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Matt Davis — Need2Know Chedditor

Table of Contents

• Markets Surge on Election Results

• Midterms Cost Elon Musk $60bn

• McDonald’s Says U.S. Sales Are Improving

• CVS Will Split Its Pharmacies From Insurance

• California’s Wealth Tax Heads for the Exits

• Poll of the Day: Quelle Surprise?

What’s the Stock Market Up To, Eh?

$SPX ( ▲ 1.58% )  $DJI ( ▲ 3.03% )  $NDX ( ▲ 1.59% )  

Companies Mentioned in Today’s Newsletter

$MSFT ( ▲ 6.68% ) $AMZN ( ▲ 6.12% ) $AAPL ( ▲ 5.31% )  $SPCX ( ▼ 3.81% )  $TSLA ( ▼ 3.34% )  $ETOR ( ▲ 5.05% )  $CVS ( ▼ 12.53% )  

Markets Surge on Election Results

Wall Street threw a bit of a party on Wednesday morning, sending the Dow surging about 1,300 points as investors shook off an initial overnight slide. Tech giants like Microsoft $MSFT ( ▲ 6.68% ), Amazon $AMZN ( ▲ 6.12% ), and Apple $AAPL ( ▲ 5.31% )  all surged over 5%.

Why the instant euphoria? Wall Street loves gridlock, as analysts noted that a divided government makes major policy changes like new AI regulations nearly impossible to pass over a presidential veto. President Trump quickly downplayed the Republican losses, reflecting on the electoral shift with, let’s say…characteristic…calm. “It’s just the way the ball bounces sometimes,” Trump observed, noting that “the biggest issue is that I wasn’t on the ballot.” When asked about the war in Iran dragging down candidates, he acknowledged that “Iran was a piece of it,” but insisted, “I don’t think about it. I did the right thing. I would have done it again.” As for the losing candidates he backed, Trump added pragmatically, “Some of them had a lot of flaws…. You know, you can only do so much.”

Meanwhile, Capitol Hill Democrats are already sharpening their pencils. “They are going to need to plant new forests for all of the subpoenas we’ll be printing,” quipped Senator Edward J. Markey. Ultimately, markets may also have rallied because Trump signaled cooperation, declaring, “I think we’ll work with the Democrats, and we’ll get along very well with them.”

Although the markets are still a little way off their October 18 highs.

Quote of the Day

Midterms Cost Elon Musk $60bn

If you think you had a rough election night, take comfort in knowing you didn't burn $60 billion in 24 hours. Elon Musk spent at least $474 million backing Republican candidates in the 2026 midterms — the largest individual political donor effort in U.S. history. Nearly $224 million of that was dumped straight into his adopted home state of Texas to prop up Ken Paxton's Senate bid against Democrat James Talarico.

Paxton lost. In fact, Republicans got routed nationwide as Democrats swept control of both chambers of Congress. While writing a half-billion-dollar check for losing campaigns is painful, Wall Street delivered the real sucker punch. As the blue wave washed over Capitol Hill, shares of Tesla $TSLA ( ▼ 3.34% )  dropped over 5% and SpaceX $SPCX ( ▼ 3.81% )  tumbled more than 7%. That single-day stock collapse wiped out over $60 billion in paper wealth across his corporate empire — making his political donations look like pocket change.

To top it off, incoming Democratic majorities are already polishing their gavels to investigate Musk’s businesses and scrutinize any prospective Tesla-SpaceX merger. After quietly deleting his “vote red today!” post from X, Musk offered his own orbital coping mechanism. “Data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now,” he posted in the early hours of Wednesday.

McDonald’s Says U.S. Sales Are Improving

If you’ve recently found yourself lured back into a McDonald’s $MCD ( ▲ 6.53% ) drive-thru by a $2 breakfast sandwich or the nostalgic call of Halloween Boo Buckets, congratulations: You are powering the fast-food giant’s comeback. After a bleak third quarter where U.S. same-store sales slipped 0.2% — its first decline following five straight quarters of growth — Mickey D’s claims customer traffic is bouncing back.

“We’re taking the right steps to improve our near-term performance in the U.S., and I’m encouraged by our baseline traffic trends in September and October,” said CEO Chris Kempczinski in a call with investors. Shares promptly popped over 5% as Wall Street cheered the return of budget-conscious burger lovers.

However, beneath the cheerful red-and-yellow facade lies a corporate civil war. To drag cash-strapped diners away from home cooking, corporate headquarters heavily pushed entry-level value deals. The catch? A third of franchisees refused to participate, complaining about eroding profit margins and corporate overreach.

Kempczinski admitted corporate and franchisees are aligned “with the exception of this entry-level value.” Meanwhile, eToro $ETOR ( ▲ 5.05% ) market analyst Nagham Hassan put it bluntly, telling the New York Post, “How deep and how lasting those meal deals are will depend on whether McDonald’s or its franchisees are willing to carry the cost. If McDonald’s leaves the cost to franchisees, expect the deals to be patchy and the recovery slow.”

As if franchise mutinies weren't enough, McDonald’s is also fending off a lawsuit over using AI algorithms to price menu items — all while expanding “Archie,” its drive-thru AI voice bot. It turns out that making cheap burgers profitable in 2026 is no happy meal. (You’re fired yet again, Matt — Ed.)

Song of the Day: Mei Semones, ‘Two Hands’

Here’s an indie pop/alternative single by singer-songwriter and guitarist Mei Semones, blending her signature intricate jazz-influenced guitar work and bossa nova rhythms with lyrics sung in both English and Japanese. Konichi-wah-wah!

CVS Will Split Its Pharmacies From Insurance

CVS Health $CVS ( ▼ 12.53% ) is planning to split into two separate companies, effectively undoing its massive $78 billion acquisition of health insurer Aetna back in 2018. The grand corporate breakup will divide its roughly 9,000 retail pharmacies from its insurance and pharmacy-benefit management operations.

Why the sudden change of heart after spending years constructing a vertically integrated healthcare mega-empire? Well, even though CVS reported a record revenue of $402.1 billion in 2025, managing the tangled web of care proved fraught with challenges across its businesses. Under the proposed restructuring, one company will retain the CVS Health name and be led by current CEO David Joyner. Meanwhile, Aetna and its pharmacy-benefit manager, Caremark, will remain together in a separate unit. When asked to elaborate on the strategic reversal, the healthcare giant did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. But the firm’s chief executive went on TV yesterday to blame “break up big pharma” legislation pushed by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D—Mass.)

Shares rose in extended trading as Wall Street welcomed the separation.

Free Yourself From Advertising Forever!

California’s Wealth Tax Heads for the Exits

California’s dream of levying a one-time 5% wealth tax on its roughly 200 billionaires appears dead on arrival, with Proposition 40 trailing heavily as voters rejected the initiative. Pushed by the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) to raise an estimated $100 billion for healthcare and education, the measure ran into a wall of voter skepticism and massive opposition spending.

The state’s ultra-wealthy didn't just vote "no" — they poured $316.7 million into defeating Prop 40 and promoting counter-measures like Proposition 42, which explicitly bans wealth taxes. Google co-founder Sergey Brin took things a step further by publicly moving out of California and donating $102 million to an opposition committee. Even Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom broke ranks to oppose Prop 40, endorsing Prop 42 while arguing a wealth tax "would not solve the state’s fiscal woes and would drive wealthy residents out of state." Opponents also pushed claims that lawmakers could eventually lower the wealth tax threshold to target everyday Californians.

Despite the defeat, union leaders are refusing to surrender. Conceding early, SEIU-UHW President Dave Regan promised to put another wealth tax on the ballot in 2028 if the state Legislature fails to deliver a healthcare funding solution. “That’s not a hypothetical. That’s our plan,” declared Regan. Meanwhile, his union spent the campaign battling racketeering allegations and internal scandals, dismissing the charges as “categorically false” and a “smear campaign.”

Should You Check Your 401(k) Today?

👍️ 

Yes.

Poll of the Day: Quelle Surprise?

Poll of the Day: Quelle Surprise!

We asked: Are you surprised to hear that the boss of FIFA managed to secure VIP visa treatment for his housekeeper?

You answered:

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Yes, because surely that would be corruption. I can't believe that the head of FIFA would indulge in such a thing. (33)
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Are you kidding me? For this guy, that's just a Thursday afternoon. Or a Wednesday morning. Or a Tuesday. Or a Monday. (376)
409 Votes via @beehiiv polls

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