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MP Materials (MP) rips to all-time high after $500M deal that ensures Apple (AAPL) supply apart from China. (00:21) XPeng (XPEV) revises hiring plan for 2025 with focus on AI – report. (01:31) Stellantis (STLA) to end hydrogen fuel cell program citing infrastructure gaps, high costs. (02:01)
This is an abridged transcript.
MP Materials (NYSE:MP) closed +20% on Tuesday and is up 5% in premarket action. MP posted an all-time intraday high of $62.87 on Tuesday, after unveiling its $500M deal with Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL).
The deal is to develop a recycling line for rare earth materials that will allow MP to reprocess rare earth elements for use in Apple products.
The partnership includes a $200M prepayment from Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) for a supply of magnets scheduled to begin in 2027, to be produced at MP’s (NYSE:MP) Fort Worth, Texas, facility using magnets recycled at the company’s Mountain Pass, California, mining complex.
For Apple (AAPL), the deal guarantees a steady flow of rare earths and magnets free from China, and analysts say the cost to support U.S. magnet production pales in comparison to the long-term risk that it could lose access entirely to the critical components.
The deal comes days after MP (MP) agreed to a multibillion-dollar deal with the U.S. Department of Defense that will see the Pentagon become the company’s largest shareholder and financial backstop.
Apple (AAPL) did not disclose which devices will include MP’s (MP) magnets; MP said the deal will supply magnets for hundreds of millions of devices, which would constitute a significant share of any of Apple’s product lines.
XPeng (NYSE:XPEV) CEO and chairman He Xiaopeng raised the hiring plan for the year 2025, targeting 8,000 new hires—an increase from its earlier objective of 6,000.
With this new hiring push, the total headcount is projected to be near 30,000 by the end of 2025, according to a Reuters report.
The ramped-up hiring highlights higher recruiting in smart driving and positions available in areas like large artificial intelligence models, the report added.
Stellantis (NYSE:STLA) will discontinue its hydrogen fuel cell technology development program.
The automaker said on Wednesday that there’s limited availability of hydrogen refueling infrastructure, high capital requirements, and a need for stronger consumer purchasing incentives.
The company does not anticipate the adoption of hydrogen-powered light commercial vehicles before the end of the decade, it said in a statement.
As a result, Stellantis (NYSE:STLA) will no longer launch its new range of Pro One vehicles this year.
Serial production was scheduled to start this summer in Hordain, France (medium-sized vans) and Gliwice, Poland (large vans).
This decision will not impact staffing. R&D activities related to hydrogen technology will be redirected to other projects.
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Dow, S&P and Nasdaq futures are in mixed territory. Crude oil is down 0.3% at $66/barrel. Bitcoin is up 0.9% at $118,000. Gold is up 0.5% at $3,341.
The FTSE 100 is up 0.1% and the DAX is up 0.2%.
The biggest movers for the day premarket: Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) +23% — Shares surged after a regulatory filing revealed that billionaire investor Peter Thiel has acquired a 9.1% stake in the crypto-mining and treasury firm.
On today’s economic calendar:
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8:30 am PPI-Final Demand
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10:00 am Federal Reserve Board Governor Michael Barr will speak on “Financial Regulation” before the Brookings Institution.
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2:00 pm Beige Book
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6:30 pm New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams will give keynote before the New York Association for Business Economics (NYABE) Distinguished Speaker Series.
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