uskarp/iStock Editorial via Getty Images
Listen below or on the go via Apple Podcasts and Spotify
Mixue brings world’s largest restaurant chain footprint into U.S. market. (0:20) AppLovin in focus, USA Rare Earth and CoreWeave shares jump. (1:30) Apple debuts second-generation AirTag. (2:40)
The following is an abridged transcript:
Our top story so far, the largest restaurant chain in the world by number of locations isn’t McDonald’s or Starbucks — it’s China-based Mixue Ice Cream & Tea (MXUBY) (MXUGF).
The beverage and dessert chain was founded in 1997 as a small ice cream stall near a university, targeting students and budget-conscious consumers with ultra-low-priced treats. Over time, Mixue expanded its menu to bubble tea, fruit tea, milk tea, coffee and other value-focused drinks, leaning on a franchise model that drove rapid store growth.
More recently, Mixue has pushed aggressively overseas, especially in Southeast Asia, where it now operates thousands of locations in Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines. Growth plans now center not just on opening more shops, but on strengthening its supply chain backbone — including new production facilities in Hainan and Henan, and an international supply chain platform in Southeast Asia to support franchisees.
In the U.S., Mixue entered the market with its first store in Los Angeles in December, marking its formal North American debut, followed by two locations in New York.
Among active stocks, AppLovin (APP) is higher after Needham upgraded the mobile software company to Buy from Hold. Analyst Bernie McTernan says additional work on its e-commerce business has given the firm more confidence in the trajectory of e-commerce revenue growth in 2026, just as the stock has pulled back from its highs a month ago.
USA Rare Earth (USAR) is surging after the company said it entered into a non-binding letter of intent with the U.S. Department of Commerce and announced a collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy, confirming earlier reports.
And CoreWeave (CRWV) is rallying after Nvidia (NVDA) invested $2B in the company and expanded their collaboration to help CoreWeave accelerate the buildout of more than 5 gigawatts of AI factories by 2030.
The companies also plan to deploy multiple generations of Nvidia infrastructure across CoreWeave’s platform through early adoption of Nvidia’s computing architectures, including the Rubin platform, Vera CPUs and BlueField storage systems.
In other news of note, Apple (AAPL) has unveiled a new version of its popular AirTag item finder, with a longer range than the original.
The updated AirTag is available to order on Apple’s website today and will hit Apple Store locations later this week. It includes Apple’s second-generation Ultra Wideband chip — the same one used in the iPhone 17 lineup, iPhone Air, Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch Series 11 — and can locate items from up to 50% farther away than before. It also features an upgraded Bluetooth chip and a chime that’s about 50% louder.
The second-generation AirTag is available in single packs for $29 and four-packs for $99. Apple first introduced AirTag back in 2021.
And in the Wall Street Research Corner, Morgan Stanley has a new list of 10 big calls for navigating what it calls “extreme volatility,” but three stand out.
First, they see a “two worlds” split in AI: U.S. frontier large language models make a step-change leap in capability in the first half of 2026, and Chinese rivals don’t catch up on the same timeline. They think investors will go from worrying about adoption early in the year to turning bullish as those non-linear AI gains start to show up.
Second, they expect compute demand to keep outstripping supply. As AI use cases get more complex, data centers and “intelligence factories” become the new capex battleground, with tight capacity but still-attractive economics for the winners.
Third, Morgan Stanley thinks “transformative AI” starts to show up in macro data by late 2026 — driving rapid price declines in some activities, widening wage inequality, pushing capital spending higher, and boosting the value of assets that can’t be replicated by AI.
And don’t miss one of the most insightful events of the year – our Top Ideas 2026 Investing Forum! Register now to hear from some of Seeking Alpha’s leading Investing Group analysts: Samuel Smith, Steven Bavaria, Andres Cardenal, and Beth Kindig, and gain access to top stock ideas and strategies for the year ahead.
Editor’s Note: This article discusses one or more securities that do not trade on a major U.S. exchange. Please be aware of the risks associated with these stocks.