Arm’s giant IPO—the biggest since Rivian’s—won’t trigger a flood of listings

Don’t expect a big flood of IPOs to follow. Arm’s price got an extra boost from investor enthusiasm about AI, which has increased demand for Arm chips. But still the IPO can be seen as one more sign that the market slowdown is nearing an end. For the right companies, markets are ready to pay.

That won’t stop Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser from pursuing a major restructuring, however. “We will be saying goodbye to some very talented and hardworking colleagues,” she wrote in a memo to staff yesterday. Analyst Mike Mayo of Wells Fargo said the move was designed to address Citi’s “worst-in-class efficiency.” The bank did not specify exactly how many people would be losing their jobs.

Enjoy the weekend. I plan to spend it reading Walter Isaacson’s new book on Elon Musk. Not quite sure what new the book has to say about the Tesla CEO, but it has certainly proven Isaacson is without peer in book promotion. “Exclusive” excerpts have already appeared, well, everywhere, as have interviews with the author. I’ll give my review on Monday.

Other news below.

Alan Murray
@alansmurray
[email protected]

TOP NEWS

‘All garbage’

Low-quality items, often made in China, are making sellers wary of TikTok’s new e-commerce offering, with one influencer calling products sold on the social media app “all garbage.” Brands are also frustrated with TikTok’s unwillingness to share customer data. Developer ByteDance is hoping TikTok Shop in the U.S. Will replicate its success in China, where consumers spent over $200 billion on products last year. Coins2Day

Stacey Abrams on outreach

Companies trying to downplay their ESG and diversity efforts won’t succeed in tamping down political blowback, former Georgia state minority leader Stacey Abrams said at Coins2Day’s Impact Initiative conference. “When you are silent,” she says, it’s “often seen as consent.” Abrams said companies need to do more outreach to minority communities as a source of talent: “You make more money when more people can afford to use your products,” she says. Coins2Day

Flexport runs aground

Revenue at logistics startup Flexport fell by almost 70% in the first half of the year. The startup also burned through $300 million in cash, particularly due to recently-pushed-out CEO Dave Clark’s drive to hire tech talent. Freight rates have collapsed as the COVID-era boom in ecommerce ends, pressuring Flexport’s business and encouraging founder and executive chair Ryan Petersen to return as CEO. The Information

AROUND THE WATERCOOLER

Mike Bloomberg might actually have a point with his absurd claim that remote workers are all playing golf every Friday by Jane Thier

Databricks, a leading IPO candidate, is valued at $43 billion in new funding round from T. Rowe Price, Nvidia, a16z and others by Luisa Beltran

Bolt CEO: ‘America’s FedNow service has much to learn from India’s breakthrough payments system’ by Maju Kuruvilla

Coco Gauff is a perfect representation of how Gen Z acts at work, says a recruiter with 25 years of experience. Just look at how she confronted the U.S. Open umpire by Paige Hagy

Global JPMorgan strategist says oil price surge ‘doesn’t seem worth losing sleep over in 2023’ by Eleanor Pringle

This edition of CEO Daily was curated by Nicholas Gordon.