From an app redesign to in-branch education, Chase wants to show Gen Z it understands their needs.

As PayPal’s stock tumbles, Stripe is reportedly interested in buying some or all of the company.

The Eucalyptus deal deepens global reach as diversification beyond compounded GLP-1s in the US becomes urgent.

OpenAI seeks real consumer intent, and a potential Pinterest acquisition would give OpenAI first-party shopping signals and native ad infrastructure to rival Google and Meta.

Netflix’s 2026 ad plans revolve around WBD: The mega-merger would give the burgeoning ad business a major boost for years to come.

UK digital bank Starling is exploring an acquisition of another UK lender, per the Financial Times—in addition to a US bank. The move could help it expand quickly into corporate lending. Starling is not the only foreign neobank with US plans. Revolut, which competes with Starling globally, has held talks with investment bankers about buying a bank to secure a US license. Brazil’s Nubank applied for a US bank charter in October. But barriers to entry are rising as US challenger banks mature. Given the challenges ahead, quickly growing its loan book will be crucial to Starling’s profit plans.

To counter complaints about its proposed Warner Bros. purchase, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has pointed to what he says is the company’s biggest competitor: YouTube. Netflix’s contention that YouTube is its biggest competitor is defensible, but key differences exist between the platforms that opponents could use to swing back. Ultimately, it may come down to a court ruling—and recent antitrust cases suggest judges may side with Netflix.

Netflix will officially acquire Warner Bros. Discovery’s (WBD) streaming and studio assets in an $82.7 billion deal, the company announced Friday morning. Netflix stated it has secured $59 billion in financing from a collection of banks to finalize the deal. This is a coup for Netflix. Acquiring Warner Bros. will provide exclusive control over intellectual property such as DC, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and HBO Originals. Ted Sarandos agreed, framing the acquisition as a rare but necessary shift for Netflix to maintain its leadership.

Mastercard is reportedly nearing a deal to acquire Zerohash for as much as $2 billion, per Fortune. Zerohash provides infrastructure to connect fiat payment systems with crypto and stablecoins. We can expect Visa to pursue a big crypto acquisition in short order. Whether they see it as an existential threat or not, networks are waking up to the fact that crypto is here to stay—and they need to prove to investors and stakeholders that they’re taking it seriously.

Netflix is reportedly exploring an acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD)’s studio and streaming operations—its boldest move yet to consolidate the streaming market. The deal would include HBO, Warner Bros. Pictures, and HBO Max but exclude cable properties. For Netflix, the acquisition would supercharge its ad-supported tier with premium, long-tail content, expanding both viewership and inventory. The potential combination of HBO’s prestige programming and Netflix’s data-driven ad platform could redefine connected TV advertising, pressuring rivals like Disney+ and Peacock. If successful, the merger would mark streaming’s biggest consolidation since Amazon’s MGM purchase—and a new era for premium video.

The Omnicom-IPG merger is expected to close in November, according to Omnicom CEO John Wren in the company’s Q3 earnings release, which showed organic revenue growth of 2.6% YoY. The merger seems to have crossed its last hurdle—and the new Omnicom-IPG entity stands to benefit marketers in many ways, though brands must keep some considerations in mind.

Paramount is betting on creator credibility to rebuild trust in mainstream news. The company’s $150 million acquisition of The Free Press brings its founder, Bari Weiss, to CBS News as editor-in-chief—an unprecedented crossover between creator-led media and legacy broadcasting. Weiss’s Substack-born outlet, with 1.5 million subscribers, will remain independent while lending its audience trust to Paramount’s broader news portfolio. The move reflects a growing convergence between individual-led journalism and traditional networks struggling to regain public confidence. Success will hinge on whether CBS and The Free Press can balance editorial independence with corporate oversight while preserving the authenticity audiences value most.

Fiserv will acquire StoneCastle Cash Management, giving its payment ecosystem a new source of liquidity. Broadening its merchant services through stablecoin issuance may take the burden off of Clover to drive revenues, which has struggled recently with weaker adoption amid a stacked POS space. But partnered merchants like DoorDash will have to make a case to workers and customers alike that stablecoin payments are as valuable as fiat. With only 1.8% of the US population using cryptocurrency, per our forecast, the general population will have to be persuaded that FIUSD—or retailers’ own stablecoins—really have the utility to pay bills and rent just as easily as a regular paycheck.

Charlie Javice, who founded a fintech that JPMorgan Chase acquired in 2021 for $175 million, was sentenced to seven years in prison for pitching the deal based on fraudulent records that exaggerated the size of the fintech’s customer base by several million. Fintechs can be valuable partners and shrewd acquisitions, but for banks, they may also be a siren song. A hunger for growth and a thirst for the next best thing can impair otherwise clear management judgment. Due diligence should be thorough and strategic planning measured.

The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) plans to grow its US banking operations by acquiring highly sought-after wealth-management firms, per Private Banker International. According to CEO Dave McKay, the bank wants advisers who can attract new clients as well as firms that bring in sweep deposits, which will strengthen RBC’s funding base. With this strategy, RBC intends to build, scale, and deepen client relationships quickly, leveraging existing capital strength. But because the US wealth market is very competitive, RBC must prioritize building its US brand recognition to bolster its chance of post-acquisition success.

Warner Bros. Discovery shares spiked more than 30% after reports that Paramount Skydance is preparing a majority-cash takeover bid backed by Larry and David Ellison. The deal would fold WBD’s studios, HBO, DC, and streaming business into Paramount Skydance’s assets, which already include CBS, Paramount Pictures, and Paramount+. A merger would unite some of the world’s most valuable IP, creating a rival to Disney and Netflix. Investors cheered the news, lifting both companies’ stocks, though regulators are expected to scrutinize the transaction. If approved, the deal could reshape Hollywood’s power structure amid linear TV’s decline and streaming’s consolidation race.

PNC Financial is on track to buy FirstBank for $4.1 billion. The deal would give PNC a significant presence in Colorado and Arizona, per AP News. Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are reshaping US banking, with this deal following larger ones that reset what financial institutions expect federal regulators to approve. But all of these M&As show that large banks are scaling up to better compete with giants like JPMorgan and Bank of America. This consolidation among super-regional banks clearly signals that the regulatory environment is favorable for such moves. And we expect more of these types of deals in the near future.

Fiserv acquired CardFree, expanding Clover’s hospitality offerings for merchants, per a press release. The payoff from Fiserv’s recent acquisitions in Europe, like AIB Merchant Services, will take some time to materialize in earnings. If Fiserv can integrate CardFree’s offerings in Clover before it rolls out in Europe, it might get the momentum it needs to thwart more dismal investor reactions for a later earnings release.

The news: Direct-to-consumer (D2C) telehealth startup Remedy Meds is acquiring competitor Thirty Madison in an all-stock deal valued at over $500 million. Our take: By adding affordable weight-loss drugs to its men's and women's health treatments, the newly combined company will directly compete with Hims and Ro. However, their larger customer base will likely draw the attention of GLP-1 drug manufacturers like Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. Both pharma companies are actively trying to shut down the market for compounded weight-loss drugs. Transparent marketing and staying on top of potential regulatory changes to compounded GLP-1 allowance will be key to sustaining customer loyalty.

The news: OpenAI will acquire product-testing startup Statsig for $1.1 billion as it expands its applications division. Statsig CEO Vijaye Raji, formerly vice president and head of entertainment at Facebook, will join OpenAI as CTO of applications. OpenAI said the deal, pending regulatory approval, will help it develop “even better, more responsive experiences for the people and businesses we serve,” per a press release. Our take: This deal positions OpenAI to launch entirely new categories of AI-powered experiences—personalized content feeds, collaborative AI tools, or productivity suites.