Good Morning! Markets rallied after Trump’s win, posting the largest one-day gain in two years. Elon Musk may the biggest winner of the election after his net worth skyrocketed as Tesla gained 15%. The Fed is expected to cut rates today. Goldman Sachs will promote 80 new partners, Apollo’s assets hit $733 billion, and Planet Fitness wants to buy bankrupt Blink. Starbucks’ CEO went undercover, and the 4 top contenders to lead Treasury Department under Trump.

Plus, big tech CEOs back Trump’s win, key election winners and losers, and Brady’s 7 tips for being a good teammate.

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_{SQUEEZ OF THE DAY}

Crypto's BIG Comeback

One of the biggest winners in this week's election? The crypto bros. You probably haven’t heard from them in a while, and it feels like they’ve been in crypto winter forever (or at least since FTX combusted). 

But Coinbase and other crypto companies have been playing the long game, throwing hundreds of millions into the 2024 presidential and congressional races. They might have thrown a Hail Mary towards Trump… and it looks like they hit the jackpot.

President Trump once called digital currencies a scam. But earlier this year, he reversed course and declared he’d make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the world.”

After Trump’s win, Bitcoin is on a tear hitting an all-time high of over $76k. Traders are also betting it will hit $100k by year-end.

Trump’s plans include firing SEC Chair Gary Gensler, a major crypto antagonist, and pushing for pro-crypto legislation in Congress.

Crypto PACs also scored big in Senate races, unseating notable crypto skeptics like Ohio’s Sherrod Brown. With the regulatory tide turning, crypto enthusiasts are bracing for what they hope is a long-awaited bull run.

Takeaway: The crypto community is riding high on Trump’s surprising transformation. But whether this honeymoon phase will last depends on the follow-through. If promises turn into action, we could be witnessing the start of a crypto renaissance. If not, well, at least they’ll have something new to blame besides “the macro.”

_{PRESENTED BY MACABACUS}

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_HEADLINES

Top Reads

• Stocks have best day in 2 years (CNBC)

• Market winners and losers from Trump election win (Axios)

• Big Tech CEOs applaud Trump's win (Axios)

• What Trump’s election to the White House could mean for EVs (CNBC)

• 3 ways a Trump presidency could affect your money (CNBC)

• Why Elon Musk is the biggest winner of the election (Axios)

• Tesla jumps nearly 15% as Musk seen benefiting from White House win (Fox)

• Global ETFs slide as investors see Trump tariff policies hurting trade (CNBC)

• One thing the prediction markets missed (Axios)

• 4 top contenders to lead Treasury Department under President-elect Trump (Fox)

• Fed expected to cut rates again today (CNBC)

• The Federal Reserve as we know it could soon be turned on its head (CNN)

• Goldman Sachs to promote 80 new partners (NYP)

• Apollo assets under management reach $733 billion (YF)

• Starbucks CEO went undercover (WSJ)

• Planet Fitness enters 11th hour bid for bankrupt Blink Fitness (CNBC)

• Perplexity AI in final stages of raising $500M round at $9B valuation (CNBC)

• Bain, Apollo, and Brookfield all eyeing Blackstone's worker-housing firm (YF)

• Weekly mortgage demand tanks 11% as interest rates surge higher (CNBC)

• Starbucks holiday drinks return Thursday with new refreshers (Axios)

_{CAPITAL PULSE}

Markets Rundown

Stocks Rise on Trump Win: U.S. stocks soared as Donald Trump reclaimed the White House, clearing market uncertainty around a contested outcome. With Republicans retaining the Senate, investors are eyeing the potential for a GOP-led House as well.

Markets responded to Trump’s win with a risk-on reaction, as Treasury yields rose, the dollar strengthened, and cyclical stocks led gains. Small-cap stocks surged 5.5% on stronger growth hopes, but Treasury bonds faced pressure, with the 10-year yield hitting a four-month high due to inflation and fiscal concerns.

Positive Fundamentals Offer Stability: Despite post-election volatility, key fundamentals remain supportive for stocks. The U.S. economy continues to grow steadily with rising incomes, strong job creation, and healthy consumers. S&P 500 earnings growth is projected to accelerate from 0.5% in 2023 to 9% this year and 14% in 2025, supporting the ongoing bull market.

The Fed is also expected to gradually reduce interest rates through 2025, potentially lowering rates again this Thursday, aiming for a soft landing.

Opportunities Amid Market Volatility: With election uncertainty cleared, broadening market leadership continues as cyclical sectors and small- to mid-caps join the rally beyond tech. While tax cuts and deregulation may add upside, we advise caution on immediate post-election gains, which can be volatile.

Bond markets reflect renewed fiscal concerns amid rising deficits, but today’s higher yields present opportunities for longer-term fixed-income positioning, especially as the Fed is likely to continue easing through 2025.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Tesla ($TSLA) +15% after Musk is seen as benefiting from a White House win.

• (+) CVS Health Corp ($CVS) +11% because of leadership changes, posting earnings.

• (–) Super Micro Computer ($SMCI) -18% after financial update heightens investor concerns.

Private Dealmaking

• KKR is weighing a sale of JB Chemicals & Pharma for $750 million

• Blackstone is weighing a sale for Avery Lodge for around $750 million

• Tech Perplexity AI in final stages of raising $500 million

• MiddleGround Capital completed its acquisition of Stemmer Imaging for $335 million

• Recognize Bank, a digital bank for SMEs, raised $28 million

• Ema, a universal AI employee developer, raised $25 million

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

_{BOOK OF THE DAY}

Frostbite

How often do we open the fridge or peer into the freezer with the expectation that we’ll find something fresh and ready to eat? It’s an everyday act—but just a century ago, eating food that had been refrigerated was cause for both fear and excitement. The introduction of artificial refrigeration overturned millennia of dietary history, launching a new chapter in human nutrition. We could now overcome not just rot, but seasonality and geography. Tomatoes in January? Avocados in Shanghai? All possible. 

In Frostbite, New Yorker contributor and cohost of the award-winning podcast Gastropod Nicola Twilley takes readers on a tour of the cold chain from farm to fridge, visiting off-the-beaten-path landmarks such as Missouri’s subterranean cheese caves, the banana-ripening rooms of New York City, and the vast refrigerated tanks that store the nation’s orange juice reserves.

Today, nearly three-quarters of everything on the average American plate is processed, shipped, stored, and sold under refrigeration. It’s impossible to make sense of our food system without understanding the all-but-invisible network of thermal control that underpins it. Twilley’s eye-opening book is the first to reveal the transformative impact refrigeration has had on our health and our guts; our farms, tables, kitchens, and cities; global economics and politics; and even our environment.

“An engaging and far-reaching exploration of refrigeration, tracing its evolution from scientific mystery to globe-spanning infrastructure, and an essential investigation into how it has remade our entire relationship with food—for better and for worse.”

_{DAILY VISUAL}

Post Election: S&P 500 Gains 2.5%

_{PRESENTED BY RYSE}

Billion Dollar Exits & 20X Returns - Are Investors Sleeping on the Smart Home Space?

Best Buy has a knack for picking the up-and-coming tech products that go on to dominate the market. Their early bets on household items like Ring (acquired by Amazon for $1.2B) and Nest (acquired by Google for $3.2B) have a proven record of paying off. 

Now Best Buy is lifting the curtain on their latest find, launching RYSE’s SmartShades in over 120 retail stores. RYSE has already hit $9M+ in lifetime revenue with over 60,000 units sold, and the numbers are rising (along with the window shades). 

RYSE shareholders have seen their value increase 40% year-over-year, with strong upside remaining as they scale into retail and high-volume B2B channels. 

Invest in RYSE at just $1.75/share before it becomes a household name. 

_{DAILY ACUMEN}

Framestorming

In 2010, T-Mobile was struggling against giants like AT&T and Verizon, and attempted to sell the company to AT&T for $39 billion. However, the deal was blocked by regulators, leaving T-Mobile without a clear path forward. Desperation led T-Mobile's leadership to reframe their focus from merely surviving to beating the competition. They realized that mimicking larger competitors hadn’t worked, and a radical shift was necessary.

Led by CEO John Legere, T-Mobile decided to do the opposite of everything customers hated about telecoms. The "Un-carrier" strategy eliminated contracts, offered free international roaming, and promised no extra charges for music streaming. Instead of being another faceless carrier, T-Mobile positioned itself as the customer-friendly alternative. This bold move turned T-Mobile’s fortunes around, growing its market share from 10% to nearly 30%. Today, T-Mobile's market cap exceeds that of both AT&T and Verizon.

The turnaround exemplifies the power of reframing challenges, a concept known as "framestorming." By questioning their original approach, T-Mobile was able to redefine the problem and focus on what customers truly wanted. It teaches us that changing the way we define a problem can lead to better, more innovative solutions, which ultimately transform businesses and industries.

_{ENLIGHTENMENT}

Short Squeez Picks

• Tom Brady’s 7 tips for being a good teammate

• How to identity bad leadership with 7 warning signs

• What to do when told you’re not strategic enough

• How to time your workouts to improve focus and productivity

• The hidden costs of overthinking

_{MEME-A-PALOOZA}

Memes of the Day