Ford in Talks with Xiaomi for U.S. Market Entry
Catch up on the weekend's top five stories with this list compiled by The Fly: 1) Ford (F) held discussions with Xiaomi (XIACF) over a partnership to help Chinese carmakers gain a foothold in the U.S., Demetri Sevastopulo, Christian Davies, Kana Inagaki, and Gloria Li of The Financial Times reports, citing four people familiar with the matter. During preliminary discussions, Ford explored forming a joint venture with Xiaomi to create EVs in the U.S., the sources added. Ford has also discussed with BYD (BYDDF) about a potential U.S. collaboration. 2) Oracle (ORCL) announced its full calendar year 2026 plan to fund the expansion of its Oracle Cloud Infrastructure business. Oracle is raising money in order to build additional capacity to meet the contracted demand from its largest Oracle Cloud Infrastructure customers. Oracle expects to raise $45 to $50 billion of gross cash proceeds during the 2026 calendar year. The company plans to achieve its funding objective by using a balanced combination of debt and equity financing to maintain a solid investment-grade balance sheet. 3) Pharming (PHAR) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, has issued a Complete Response Letter, CRL, to its supplemental New Drug Application, sNDA, for Joenja, an oral, selective phosphoinositide 3-kinase delta inhibitor, as a treatment for children aged 4 to 11 years with activated phosphoinositide 3-kinase delta syndrome, APDS, a rare primary immunodeficiency. The FDA raised an issue with the potential for underexposure in lower weight pediatric patients. As a result, the FDA has requested additional pediatric pharmacokinetic data to reassess the proposed pediatric doses and confirm that children in the lower weight dose groups can achieve exposure levels comparable to the approved adult and adolescent regimen. The letter also identified an issue with one of the analytical methods used for production batch testing, and the FDA requested additional data and clarification on this point. 4) Carlyle (CG) has started exploratory talks with UAE investors to bring in partners should its agreement to purchase Lukoil's international assets proceed, Shadia Nasralla and Anna Hirtenstein of Reuters reports, citing three sources with knowledge of the process. 5) Bain Capital (BCSF) has finalized plans to acquire FineToday in a deal set to be worth $1.29B, Reuters reports, citing Nikkei. CVC Capital Partners intends to divest all of FineToday's shares.
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- DuPont Earnings Expectations: DuPont is expected to report earnings of $0.43 per share and revenue of $1.69 billion for Q4 2025, with analysts noting ongoing pressure in short-cycle businesses, while slight improvements in the automotive sector may influence investor sentiment.
- Cisco's AI Focus: Cisco anticipates earnings of $1.02 per share and revenue of $15.1 billion for Q2 FY2026, with CEO highlighting a major multi-year campus networking refresh, making AI infrastructure demand a critical growth driver.
- Importance of Employment Report: The January employment report is expected to show an addition of 80,000 nonfarm payrolls and an unchanged unemployment rate of 4.4%, directly impacting private consumption and U.S. GDP, making it crucial for investors to monitor.
- Consumer Price Index Insights: The January CPI is projected to increase by 2.5% year-over-year, with core CPI rising by 2.6%, providing essential inflation details despite not being the Fed's preferred measure, particularly regarding persistent shelter cost inflation.

- Market Performance: The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 2.5% and closed above 50,000 for the first time.
- Nasdaq Struggles: In contrast, the Nasdaq Composite ended the week down 1.8%, despite a strong rally on Friday.
- Strong Earnings Report: General Motors exceeded market expectations in its Q4 2023 earnings report, demonstrating significant adjusted earnings despite facing profitability pressures in the electric vehicle sector, showcasing its financial resilience.
- Market Share Growth: The company achieved its highest U.S. market share since 2015, indicating a gradual recovery in competitiveness within the fiercely contested EV market, which boosts investor confidence.
- Increased Shareholder Returns: GM announced a 20% dividend increase and a new $6 billion share repurchase program, aimed at enhancing shareholder value while reflecting management's confidence in future profitability.
- Cost Control Initiatives: Despite incurring over $7 billion in EV production-related charges, GM successfully offset more than 40% of its tariff costs through cost-reduction initiatives, with expectations to further lower tariff expenses in 2026, thereby strengthening long-term profitability.
- Profitability Enhancement: GM successfully offset over 40% of its tariff costs in 2025, and despite pressures from declining EV profitability, it exceeded earnings expectations in Q4, demonstrating the sustainability of its profitability.
- Dividend and Buyback Initiatives: The company announced a 20% increase in dividends and authorized a $6 billion share repurchase program, which not only boosts investor confidence but also lays a solid foundation for future shareholder returns.
- EV Production Adjustments: Although GM anticipates a decline in EV volumes for 2026, it plans to cut EV losses by $1 billion to $1.5 billion to navigate market challenges, showcasing its adaptability in the EV transition.
- Production Relocation: GM is moving its Buick compact crossover production from China to Kansas, which is expected to incur about $1 billion in near-term costs, but this move will help mitigate future tariff expenses and strengthen the company's long-term competitiveness.
- Earnings Season Dynamics: The upcoming earnings season will encompass multiple sectors including autos, consumer staples, and technology, with significant market impact expected, particularly from companies like Ford, Coca-Cola, and Cisco.
- Ford's Earnings Outlook: Ford anticipates a ~51% year-over-year decline in Q4 EPS, despite a 6% increase in U.S. vehicle sales and a rise in market share to 13.2%, indicating strong performance in core trucks and hybrid models.
- Cisco's Growth Prospects: Cisco is expected to report over 8% year-over-year growth in both revenue and earnings for Q2, driven by improving demand in core networking and early traction in AI-related infrastructure, with analysts generally maintaining a Buy rating, reflecting confidence in future growth.
- Moderna's Vaccine Development: Moderna is projected to see a ~65% year-over-year decline in Q4 revenue, yet encouraging long-term data from its cancer vaccine program suggests significant commercialization potential in the future, despite ongoing profitability and cash flow challenges.
- Musk Ordered to Testify: A federal judge has ruled that Elon Musk must testify regarding his role in dismantling USAID, rejecting his legal team's attempt to avoid questioning, which could impact Musk's reputation and future business endeavors.
- Alphabet Beats Earnings Estimates: Alphabet reported fourth-quarter revenue of $113.83 billion, surpassing the Street consensus estimate of $111.31 billion, with earnings per share of $2.82 exceeding expectations of $2.63, indicating strong performance in advertising and cloud services that may drive stock price increases.
- Amazon Delivery Milestone: Amazon announced it delivered over 13 billion items globally in 2025, with more than 8 billion items reaching U.S. Prime members the same or next day, a speed enhancement that will further strengthen its competitive position in the e-commerce market.
- Tesla's New Model Launch: Tesla unveiled a new All-Wheel Drive variant of the Model Y in the U.S. and Puerto Rico following Elon Musk's announcement of discontinuing the Model S and X, which could attract more consumers and enhance market share.










