Meta Settlement, Nvidia Growth, Walmart’s Nasdaq Shift

21th November 2025

Meta executives, including Mark Zuckerberg, will pay $190M to settle shareholder claims over privacy failures, with new board policies on oversight and whistleblowers. Nvidia beat Q3 estimates with $57B revenue and $1.30 EPS, but Michael Burry warned of an AI bubble, questioning older GPUs and circular deals; Nvidia defended long-term growth via its CUDA ecosystem. Walmart will switch from the NYSE to Nasdaq, highlighting 27% online sales growth and AI-driven logistics, signaling its evolution as a tech-focused retailer. All this and more in today’s Read It and Eat! 

Major News 

• Zuckerberg and Meta Directors Reach $190 Million Settlement in Shareholder Privacy Case

Mark Zuckerberg and a group of current and former Meta executives have agreed to pay $190 million to settle shareholder claims that they harmed the company by failing to protect Facebook users’ privacy. The settlement, disclosed on Thursday, also requires Meta’s board to implement new policies covering director conduct, insider-trading safeguards, and whistleblower protections.

The deal resolves a long-running lawsuit in which shareholders argued that leadership decisions led to billions of dollars in fines and legal exposure tied to Facebook’s privacy violations. Investors had originally sought as much as $8 billion from Zuckerberg and 10 other leaders, but the trial ended abruptly on its second day in July when both sides reached a preliminary agreement. It avoided testimony from several high-profile figures, including Zuckerberg, Meta board member Marc Andreessen, former COO Sheryl Sandberg, and former board members Peter Thiel and Reed Hastings. The defendants denied any wrongdoing throughout the case.

The lawsuit centered on fallout from the Cambridge Analytica scandal, where the political consulting firm accessed data from tens of millions of Facebook users without their consent. That episode triggered a record $5 billion FTC fine and a wave of other legal actions.

Shareholders claimed Meta’s directors failed in their oversight duties and allowed an environment in which improper data practices went unchecked. They also accused Zuckerberg of selling Meta stock based on inside information claims the company has disputed, arguing Facebook had strong systems in place and that Cambridge Analytica deceived the platform.

The $190 million will be paid through directors’ and officers’ liability insurance, and plaintiffs’ attorneys plan to request up to 30% of the settlement plus $4.8 million in expenses. CalSTRS, one of the lead plaintiffs, said the resolution is the second-largest derivative settlement ever in Delaware. The case arrives at a moment when Delaware’s courts are under heightened scrutiny, especially after the ruling that voided Elon Musk’s $56 billion Tesla pay package. As one plaintiffs’ attorney put it, the settlement serves as a reminder that even the most powerful corporate leaders must take their oversight obligations seriously. Finance.Yahoo

• ‘Big Short’ Investor Michael Burry Renews Criticism of Nvidia After Its Earnings Beat

Michael Burry, famed for his “Big Short” bet against the housing market, is once again taking aim at Nvidia and the broader AI boom despite the chipmaker posting another blowout quarter. Nvidia’s record revenue, soaring profit, and upbeat forecast pushed its shares up in premarket trading as investors largely dismissed Burry’s warnings that AI stocks are deep in bubble territory.

On the company’s earnings call, Nvidia’s leadership pushed back against bubble talk. CFO Colette Kress pointed to strong visibility into up to $500 billion in revenue tied to its next-generation Blackwell and Rubin chip platforms over 2025–2026, and she highlighted expectations for trillions in annual AI-infrastructure spending by 2030. She also emphasized that Nvidia’s CUDA software extends the usable life of older chips, noting that even six-year-old A100 GPUs are still running at full utilization. CEO Jensen Huang echoed that sentiment, saying Nvidia sees a very different reality from the “AI bubble” narrative.

Burry responded with a series of pointed posts on X, challenging both Nvidia’s claims and the broader economics of AI. He argued that Nvidia and its customers may be mistaking physical chip usage for true financial value, noting that old hardware can still run but deliver weaker returns similar to airlines flying aging planes during peak seasons just to boost capacity. He also emphasized that Nvidia’s older chips are far less energy efficient, meaning customers relying on them are likely dealing with much higher electricity costs.

The investor also criticized what he called multibillion-dollar “give-and-take deals” across the AI ecosystem, arguing that true demand for AI hardware may be much smaller than headline numbers suggest. He questioned Nvidia’s stock-based compensation, pointing out that despite nearly $113 billion in buybacks since 2018, the company has more shares outstanding. Burry who recently resurfaced online to warn that AI resembles the dot-com bubble has also taken bearish options positions in Nvidia and Palantir, though he has since implied he exited the latter. For now, his one-man crusade against the AI frenzy shows no signs of slowing, even as Nvidia and investors appear largely unfazed. Finance.Yahoo 

• Walmart Says It’s a Tech Company Now

Walmart is making a bold statement about its identity and its future. The world’s largest retailer announced that it’s leaving the New York Stock Exchange after more than 50 years and will begin trading on the tech-heavy Nasdaq starting December 9. The move, revealed during its Q3 earnings call, marks the biggest company Nasdaq has ever poached from the NYSE. Walmart framed the switch as a natural next step in its evolution, pointing to its rapid expansion in e-commerce, growing use of AI, and increasing reliance on warehouse automation to speed up deliveries and cut costs. Those investments appear to be paying off: global online sales jumped 27% from a year ago.

At the same time, Walmart is sticking to what it does best, offering value. The company said sales at stores open at least a year rose 4.5% in Q3, a sign that shoppers are continuing to trade down to more affordable options amid ongoing economic uncertainty. Bargain hunting has always been central to Walmart’s appeal, and the current environment is only pushing more customers in that direction.

Still, the retailer noted that not all customers are behaving the same way. Lower-income shoppers, in particular, are becoming more cautious with their spending. Walmart said it has seen a shift away from discretionary goods and toward essentials, with categories like groceries and health products growing faster than general merchandise.

Put together, Walmart’s message is clear: it wants to be seen not just as a retail powerhouse, but as a tech-driven logistics and e-commerce machine, one that still knows how to thrive when shoppers tighten their belts. MorningBrew 

• Nvidia Pushes Back on AI Bubble Fears, Highlights Long-Term Growth

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and CFO Colette Kress didn’t hold back during the company’s Q3 earnings call on Wednesday, taking aim at concerns about an AI bubble and circular investing. Huang opened his remarks by addressing the topic head-on. “There’s been a lot of talk about an AI bubble,” he said. “From our vantage point, we see something very different. Nvidia is unlike any other accelerator we excel at every phase of AI.”

The numbers back up that confidence. Nvidia reported Q3 earnings of $1.30 per share on revenue of $57.01 billion, beating Wall Street’s estimates of $1.26 per share on $55.2 billion in revenue. For Q4, the company forecast revenue above $64 billion, surpassing the $62 billion analysts expected. Kress also highlighted that Nvidia has visibility toward $500 billion in AI chip revenue through 2026, underscoring sustained long-term demand.

Huang addressed concerns about Nvidia’s investments in companies like Anthropic, OpenAI, and CoreWeave, which some investors worry could artificially inflate GPU demand. He explained that these deals are part of expanding Nvidia’s CUDA ecosystem, a software platform that extends GPU functionality across AI, robotics, 3D simulation, and other applications. “We are expanding the reach of our ecosystem and taking part in what will often be once-in-a-generation companies,” Huang said, framing it as a strategic investment rather than market manipulation.

Kress pushed back against claims, including from investor Michael Burry, that Nvidia’s customers might be overstating revenue by using older GPUs. She noted the longevity of Nvidia’s CUDA-powered GPUs, highlighting that even A100 chips shipped six years ago remain fully utilized today. While Nvidia’s strong guidance may ease fears of an AI bubble for now, continued massive AI infrastructure spending by companies like OpenAI could keep investors wary of potential overproduction. Finance.Yahoo 

Minor News 

• U.S. charges four individuals over alleged smuggling of Nvidia chips to China. Bloomberg

  
  

• Gloo’s IPO Brings Faith-Based Tech Investing Into the Spotlight. Reuters 

  
  

• EU Engages With X Over Hate-Speech Concerns Linked to Grok. Reuters 

  
  

• ChatGPT rolls out group chat features. TechCrunch 

  
  

• U.S. unemployment climbs to 4.4%, the highest level in four years. WallStreetJournal 

  
  

• Alphabet’s Intrinsic and Foxconn Partner to Roll Out AI Robots in U.S. Factories. Finance.Yahoo 

  
  

• Two sectors are responsible for all U.S. job growth in 2025. Bloomberg 

  
  

• Samsung Electronics Appoints Mobile Chief as Co-CEO, Restoring Its Older Management Model. Reuters 

  
  

• U.S. economy added 119,000 jobs in September. Bloomberg 

Earnings 

Beat on Earnings and Revenue (Positive Performance)

• PDD – Beat Q3 earnings and revenue; 14% profit jump; flagged potential slowdown in China. CNBC

• Nvidia – Beat Q3 earnings and revenue; optimistic Q4 guidance; data-center revenue surged 66%. Reuters

• Palo Alto Networks – Beat Q1 earnings and revenue; announced $3.35B acquisition; high CapEx noted. CNBC

• TJX – Beat Q3; sales +7%; holiday guidance soft despite strong start to Q4. CNBC

• Bullish – Beat Q3 earnings and revenue; record adjusted results; swing to profit. Coindesk

• Walmart – Beat Q3; 27% e-commerce growth, 4.5% same-store sales growth; Nasdaq move announced. CNBC 

• Webull – Beat Q3 earnings and revenue; record customer assets; strong user growth. IV 

• Gap – Beat Q3 earnings and revenue; comparable sales +5%; strong momentum in viral campaigns. CNBC 

Beat Revenue but Missed Earnings / Outlook Concerns

• Home Depot – Beat revenue; missed earnings; cut FY outlook due to weak home improvement demand and sluggish housing. CNBC

• Target – Beat earnings; missed revenue; cut FY profit outlook due to declining sales and weak store traffic. CNBC

• Klarna – Beat revenue; posted a loss due to push into conventional lending. CNBC

Missed Earnings and Revenue (Challenged Performance)

• Baidu – Missed Q3 earnings and revenue; sales fell 7%; swung to a loss due to ad business pressure and AI competition. Bloomberg

Beat with Caution / Mixed Signals

• Home improvement / retail peers (Home Depot, Target, Walmart, TJX, Gap) show mixed performance: solid sales in discount/essential items but challenges in discretionary spending.

• Tech / AI players (Nvidia, PDD, Palo Alto) show strong growth with caution about market sustainability or high CapEx.