The main thing for the week: the crisis of the airline industry, SpaceX and Musk's power, Palantir's disappointment

Airlines cut flights due to shortages and rising fuel costs. SpaceX before IPO increases Elon Musk's influence in the company and limits investors' rights. AMD and Palantir report revenue and profit growth. LVMH is preparing a sale of assets. The main events from 4 to 8 Ma - in our review.

World airlines have canceled 75 thousand flights for the summer (that's 9.3 million seats), another 12 thousand flights and 2 million seats - for the current month. The reason is a shortage of jet fuel and a jump in jet fuel prices.

Rising fuel costs to nearly $200 a barrel and supply disruptions due to the war in the Middle East are forcing the industry to not only shrink its route network, but also to raise ticket prices. Some carriers are switching to fuel-efficient airplanes, Cirium researchers say.

The fuel crisis has also led to a divide between large and small airlines: the former expect to compensate for increased costs by raising ticket prices and reducing the number of flights, while the latter find themselves closer and closer to the brink of bankruptcy.

What else is there to read about it?

On Ma 2, the American airline Spirit announced the immediate termination of its operations - details in the piece "Lowcoster Spirit announced the immediate termination of its operations. How did he explain?"

The number of jobs in the U.S. outside the agricultural sector in April increased by 115 thousand, reported the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is less than the March figure (185 thousand), but more than twice as much as analysts' forecasts. The unemployment rate remained unchanged and amounted to 4.3%.

All this suggests that the U.S. labor market has proved resilient, despite increased inflationary pressures due to the war in the Middle East. Strong employment data reduce the likelihood of a rapid Fed rate cut. At the end of April, the regulator left the rate unchanged.

IPO-ready AI developer Anthropic has struck a deal with SpaceX, gaining access to more than 300 MW of computing power and the Colossus supercomputer. The deal will allow the startup to expand the limits on the use of its Claude AI model and Claude Code and Claude API tools. Anthropic has also "expressed interest" in partnering to build data centers in space, a project SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is "obsessed" with, the Wall Street Journal previously reported.

It also became known that the investment corporation of the National Bank of Kazakhstan became a direct shareholder of Anthropic. This was reported on Facebook by the head of the regulator Timur Suleimenov.

What else is there to read about it?

Both SpaceX and Anthropic are planning IPOs this year, and this poses risks for the market. Details - in the material "Huge IPO SpaceX and Anthropic may be the end of the "bull" market, warned BofA".

SpaceX is making corporate governance changes ahead of its IPO that could strengthen the powers of its CEO Elon Musk and, conversely, dilute investor rights, Reuters wrote, citing company documents.

Musk now controls 42.5% of SpaceX's share capital and 83.8% of the voting power. After the IPO, he will retain more than 50% of the votes. This will happen due to the fact that there will be two classes of shares in the share capital of SpaceX - A and B. The former will be available to investors in the market, with one vote equal to one class A share. The second will be available only to Musk, his family and "certain entities" and one class B share will have 10 votes. Musk will remain both CEO, CTO and chairman of SpaceX's board of directors. Only he himself will be able to fire himself. In addition, it is assumed that the owners of class A shares will automatically waive the right to a jury trial and will not be able to file class action lawsuits against the company and its management.

Read more in "SpaceX IPO will unprecedentedly increase Musk's power at the expense of shareholder rights - Reuters"

Palantir, a developer of AI solutions for the U.S. Department of Defense and commercial sector, grew revenue 85% year-over-year to $1.63 billion in the first quarter of 2026, the highest since 2020. Its net income nearly quadrupled. The company raised its full-year revenue forecast to $7.65 billion to $7.662 billion, the previous one assumed Palantir would generate $7.182 billion to $7.198 billion this year.

In the commercial segment in the U.S., the company earned $595 million, less than the $605 million analysts expected. As a result, the company disappointed the market with these results, Bloomberg wrote. Prior to the report, HSBC downgraded Palantir's stock from "buy" to neutral and lowered its target price from $205 to $151, due to increasing competition from AI in the software segment.

During the week Palantir securities lost in price almost 4.5%, since the beginning of the year - more than 22%. On Friday they closed at $137.8 per share.

AMD, one of Nvidia's competitors, also reported its first quarter financial results on May 5. Its revenue increased by 38% to $10.25 billion, diluted earnings per share - by 43% to $1.37. Both figures exceeded market expectations.

The data center segment has become the main growth driver for AMD, according to its press release. It brought almost half of the revenue, $5.8 billion, the figure in annual terms increased by 57%. Going forward, the company expects growth to accelerate in its server business. In the second quarter of 2026, AMD expects its revenue to be about $11.2 billion, plus or minus $300 million.

HSBC analysts downgraded the company's shares from "buy" to "hold" and pointed to a factor that may limit its growth: the capacity of Taiwanese TSMC, where chips for AMD are made, is already loaded. Nevertheless, the market still believes in the company's prospects - its securities have added more than 26% in price this week and more than 112% since the beginning of the year.

Luxury giant LVMH is considering an atypical move - the possible sale of some brands and assets. These include Marc Jacobs, a stake in Fenty Beauty, winery Joseph Phelps and rum producer Eminente. It could be one of the biggest business cuts the company has made in its nearly 40-year history. The aim is to cut costs and want to focus on key brands like Louis Vuitton and Dior.

LVMH has been growing through acquisitions for decades, but shrinking demand for luxury is forcing the company to rethink its strategy. Partial sale of assets could bring it billions of euros for further reinvestment, notes the FT. At the same time, LVMH also does not refuse from possible purchases, in particular, the luxury giant is considering the possibility of buying a minority stake in Armani.

McDonald's in the first quarter increased revenue year over year by 9% to $6.52 billion and net income by 6% to $1.98 billion, with comparable sales in the U.S. up 3.9% and global sales up 3.8%.

But the fast-food restaurant chain pointed to the challenges the business is now facing - rising fuel prices, declining consumer sentiment and a worsening macroeconomic environment.

McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczynski said rising gasoline prices are "a major problem" facing the company. He said inflation at gas stations will "disproportionately hit low-income consumers."

The impact of these factors continues in the second quarter, with McDonald's already reporting a weak start to the second quarter, Reuters wrote.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor