The hottest trend in food right now isn’t concocting spicy chicken sandwiches or packing protein into everything—it’s going private.

Today, Reuters reported that Magnum is exploring a potential sale that would take the ice cream giant private, drawing early interest from private equity firms including Blackstone and CD&R. Shares jumped 11.12% on the news. Meanwhile, Papa John’s International is reportedly in the crosshairs of a potential buyout led by Irth Capital Management and major franchisee Nadeem Bajwa that would take the company out of public markets. Shares gained 6.14% today.

Ice Cream, Pizza, and Burgers: Rounding out the major food groups, Wendy’s also sparked renewed buyout speculation after reports that Trian Fund Management, led by Nelson Peltz, was exploring a potential take-private deal. Peltz previously floated a bid for the burger chain back in 2022, but rapidly rising and unpredictable interest rates ultimately derailed the effort. Wendy’s shares are up 9.86% over the past five days.

A recipe for buyouts

Consumer-facing food companies are navigating a difficult environment amid geopolitical uncertainty. Higher input costs—including fuel and ingredients—continue to pressure the supply side, while softer labor conditions, strained household budgets, and the rise of GLP-1 weight loss drugs are weighing on consumer demand. Together, those pressures have contributed to softer foot traffic and tighter margins across the industry.

That pressure has pushed down valuations, creating an opening for private equity firms that believe much of the downside is already reflected in stock prices. On the other hand, private equity now broadly expects interest rates to stabilize over time, making debt financing more predictable and leveraged buyouts easier to structure.

The other side of the PE playbook

Amid the food sector deal frenzy, Inspire Brands—owned by Roark Capital Group and parent to chains including Dunkin’, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Jimmy John’s—is preparing for an IPO.

The company is a restaurant giant in its own right, operating more than 33,300 locations globally and generating roughly $33.4 billion in sales last year. According to reports, Inspire is seeking a valuation of roughly $20 billion.

The move highlights the other side of the private equity cycle: While firms are looking to take pressured or undervalued food companies private, once they’ve completed a turnaround they’re prepared to bring larger, more mature consumer brands back to public markets. And with Jersey Mike’s also reportedly filing for an IPO last month, the next course of restaurant dealmaking may be coming out of the kitchen.—SY

🟢 What’s up

• Microsoft rose 3.05% after Bill Ackman revealed that Pershing Square began building a stake in the beleaguered tech company earlier this year.
• ServiceNow gained 5.05% on a new multiyear partnership with Experian focused on autonomous AI agents.
• Figma jumped 13.24% after beating earnings expectations, with revenue surging 46% year over year.
• Dexcom climbed 6.59% after reaching an agreement with Elliott Investment Management to add two new independent directors.
• Gemini Space Station surged 6.08% after securing a $100 million investment from Winklevoss Capital and reporting stronger-than-expected quarterly results.
• SolarEdge Technologies advanced 22.93% as customers rushed to lock in commercial solar orders ahead of tax credit deadlines.

What’s down

• Coinbase slipped 7.82%, giving back gains from the prior session’s crypto regulation rally.
• Xanadu Quantum Technologies dropped 10.11% as widening losses overshadowed stronger revenue growth.
• Cerebras Systems slid 10.08%, reversing part of its massive IPO rally.
• Tango Therapeutics tumbled 17.33% after reporting zero revenue for the quarter.
• Intel declined 6.18% for a third straight session as rivals AMD and Arm Holdings continued taking server chip market share.

It’s always interesting to take a peak into the investing habits of the rich and powerful—so when the President of the United States revealed his investments in a quarterly filing with the US Office of Government Ethics yesterday, we had to give it a look.

The Q1 report outlines President Trump’s stunning 3,642 trades made during the first quarter of the year. The value of the individual trades are detailed in ranges from $1,001 to $25,000,000, so the total amount that Trump traded last quarter could range from $220 million to $750 million.

The President’s biggest buys included Apple and several Vanguard funds, while Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta were among his biggest sales. But Trump’s overall strategy can best be described as ‘buy the dip’: POTUS spent Q1 accruing shares of software stocks like Oracle, Workday, and ServiceNow while those companies were slumping in February—a savvy move given the industry’s recent recovery.

However, as NOTUS revealed, some of the trades were even more timely, including the purchase of $500,000 to $1 million worth of Nvidia and $50,000 to $100,000 worth of AMD on January 6. On January 13, the government gave both companies the green light to sell some of their chips to China. Trump purchased more Nvidia shares, as well as some Boeing stock, ahead of his trip to China this week—alongside the CEOs of both companies.—MR

Today is Jerome Powell’s last day as Fed chair. Fed governor Stephen Miran has also resigned on cue, clearing the seat Kevin Warsh needs to take the reins and lead the Fed into what is sure to be one helluva summer.

Warsh—who squeaked through the Senate vote by the slimmest margin in 50 years—has grand plans for a full-on “regime change” at the Fed, hoping to slash balance sheets, clamp down on communication, and usher in an AI-induced “golden age” for the US economy. Still, whether any of this pans out remains up for debate, and Warsh faces a whole lot of speed bumps along the way.

What will Warsh do?

President Trump, for one, will be loudly beating the drum for rate cuts all the way until November’s midterm elections. Warsh has insisted he’ll hold the line on Fed independence, but standing firm against a president who tried to fire his predecessor sounds way easier said than done.

It doesn’t help that inflation popped in April to a near three-year high of 3.8%. Of course, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent insists all is well, adding that there could be one or two more “hot inflation numbers” before prices subside…but no one’s buying it. A recent survey shows 69% of Americans are unhappy with Trump’s handling of inflation, his worst marks on any economic issue.

A number of Fed officials also chimed in this week with worries that the economy is in rough shape. Chicago’s Fed President Austan Goolsbee warned that the AI boom could lead to stagflation, that dreaded combo of a slowing economy and rising prices, contradicting Warsh’s rosy expectations that AI productivity gains would have deflationary effects. Boston Fed President Susan Collins warned that the longer the Iran war drags on, the greater the odds are that the Fed might need to raise rates rather than lower them this year.

Right now, markets are expecting no rate cuts this year and around a 50% chance of a hike.

Warsh’s first test

Mark June 16–17 on your calendar: That’s the Federal Reserve’s next meeting, and Warsh’s first chance to show the world how he’s juggling Trump’s pressure for cuts, a divided Fed board, and a wobbly economy all at once.

If history is any indication of what’s ahead, he (and we) are in for a rocky start: Since 1930, FOMC chairs have seen a 5% drop in stocks during their first month in office and a 12% decline over their first three months.

We think it’s safe to say Warsh won’t be easing into his new gig.—JD

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86% of the S&P 500 has now reported earnings, and next week brings us the final big batch of announcements (about 10% of the index).

Monday: Baidu and Ryanair Holdings kick things off on the earnings front, while Atlanta Fed First Vice President Cheryl Venable will begin a new week of Fedspeak.

Tuesday: Home Depot, Bilibili, Amer Sports, Cava, and Toll Brothers keep the earnings ball rolling, plus we’ll hear from Philadelphia Fed President Anna Paulson.

Wednesday: The biggest day of earnings this week culminates with Nvidia in the afternoon, but there’s plenty of other companies delivering their latest numbers, including Analog Devices, TJX, Lowe’s, Intuit, Target, Experian, and Hasbro. And don’t forget, we’ll get the minutes from the most recent FOMC meeting.

Thursday: We’ve got the usual weekly initial jobless claims report and a look at housing starts and building permits, plus S&P Global delivers both the flash services and manufacturing PMI reports. Then there’s earnings from Walmart, Deere & Co., Generali, Ross Stores, Take-Two, Zoom, Workday, Webull, Deckers Outdoor, Nio, and BJ’s.

Friday: Earnings are few and far between here at the tail end of the week, and we’ll wrap things up with the final consumer sentiment reading for the month of May.