📈 UnitedHealth's $250B Meltdown

Good morning.

⚡ The Fast Five → Chime Eyes $9.5B IPO, Anthropic Hits $3B Revenue Run-Rate, BlackRock Takes 10% Circle Stake, Meta Automates Ad Creation Fully, DoorDash CEO Plays Consolidator

🔎 Market Trends → S&P, Nasdaq post biggest monthly percentage gains since November 2023; US Futures Lower on Growing Trade Uncertainty

🚨 Start Your Day with Market Movers: Opening Bell LIVE on FinTech.tv from 9-10AM EST

And now…

⏱️ Your 5-minute briefing for Monday, June 2, 2025:

MARKET BRIEF
Before the Open

Pre-Market

Fear & Greed

Markets in Review

Trade Turbulence Can't Shake Retail Rally

Stocks wobbled midday Friday after Trump accused China of breaching a trade pact, but consumer staples held steady, and retail showed surprising strength. The Dow inched up 0.1%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq slipped.

The Big Picture:

President Trump’s public jab at Beijing—claiming China violated a fresh trade deal—spooked tech and growth names. But investors took a measured view, recognizing the complexity (and flexibility) of high-stakes diplomacy.

Retail resilience helped cushion the blow. With signs of inflation cooling and spending still afloat, select consumer names rallied, betting shoppers will keep showing up—just more selectively.

Oil dipped as OPEC+ talks loomed large. The cartel’s output decision could reset the commodity tone heading into June.

Market Movers:

• Ulta Beauty (ULTA) soared +11.8% on a clean earnings beat, showing strength in discretionary categories—a bullish signal for post-tariff spending.

• Gap (GPS) cratered −20% after UBS warned of prolonged earnings drag from tariffs. The retailer confirmed guidance but left out potential tariff impacts.

• Costco (COST) gained +3.1% on stronger-than-expected earnings, proving that value-based retail can shine in inflation-sensitive environments.

What They’re Saying:

"We expect consumer spending to grow at a modest pace of 1.8%... as the economy continues to adapt to a higher cost environment." — Andrew Foran, TD Economics

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
Events

• Today: Institute for Supply Management - Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) - 10:00am

  Why You Should Care: It's a leading indicator of economic health - businesses react quickly to market conditions, and their purchasing managers hold perhaps the most current and relevant insight into the company's view of the economy

• Today: Federal Reserve - Fed Chair Powell Speaks - 1:00pm

  Why You Should Care: As head of the central bank, which controls short term interest rates, he has more influence over the nation's currency value than any other person. Traders scrutinize his public engagements as they are often used to drop subtle clues regarding future monetary policy

Earnings Reports

• Today: The Campbell’s Company

• Tomorrow: Dollar General, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Ollie’s Bargain Outlet, CrowdStrike, Asana

MARKET BRIEF
Leading News

UnitedHealth's $250B Meltdown Creates a Contrarian's Dream

Why it matters:

When a healthcare giant with decades of steady growth suddenly loses half its value, seasoned investors should pay attention—not panic.

Zoom Out:

UnitedHealth (UNH) has undergone what behavioral economists call a "spectacular overreaction." The company's Medicare Advantage bet soured when regulatory changes slashed lucrative diagnosis-based payments, triggering a $250 billion market cap evaporation and CEO Andrew Witty's abrupt departure.

But here's the contrarian opportunity: Wall Street's fear machine is working overtime on a company that still generates $109.6 billion in quarterly revenue and serves 50 million Americans. The fundamentals remain remarkably intact beneath the melodrama.

Chairman Stephen Hemsley's return as CEO signals serious intent. His immediate $25 million share purchase at $288.57 suggests he sees what panicked sellers missed—a temporarily wounded giant trading at fire-sale prices.

Key Insights:

• Valuation Gap: UNH trades at a 13.05 forward P/E—a 37% discount to its 5-year average, creating textbook value territory

• Insider Conviction: Management's $30 million combined stock purchases represent real money backing their turnaround confidence

• Regulatory Reset: Medicare payment changes are largely known quantities now, eliminating the uncertainty premium that's been crushing shares

Market Pulse:

"We believe Mr. Hemsley is the right person to turnaround UNH through repricing at UHC and the standardization of care delivery," —Jessica Tassan, Piper Sandler

Bull’s Take:

UnitedHealth's crisis creates the kind of asymmetric opportunity that patient investors dream about. When quality companies with durable competitive moats trade at distressed valuations, history suggests the patient capital wins.

Headlines

• Digital banking startup Chime targets $9.5 billion valuation in US IPO (link)

• Amazon And Google Backed AI Startup Anthropic Reportedly Hits $3 Billion In Annualized Revenue (link)

• BlackRock Reportedly To Take 10% Of Circle IPO (link)

• Meta Aims to Fully Automate Ad Creation Using AI (link)

• DoorDash CEO Tony Xu is taking on the role of industry consolidator in food delivery (link)

• Tesla Sets June 12 Launch of Austin Robotaxi Service (link)

CRYPTO
Fear & Greed

Headlines

• Bitcoin Rebounds Above $104,300 as Tariff Chaos Triggers Nearly $1B in Liquidations (link)

• Uphold teases XRP yield and relaunching crypto debit card in US (link)

• Stablecoin market capitalization surpasses $250 billion amid accelerating regulatory momentum (link)

DAILY SHARE
On the Socials