Fortune 500 measures return on leadership

This year, Microsoft retook the top spot from Nvidia (No. 2), followed by Delta Air Lines (No. 3), Alphabet (No. 4), and Eli Lilly (No. 5). The median EBITDA per employee of companies in the top quartile was $180,000 vs. $44,000 in the bottom quartile, while median three-year revenue growth was 8.3% and 5.1% respectively. With returns of 109% over the past 5 years, the ROL Index on S&P Global has outperformed both the S&P 500 (+91%) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+64%). As Indiggo CEO Janeen Gelbart says, “this reinforces what we all know: how critical the leadership factor is to stock market performance.” You can find a deeper analysis of the index here.

One trait that unites great leaders, in my experience, is a curiosity and desire to learn. Fostering those conversations has always been part of our mission at Fortune, where we regularly bring together leaders to share insights from the front lines. Next week is a great example as Fortune, in partnership with Workday, is bringing together leaders from PayPal, Salesforce, and Team Car Care to talk about agentic AI and the future of finance with emerging CFOs and senior finance leaders. If you’re interested in joining us on June 12 from 11 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (ET), register here.

More news below.

Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at diane.brady@fortune.com

TOP NEWS

U.S. job growth slows

The U.S. only added 37,000 jobs in May, per a new ADP report, the slowest month in job growth in over two years. The S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow Jones hardly moved on the news, however.

Inside AI+

Fortune’s Sharon Goldman was in attendance at former Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s AI+ Expo, where the former executive hosted everyone from former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to OpenAI to Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves. Read her insights here.

Circle raises over $8 billion

Circle Internet Group raised $1.05 billion on Wednesday in an IPO that values the crypto firm at over $8 billion. Circle, which issues the USD coin and previously attempted an IPO in late 2021, sold 34 million shares at $31 each.

Trump blocks new foreign Harvard students

Trump ramped up his war against Harvard University by suspending the school from participating in the student visa program, which effectively bans foreign nationals from attending the nation’s wealthiest university.

Wise to move to the U.S.

British money transfer firm Wise said that it plans to move its primary stock market listing location to the U.S., dealing another blow to the beleaguered London stock exchange. Investors were happy, though: Its shares traded up 11% in morning trading (it also reported earnings).

ECB to cut rates

The European Central Bank is almost guaranteed to cut interest rates Thursday for an eighth time as Trump’s blows to global trade darken the prospects for inflation—and the economy. All analysts surveyed by Bloomberg predicted a quarter-point cut to 2%.

Big investors ditch U.S.

Big institutional investors are turning away from U.S. markets as Trump’s trade battles and the country’s escalating debt fuel worries about the future dominance of American assets, the Financial Times reports. “We’ve been quite, quite optimistic” on Europe, said Tom Nides, a vice chair at Blackstone. “Governments are relatively stable here."

Trump bans people from 12 countries

President Trump signed a broad entry ban on people from 12 countries, largely in the Middle East and Africa, and introduced travel restrictions on seven more. The ban harkens back to a controversial policy that defined the early days of his first term.

The markets

• The S&P 500 was flat Wednesday. The index is up 1.5% YTD. 
• S&P futures were trading up 0.1% this morning. 
• The Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.4% in early trading. 
• Asia was mixed: Japan was down 0.5%. Hong Kong rose 1.1%. Shanghai gained 0.2%, and India’s Nifty 50 was up 0.6%.
• Bitcoin was sitting up at $104,700 this morning.

From the analysts

• UBS on tech and scapegoating: "Technology should boost productivity, but also increases fear of the future. That encourages scapegoat economics—scared populations blame others for their insecurities. Groups whose status recently improved (e.g., LGBTQ+ groups) and foreigners are traditional scapegoats. The resulting prejudice politics undermines long-term growth. How we use technology is what really matters, which requires the right person, the right job, and the right time. Random immigration bans, attacks on LGBTQ+ people, and economic nationalism undermine trend growth," per Paul Donovan.
• Goldman Sachs on China economy: "Large swings in US-China tariffs have led us to make significant changes to our economic and policy forecasts over the past two months. Despite lingering uncertainties, we expect the US effective tariff rate on Chinese goods to stay at around 40% through the remainder of the year. We project moderate policy easing and full-year real GDP growth of 4.6% in 2025," per Andrew Tilton et al.
• Macquarie on a Fed rate cut: "Although the JOLTS survey revealed more job openings in April, other indicators (including today's ADP report) point to a US labor market that is weakening. Combined with the recent decline in US inflation, we think that the Fed will lean toward a more 'dovish' message on June 17 than it did on May 7, and the prospect for a rate cut in 2025 has strengthened a bit," per Thierry Wizman et al.

AROUND THE WATERCOOLER

As China restricts rare earths, Trump targets ethane in plastics manufacturing blow by Jordan Blum

A Chinese couple was arrested at an airport for smuggling a fungus, considered a biological pathogen, hidden in a wad of tissues by Paolo Confino

Match Group CEO says Gen Z is different, and he’s making drastic changes to Tinder to keep up by Sydney Lake

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky says his dad did him ‘a service’ by never complimenting him—it’s a lesson he’s kept while building the $82 billion giant by Preston Fore

Markets stay in a holding pattern as the world awaits more Trump trade news by Nicholas Gordon

CEO Daily is compiled and edited by Joey Abrams and Ian Mount.