Track the evolution of major financial and economic events
On May 21, BioMarin Pharmaceuticals announced positive results from its Phase 3 CANOPY-HCH-3 study for the dwarfism treatment VOXZOGO. These results led to a significant surge in the company's stock price, reflecting investor optimism about the potential effectiveness of the treatment.
Piper Sandler raised its price target for Charles Schwab to $105, citing potential revenue upside from net interest margin improvement. The company reported a net income of $2.48 billion and record revenue of $6.48 billion for Q1 2026. Schwab also announced a phased rollout of spot crypto trading for Bitcoin and Ethereum to retail clients. On May 22, the company issued $2.25 billion in senior notes to strengthen its balance sheet, bringing its total debt to approximately $59.5 billion.
Ralph Lauren reported Q4 revenue of $1.98 billion, up 17% year-over-year, beating expectations. Comparable sales surged 16% in North America and 25% in Asia. Pro forma EPS of $2.80 exceeded consensus estimates by 10%.
ACM Research reported a 34% year-over-year revenue growth in Q1 2026, with an EPS beat of $0.14. Simultaneously, the Chief People Officer sold 4,000 shares of Arm Holdings, while Arm's revenue rose by 20% in the fourth quarter. A securities fraud investigation into Arm was announced, while other companies like Applied Digital and ATRenew posted strong results during the same period.
DBS Group reported a record Q1 2026 income of SGD 5.95 billion, with a return on equity (ROE) of 16%. Wealth management non-interest income surged 18% year-on-year, supported by SGD 39 billion in net new money inflows.
SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, has filed for an initial public offering with a projected valuation of $1.75 trillion, potentially making it the largest IPO in history. This process is expected to generate fees ranging from $800 million to over $1 billion for banks. SpaceX plans to allocate 30% of shares to retail investors, noting that the company reported a net loss of $4.28 billion in the first quarter.
QinetiQ Group PLC raised its dividend by 24% and added £200 million to its share buyback program following a record order intake of £3.57 billion, an 83% increase. The funded order backlog increased to £4.42 billion. However, the company reported an earnings per share (EPS) of -$0.58, with revenue of $1.27 billion, missing analyst estimates, despite an 18% rise in underlying operating profit to £218 million.
On May 21, AMD announced an investment of over $10 billion in Taiwan to enhance AI infrastructure and partnerships. This investment aims to support the development of new technologies and improve processing capabilities in the field of artificial intelligence.
AvalonBay Communities and Equity Residential are nearing a merger deal to create a multifamily real estate giant. The combined entity will manage over 180,000 rental apartments nationwide. The merger is valued at $69 billion.
NVIDIA reported a record revenue of $81.6 billion for Q1 fiscal 2027, an 85% increase year-over-year. On the same day, THOR Industries announced its earnings release date for the third quarter of fiscal 2026, set for June 3, 2026. Other companies like Franklin Templeton, NIO, and Molson Coors also announced their financial results and new offerings.
On May 20, Reddit reported a 69% year-over-year revenue growth with a GAAP net margin of 30.8%. Management aims to double U.S. daily active users by investing in the feed and improving user retention. Additionally, ARPU increased by 44% year-over-year, with management guiding for a 45% revenue growth in the next quarter.
Hasbro's stock dropped by approximately 8.32% to $89.09, making it the worst performer in the S&P 500 during the session. The company reported first-quarter earnings and revenue that exceeded analyst expectations. However, Hasbro maintained its full-year outlook without raising it, causing investor concern.
TJX reported strong Q1 results with diluted EPS of $1.19, a 29% increase from the previous year. Comparable sales rose by 6% with a pretax profit margin of 12.0%, exceeding the company's internal plans. TJX also raised its Fiscal 2027 guidance for sales, profit margin, EPS, and share buyback programs. The company reported total revenue of $14.32 billion for the quarter, and the HomeGoods division saw a notable 9% growth in sales. This marks the fourth consecutive quarter that TJX has exceeded estimates for both earnings and revenue.
On May 20, Alphabet reported earnings of $5.11 per share and revenue of $109.9 billion, exceeding estimates. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share. Revenue saw a 22% year-over-year increase, with significant growth in the Cloud segment at 63%. Meanwhile, Stanley Druckenmiller sold all his Alphabet shares and shifted his investments to other AI-related stocks.
On May 20, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced plans to purchase 200 Boeing jets. China is also seeking an extension of the trade agreement reached with the United States in Kuala Lumpur last year.
On May 19, bankers began preparing a massive $49 billion debt sale for Paramount as part of a deal involving Warner Bros. On May 21, Wall Street banks led by JPMorgan increased the size of a loan package for Warner Bros to over $10 billion.
On May 19, 2026, Aedifica's EPRA Earnings rose by 19% to €74.5 million in Q1. The company also acquired 80% of Cofinimmo shares, with the legal merger expected to take effect on July 1, 2026. Additionally, S&P upgraded Aedifica's credit rating from BBB to BBB+ with a stable outlook.
On May 19, PepsiCo reported an 8.5% year-over-year revenue increase in Q1 2026, reaching $19.44 billion. The healthy snacks segment achieved double-digit growth, supporting the company's sustainable growth strategy.
On May 19, Armada raised $230 million in an oversubscribed Series B funding round. Following this funding round, Armada's valuation increased to $2 billion.
The UK unemployment rate rose to 5.0% in May 2023, with further increases expected in the coming months due to geopolitical tensions and the ongoing war in Iran. New data showed a decline in payrolls by 100,000 in April, reflecting weakened consumer demand. Additionally, petrol prices have hit their highest level since 2022, raising consumer concerns about future inflation.
AI Financial warned in an SEC filing that it may not survive the year due to liquidity and operational concerns. The company marked its 7.28 billion WLFI tokens at $706 million, down from a cost basis of approximately $1.46 billion. Additionally, the company disclosed that its token holdings remain locked amid ongoing liquidity concerns.
On May 18, a U.S. jury found Takeda Pharmaceutical liable for approximately $885 million in damages for delaying a generic version of its drug Amitiza. This ruling is part of an antitrust case focusing on Takeda's market practices.
On May 18, Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC issued a notice to investors regarding the lead plaintiff deadline for class action lawsuits against Super Micro Computer, Inc. The lawsuits allege a scheme to divert servers containing U.S. AI technology to China, violating export control laws between February 2024 and March 2026.
On May 18, the FCC approved EchoStar's $40 billion sale of wireless spectrum to AT&T and SpaceX. This sale is seen as a strategic move to enhance the communication capabilities of both companies. The agreement is expected to improve wireless communication services in the United States.
