Good afternoon! Meta went shopping again last week. The company announced it’s acquiring Manus for more than $2B, snapping up a revenue-generating AI agent platform after a relatively quiet stretch on the deal front. Manus builds autonomous agents for research and coding, crossed $100M in annual revenue in under a year, and will fully sever its China operations as part of the move.
This is a very Zuck-style swing. Meta gets a production-ready agent system that already tops real-world performance benchmarks, plus a team that knows how to ship and monetize fast. It also gives Meta something it’s been missing lately: AI credibility that’s measured in customers and cash, not just model demos.
MARKETS
The final trading day of 2025 ended on a down note, but zoom out and it was still a monster year. The S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow all closed the year solidly higher, even after a late stumble that dragged every sector and all of the Magnificent Seven lower.
Commodities stole the spotlight, with gold posting its best year in decades and silver absolutely running away with it. Crypto had a rockier ride, with bitcoin peaking earlier in the year before sliding into year-end, a reminder that volatility never takes a holiday.
STOCKS
Winners & Losers
What’s up 📈
Trump Media & Technology Group jumped 5.49% after announcing plans to distribute digital tokens to shareholders $DJT
Nike sprinted higher, gaining 4.17%, after a filing showed CEO Elliott Hill purchased $1 million worth of company stock $NKE
TSMC climbed 1.45% after Nvidia asked the chipmaker to boost production of its H200 AI chips $TSM $NVDA
MARKETS
2025’s Final Scorecard: Who Won, Who Didn’t
It ain’t over until it’s over, but now it’s official. The final trading day of 2025 is in the books, and the market survived another year of AI hype, tariff scares, and rotating leadership without falling apart. Stocks finished the day lower, but zoom out and the year still counts as a win.
Communication Services ran the table again, riding AI-driven ad and platform growth, while Information Technology stayed strong thanks to relentless infrastructure spending. Industrials quietly joined the winners’ circle as well. On the flip side, Consumer Discretionary and Staples struggled under tariff anxiety and cautious spending, while Real Estate spent most of the year stuck in neutral.
The Storage Boom Was Real
The biggest winners of 2025 weren’t flashy apps or consumer gadgets. They were the companies storing the world’s data. Sandisk topped the S&P 500 as demand for data storage exploded alongside AI training and data center construction. Western Digital, Micron, and Seagate weren’t far behind, turning the humble hard drive into one of the market’s hottest assets.
The message was simple: AI doesn’t run on vibes. It runs on hardware, memory, and places to park massive amounts of data.
Not Everyone Made It
At the other end of the leaderboard, The Trade Desk took the hardest hit. Rising competition from Big Tech and pressure in digital advertising sent the stock sharply lower, making it the weakest S&P 500 performer of the year. It was a reminder that even in a strong market, crowded spaces get unforgiving fast.
Looking Ahead
Despite a choppy finish and a stalled Santa Claus rally, 2025 still delivered a solid annual gain for stocks. The AI trade didn’t disappear, but it evolved, spreading beyond a few mega-cap names into infrastructure, commodities, and old-economy sectors.
If 2025 was about sorting hype from earnings, 2026 may be about something harder: execution.
NEWS
Market Movements
🚀 Nike Insider Signal: Nike $NKE is getting a late-year confidence boost after CEO Elliott Hill disclosed a personal stock purchase worth just over $1 million. Insider buying from the top is often read as a belief the stock is undervalued, especially notable as this marks Hill’s first open-market buy since returning as CEO. Back-to-back insider purchases from senior leadership are helping steady sentiment heading into 2026.
🧠 Nvidia Pushes Supply: Nvidia $NVDA asked manufacturing partner TSMC $TSM to ramp production of its H200 AI chips as demand from China rebounds faster than expected. The move follows easing export restrictions and signals that Nvidia is preparing for a meaningful reopening of one of its most important markets. Execution now hinges on TSMC’s ability to scale output and regulators staying cooperative.
🎭 Burry Stays on Sidelines: Michael Burry called Tesla $TSLA “ridiculously overvalued” again but confirmed he is not short the stock. The distinction matters, especially with Tesla heading into a potentially weak delivery print. It’s a reminder that thinking a stock is overpriced doesn’t always mean it’s worth betting against.
🪙 Trump Media Goes Token: Trump Media & Technology Group $DJT jumped after announcing plans to distribute a digital token to shareholders through a partnership with Crypto.com. The token functions more like a loyalty-style reward than a traditional dividend, reinforcing the company’s crypto-adjacent strategy. Markets appear receptive, at least in the short term, to anything that blends crypto with retail engagement.
🕵️ Meta’s Hidden Playbook: Meta $META didn’t just remove scam ads it made them harder for regulators and journalists to find. Reuters reports the company quietly adjusted systems to reduce discoverability amid fears stricter verification rules could hit revenue. The strategy was later rolled out globally, highlighting how incentives often shape moderation choices behind the scenes.
AI
Washington Tightens Its Grip on AI
Washington’s fingerprints were all over markets this year, but nowhere was the grip tighter than in the AI trade.
In April, the Trump administration tightened semiconductor export controls, blocking Nvidia from shipping key AI chips without a license. By July, the White House reversed course on Nvidia’s H20 chips, approving sales to China in exchange for a cut of the revenue. Earlier this month, the pattern escalated again, with Washington clearing Nvidia to sell its more powerful H200 chips, this time taking an even larger share.
Policy or power play
Economists say this marks the most aggressive federal involvement in corporate decision-making since the bank and auto bailouts of 2009. Instead of setting broad rules and stepping back, the government has positioned itself as an active gatekeeper, deciding what companies can build, sell, and where they can sell it.
The leverage has been explicit. Threats to revoke federal grants. Tariffs aimed at reshoring chip production. And in Intel’s case, direct political pressure that contributed to a CEO exit. For investors, this wasn’t just regulation. It was influence with teeth.
More to come
This dynamic is unlikely to fade in 2026. Analysts expect the full economic impact of tariffs to hit next year, new regulations tied to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to take effect, and a potential shakeup at the Fed as Jerome Powell’s replacement comes into view.
The takeaway is simple. The White House made itself a central player in markets this year, especially in AI. And based on the trajectory, investors should expect Washington to stay firmly in the game.
RESOURCES
The Federal Reserve Resource
Join our options subreddit ⚡️: https://www.reddit.com/r/optionstrading/
Join our discord community 💠: https://discord.gg/optionality
Wall Street Reads 💎 (Best Books):
Check out our latest issues 🎯: 0ptionality.com