Dangote Refinery Gears Up For A September Listing; SpaceX IPO, The Closest Thing To A Person Going Public; And Nvidia Exceeds Expectations As It Continues To Print Cash
- Dipo Owolabi
- 5 days ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
Earnings season is showing where the real money is still being made: in AI infrastructure, industrial assets, and companies that can actually turn strategy into numbers. Dangote is pushing his refinery toward a September IPO with nearly $2 billion in investor demand already lined up, SpaceX has finally opened its financials ahead of a blockbuster listing, Nvidia just posted another monster quarter that confirms the AI buildout is still accelerating, and Target is beginning to show that its turnaround can move traffic, sales, and guidance at the same time. All this and more in today’s Read It Earning! |
Markets as of 21st May 2026.. Cells in RED mean that the value is down, cells in Green mean the value is up.
MAJOR HEADLINES
Dangote Refinery IPO Set For September, With Investor Demand Nearing $2 Billion
Aliko Dangote says the planned IPO for the Dangote Petroleum Refinery is set for September, and investor appetite is already extremely strong. Speaking after a refinery tour with Femi Otedola and executives from First HoldCo, Dangote said the offering has attracted almost $2 billion in investor demand even before the formal sale begins. He said the goal is to give the public wider ownership in the refinery rather than concentrate the upside among a small group of buyers.That matters because the refinery is not a small project; it is Africa’s largest single-train refinery, with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, and it began large-scale production of petrol, diesel, and aviation fuel in 2024 after years of construction and roughly $20 billion in investment.
Arise reported that the IPO could become one of the biggest capital market transactions in African history, with the company previously being described as potentially worth up to $50 billion and capable of selling as much as 10% to investors. Dangote also said he wants the refinery to be something ordinary people can own in the same way global investors buy major U.S. companies. There is also a major confidence signal behind the deal. Otedola said he plans to personally invest $100 million in the refinery through the private placement, saying he has visited the site repeatedly and wants to put his proceeds from Geregu into the IPO. That kind of endorsement matters because it reinforces the idea that the refinery is moving from a giant industrial project into an investable public asset, with the potential to reshape Nigeria’s capital markets as well as its fuel supply chain. Arise
The TLDR Of SpaceX’s IPO Filings; Its A Money Furnace
SpaceX has now given investors their clearest public look at the business ahead of its IPO, and the numbers show a company that is huge, profitable in parts, but still carrying major losses in others. Reuters said SpaceX generated $4.69 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2026 and posted an operating loss of $1.94 billion, while its Starlink connectivity unit generated an operating profit of $1.19 billion, enough to offset some of the drag but not the losses from the rest of the business. The filing also shows that SpaceX’s AI division accounted for $2.47 billion of losses in the quarter and that the company expects future growth to come from markets that do not yet fully exist, including AI data centers in space.
The broader message is that Musk is not taking SpaceX public as a simple rocket company; he is taking it public as a multi-platform infrastructure story. Reuters said the filing cements Musk’s tight control over SpaceX and leaves public shareholders with limited power, while the listing is expected to use the ticker SPCX and could become one of the biggest stock market debuts ever, with a reported valuation target of $1.75 trillion. Reuters also said SpaceX’s plans depend heavily on technologies that are still being built, including solar-powered data centers in space, Mars-related missions, and the continued scaling of Starlink, which has become the company’s largest revenue engine. Tech Crunch
Nvidia posted one of the most powerful quarters in corporate history, with $81.6 billion in revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2027, up 85% from a year earlier, and $58.3 billion in profit, up 211% year over year. Data center revenue reached $75.2 billion, up 92%, showing that the AI buildout is still being driven overwhelmingly by demand for Nvidia’s chips and networking hardware. The company also reported adjusted EPS of $1.87, beat Wall Street’s $1.76 estimate, and said it expects $91 billion in revenue for the current quarter, again above expectations. Nvidia also raised its quarterly dividend from 1 cent to 25 cents per share and added $80 billion to its buyback authorization.
The bigger story is that Nvidia is no longer just reporting good numbers; it is becoming the scoreboard for the entire AI economy. Reuters said the company’s results reflect a global wave of spending on AI infrastructure, and the market reaction showed how elevated expectations have become, with Nvidia shares slipping even after the beat because investors are already asking how long the current cycle can stay this strong. The quarter also underlined how concentrated the AI story remains: data center demand is still the core of Nvidia’s business, and the company’s revenue, margin power, and cash generation continue to make it the clearest beneficiary of the capital spending boom. CNBC |
Target Beats Wall Street Estimates And Raises Its Outlook As Shoppers Start To Return
Target delivered a much-needed sign that its turnaround strategy is starting to gain traction. Reuters reported that the company raised its annual sales growth forecast for the first time in two years, now expecting net sales to rise around 4%, double its earlier target of 2%, after first-quarter sales climbed 5.6% and same-store sales growth beat expectations. The company also said it expects annual EPS around $8.50, while shares fell about 6% in early trading because investors were still wary of the macro backdrop.
The quarter showed that Target’s recovery is being driven by real traffic, not just accounting cleanup. Reuters said sales improved across all six core merchandising categories, digital sales rose 8.9%, same-day deliveries jumped 27%, and the company cut prices on 3,000 items while also planning an extra $2 billion in spending this year to keep stores better stocked. New CEO Michael Fiddelke, in his first earnings call since taking over from Brian Cornell, said the company is making progress but cautioned that it should not confuse early momentum with a full turnaround. In other words, Target is finally seeing shoppers return, but management is still treating this as the beginning of a multi-year rebuild rather than the end of the road. CNBC
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