JBS N.V.

President Donald Trump announced a temporary 90-day waiver on out-of-quota tariffs for up to 300,000 metric tons of imported ground beef trimmings, aiming to ease domestic food prices. With the U.S. cattle herd at its lowest since 1951, domestic beef prices have hit record highs, straining restaurants and consumers. The waiver is expected to lower wholesale ground beef costs over the next three months, benefiting fast-food chains like McDonald's and Yum! Brands, as well as meat processors and distributors such as JBS, US Foods, and Sysco. Consequently, ETFs with significant exposure to these companies, including the State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY), Invesco Leisure and Entertainment ETF (PEJ), and First Trust Consumer Staples AlphaDEX ETF (FXG), are poised to gain from improved profitability in the foodservice supply chain.

President Trump is lifting import quotas on ground beef for 90 days, allowing 300,000 metric tons to enter the U.S. without tariffs, with a commitment that it be sold at 25% below current market prices. The president did not specify source countries, but USDA data shows most U.S. beef imports come from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Mexico. The move follows a record $6.89 per pound for ground beef last month and comes despite a 26.4% tariff on over-quota beef imports aimed at protecting domestic ranchers amid a 75-year low in the U.S. cattle herd. Shares of Tyson Foods are under pressure on the news, while Brazil-based JBS is trending higher.

Moderna and Merck shares surged after their personalized cancer vaccine showed positive results in a late-stage trial, with Moderna skyrocketing 120% and Merck jumping 10%. Pilgrim's Pride rallied 15% after JBS, which owns more than 80% of the chicken producer, bid to acquire the remaining stock. Gold miners jumped after the Treasury Department announced sharply higher government debt repurchases, sending yields lower and boosting gold, with the VanEck Gold Miners ETF up 9% and Coeur and Hecla each gaining more than 13%. Marvell Technology rose more than 7% after giving Google permission to buy a $12 billion stake as part of a custom chip development deal. Coinbase surged 11% as bitcoin popped more than 5% to about $68,000, while Lowe's gained over 3% despite cutting its full-year outlook to the bottom end of prior guidance. Target added 5% after beating second-quarter revenue expectations and hiking full-year guidance, helped by a $752 million tariff refund boost. La-Z-Boy tanked 16% after fiscal first-quarter adjusted earnings fell 9% and current-quarter revenue guidance missed FactSet consensus, while Mercury Systems slid more than 6% on mixed results. Estee Lauder rose more than 16% after fiscal fourth-quarter adjusted earnings and revenue beat estimates.

JBS has submitted a non-binding proposal to acquire the remaining shares of Pilgrim's Pride, four years after abandoning a previous bid. The Brazilian meatpacker would give Pilgrim's Pride investors 2.086 JBS Class A shares for each share they own, valuing the offer at $28.49 per share. JBS currently owns around 82% of the Greeley, Colorado-based poultry producer through its US unit JBS USA. If completed, the deal would remove Pilgrim's Pride from the Nasdaq stock exchange and create a simplified organisational structure. The proposal requires approval from a special committee of independent directors and a majority of votes cast by unaffiliated Pilgrim's Pride shareholders.

JBS has announced a non-binding proposal to acquire the remaining 18% stake in its subsidiary Pilgrim's Pride in an all-stock transaction. Bank of America views the proposed deal as more attractive than JBS's 2021 attempt, which offered $26.50 per share in cash and was later raised to $28.50 before being rejected by Pilgrim's Pride's independent special committee. The bank said the new structure would let JBS consolidate Pilgrim's Pride without a cash outlay, improve cash flow retention, simplify its corporate structure, and concentrate share liquidity. Pilgrim's Pride shares rose 3.4% in premarket trading, while JBS edged 0.2% higher.

JBS has reversed its decision to close a meat facility in Souderton, Pennsylvania, securing around 400 jobs. The Brazilian meat giant, which recently announced Wesley Batista's return as CEO from January, had revealed plans in June to shut the Souderton beef factory, where 1,784 people were employed. JBS now intends to transform the plant into a dedicated value-added operation, investing more than $30 million over the next decade to modernize and enhance its capabilities, though beef harvesting and processing will halt on August 14. The decision was made in consultation with JBS USA, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

Brazilian meat giant JBS has entered a joint venture with Indonesia's sovereign-wealth fund to pursue investment opportunities in protein production. The agreement was struck through its subsidiary JBS USA with PT Danantara Investment Management, the financing unit of the fund, and will target Indonesia, the rest of South East Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. The venture will be set up by transferring JBS's full equity interests in its existing Australian and New Zealand businesses into a Dutch holding company, with DIM holding 25% by subscribing to shares worth $2.5 billion, initially contributing $800 million for a 9.64% stake and building up the rest over three years. Once fully invested, the joint-venture company plans to secure an additional $2.5 billion through a debt offer, taking total capital raised to $5 billion. For the first two years, DIM's contributions can only fund greenfield investments or acquisitions in Indonesia's protein production sector, after which remaining funds can be used more broadly across the region, and an IPO is possible six years after completion pending regulatory approvals.