JPMorgan pushes into private company coverage as Wall Street eyes growing opportunity
The bank is moving beyond traditional stock coverage and is starting with OpenAI — a move that reflects how dominant private companies have become in today's markets, and how Wall Street is trying to keep up.
"This new offering aims to expand our coverage and research into private companies, where we continue to see growing influence and interest from our clients," Hussein Malik, the bank's head of global research, said in an internal memo. "Importantly, private companies are becoming increasingly relevant to various industries, especially in the new economy space," the memo said.
The move comes as more company founders and boards choose to stay private longer. The median age of a private company going public has increased from 6.9 years a decade ago to 10.7 years today, according to Morningstar.
A major factor behind the decline is the surge in funding for companies like OpenAI and SpaceX, fueled by the rise of private equity and venture capital. Pitchbook estimates that there are $18.7 trillion assets in private markets, including venture capital and private equity — a figure that will reach $24 trillion by the end of 2029.
"With approximately 1,200 private companies in the US achieving unicorn status between 2020 and 2023—a notable increase from around 330 between 2016 and 2019—their growing influence on the economy and markets is clear," Malik said in a separate memo to clients.
Malik said understanding the private markets has now become key to properly assessing publicly traded companies.
"Understanding their impact is and will remain crucial for both public and private market investors to make informed investment decisions," he added.
Jamie Dimon has long lamented what he has called "the diminishing role of publicly traded companies in the American financial system." In a 2023 letter to investors, he said the number of US public companies had declined to 4,300 from a peak of 7,300 in 1996.
"This trend is serious and may very well increase," he said at the time, before asking, "Is this the outcome we want?"
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NBC News
5 minutes ago
- NBC News
This cookware maker is bracing for steel tariffs behind a wall of pots and pans
Checkbook Chronicles Steel and aluminum tariffs are going to cost Heritage Steel hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. But Danny Henn, who runs the family-owned stainless steel cookware company, says it may have a competitive edge. Aug. 3, 2025, 2:06 PM EDT By Emily Lorsch Heritage Steel, a small, family-owned cookware manufacturer in Clarksville, Tennessee, is expecting to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in tariffs this year. The company recently received a tariff bill of $75,000 on an order of handles, and the company's vice president of operations, Danny Henn, is anticipating another bill of closer to $200,000 for goods that will likely reach the U.S. this month. 'We're a pretty small business,' Henn said. 'Having that as an additional sort of surprise expense is not insignificant.' But even with that new cost factored in, Heritage Steel believes steel and aluminum tariffs could be good for the business. 'Just from the base economics of it, yes, we have to pay more, but others have to pay a whole lot more,' Henn added. Heritage Steel employs about 40 workers and has more than doubled its revenue since 2018. The company is up 60% in cookware sales since last year. While company leaders now have to rethink pricing and make adjustments in response to President Donald Trump's trade war, Henn said they're feeling optimistic. Business highlights Danny Henn's grandfather Donald Henn was a door-to-door cookware salesman after graduating from college. In 1983, he purchased a factory in Clarksville, Tennessee, and from there was born New Era, which later became Heritage Steel. 'My grandma and grandpa and my parents were always big people about cooking at home. The cookware was always there,' said Henn. From frying pans and skillets to stock pots, saucepans and knives, Heritage Steel sells about 50 different cookware products on its website and Amazon. The company also sells wholesale to independent gourmet retailers. 'We are happy and proud to be an American producer of goods.' Heritage Steel needs three main types of inputs to make its cookware, and about 75% of the company's materials are imported. The most important part and the largest cost is the five-ply cladded body, which includes a combination of stainless steel and aluminum. 'It's very specialized processing that it has to go through to get into this form,' Henn said. 'And so, because it is very specialized, there's not a whole lot of people that do it.' Tariff impacts Heritage Steel imports its cladded steel from South Korea, which will be facing a 15% tariff that Trump announced on Wednesday after the country made 'an offer to buy down' the 25% duty level he had previously set. The company imports its handles, made from pure stainless steel using a process called lost-wax casting, from China. Meanwhile, the company purchases the material for its stainless steel lids in the U.S. Those parts don't have to be cladded and are a more simple single layer of stainless steel that's more widely available. Heritage Steel had previously sourced cladded steel from U.S. vendors, but those providers have since exited the business, according to Henn. 'There's just not enough of a U.S. market for cookware manufacturing of this type … right now. There isn't a viable vendor for us to find.' Since the company only makes a handful of raw-material purchases each year, it typically has a large order coming in all at once, which set up the company nicely when the first 25% tariffs on steel went into effect earlier this year. 'We had a good amount of it,' Henn said, referring to the raw materials, 'so that gave us more time of being able to know we're going to be able to manufacture and sell a bunch of stuff without the tariff cost on it.' Henn said that wasn't a tariff strategy, but instead a benefit of his company's workflow. However, they knew that leeway wasn't going to last forever. Eventually it became time for Heritage Steel to order more materials. That first tariff bill was about $75,000, and Henn is expecting the next to be more than twice as much. Who pays? For Heritage Steel, there was never a doubt it would have to raise prices because of the tariff expenses. The question was how high would they have to go? 'We're happy and proud to be a provider of really high-quality cookware, but one that's more affordably priced than some of the others on the market,' Henn said. 'We want to continue to offer the best price we can, given our constraints.' As of Friday, the company had raised prices by about 15% on all of its products. Heritage Steel explained the increase in an announcement on its website, calling the adjustment 'fairly modest' considering the price of the company's input materials spiked at least 50%. 'Obviously, we can't bear the full impact of these cost increases,' Henn said, 'but we also don't want our customers to bear the full cost.' He expects these changes to negatively impact the company's profit margins, but as of now the extent is unclear. Henn believes the company has more flexibility than a lot of its competitors because Heritage Steel is only importing raw materials, not the full product, and manufactures in the U.S. That's why he expects the overall market disruption could be good for the company. 'They might have to do something closer to a 50% price increase,' he said of his competitors, 'because their entire cost of goods is going up by 50%.' For Heritage Steel, on the other hand, only the price of parts is up 50%, not the full product. Henn said it's all about finding the sweet spot: a fair amount to charge customers to compensate for the new costs while still being a price leader in the market. 'We're just doing our best to do good by our customer, not raise prices too much, do well by our employees, keep paying them well and try to stay competitive within the market.' Even though Henn is optimistic about this potential competitive edge, that doesn't mean he believes the Trump administration's tariffs are the right approach. What makes more sense to him, he said, is a change over a longer period of time. 'If there is something that would have a similar effect of giving incentives to bring more more industry back to the U.S., I think that would likely be a positive,' he said, adding that he believes the intent of the tariffs policy is good. 'The implementation is a little bit rocky,' he said. Henn declined to comment on his political views and whom he voted for in the presidential election. As for other options that could bring down Heritage Steel's tariff bill, that's something being discussed as well. While stainless clad cookware is the company's bread and butter, Henn and his co-owners are exploring a range of possibilities. 'If we had our full wish,' Henn said, 'we would be able to have a fully U.S.-based supply chain for our entire manufacturing process.' Emily Lorsch Emily Lorsch is a producer at NBC News covering business and the economy.
Yahoo
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A Cowboy-Inspired Chain Came Back After Nearly Closing All Of Its Locations
In 2023, fans of both The King of the Cowboys and classic fast food got some exciting news: Roy Rogers, once a prominent competitor in the American fast-food industry, was back. The chain was a go-to for indecisive families in the 1970s and '80s, offering a variety of different options, such as roast beef, burgers, and fried chicken. While it never reached every state, Roy Rogers once boasted over 600 locations. A series of poor business decisions and sales in the '90s, however, nearly ruined the brand, leaving it with only a fraction of its former locations. The cowboy-inspired chain was revived after owners Jim and Pete Plamondon Jr. purchased the brand and invested heavily in new remodels and equipment. Their new franchise strategy, updated looks, and a return to what made the restaurant beloved in the first place proved to be the perfect recipe for a comeback. Today, new locations have people lining up from midnight for a 10 a.m. opening, eager to get a taste of this American classic. Roy Rogers is now one of several old-school restaurant chains making a successful return. Read more: Ranking Fast Food Burgers From Worst To Best, According To Reddit What Happened To Roy Rogers Before The Comeback? Roy Rogers, a fast food chain that served beef tallow fries, top-grade burgers, and had a full-service condiment bar for customers to dress their own meals, seemed like an unstoppable juggernaut. But its downfall came after Marriott sold it to Hardee's in 1990 to exit its interest in the restaurant industry. Throughout the '90s, Hardee's converted or sold off over 500 Roy Rogers locations, sparking significant pushback from the public. This eventually led to Hardee's converting some locations back to Roy Rogers, but the damage was done, and even more locations were sold off. By the time the Plamondon brothers took over in 2002, the brand had only a handful of locations left in the country. Seeing potential in an iconic brand with a loyal customer base, the brothers knew it would take a lot of work to restore it to its full potential. For over a decade, the Plamondons rebooted the brand's identity and expanded throughout the Northeast, including Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, and West Virginia. As of July 2025, the chain boasts 41 locations, the majority of which are in Maryland. The Roy Rogers of today serves many of the classic dishes that once made it famous, from creamed chipped beef — a breakfast dish that became a U.S. Army staple — to its Double R Bar Burger, complete with a slice of ham on top. Want more food knowledge? Sign up to our free newsletter where we're helping thousands of foodies, like you, become culinary masters, one email at a time. Read the original article on Food Republic. Solve the daily Crossword
New York Post
an hour ago
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JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon promised employees lots of goodies at its new 270 Park Avenue headquarters to ease their pain at having to return to the office five days a week. Amenities at the $3 billion skyscraper, opening this month, include a food hall with 19 cafes, displays of art from former bank chairman David Rockefeller's collection, and even an Irish pub. But some spoiled staffers crank that a much-touted, 'cutting-edge Fitness Center' won't come free, but require a monthly membership fee, as an internal memo informed them this week. Advertisement A rendering of JPMorgan Chase's new Park Avenue headquarters, which is due to open this month. = DBOX / Foster + Partners The memo didn't say how much it would cost, but 'more information will be available in the coming weeks.' 'It's truly a perk to be gifted the opportunity to spend money,' one complainant using the handle twbassist whined on Reddit. 'Honestly, I feel like going to the Equinox in the Grabyar Building, it's much better anyway,' wrote gethighinthesky. Advertisement Maximus9195 snarked on the platform, 'Shareholder value!' Another Reddit user said he wasn't defending the bank but, 'Could you imagine a gym that's free to 14,000-plus people? Sounds like an absolute nightmare.' Some 1,300 employees signed a petition last winter grumping about the back-to-the-office mandate from Dimon, who said his order was ironclad no matter what they thought. Advertisement JPM Morgan Chase CEO Jaime Dimon. via REUTERS 'The abuse [of work-from-home] was extraordinary,' Dimon said — a sentiment since shared by numerous other corporate chiefs who've ordered their troops back. JPMorgan Chase spokesman Michael Fusco flatly denied to Realty Check the claim by a Reddit poster, 'We were told [the fitness center] was free earlier [last] month.' Advertisement Fusco said, 'We never shared details on how it would operate since everything is still being finalized.' The 270 Park Ave. fitness center 'offers access to cardio, strength and recovery equipment, locker rooms, daily group exercise classes, a nutrition consultation and sessions with a Well-being Performance Coach,' according to the bank's memo.
