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The manufacturer of military aircraft and business jets posted a 30% increase in sales

French manufacturer of military aircraft and business jets Dassault Aviation AM 4.29%increase; green up pointing triangle on Wednesday posted a 30% increase in sales, beating market expectations for several key metrics, amid strong performance of its defense business.

But speaking at a press conference, the company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Eric Trappier described the return of Donald Trump to the White House as “the most concerning” geopolitical development, cautioning against new tariffs to imports from the EU and a reconfiguration of the U.S.-Europe alliance.

Trump said in late February that he would soon impose 25% tariffs on the EU, claiming that the 27-member bloc was “formed to screw the United States.”

Trappier noted that under such a scenario, the 25% tariffs would not apply to the full aircraft price but only to the EU-France portion of their manufacturing costs, while the work conducted at its Little Rock facility in Arkansas, U.S., would be deducted.

The French group employs about 1,700 workers across two sites in Little Rock–a Completion Center for all Falcon jets produced worldwide, and the company-owned Service Center for Falcon customers. Dassault has operated in Arkansas since 1975.

He also urged EU leaders to spend the bloc’s funds exclusively on European defense manufacturers, after the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday that the EU’s executive arm is working on an urgent plan that could generate some 800 billion euros ($850.12 billion) of defense spending.

“We need to go beyond all the statements made on European defense,” he said. “We’ve been hearing about this for the last 30 years. I’ve pleaded for the European preference right from the year 2000 and they said that word cannot be pronounced in Brussels–it was banned from Brussels.”

Dassault Aviation, the second largest stakeholder in the aerospace and defense group Thales after the French government, posted sales worth 6.24 billion euros in 2024, up from 4.8 billion euros the previous year, and above a consensus estimate of 6 billion euros provided by Visible Alpha.

Its backlog stood at 43.22 billion euros, higher than the 38.51 billion euros reached in 2023, and above a consensus forecast of 40.93 billion euros.

For 2024, the planemaker’s order intake was worth 10.87 billion euros, up from 8.25 billion euros the prior year. Analysts had forecast 8.6 billion euros in annual orders.

For the defense business alone, the order intake grew to 8.3 billion euros last year from 6.52 billion euros in 2023.

Dassault Aviation said it has received orders to export 30 Rafale fighter jets to two new customers–Indonesia and Serbia–for which the company is ramping up production despite persistent supply-chain bottlenecks. It also received orders to manufacture 26 Falcon aircraft.

Net income stood at 923.8 million euros in 2024, up from 693.4 million euros, slightly below a consensus estimate of 926.5 million euros.

On the back of these results, Dassault Aviation guided for net sales of around 6.5 billion euros in 2025, and deliver 25 Rafale and 40 Falcon aircraft. However, it warned that its guidance for 2025 doesn’t include the impact from a potential tariff war between the U.S. and Europe.

This guidance is a “mixed bag”, Morgan Stanley analysts Ross Law and Marie-Ange Riggio said in a note, adding that those Rafale deliveries are shy of consensus, while the Falcon’s are ahead.

“We remain cautious on the outlook for the Falcon division and think there is downside risk to delivery guidance and consensus, which overshadows solid execution and a strong pipeline in defense,” they wrote.

The board declared a dividend of 4.72 euros a share for the year, up from 3.37 euros a share in 2023.

Izzy Englander still owns 100% of one of the world’s top hedge funds

Billionaire Izzy Englander is exploring opening up the ownership of his $76bn hedge fund Millennium Management to its top executives for the first time, in the latest step to prepare it for life beyond its founder. 

Englander, 77, has kept sole ownership of New York-based Millennium for its 36-year history.

It is still working out how to structure a distribution of equity to its key people, according to people familiar with the situation.

But the move is intended to incentivise Millennium’s top ranks and give them another way to benefit from any future success of the business while aligning their interests with those of the hedge fund’s investors, the people added.

“Opening up the equity would be a massive statement by Izzy,” said one of the people. “It would be a clear sign that he wants the firm to survive him.” 

Millennium declined to comment.

Englander has shown no signs he is planning to step back and is still crucial to decision-making. But over the past few years he has embarked on an institutionalisation of a business that some say now resembles a division of an investment bank more than a hedge fund.

The Millennium founder said in his annual investor letter last month: “What we’ve built is larger than any one person, and it’s designed to endure and thrive.”

The firm is in early-stage talks with BlackRock about a strategic partnership that could lead to the world’s largest asset manager taking a small equity stake in Millennium. 

Since launching with $35mn under management in 1989, Englander has built Millennium into one of the world’s largest hedge funds, which now manages $76bn in assets, employs 6,100 people and has notched up average returns of about 14 per cent a year. It gained 15.1 per cent last year and was up 0.45 per cent in January, investors said. 

Alongside Ken Griffin’s Citadel, it is one of the dominant multi-manager firms in what has become the hottest part of the $4.5tn global hedge fund industry.

Rather than relying on a single star trader, Millennium allocates capital across 330 investment teams trading fundamental equity, equity arbitrage, fixed income, commodities and quantitative strategies in liquid markets, all within a tight risk framework. 

Interests of the hedge fund’s staff are already aligned with its clients’ through employees’ investment in its flagship fund. More than $10bn of the funds managed by Millennium belong to Englander and its employees.

Englander has in recent years taken a number of steps to further institutionalise Millennium, however.

He has established a trustee advisory board; secured Millennium’s capital base by moving the vast majority of investors into a five-year share class; and built out its leadership team, notably with a series of senior hires from Goldman Sachs. He also changed terms so that investors have no special option to redeem if something happens to Englander.

Englander also changed its fee structure in 2022 so investors are required to pay a minimum fee regardless of the fund’s performance, and on top of expenses.

Investors now pay annual fees of about 1 per cent of assets or 20 per cent of investment gains, something bankers described as akin to a management fee.

Such predictable revenues are easier to model and value than volatile performance fees, potentially paving the way for a sale of a minority stake in the business or the distribution of equity among senior management. 

Millennium has also moved to secure additional sources of growth. Last year it raised an extra $10bn in assets and it is considering launching a fund that would invest in less liquid assets, including private credit. It would be the first new fund since it was founded more than three decades ago.  

Volkswagen’s ultra-cheap EV called the ID EVERY1 — a small four-door hatchback revealed Wednesday — will be the first to roll out with software and architecture from Rivian, according to a source familiar with the new model.

The EV is expected to go into production in 2027 with a starting price of 20,000 euros ($21,500). A second EV called the ID.2all, which will be priced in the 25,000 euro price category, will be available in 2026. Both vehicles are part of the automaker’s new of category electric urban front-wheel drive cars that are being developing under the so-called “Brand Group Core” that makes up the volume brands in the VW Group. And both vehicles are for the European market.

The EVERY1 will be the first to ship with Rivian’s vehicle architecture and software as part of a $5.8 billion joint venture struck last year between the German automaker and U.S. EV maker. The ID.2all is based on the E3 1.1 architecture and software developed by VW’s software unit Cariad.

VW didn’t name Rivian in its reveal Wednesday, although there were numerous nods to next-generation software. Kai Grünitz, member of the Volkswagen Brand Board of Management responsible for Technical Development, noted it would be the first model in the entire VW Group to use a “fundamentally new, particularly powerful software architecture.”

“This means the future entry-level Volkswagen can be equipped with new functions throughout its entire life cycle,” he said. “Even after purchase of a new car, the small Volkswagen can still be individually adapted to customer needs.”

Sources who didn’t want to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly, confirmed to TechCrunch that Rivian’s software will be in the ID EVERY1 EV. TechCrunch has reached out to Rivian and VW and will update the article if the companies respond.

The new joint venture provides Rivian with a needed influx of cash and the opportunity to diversify its business. Meanwhile, VW Group gains a next-generation electrical architecture and software for EVs that will help it better compete. Both companies have said that the joint venture, called Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies, will reduce development costs and help scale new technologies more quickly.

The joint venture is a 50-50 partnership with co-CEOs. Rivian’s head of software, Wassym Bensaid, and Volkswagen Group’s chief technical engineer, Carsten Helbing, will lead the joint venture. The team will be based initially in Palo Alto, California. Three other sites are in development in North America and Europe, the companies have previously said.

“The ID. EVERY1 represents the last piece of the puzzle on our way to the widest model selection in the volume segment,” Thomas Schäfer, CEO of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand and Head of the Brand Group Core, said in a statement. “We will then offer every customer the right car with the right drive system–including affordable all-electric entry-level mobility. Our goal is to be the world’s technologically leading high-volume manufacturer by 2030. And as a brand for everyone–just as you would expect from Volkswagen.”

The Volkswagen ID EVERY1 is just a concept for now — and with only a few details attached to the unveiling. The concept vehicle reaches a top speed of 130 km/h (80 miles per hour) and is powered by a newly developed electric drive motor with 70 kW, according to Volkswagen. The German automaker said the range on the EVERY1 will be at least 250 kilometers (150 miles). The vehicle is small but larger than VW’s former UP! vehicle. The company said it will have enough space for four people and a luggage compartment volume of 305 liters.

- Overall economic activity rose slightly since mid-January. Six Districts reported no change, four reported modest or moderate growth, and two noted slight contractions. Consumer spending was lower on balance, with reports of solid demand for essential goods mixed with increased price sensitivity for discretionary items, particularly among lower-income shoppers. Unusual weather conditions in some regions over recent weeks weakened demand for leisure and hospitality services. Vehicle sales were modestly lower on balance. Manufacturing activity exhibited slight to modest increases across a majority of Districts. Contacts in manufacturing, ranging from petro- chemical products to office equipment, expressed concerns over the potential impact of looming trade policy changes. Banking activity was slightly higher on balance among Districts that reported on it. Residential real estate markets were mixed, and reports pointed to ongoing inventory constraints. Construction activity declined modestly for both residential and nonresidential units. Some contacts in the sector also expressed nervousness around the impact of potential tariffs on the price of lumber and other materials. Agricultural conditions deteriorated some among reporting Districts. Overall expectations for economic activity over the coming months were slightly optimistic.

- Labor markets: Multiple Districts cited job growth in health care and finance, while employment declines were reported in manufacturing and information technology. Labor availability improved for many sectors and Districts, though there were occasional reports of a tight labor market in targeted sectors or occupations. Contacts in multiple Districts said rising uncertainty over immigration and other matters was influencing current and future labor demand. Wages grew at a modest-to-moderate pace, which was slightly slower than the previous report, with several Districts noting that wage pressures were easing.

- Prices: Prices increased moderately in most Districts, but several Districts reported an uptick in the pace of increase relative to the previous reporting period. Input price pressures were generally greater than sales price pressures, particularly in manufacturing and construction. Many Districts noted that higher prices for eggs and other food ingredients were impacting food processors and restaurants. Reports of substantial increases in insurance and freight transportation costs were also widespread.

- Link: https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/files/BeigeBook_20250305.pdf

Kenvue added three new board members, including Starboard chief Jeffrey Smith

Kenvue KVUE -1.13%decrease; red down pointing triangle has struck a cooperation agreement with Starboard Value, averting a proxy fight with the activist investment firm.

Kenvue on Wednesday said it has added three new board members, including Starboard chief Jeffrey Smith, who has expressed disappointment with the consumer health company’s management and share-price performance.

Smith last year said that Kenvue, the maker of Band-Aids and Tylenol that was spun out from Johnson & Johnson in 2023, should drill down on fixing its underperforming skin health and beauty segment and on improving the company’s marketing strategy.

Starboard last month nominated a slate of four director candidates, including Smith, in a bid to reconstitute Kenvue’s board.

Kenvue said it added Smith, along with independent directors Sarah Hofstetter and Erica Mann, to its board, and that Starboard will withdraw its nominees and vote its shares in favor of the Skillman, N.J., company’s board slate at this year’s annual meeting.

Neither Hofstetter, who is president of e-commerce insights platform Profitero, nor Mann, a former head of Bayer’s consumer-health division, were among Starboard’s nominees.

Analysts at Citi said they view Kenvue’s cooperation agreement with Starboard positively, saying it improves the company’s board and could lead to strategic changes at the company.

Kenvue said its board will temporarily expand to 14 directors from 11 before being reduced to 13 directors at the annual meeting.

How Li Ka-shing, Larry Fink and Adebayo Ogunlesi struck a $22.8bn ports deal within weeks

In an address to the nation on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump vowed that his administration would reclaim the Panama Canal, promising to fulfil a promise to retake the critical juncture that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. 

“We’ve already started doing it,” he said, nodding to a “large American company” that had agreed to take over two major ports at either end of the passageway “just today”.

Trump was well aware of the deal — BlackRock’s $22.8bn takeover of 43 ports owned by billionaire Li Ka-shing’s CK Hutchison, including two at either end of the Panama Canal — before it was announced on Tuesday. Both he and top members of his administration, including Marco Rubio, had been briefed by Larry Fink, BlackRock’s own billionaire chief executive.

Fink proved to be a critical player in a transaction that lacked many of the hallmarks of a multibillion-dollar acquisition. While some of the biggest names in the buyout industry took a look at the port portfolio — including Blackstone and KKR — the usual hordes of Wall Street advisers were not on hand. Blackstone and KKR declined to comment.

The transaction underscores the power Trump’s words have come to exert on global commerce and the speed with which companies’ most powerful executives are responding to his wishes.

The deal was being mapped out in CK Hutchison’s home territory of Hong Kong within days of Trump taking office after he said in his inaugural address that “China is operating the Panama Canal . . . and we’re taking it back”.

That pledge prompted senior executives at CK Hutchison to take action, said two people with knowledge of the matter. It had become clear that the exposure was likely to become a larger and larger problem.

Crucially, they decided it would be unwise just to sell the politically sensitive Panama ports. Instead, the company — whose share price had fallen 40 per cent in the five years running up to the deal’s announcement — saw a chance to turn the situation to its advantage.

By taking the drastic step of exiting vast swaths of the ports business that has been a central part of its identity since the 1990s, the group has removed itself from Trump’s crosshairs and struck a deal that boosted its struggling share price by more than 20 per cent on Wednesday. The deal will bring in $19bn of cash, according to CK Hutchison, some of which is likely to be handed to shareholders through dividends or buybacks.

Talks to seal the acquisition were swift, lasting just weeks and largely negotiated over video conference and telephone calls. They were driven by some of the biggest names in finance in Hong Kong and New York.

Goldman Sachs helped oversee a speedy and largely informal sale process that secured expressions of interest from several of the world’s largest infrastructure investors, according to a person familiar with the matter. Michael Corbat, who has kept a low profile since stepping down as Citigroup chief executive in 2021, was a key broker advising CK Hutchison from his base in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

BlackRock was joined in its bid by Global Infrastructure Partners, the private infrastructure investment company it purchased last year; and Terminal Investment Limited (TIL), a ports operator backed by GIP and the world’s biggest container shipping line, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC). 

The negotiations went right to the top of each group, including Fink at BlackRock, GIP chief executive Adebayo Ogunlesi and Li Ka-shing himself, as well as his son Victor.

Diego Aponte, a scion of the ultra-wealthy Aponte family behind MSC, also played a crucial role, according to two people with knowledge of the talks. The shipping giant already had a close relationship with CK Hutchison’s port business as one of its top customers. That working relationship bolstered the BlackRock consortium’s bid.

CK Hutchison “knew it was going to another billionaire family that they trusted”, one person briefed on the negotiations said, referring to the Aponte family. “And they knew the power the BlackRock name had.”

The deal caught industry analysts off guard. Bank of America described it as “a major surprise” with the price tag between 11 and 13 times the company’s estimated 2024 earnings. For JPMorgan Chase analysts, it marked a “significant strategy shift”. After the deal, the ports segment would only account for 1 per cent of CK Hutchison’s total earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, JPMorgan estimated.

Ports have “historically been an important part of their business,” said Dan Baker, a senior equity analyst at Morningstar who covers the company. “The port business is something that is generally pretty profitable, hard to enter; once you’ve got a port it’s hard to get competition in there,” he said. “This was one of their strongest businesses.”

The deal does not include CK Hutchison’s ports in Hong Kong and mainland China — the sale of which might have been politically fraught and would have required, at least, a time-consuming regulatory approval process.

It is quite possible that they [BlackRock] wouldn’t have wanted those ports [in China],” said Baker. “If you are a western owner of a port in China, you’d probably think that may not be such a great strategic position for you. I am not even sure whether China would want that.”

Only five months after completing its purchase of GIP, the infrastructure investment has already delivered on Fink’s big ambition to put BlackRock at the fore of private markets.

For CK Hutchison, cash from the deal could top up its war chest for new acquisitions — it has made a nonbinding offer for the UK utility company Thames Water — as well as be used to appease shareholders.

“Management’s probably a little bit frustrated with where the share price is,” said Baker. “This is one way of realising value.”