• In today’s CEO Daily: Diane Brady talks to billionaire Brad Jacobs who’s ringing the NYSE opening bell for the ninth time this morning.
• The markets: Bitcoin is booming.
• The big story: Israel and Hamas have officially signed a deal to end the war.
• Analyst notes from Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Apollo.
• Plus: All the news and watercooler chat from Fortune.
Why billionaire Brad Jacobs loves going public
Good morning. The first guest to ring the opening bell on the New York Stock Exchange was 10-year-old Leonard Ross, who won a TV game show about the stock market in 1956. One of the most prolific bell-ringers since then is billionaire and serial entrepreneur Brad Jacobs, who will step up to the NYSE podium for the 13th time this morning, his ninth time ringing the bell. The occasion is the move of QXO, a new player in the building products distribution industry, from Nasdaq to NYSE, where his other post-IPO companies are listed.
In an era where so few want to go public — the number of listed companies in the U.S. is half what it was 30 years ago — Brad Jacobs stands out as a true fan. ”It’s the most recognized stock exchange in the world,” he says. “All my companies are B2B. Being on the New York Stock Exchange helps us build a strong brand. Employees love being part of a public company. It motivates them to work harder. Customers like the transparency of being on this, on the big board. It gives us more credibility and it allows us to attract a broad range of investors.”
First, “you have access to more capital and on better terms. You have a larger number of investors,” he says.
“Number two, you get a report card every 90 days,” he added. “You have thousands of people voting with their wallet of how they think you’re doing … and every day you get tons of people giving you advice about how to improve the business.”
As for the bell ringing, Jacob says: “It never gets old. I get goosebumps. Literally. You’re there in the true center of capitalism. There’s so much energy and there’s so much rich history … You realize that you’re part of something so big, the free enterprise and free markets that have made so many millions of lives better. It makes me very proud to be an American and to be a member of the free world … That’s why people get weepy,” he says. “It’s a big deal.”
More news below.
Diane Brady
diane.brady@fortune.com
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• The markets: The S&P 500 eased back 0.2% to 5,937.34 … US futures were up 0.3% this morning at $5,994.00 … Bitcoin is over $101,000 … European markets were broadly up this morning … Asia was mixed.
On the radar
Israel and Hamas officially signed a peace deal this morning. The FT has a fascinating account of President-elect Donald Trump’s role in ending the Gaza conflict. The Israeli cabinet is set to vote on the deal today. The question is, will Netanyahu’s allies — who see the pact as a defeat — fall into line?
Scott Bessent, Trump’s Treasury pick, told a Senate hearing, “We must secure supply chains that are vulnerable to strategic competitors, and we must carefully deploy sanctions as part of a whole-of-government approach to address our national security requirements. And critically, we must ensure that the US dollar remains the world’s reserve currency.”
One of Elon Musk’s Starship rockets blew up. The Mechazilla tower still managed to catch the Super Heavy booster on its return, however.
Greenland’s ice is retreating because of climate change and that may cause a gold rush for its minerals.
China’s population declined for a third year in a row.
Teslas caused a headache for firefighters in LA because their lithium batteries burned longer.
TikTok will be banned on Sunday unless Trump acts. President Biden has chosen to not enforce the law, leaving it to Trump to decide whether he will rescue the platform.
From the analysts
• Apollo’s Torsten Sløk published another one of his scary bond charts: “Long-term interest rates have disconnected from Fed expectations … The worry in markets is that the additional premium in long-term interest rates is driven by fears about fiscal sustainability,” he says.
• Goldman Sachs on power demand for AI and data centers: “… power demand growth is much faster on an absolute basis and relative to GDP growth in EMs than in DMs, although we think this primarily reflects EMs being in an earlier phase of economic development, often associated with faster energy consumption growth from very low levels. … in the US we still see power demand growth acceleration as a regional, rather than national, trend,” Samantha Dart and team said in a note seen by Fortune.
• Wedbush on consumer AI usage: “Approximately 65% of consumers we reached engage with an AI product or tool on a weekly or daily basis. We expect engagement to improve over time as use cases and capabilities expand. Results were again most favorable for Gemini out of the top consumer-facing generative AI tools. 25% of consumers indicated that they have used Gemini AI in the last 3 months … above ChatGPT (24%), Meta AI (21%), and Copilot (13%),” according to a note by Scott Devitt seen by Fortune.
• JP Morgan on small and mid-cap stocks: “2025 starts with a consensus bullish backdrop. While this is never encouraging, we do see more upside potential this year for SMid-Caps in some regions than we have in recent years under best-case scenario assumptions,” according to a note by Eduardo Lecubarri and team, seen by Fortune.
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2025 Consumer Products Outlook According to the 2025 Deloitte Consumer Products Outlook, as consumers and retailers push back on rising prices, consumer products companies should consider adopting new strategies to drive profitable growth. How might industry leaders enhance product innovation and proactively reshape their companies’ portfolios in the coming year? Explore insights here
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Citigroup posts better-than-expected earnings
Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser told investors that “the best is still ahead” for the bank during its earnings call on Wednesday, where it announced a better-than-expected net income of $2.6 billion. The bank now enters its third calendar year under Frasier’s plan to save $2.5 billion by making the bank more efficient and cutting jobs. Fortune
TSMC revenue jumps on Nvidia demand
TSMC, Nvidia’s largest supplier of AI chips, saw its stock jump 5% on Thursday after announcing a 57% rise in net income for their most recent quarter. That coincides with a 37% increase in revenue to $27 billion, and a 110% stock rise over the past year. Fortune
UnitedHealth Group has first earnings call since Brian Thompson’s murder
UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty acknowledged that “the health system needs to function better” during the company’s earnings call on Thursday, where the company reported $400 billion in revenue, in line with expectations. Witty put the onus of many Americans’ frustration with the health care industry on pharmaceutical companies, which he believes charge patients too much. Fortune
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