CAPITAL MARKETS

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Long-tenured employees with stock options in tech companies may have to wait years before a company IPOs and they can sell their shares.

That’s where companies like Forge, Hiive, and EquityZen step in. They provide a secondary marketplace that lets investors and shareholders buy and sell “pre-IPO” shares in private companies, often through a direct share purchase. Companies like SpaceX (before its IPO), Anthropic and OpenAI have reportedly allowed employees to sell shares at times, according to Bloomberg and CNBC.

“Companies are figuring out that they need to allow a level of liquidity for employees that have been long-term contributors,” Kelly Rodriques, CEO of Forge Global, one of the private market secondaries, told CFO Brew. Forge, whose sale to brokerage Charles Schwab closed in March, has enabled trades in more than 600 companies, valued at over $18 billion in total transaction volume, according to its website. Morgan Stanley acquired Forge rival EquityZen in January.

Private companies are generally okay with private market secondaries, but what they may not like is “if transfers of their shares are happening either without them knowing it or without prior approval,” Rodriques said. The marketplaces might also have requirements. Sellers on Forge, for example, must notify and obtain permission from the companies before divesting.

Private companies can restrict sales of stock that they haven’t approved.—LB

      

Sponsored By PwC

When PwC sat down with AT&T at Mobile World Congress to understand their story and success with AI, they discussed staying ahead of the curve with the challenges, trends, and opportunities that AI fosters.

Now that the “what” has been explored, it’s time to tackle the “how” even more deeply. For AI investments focusing on maximizing ROI, AT&T’s sharing their knowledge.

They discuss how their leadership works to stay on top of organizational goals when pondering AI implementations and focusing on AI use cases that matter to their team, not the currently trending cultural discussion.

Learn more about AT&T’s AI implementation plans.

AI TRENDS

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Sure, comparison may be the thief of joy, but every now and again, it’s helpful to take a look at your fellow CFOs to see how they’re doing things.

And when the opportunity presents itself, it’s even better to take a look at how 1,434 finance leaders across 26 countries are doing things, wouldn’t you say? That’s what we have, thanks to Deloitte’s latest finance trends report, released September 8.

For starters, and surprising no one, AI is top of mind: Looking ahead to the 2027 fiscal year, 43% of the respondents are prioritizing AI and advanced technology to automate operations.

The explosion of AI is also pushing key strategic decisions onto finance teams’ agendas, and to that end, the survey’s authors note that their report “shows how—and how quickly—many finance leaders’ mandates may be expanding.”

“When asked which responsibilities they lead outside the traditional scope of finance, respondents most often cite cross-enterprise AI and technology capital allocation (54%); AI trust, including ensuring reliable, accurate, and explainable AI outputs (48%); and oversight of AI and technology spending and cost controls (48%),” the survey found.

CFOs plan to introduce more sophisticated AI cost management practices in 2027.—NP

      

CONSUMERS

Morning Brew Inc.

When shoppers start cutting back on food, you know things aren’t good.

This latest ominous sign comes courtesy of Kroger: Although more shoppers were scrounging the chain’s aisles in Q2, they were tossing less in their carts. As a result, same-store sales inched up just 0.2%, below estimates of 0.8%. Total revenue rose 2% to $34.62 billion, short of forecasts for $34.64 billion.

Part of Kroger’s problem was the cyclospora outbreak, which had shoppers avoiding produce like the plague. But price tags were ultimately an even bigger issue than parasites.

“Customers remained under pressure and that has affected the industry broadly,” Kroger CEO Greg Foran explained on a call with investors.

Giving credit where it’s due: Kroger managed to turn Americans’ anxiety over gas and grocery prices into a competitive edge. The company tweaked its rewards program so that grocery purchases translate into bigger gas discounts—giving customers one more reason to fill up their tank right after loading groceries into the trunk. That boosted demand at Kroger pumps enough to outpace the broader market.

Walmart, Whole Foods, and Costco are also making moves, Brew Markets reports.—JD

      

market forces

Francis Scialabba

Today’s top finance reads

Stat: 5%. That’s what the 10-year Treasury yield hit in morning trading on Monday before falling back slightly. It was the highest intraday level since 2007, according to Tradeweb. (The Wall Street Journal)

Quote: “We think that the FOMC will be reluctant to surprise.”—Goldman Sachs economist David Mericle on the likelihood of the Fed raising rates on Wednesday (Reuters)

Read: What would a slower pace of AI model development mean for the industry’s IPOs? (CNBC)

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