lab, raised around $2 billion

• Ramp, a corporate card and expense management firm, is raising $750 million​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

• Quantum Motion, a silicon-based quantum computing developer, raised $160 million

• Cytospire Therapeutics, a developer of immune cell engagers, raised around $83 million

• Tessera Labs, an ERP modernization platform, raised $60 million

• Kanvas Biosciences, a developer of precision microbiome therapeutics, raised $48 million

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

BOOK OF THE DAY

Never Settle

Description:
A tactical guide from Attia Qureshi and John Richardson on mastering persuasion and negotiation in both business and everyday life. The book focuses on understanding incentives, controlling emotional dynamics, and communicating with clarity under pressure. Through practical frameworks and real-world examples, it teaches how to create leverage, navigate difficult conversations, and secure better outcomes without damaging relationships.

Book Length: 272 pages
Release Date: May 12, 2026

Ideal For:
Professionals, leaders, and anyone looking to improve negotiation, influence, and communication in high-stakes situations.

The people who get the best outcomes are rarely the loudest they are the ones who understand leverage and human behavior best.

DAILY VISUAL

Record High Number of 18-Year-Olds in the US Today

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It is a strategy many billionaires use: borrowing against appreciating assets to fund spending while deferring or avoiding capital gains taxes.

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DAILY ACUMEN

Sleep Trade

Sleeping six hours a night instead of seven and a half does not make you tougher. It makes you cognitively equivalent to someone who is legally drunk, and the data on this is no longer remotely controversial.

Reaction time, judgment, emotional regulation, memory consolidation. All measurably impaired in ways the impaired person almost never notices about themselves.

The cruel part is that the people most likely to underestimate the cost are also the ones whose jobs depend most heavily on the faculties being eroded. You cannot out-discipline biology. You can only choose whether to pay the bill in lost performance now or in compounding health problems later.

The cheapest, most underrated edge available in any high-performance career is a full night of sleep, and almost nobody is taking it.

ENLIGHTENMENT

Short Squeez Picks

• Is protein or fiber more important?

• Why discomfort is the key to leadership

• What really controls appetite?

• A life hack for the ultra-wealthy is going mainstream

• 4 stoic rules to master your emotions at work

MEME-A-PALOOZA

Memes of the Day

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