By Francesca Fontana
The Score is a weekly review of the biggest stock moves and the news that drove them.
Medline
Medline made a splash in its trading debut Wednesday -- the biggest American IPO of the year.
The medical-supplies distributor jumped 41% on Wednesday, its first day of trading on the Nasdaq, after raising over $6 billion.
The Blackstone- and Carlyle-backed company sold 216 million shares at $29 each, giving it a valuation of over $50 billion.
Medline's IPO dethroned Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology as this year's top debut. It is the largest U.S. initial public offering since Rivian's IPO in November 2021, according to Renaissance Capital, when the electric-vehicle startup raised $11.9 billion.
Medline's launch offers a gauge of investors' taste for tariff-exposed companies, and could bode well for future IPOs from large companies like Elon Musk's SpaceX.
Micron Technology
An ongoing shortage of AI chips supercharged Micron's quarterly sales.
The semiconductor maker late Wednesday posted a jump in revenue in its fiscal first quarter, led by growth in demand for its memory chips.
As demand for artificial-intelligence systems continues to boom, the supply of memory chips isn't keeping up, leading to shortages and higher prices.
Chief Executive Sanjay Mehrotra said that this dynamic shows no signs of slowing, and Micron raised its outlook for key products and gave revenue guidance well above expectations.
Micron shares surged 10% Thursday.
Tesla was ordered to put the brakes on its "Autopilot" messaging after an administrative law judge found it deceived consumers by falsely implying its cars could drive on their own.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles, which first brought the case against Tesla in 2022, argued product names "Autopilot" and "Full-Self Driving Capability" amounted to false advertising.
The regulator said Tuesday that it gave the electric-car maker 90 days to change its advertising before suspending its dealer license for 30 days.
Tesla had said during July hearings that it had made clear to consumers that its Autopilot and Full-Self Driving Capability driver-assistance packages don't make its cars fully autonomous and require active driver supervision.
Tesla shares fell 4.6% Wednesday.
Warner Bros. Discovery
The drama over Warner continued Wednesday, as the media conglomerate rejected Paramount Skydance's hostile bid in favor of its planned $72 billion deal with Netflix.
In a letter, Warner recommended that shareholders reject Paramount's unsolicited all-cash bid for the company and raised concerns about the credibility of the "illusory" offer and its backing from the Ellison family -- Paramount Chief Executive David Ellison and his father Larry, the billionaire co-founder of Oracle.
Paramount has argued that its $77.9 billion proposal to acquire all of Warner is a better deal for shareholders and more likely to pass regulatory muster.
Earlier this month, Netflix agreed to purchase Warner's studio and HBO Max streaming business after Warner splits itself in two.
Warner shares lost 2.4% Wednesday, while Paramount dropped 5.4%.
Trump Media & Technology
President Trump's media company agreed to merge with a nuclear-fusion company in an all-stock deal worth over $6 billion to capitalize on the growing power requirements of the AI boom.
In a statement, the companies said Thursday the deal combines Trump Media's "access to significant capital" and TAE Technologies' "leading fusion technology" to supply power for AI technology.
Trump Media is the parent company of social platform Truth Social.
The all-stock transaction values each share of the privately held TAE at $53.89. Trump Media would provide $200 million in cash to TAE at the deal's closing, expected in mid-2026.
Under the deal, President Trump's media company and TAE would split ownership of the combined company about evenly.
Trump Media shares jumped 42% Thursday.
Lululemon Athletica
An activist investor wants to revamp Lululemon.
Elliott Investment Management has built a stake of over $1 billion in the struggling athletic-apparel retailer, and wants former Ralph Lauren executive Jane Nielsen to be its new chief executive, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. The stake makes Elliott one of Lululemon's biggest investors.
Earlier this month, Lululemon announced that Chief Executive Officer Calvin McDonald will step down in January. The Journal previously reported that the company's estranged founder, Chip Wilson, had privately been taking steps to run a proxy fight, frustrated with Lululemon "losing its cool," among other things.
Lululemon shares gained 3.5% Thursday.
Our weekly markets news roundup is now part of the WSJ's What's News podcast. Host Francesca Fontana discusses the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them. Check out What's News in Markets at wsj.com/podcasts or wherever you listen.
Write to Francesca Fontana at francesca.fontana@wsj.com.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 19, 2025 16:58 ET (21:58 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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