Trillion-Dollar Retail, AI Panic, Nintendo’s Comeback, and China Hits the Brakes on EV Design

Walmart just crashed into the trillion-dollar club, proving old-school retail can become a tech-powered growth machine. At the same time, AI fear wiped $300 billion off software and data stocks as investors started pricing in disruption, not just upside. Meanwhile, Nintendo’s Switch completed one of the biggest comeback stories in gaming history, and China just drew a hard safety line on futuristic EV design by banning hidden door handles after deadly incidents. Big money, big tech shifts, and a reminder that the future still answers to reality. All this and more in today’s Read It and Eat!

Markets Around The World

Markets as of 3rd February 2026. Cells in RED mean that the value is down, cells in Green mean the value is up.

MAJOR HEADLINES

• Walmart Hits $1 Trillion Market Cap on E-Commerce Momentum

Walmart has officially joined the trillion-dollar club, becoming one of the few companies in the world to cross a $1 trillion market capitalization. The milestone caps a powerful stock rally fueled by Walmart’s accelerating shift from a traditional brick-and-mortar retailer into a full-scale digital commerce and services platform. Shares closed nearly 3% higher on the day, extending gains that now significantly outpace the broader S&P 500. For a company long seen as a defensive retail play, the re-rating signals a fundamental change in how investors view Walmart’s growth story.

The engine behind the surge is Walmart’s fast-growing e-commerce business and expanding ecosystem of higher-margin digital services. Online sales growth, advertising revenue from Walmart Connect, third-party marketplace expansion, and membership subscriptions have diversified Walmart’s revenue streams beyond low-margin grocery. Its ability to blend massive physical distribution with digital fulfillment has also allowed Walmart to compete more effectively with Amazon, especially in last-mile delivery and same-day logistics across the U.S. and select global markets.

More broadly, Walmart’s rise into tech-stock territory reflects how traditional retail is being redefined by data, logistics technology, fintech, and platform economics. Investors are now valuing Walmart not just as a store chain, but as an infrastructure company sitting at the center of commerce, payments, advertising, and consumer data. The trillion-dollar valuation cements Walmart’s transformation from “big box retailer” to a digital-era commerce giant with structural growth drivers beyond store traffic alone. CNBC

• AI Fears Wipe $300 Billion Off Software and Data Stocks

A sudden wave of anxiety over new AI tools triggered a brutal sell-off across software and data stocks, wiping roughly $300 billion in market value in a single session. Investors grew nervous that rapidly improving AI platforms could commoditize large parts of the software stack, undercutting pricing power for incumbents in analytics, workflow tools, customer-relationship management, and data services. The sell-off rippled across both public equities and private-market managers heavily exposed to enterprise software.

The damage spread quickly to private-equity and alternative asset firms with deep software portfolios. Shares of Blue Owl, KKR, and Ares plunged around 10%, while Apollo and Blackstone also fell sharply, reflecting fears that AI-driven disruption could pressure valuations, exit multiples, and future fundraising across the sector. The broader market took the hit as well, with the Nasdaq leading declines as tech investors reassessed who benefits from AI and who gets disrupted by it.

At a deeper level, the sell-off reflects a growing realization that AI is not just an additive growth driver, but a structural threat to entire business models. As AI copilots, agents, and automated workflows become more capable, investors are questioning whether many software categories will remain defensible or become commoditized layers on top of foundation models. The market is beginning to draw a sharper line between companies that own the AI infrastructure and those that risk becoming features inside someone else’s AI product. Wall Street Journal

• The Nintendo Switch, World’s Best Selling Console

Nearly nine years after its launch, the Nintendo Switch has officially become the best-selling console in the company’s history, marking one of the greatest turnarounds in modern gaming. The achievement is especially striking given where Nintendo stood before the Switch arrived. The Wii U was a commercial disappointment, the company’s stock had sagged, and questions loomed over whether Nintendo’s hardware strategy was still viable in a world dominated by Sony and Microsoft.

The Switch succeeded because it reinvented how people engage with consoles: part handheld, part home system, and deeply tied to Nintendo’s unmatched portfolio of intellectual property. Franchises like Mario, Zelda, Pokémon, and Animal Crossing became cultural events, while the hybrid design unlocked new casual and family audiences. Nintendo also benefited from a long product life cycle, strong first-party game releases, and a hardware platform that didn’t require bleeding-edge graphics to dominate consumer mindshare.

Beyond hardware sales, the Switch’s dominance reshaped Nintendo’s business model. The company’s valuation has more than tripled since the console’s launch, as investors regained confidence in Nintendo’s ability to monetize its IP across games, movies, theme parks, and licensing. The Switch era didn’t just save Nintendo it repositioned the company as one of the most resilient and culturally powerful entertainment brands in the world heading into its next console generation.  CNBC

• China Bans Hidden Car Door Handles Over EV Safety Risks

  
  

China has become the first major country to ban hidden door handles on electric vehicles, dealing a blow to a design trend popularized by Tesla and copied across the EV industry. The move follows growing safety concerns after multiple fatal crashes in China in which power failures reportedly prevented doors from opening. Under the new rules, cars sold in China must have mechanical door releases on both the inside and outside, ensuring passengers and emergency responders can access vehicles even during electrical failures.

The ban highlights rising regulatory scrutiny over EV safety as electric vehicles become mainstream. While hidden handles were marketed as futuristic and aerodynamic, critics argue they prioritize aesthetics over real-world emergency usability. As EVs integrate more electronic systems, regulators are increasingly focused on what happens when those systems fail particularly during crashes, fires, or power outages where seconds can mean the difference between escape and tragedy.

More broadly, China’s decision signals a shift in how governments may regulate EV design globally. As the world’s largest auto market, China often sets de-facto standards that ripple across global manufacturing. Automakers may now rethink design trends that look sleek on showroom floors but introduce real-world safety risks. The ruling underscores a broader reality of the EV transition: innovation is welcome, but regulators are drawing hard lines when design choices collide with life-and-death safety concerns. BBC 

Minor Headlines

• Nvidia Nears Deal to Invest $20 Billion in OpenAI Round. Yahoo Finance

• Federal Reserve governor Miran steps down from White House post. Yahoo Finance 

• UBS profits rise on cost savings from Credit Suisse takeover. Financial Times 

• US will launch a $12B strategic rare earths stockpile  Yahoo Finance

• PepsiCo is cutting the price of Doritos, Cheetos and other snacks by up to 15% CNN

• Every U.S. Olympian is going home with $200,000, whether they medal or not, thanks to a billionaire’s $100 million gift  Fortune

• More Americans are childless. It's complicating estate planning. Yahoo Finance

• Matthew McConaughey trademarks ‘All right, all right, all right’ catchphrase in bid to beat AI fakes TheGuardian