In the upcoming year of 2024, catalyzed by various factors such as the AI boom and the Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts, the US stock market is rising rapidly, attracting global investors' attention. This year, many American companies staged magnificent performances, jointly shaping the trend of the US stock market.
From oil giants completing sky high price acquisitions to "Bitcoin giants" frantically shopping, from "stock gods" hoarding cash on a large scale to the emergence of the strongest quantum computing chips, these events not only affect the fate of enterprises themselves, but also reflect the direction and changes of the entire industry and even the global economy.
This article will take you back to the top ten major events that left a deep impression on American companies in 2024.
1. Isn't it NVIDIA? This year's top bull in the S&P 500 index: Palantir
In the surging wave of technology in 2024, when we look back at the "brightest star" of the US stock market, people often think of Nvidia first. It has been making great strides in the field of artificial intelligence chips with its dominant position. However, when we carefully examine the top performing stocks in the S&P 500 index, we are surprised to find that Palantir, a big data analysis software company, has emerged as the undisputed number one bull of the year.
Since the beginning of the year, Palantir has risen by 396%, winning the championship of rising stocks in the S&P 500 index. Palantir is not a well-known enterprise in the traditional sense. The key to the company's unparalleled growth this year lies in its precise targeting of popular trends such as AI and national defense.
2. splurge 64.5 billion US dollars! ExxonMobil completes sky high acquisition, changing oil and gas industry landscape
2024 is destined to be an extraordinary year in the history of energy. In this year, a heavyweight news shook the entire energy industry: global oil and gas giant ExxonMobil officially completed its $64.5 billion acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources.
This move not only further consolidates ExxonMobil's industry position, but also profoundly changes the landscape of the oil and gas industry.
Pioneer Natural Resources has abundant unconventional oil and gas reserves and advanced extraction technologies, which will help ExxonMobil expand its asset portfolio globally and enhance its research and development capabilities in the field of new energy. At the same time, small and medium-sized oil and gas enterprises will face more severe survival pressure, while large oil and gas enterprises may accelerate strategic mergers and acquisitions to maintain competitiveness.
3. This year's largest IPO in the US stock market: Cold chain logistics giant Lineage raises $5.1 billion
The most anticipated initial public offering (IPO) in the US stock market in 2024 is undoubtedly the cold chain logistics giant Lineage. The company successfully raised up to $5.1 billion through the NASDAQ stock market in July this year, which is not only the largest IPO in the US stock market this year, but also injects new momentum into the development of the cold chain logistics industry.
Lineage was founded in 2008 and is a leading global provider of temperature controlled logistics solutions. Over the past decade, the company has carefully built a large and efficient cold chain logistics network, covering a wide range of industries with extremely high temperature control requirements such as food, medicine, and fresh agricultural products. It has long been renowned in the field of cold chain logistics.
4. The birth of the largest unicorn in history! Elon Musk's SpaceX's latest valuation is $350 billion
Recently, SpaceX, the space exploration technology company under Elon Musk, the world's richest man, once again broke the valuation record - $350 billion, up nearly 70% from the $210 billion level at the beginning of the year. The company rightfully became the 'largest unicorn in history'.
This surge in valuation not only demonstrates SpaceX's leading position in the aerospace industry, but also reflects investors' high recognition of the potential of the future space economy.
One of SpaceX's most notable achievements is the successful development of reusable rocket technology, which greatly reduces rocket launch costs and drives the development of the commercial aerospace market. From the first launch of the Dragon spacecraft into the International Space Station, to the completion of humanity's first commercial spacewalk, and to the successful test flight of a starship showcasing the "chopstick rocket" scene, SpaceX continues to refresh human imagination.
Due to internal discussions about SpaceX's IPO plan, once the plan is launched, it will also be a major event in the US stock market.
5. "The largest Bitcoin whale in the US stock market," MicroStrategy, is aggressively buying and doubling its stock price within the year
In the financial market of 2024, there is a company that has attracted the attention of global investors with its unique investment strategy, and that is MicroStrategy.
This business intelligence software supplier is known for being "unproductive" and crazily hoarding Bitcoin. MicroStrategy currently holds a total of 444262 bitcoins worth approximately $41.3 billion, making it the "largest bitcoin whale" in the US stock market.
With Bitcoin experiencing an "epic" market trend this year, MicroStrategy's stock price has achieved a staggering doubling this year and has been included in the Nasdaq 100 index.
Recently, Michael Thaler, founder and chairman of MicroStrategy, also compared Bitcoin to New York City and its economy, calling it the "Manhattan of the Internet" and stating that "it will always be a good time to buy Bitcoin every day.
$325.2 billion! Berkshire Hathaway, a subsidiary of the 'Stock God', has achieved a new high in cash on paper
The every move of Warren Buffett, the "stock god", has a guiding significance in the capital market. As of the end of the third quarter of this year, Berkshire Hathaway, led by Warren Buffett, held a record high of $325.2 billion in cash on paper. At the same time, the company further reduced its holdings of key stocks such as Apple and Bank of America in the third quarter.
This number not only demonstrates Berkshire Hathaway's strong financial strength, but also triggers extensive market thinking on Buffett's investment strategy. Some analysts suggest that Berkshire Hathaway's massive hoarding of cash reflects Buffett's concerns about the current valuation of the US stock market and the state of the US economy.
7. Who is the largest buyer of Nvidia AI chips? Microsoft hoards nearly 500000 GPUs in a year
In the current booming development of artificial intelligence, computing power has become a core resource that technology giants are competing to pursue, and Nvidia's AI chips have become a hot commodity in the market due to their excellent performance.
According to the latest data from market research consulting firm Omdia, Microsoft has purchased 485000 units of NVIDIA's flagship product "Hopper" chips this year, far exceeding its competitors in other technology fields.
Microsoft's massive purchase of AI chips not only gives it a significant advantage in the race to build the next generation of AI systems, but also stimulates other tech giants to increase their investment in AI chips, thereby promoting the development and innovation of the tech industry.
Google releases the strongest quantum computing chip in history: top supercomputer in less than five minutes' 10 to the 25th power year '
With the global rise of the AI wave, computing power has become a key part of the competition among technology giants, and quantum computing is considered a disruptive force in solving the bottleneck of AI computing power. Recently, Google announced the successful development of an unprecedented quantum computing chip, whose performance is astonishing.
Google launched its latest quantum chip "Willow" on December 9th, claiming that it can complete a "standard benchmark calculation" in less than five minutes. The most powerful supercomputer today would take "10 ^ 25" years to complete the same task, far exceeding the age of the universe.
This breakthrough achievement not only refreshes people's understanding of computing power, but also heralds the arrival of a new era of computing.
Intel's downfall: The scale of layoffs this year is the largest among technology companies, and the stock price has fallen by 60% within the year
In the long history of the semiconductor industry, Intel was once a shining star with an unshakable dominant position in the field of computer processors. However, as time passed, due to lagging technological innovation and failure to catch up with the current wave of artificial intelligence, Intel experienced unprecedented turbulence in 2024.
In order to salvage its declining performance, Intel announced in August this year that it would lay off more than 15% of its employees, at least 16000 people, starting from the fourth quarter. According to independent layoff tracking firm Layoffs.fyi, Intel's layoff scale has set a new record for technology companies this year.
At the same time, Intel's stock price has continued to plummet, with a staggering 60% drop since the beginning of the year, reflecting investors' concerns about its future prospects.
10. Japanese giant's acquisition of US steel faces strongest resistance: Trump and Biden unanimously oppose it
In the current context of global economic integration, cross-border acquisitions between enterprises are commonplace. However, a cross-border merger case in 2024- Japanese steel giant Nippon Steel attempting to acquire American steel company - encountered unprecedented resistance.
US President elect Trump and current President Biden have unusually stood on the same side, unanimously opposing the acquisition, making the prospects of the deal full of uncertainty.
As early as December last year, Nippon Steel announced plans to spend about $14 billion to acquire US Steel, but due to significant political resistance, the deal has been delayed.
The steel industry is regarded as a core component of the US manufacturing industry and is crucial for defense construction and infrastructure development. Therefore, any foreign capital intervention is considered to potentially threaten the security interests of the country.