Good Morning! The S&P 500 just had its best month since 2023, with 78% of companies beating earnings and easing recession fears. Elon’s Neuralink raised $600M at a $9B valuation, Jensen’s cashing in $800M of Nvidia stock, and Zuck has now earned $1B in Meta dividends.

Apollo’s keeping its ‘foot on the gas’ in dealmaking, Jamie Dimon is in favor of taxing PE carried interest and sounding the alarm on the bond market, and T-Swift has officially reclaimed her master recordings.

Plus: Hamptons summer rentals are down 30% from last year, AI is doing job interviews now, the rise of the ‘ghostworking’ trend, and should you take creatine?

Specialized AI tools are emerging as the leaders for alternative investments workflows which is why BlueFlame AI is ahead of the curve. Check out their platform and how BlueFlame AI can serve your firm's specific needs.

SQUEEZ OF THE DAY

Sports Valuations Double in 3 Years

The value of pro sports franchises nearly doubled between 2022 and 2025, driven by rising media rights, institutional capital, and the perception that teams are recession-proof. But Gerry Cardinale, founder of RedBird Capital and owner of AC Milan, is calling timeout.

In a CNBC Sport interview, Cardinale called current prices “a bit of an asset bubble,” adding he’s “pencils down” on new U.S. team deals.

“If you’re a student of history, you know that always going up is not a great arbiter for making an investment,” he said, citing inflated pricing and shaky business plans.

An index by Arctos Partners and the University of Michigan shows valuations have climbed for 60 straight years.

While firms like Arctos and Ares have bought 10% stakes in NFL teams, Cardinale isn’t interested in minority ownership without control. “I want involvement in governance and underwriting the plan,” he said.

He also questioned long-term media rights assumptions, especially for lower-rated leagues. With few publicly traded teams, investors are mostly relying on estimates from Forbes or private models to gauge value.

Takeaway: Sports investing has minted fortunes but also pushed prices beyond fundamentals. With limited transparency, minimal voting rights, and lofty projections built on media growth, seasoned investors like Cardinale are choosing discipline over hype. Scarcity and vanity got us here, fundamentals will have to take it from here…

HEADLINES

Top Reads

• S&P 500 posts best month since 2023 as Wall Street ignores trade war (CNN)

• Q1 saw 78% of S&P 500 companies beat estimates (FactSet)

• Elon Musk’s Neuralink raised $600M at a $9B valuation (Semafor)

• Jensen Huang plans to sell $800M of Nvidia stock (MSN)

• Jensen Huang says its auto business is a multitrillion-dollar opportunity (YF)

• Mark Zuckerberg has now earned $1B in dividends from Meta (X)

• HSBC retreats from banking smaller U.S. businesses (WSJ)

• Taylor Swift buys back her master recordings (BBC)

• Trump accuses China of violating preliminary trade deal (CNBC)

• Apollo keeps foot on the gas in dealmaking (WSJ)

• Dimon says China isn’t America’s biggest threat. It’s ‘the enemy within’ (CNN)

• JPMorgan CEO Dimon backs US taxing carried interest (YF)

• Dimon calls on U.S. to stockpile bullets, rare earth instead of Bitcoin (Fox)

• Fed holds rates steady despite “as-good-as-it-gets” inflation print (YF)

• Inflation rate slipped to 2.1% in April, lower than expected (CNBC)

• Wall Street tower seeks $850M for residential conversion (BB)

• Summer rentals in the Hamptons are down 30% (CNBC)

• AI is now conducting job interviews (BB)

• The 'ghostworking' trend, explained (FC)

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CAPITAL PULSE

Markets Rundown

Market Update

• Stocks closed nearly flat on Friday, wrapping up a solid week despite renewed trade tensions. President Trump accused China of breaching their trade agreement, while Treasury Secretary Bessent said talks had stalled.

• Consumer staples and utilities outperformed, while energy and discretionary sectors lagged.

• The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.40%, as softer inflation data supported bond markets.

• Asia traded mostly lower overnight, reacting to U.S. court rulings on tariffs. Oil prices dipped ahead of the OPEC+ weekend meeting.

Economic Data Highlights

• PCE Inflation (April): Headline PCE rose 2.1% YoY (vs. 2.2% expected); core PCE slowed to 2.5%. Goods prices declined while services inflation moderated, led by a 4.2% shelter reading.

• Jobless Claims: Increased to 240K, above forecasts of 226K; continued claims rose to 1.92M.

• 10-year Treasury yield: Closed at 4.40%, down 3 bps on the day.

Reported Earnings

None of note reported on Friday.

Earnings Today

• Credo Technology (CRDO) – Reporting June 2 (After Market Close): Focus on AI infrastructure, hyperscale design wins, and Ethernet connectivity in next-gen data centers.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Ulta ($ULTA) +12% after the company raised its annual profit forecast.

• (+) Palantir ($PLTR) +8% because the company got a new federal contract.

• (–) Gap, Inc. ($GAP) -20% after Trump tariffs could cost the company $150M.

Private Dealmaking

• EOG Resources bought Encino Acquisition Partners for $5.6 billion

• ClickHouse, a database startup, raised $350 million

• SnorkelAI, an AI model evaluation tool developer, raised $100 million

• David Protein, a high-protein bar maker, raised $75 million

• Empathy, a grief management mobile app, raised $72 million

• Cerby, an identity security automation startup, raised $40 million

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

BOOK OF THE DAY

Bad Company

Private equity runs our country, yet few Americans have any idea how ingrained it is in their lives. Private equity controls our hospitals, daycare centers, supermarket chains, voting machine manufacturers, local newspapers, nursing home operators, fertility clinics, and prisons.

The industry even manages highways, municipal water systems, fire departments, emergency medical services, and owns a growing swath of commercial and residential real estate.

Private equity executives, meanwhile, are not only among the wealthiest people in American society, but have grown to become modern-day barons with outsized influence on our politics and legislation.

CEOs of firms like Blackstone, Carlyle, KKR, and Apollo are rewarded with seats in the Senate and on the boards of the country’s most august institutions; meanwhile, entire communities are hollowed out as a result of their buyouts. Workers lose their jobs. Communities lose their institutions. Only private equity wins.

Acclaimed journalist Megan Greenwell’s Bad Company unearths the hidden story of private equity by examining the lives of four American workers that were devastated as private equity upended their employers and communities: a Toys R Us floor supervisor, a rural doctor, a local newspaper journalist, and an affordable housing organizer.

Taken together, their individual experiences also pull back the curtain on a much larger project: how private equity reshaped the American economy to serve its own interests, creating a new class of billionaires while stripping ordinary people of their livelihoods, their health care, their homes, and their sense of security.

Timely and masterfully told, Bad Company is a forceful rebuke of America’s most consequential, yet least understood economic forces.

“One of our finest journalists embarks on a harrowing, humane inquiry into the state of American business and comes away with a classic statement on 21st century culture. It’s wonderful.”

DAILY VISUAL

U.S. Tops Billionaires Rankings

For more investing visuals and insights, subscribe to Carbon Finance.

PRESENTED BY INFRAHUB COMPUTE

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• Income-producing, hands-off assets

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• Fully trackable through a real-time monitoring dashboard

This is the first offering of its kind. Until now, only Big Tech and hyperscalers had access to opportunities like this.

With the AI industry expected to hit $1.8 trillion by 2030, this is your chance to own the infrastructure behind the boom.

DAILY ACUMEN

Sweating Together

Most workouts build muscle—but some build community, too.

Group fitness classes aren’t just about burning calories.

They tap into something deeper: our human need for connection, support, and structure.

Studies show that exercising in a group can boost mental health, extend life expectancy, and reduce stress more effectively than solo workouts.

It’s not just the science—it’s the experience.

A good coach removes the guesswork, keeps you safe, and helps you level up, while those around you become more than workout buddies—they become accountability partners, cheerleaders, even lifelong friends.

When motivation runs low, showing up for others often helps you show up for yourself.

And sometimes, having someone beside you in the trenches—cheering, sweating, struggling—makes all the difference. 

Whether you're chasing a PR or just trying to stay consistent, the right group can turn fitness from a chore into a highlight of your week.

In fitness and in life, progress thrives in good company.

ENLIGHTENMENT

Short Squeez Picks

• How to deal with a tough job market right now

• The link between meditation and memory

• Navy SEALs' strategies to turn stress into success

• Creatine is all the rage, but should you take it?

• 3 ways to snap out of sleepwalking through life

MEME-A-PALOOZA

Memes of the Day

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