In the soon-to-end year of 2024, driven by factors such as the AI boom and the Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts, the US stock market has surged, capturing the attention of global investors. This year, many American companies have staged magnificent dramas, collectively shaping the trend of the US stock market.

From oil giants completing expensive acquisitions to "Bitcoin whales" making frenzied purchases, from the "stock god" accumulating Cash in large quantities to the emergence of the most powerful quantum computing chip, these events not only affect the fate of the companies themselves but also reflect the trends and changes in the entire Industry and even the Global economy.

This article will take you through the top ten major events of American companies that left a profound mark in 2024.

1. Not NVIDIA? This year's top bull stock of the S&P 500 Index: Palantir.

In the tumultuous wave of technology in 2024, when we look back at the 'brightest star' in the US stock market, people often first think of $NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$ . With its leading position in the AI Chip field, it has been soaring ahead. However, when we examine closely $S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ When it became a leader among component stocks, it was surprising to find that the Big Data analysis Software company $Palantir (PLTR.US)$ stood out and became this year's undisputed top stock.

Since the beginning of the year, Palantir has risen nearly 380%, claiming the top spot in the S&P 500 Index for the highest increase. Palantir is not a traditional household name. The key to the company's remarkable growth this year lies in its precise focus on several popular trends, such as AI and national defense.

2. A whopping 64.5 billion USD! Exxon Mobil completes a huge acquisition, changing the landscape of the Oil & Gas industry.

2024 is destined to be an extraordinary year in the history of energy. In this year, a significant piece of news shocked the entire energy industry: the global Oil & Gas giants $Exxon Mobil (XOM.US)$ The transaction to acquire Pioneer Natural Resources for $64.5 billion has been officially completed.

This move not only further consolidates Exxon Mobil's position in the industry but will also profoundly change the landscape of the Oil & Gas sector.

Pioneer Natural Resources possesses rich unconventional oil and gas resource reserves and advanced extraction technology, which will help Exxon Mobil expand its asset portfolio globally and enhance its R&D capabilities in the New energy Fund sector. Meanwhile, small and medium-sized oil and gas companies will face even more severe survival pressures, while large oil and gas companies may accelerate strategic mergers and acquisitions to maintain competitiveness.

3. This year's largest IPO in the USA: Cold Chain Logistics giant Lineage raised 5.1 billion USD.

In the 2024 US stock market, the most noteworthy initial public offering (IPO) is undoubtedly the Cold Chain Logistics giant. $Lineage (LINE.US)$ . The company successfully raised up to $5.1 billion through the Nasdaq stock market in July this year, making it not only the largest IPO in the US stock market this year but also injecting new momentum into the development of the Cold Chain Logistics industry.

Founded in 2008, Lineage is a global leader in temperature-controlled logistics solutions. Over the past decade, the company has meticulously built a large and efficient cold chain logistics network, with a wide range of operations covering many industries that require high temperature control, including food, pharmaceuticals, and fresh agricultural products, having long been renowned in the field of cold chain logistics.

The largest unicorn in history has been born! Musk's SpaceX latest valuation is 350 billion USD.

Recently, the world's richest man, Elon Musk's SpaceX, set a new valuation record of 350 billion USD, which is nearly a 70% increase from the 210 billion USD level at the beginning of the year. The company rightly deserves the title of "the largest unicorn in history."

This soaring valuation not only highlights SpaceX's leading position in the aerospace field but also reflects the high recognition from investors for the potential of the future space economy.

One of SpaceX's most notable achievements is the successful development of reusable rocket technology, greatly reducing rocket launch costs and promoting the development of the commercial space market. From the first Dragon spacecraft sent to the International Space Station, to completing the first commercial spacewalk, to the successful test flight of the Starship showcasing the "chopsticks catching a rocket" scene, SpaceX continuously expands human imagination.

Due to reports of SpaceX's internal discussions about an IPO plan, once this plan is initiated, it will also be a significant event in the US stock market.

The largest Bitcoin whale in the US stock market, MicroStrategy, is on a buying spree, and its stock price has quadrupled this year.

In the 2024 financial markets, one company has attracted the attention of global investors with its unique investment strategy, and that is $MicroStrategy (MSTR.US)$ 。

This business intelligence software supplier is known for being "unfocused" and crazily hoarding Bitcoin. MicroStrategy currently holds a total of 444,262 Bitcoins, valued at approximately 41.3 billion USD, making it the "largest Bitcoin whale" in the US stock market.

As the demand for AI continues to rise, the industry is evolving. $Bitcoin (BTC.CC)$ This year marks an "epic" market, with MicroStrategy's stock price achieving an astonishing fourfold increase within the year, with a cumulative increase of 467%, and has been included in$NASDAQ 100 Index (.NDX.US)$。

Recently, MicroStrategy founder and chairman Michael Saylor compared Bitcoin to New York City and its economy, calling it "the digital Manhattan," and stated, "We will keep buying, every day is a good time to buy Bitcoin."

0.63252 billion US dollars! The "Oracle of Omaha"'s Berkshire Hathaway has reached a new high in cash on hand.

Every move of the "Oracle of Omaha" Warren Buffett has signified a directional indication in Capital Markets. As of the end of the third quarter this year, Buffett's managed $Berkshire Hathaway-B (BRK.B.US)$ The cash on hand has risen to 325.2 billion USD, setting a new historical high. At the same time, the company further reduced its holdings in key stocks such as Apple and Bank of America in the third quarter.

This figure not only highlights Berkshire's strong financial strength but has also triggered widespread reflection on Buffett's investment strategy. Some analysts claim that Berkshire's large accumulation of cash reflects Buffett's concerns about current US stock valuations and the US economic situation.

7. Who is the largest buyer of NVIDIA AI Chips? Microsoft hoarded nearly 0.5 million GPUs in a year.

In the thriving age of AI, computing power has become the core resource that technology giants are scrambling for, and NVIDIA's AI Chips, with their outstanding performance, have become hot commodities in the market.

According to the latest data from market research consulting firm Omdia, $Microsoft (MSFT.US)$ This year, 0.485 million flagship "Hopper" chips from NVIDIA were purchased, far exceeding competitors in other technology fields.

Microsoft's substantial procurement of AI Chips not only grants it a significant advantage in the race to build next-generation AI systems but also encourages other tech giants to increase their investment in AI Chips, thereby promoting the development and innovation of the technology sector.

8. Alphabet released the strongest quantum computing chip in history: achieving the equivalent of supercomputing for "10 to the power of 25 years" in less than five minutes.

With the global rise of the AI wave, computing power has become a key area of competition among tech giants, and quantum computing is considered a disruptive force in addressing AI power constraints. Recently, Alphabet-C announced the successful development of an unprecedented quantum computing chip, astonishing in its powerful performance.

$Alphabet-C (GOOG.US)$ On December 9th, the latest quantum chip "WILLOW" was launched, claiming it could complete a "standard benchmark calculation" in less than five minutes. In contrast, today's most powerful supercomputers would take "10 to the power of 25" years to accomplish the same task—far exceeding the age of the universe.

This groundbreaking achievement not only refreshes people's understanding of computational power but also heralds the advent of a brand new era of computing.

9. The Fall of Intel: This year, the size of layoffs has reached the largest among Technology companies, with the stock price dropping by sixty percent this year.

In the long history of the semiconductors industry, $Intel (INTC.US)$ it was once a brilliant star, holding an unshakable dominant position in the field of computer processors. However, times have changed, and due to a lag in technological innovation and failure to catch the current wave of AI, Intel experienced unprecedented turmoil in 2024.

Meanwhile, Intel's stock price continues to plummet, having dropped an astonishing sixty percent since the beginning of the year, reflecting investors' concerns about its future prospects.

To salvage its performance decline, Intel announced in August this year that it would lay off more than 15% of its employees starting from the fourth quarter, at least 16,000 people. According to data from the independent layoff tracking organization Layoffs.fyi, Intel's layoff scale is the highest among technology companies this year.

Japan's giant faces the strongest resistance in acquiring United States Steel: Trump and Biden unanimously oppose.

In the current context of global economic integration, cross-border acquisitions between companies are commonplace. However, in 2024, a cross-border merger case – the Japanese steel giant Nippon Steel’s attempt to acquire $United States Steel (X.US)$ However, it has encountered unprecedented strong resistance.

The elected president of the USA, Trump, and the current president, Biden, surprisingly stand on the same side, jointly opposing this acquisition, making the outlook for the deal filled with uncertainty.

As early as last December, Japan's Nippon Steel announced plans to spend approximately 14 billion USD to acquire United States Steel, but the deal has been delayed due to significant political resistance.

The steel industry is regarded as a core component of American manufacturing and is crucial for national defense construction and infrastructure development. Therefore, any foreign capital involvement is considered a potential threat to national security interests.

Want to enter the market but find timing difficult."Monthly Payment Zone"The feature helps you to invest regularly and steadily, capturing investment opportunities!

Editor/rice