The Rundown – November 11, 2025

Host: Zaid Admani (Public.com)
Episode Theme:
A fast-paced overview of current stock market movements and corporate news, with a focus on Tesla's declining China sales, challenges at AI infrastructure companies CoreWeave and Nebius, major moves at Paramount, a notable downturn for Rigetti Computing, and SoftBank's decision to exit Nvidia for OpenAI investments.

Main Market & Economic Updates

• Strong Rally on Optimism About Government Shutdown Resolution

  • S&P 500 up 1.5%; Nasdaq up 2.2%.
  • Relief rally as a bill to fund the government through January passes Senate (00:30).
  • "Looks like the markets were happy to see the light at the end of the tunnel for the government shutdown." (Host, 00:32)
  • Impact: Tech and AI stocks surge; Bitcoin above $105,000; gold at $4,100/oz.

• Awaiting Resumption of Economic Data

  • "We haven't gotten a jobs report or an inflation report in over a month. So I'm really looking for things to get back to normal." (Host, 01:40)
  • Anticipation of fresh data as government reopens and federal workers return.

Major Corporate Stories & Deep Dives

Tesla: China Sales Plummet

• October China sales: 26,000 vehicles—lowest in 3 years; market share down to 3.2% vs 8.7% in September (02:25).
• Global Drag: Similar slowdowns in Germany, Spain, Netherlands.
• Rising Competition:
  • Xiaomi and BYD (largest global EV maker) setting ambitious sales targets.
• Strategic Pivot:
  • Elon Musk's focus on robotics and robo-taxis seen as key to Tesla's valuation.
  • "Investors are hoping that Tesla's big bet on optimus robots and robo taxis pays off. This seems like they're starting to lose the international EV market to Chinese EV companies." (Host, 03:22)

AI Infrastructure: CoreWeave & Nebius Earnings

• CoreWeave:
  • Q3 revenue up 134% YoY to $1.4 billion but 2025 outlook soft ($5 billion vs. analyst expectations) (04:00).
  • Cites 3rd-party data center delays: "One contractor's delay is holding up part of their data center rollout." (Host, 04:25)
  • Stock drops 14% despite $55 billion order backlog.
• Nebius:
  • Revenue up 355% in Q3; nearly all capacity sold for current & next quarter (04:45).
  • $3B AI infra deal with Meta, following $17B with Microsoft.
  • Projecting $7-9B revenue by end of 2026, but facing fierce supply constraints.
  • "You could have all the GPUs in the world, but if the data center isn't built to power these GPUs, well, then those GPUs are kind of useless." (Host, 05:58)
• Big Picture:
  • Both companies face bottlenecks in scaling AI infrastructure, a signal of robust demand but real-world limitations.

Paramount: Turnaround & Acquisition Ambitions

• New CEO David Ellison (Skydance Media merger):
  • Targeting $3B in cost savings; 1,600 layoffs (07:10).
  • Doubling down on high-growth units: Paramount+, sports, movies.
  • Deal with UFC and goal to release 15 movies annually from 2026.
• Acquisition efforts:
  • Ongoing bid to buy Warner Bros Discovery (owns DC, HBO); prior rejected bids.
  • Potential for Ellison to leverage father Larry Ellison’s (Oracle founder) resources.
  • "I think Warner Brothers is hoping that David Ellison calls his dad Larry to up the bid a bit." (Host, 08:02)
• Market Reaction:
  • Paramount stock up >10% on restructuring and M&A news.

Rigetti Computing: Quantum Disappointment

• Revenues: $1.9M Q3 (missed $2.2M estimates), down 21% YoY (08:20).
• Focus on R&D partnerships (Montana State, US/India government agencies).
• Stock down 5% but up 2,000% over 12 months—now $10B market cap.
• "It kind of blows my mind that their market cap is over $10 billion when the revenues are less than $2 million a quarter." (Host, 09:10)

Memorable Quotes & Highlights

• "Tesla sales in China dropped to just 26,000 vehicles in October. That's the company's lowest monthly total in three years." (Host, 02:26)
• "Demand is still strong and the issues won't affect its massive $55 billion backlog." (CoreWeave’s explanation, summarized by Host, 04:50)
• "You could have all the GPUs in the world, but if the data center isn't built... then those GPUs are kind of useless." (Host, 05:58)

Spotlight: SoftBank Sells Nvidia Stake

• SoftBank exits Nvidia:
  • $5.8B sale, led by CEO Masa Son.
  • Doubling down on OpenAI: $7B invested, $20B more planned.
  • "Maybe it's a sign that he thinks that the next phase of AI growth will go from chips to software. Or maybe he thinks that Nvidia's valuation is topped out at $5 trillion." (Host, 10:05)
  • Lost opportunity: 2017, SoftBank briefly owned 5% of Nvidia; if held, could have been worth $250B today.
  • "If I had done that, I don't think I could ever look at Nvidia stock ever again." (Host, 10:50)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:30 – Market rally & shutdown news
• 02:25 – Tesla's China slump
• 04:00 – CoreWeave earnings & data center delay
• 04:45 – Nebius earnings & AI deals
• 07:10 – Paramount restructuring, M&A
• 08:20 – Rigetti Computing earnings
• 10:00 – SoftBank’s Nvidia exit & OpenAI pivot

Tone:
Conversational, lightly humorous, data-driven—host blends market analysis, storytelling, and punchy commentary.

For investors:
A concise, high-yield rundown of market movers, risks, and corporate strategies, especially in tech and AI, along with the reminder that even biggest bets (SoftBank and Nvidia) can leave billions on the table.