TRG Fast Facts

By TRG Advisors on April 17, 2025

Weekly data-driven insights on the markets and economy

March consumer spending surged

Consumer spending exceeded expectations in March, with retail sales rising 1.4% on the month, surpassing the 1.2% Dow Jones estimate and the 0.2% increase in February. Excluding autos, sales were up 0.5%, driven by buyers anticipating President Trump’s tariffs, while motor vehicle and parts dealers saw a 5.3% surge. Despite declining sentiment and looming tariffs, spending remained strong, indicating resilience in consumer demand.^[i]

Exorbitant export costs for AMD

Shares of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) slid more than 5% on Wednesday after the company announced potential charges of up to $800 million for exporting its MI308 products to China and other countries. The new U.S. license requirement for certain semiconductor exports could impact AMD’s inventory and purchase commitments. Despite generating record revenue of $25.8 billion in 2024, these restrictions may slow the company’s growth.^[ii]

OpenAI eyes new social network

OpenAI is exploring the creation of a social network to rival Elon Musk’s X and Meta’s Instagram, driven by the popularity of its new image-generation feature. The project is in the early stages and aims to leverage the viral success of anime-style renderings produced by OpenAI’s tool. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman highlighted the strain on the company’s servers due to high demand, prompting temporary usage limits as they work on efficiency improvements.^[iii]

Caterpillar changes leadership

Caterpillar announced on Tuesday that Chief Operating Officer Joe Creed will succeed Jim Umpleby as CEO on May 1. Umpleby, who has been with the company for more than four decades and served as CEO for the last eight years, will transition to executive chairman. This leadership change comes as the company navigates the impact of President Trump’s tariffs and aims to maintain strategic continuity.^[iv]

Pfizer halts weight-loss pill

On Monday, Pfizer announced it would end development of its experimental daily weight-loss pill, danuglipron, after a trial participant experienced a liver injury potentially caused by the drug. The patient’s liver enzymes recovered rapidly after discontinuing the pill, but Pfizer decided to halt development following a comprehensive review of clinical data and regulatory input. Pfizer has other experimental obesity drugs in its pipeline in the early stages of development.^[v]

Goldman Sachs gains ground

On Monday, Goldman Sachs reported first-quarter earnings of $14.12 per share, surpassing the $12.35 estimate, with revenue reaching $15.06 billion, against the expected $14.81 billion. The bank’s profit rose 15% to $4.74 billion, driven by a 27% increase in equity trading revenue, which offset declines in other areas. ^[vi]

[i] Cox, Jeff. “Retail sales increased 1.4% in March, greater than expected.” CNBC, 16 April 2025, https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/16/retail-sales-march-2025.html. Accessed April 16, 2025.

[ii] Capoot, Ashley. “AMD expects $800 million hit from U.S. chip restrictions on China.” CNBC, 16 April 2025, https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/16/amd-800-million-export-us-chip-restrictions-china.html.Accessed April 16, 2025.

[iii] Field, Hayden and Rooney, Kate. “OpenAI considering its own social network to compete with Elon Musk’s X.” CNBC, 15 April 2025, https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/15/openai-considering-own-social-network-to-compete-with-elon-musks-x.html. Accessed April 16, 2025.

[iv] “Caterpillar CEO Umpleby to step down, insider Joseph Creed named successor.” CNBC, 15 April 2025, https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/15/caterpillar-ceo-umpleby-to-step-down-insider-joseph-creed-named-successor.html.Accessed April 16, 2025.

[v] Constantino, Annika Kim. “Pfizer scraps daily weight loss pill after liver injury in one patient.” CNBC, 14 April 2025, https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/14/pfizer-scraps-daily-weight-loss-pill-danuglipron.html. Accessed April 16, 2025.

[vi] Son, Hugh. “Goldman Sachs tops estimates on boom in equities trading revenue.” CNBC, 14 April 2025, https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/14/goldman-sachs-gs-earnings-q1-2025.html. Accessed April 16, 2025.