WALL STREET
William D. Cohan
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November 12, 2025
Ellisonology 101
In his first earnings call as C.E.O. of Paramount Skydance, David Ellison offered a masterclass in corporate optimism, promising “synergies” and artfully dodging questions about a possible Warner Bros. Discovery takeover. Alas, the time to act is here.
William D. Cohan
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November 5, 2025
What Does Bloomberg Want for Bloomberg L.P.?
A modest proposal for how New York’s $100 billion man could bequeath his namesake, and its monumental profits in perpetuity.
William D. Cohan
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November 2, 2025
The Mag Seven Itch
The market is notching record highs for the so-called Magnificent Seven—or should that be Mag 10?—but a subterranean counternarrative is forming as once-secure food and consumer staples crater, and cracks emerge in the $3 trillion private-credit boom.
William D. Cohan
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October 29, 2025
The Brian Roberts–WBD Bull Case
A new analyst note highlights a heightened sense around Wall Street that Comcast co-C.E.O. Brian Roberts doesn’t merely want WBD, but also truly needs the company—and has a real shot at the asset.
William D. Cohan
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October 26, 2025
Jamie’s Castle in the Sky
Dimon’s $3 billion (or maybe as much as $5 billion, really) new headquarters is the physical embodiment of his fortress balance sheet and a metaphor for our fractional banking system. But the seeming permanence of its bronze facade shouldn’t fool old Wall Street hands, who know nothing is forever.
William D. Cohan
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October 22, 2025
Zaz Enters “Revlon Mode”
The deal maestro has turned Warner Bros. Discovery’s breakup into a full-blown Wall Street pageant—part strategic review, part auction theater—with David Ellison waiting in the wings.
William D. Cohan
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October 19, 2025
The Credit Market vs. The Cockroaches
The coffers are bursting again at JPMorgan Chase, Goldman, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, and Bank of America, but Jamie Dimon and others sense the private-credit markets may signal trouble ahead. The P.E. firms have another idea.
William D. Cohan
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October 15, 2025
The S.B.F. Parent Trap
In a rare public appearance, Joe Bankman confessed the depths of his agony over his son and his own attempts at a gradual renewal.
William D. Cohan
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October 12, 2025
Washington’s Wet Hot Crypto Summer
An illuminating conversation with Chris Land, the general counsel to Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, about the Genius Act—the potentially game-changing stablecoin legislation that nobody’s talking about.
William D. Cohan
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October 8, 2025
Should Zaz Kiss Off the Ellisons?
To defend against a Paramount Skydance takeover, David Zaslav will need to prove that splitting up Warner Bros. Discovery will be more valuable for shareholders than selling everything to the Ellisons. According to analysts, he’s got a good case.
William D. Cohan
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October 5, 2025
The Ellison Takeover Whisper Theater
It’s been nearly a month since news broke that Paramount Skydance was considering a bid for Warner Bros. Discovery—a fraught period that has allowed analysts and veteran Wall Street hands to opine, publicly and privately, on the potential deal and whether it should go the distance.
William D. Cohan
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September 28, 2025
The Silence of the Ellisons
An inside view into the kremlinology of the Ellison–WBD deal—the surprising comms plan, the eerie post-announcement silence, and the unintended consequences pertaining to the final price.
William D. Cohan
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September 24, 2025
Goldman’s Man Up North
News and notes on Canadian prime minister and Goldman alum Mark Carney’s view of America under Trump 2.0, and an opening interest rate salvo from the president’s new man at the Fed.
William D. Cohan
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September 21, 2025
Trump’s Intel Intervention
By directing the government to take an equity stake in Intel, followed immediately by SoftBank and Nvidia, Trump was able to boost the company’s market value by $26 billion. But the leading U.S. producer of semiconductors is still way behind on A.I., and notably short of customers.
William D. Cohan
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September 17, 2025
Ellisons of Anarchy
News and notes on the latest deal philosophies regarding the Ellisons’ unsolicited takeover bid: Larry’s liquidity, Zaz’s optionality, and the WBD board’s disposition.
William D. Cohan
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September 14, 2025
Zaz-Ellison M&A War Games
Assessing the likelihood of David Ellison’s WBD fantasies, the odds this turns hostile, and Zaz’s optionality and incentives.
William D. Cohan
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September 10, 2025
The Post-Zaz Second Marriage Fantasies
Wall Street is running the odds on what’s to become of Warner Bros. Discovery once it finishes prying itself apart. Wells Fargo analyst Steven Cahall provides an intriguing menu of options.