Wall Street Breakfast Podcast: Masimo Jumps As Danaher Nears $10B Deal

Wall Street Breakfast5.74M FollowersSubscribe5ShareSaveCommentsSummaryDanaher (DHR) is nearing a ~$10B acquisition of Masimo (MASI), representing a significant premium to MASI's prior $7B market cap.Elliott Investment Management has built a >10% stake in Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH), seeking operational and strategic changes amid underperformance.Costco (COST) faces a class action lawsuit alleging salmonella contamination at its Nebraska chicken plant, potentially impacting consumer trust.

Getty Images Listen below or on the go via Apple Podcasts and Spotify Danaher (DHR) nears $10B acquisition of medical tech company Masimo (MASI), FT reports. (00:14) Elliott builds over 10% stake in Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH) to push changes - report. (01:08) Costco (COST) sued over rotisserie chicken as nonprofit alleges salmonella at Nebraska plant. (02:05) This is an abridged transcript. Masimo (MASI) is up 32% in premarket action. Danaher (DHR) is nearing a roughly $10 billion deal to acquire the medical technology firm.

The Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter, a deal could be announced as early as today, provided it does not hit any last-minute snags, the report said. That deal value represents a premium to its nearly $7B market capitalization at Friday’s close. Masimo manufactures pulse oximeters, which measure blood oxygen levels. The company has challenged Apple over breaching its patents in a long-running intellectual property dispute over the Apple Watch. The Masimo deal would be Danaher’s (DHR) biggest acquisition in more than half a decade since its $21.4B takeover of Cytiva, the biologics manufacturing arm previously owned by GE Life Sciences, the report said. Masimo’s (MASI) stock has declined by 27% over the past year. Danaher is down 4% premarket. Activist investor Elliott Investment Management has bought over a 10% stake in Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH), positioning it as one of the company's largest shareholders. WSJ reported, citing sources familiar with the matter, that Elliott intends to advocate for major operational and strategic changes to address underperformance. The cruise company has lagged competitors, with its shares down nearly 4% YTD, compared to gains of 4.5% for Carnival (CCL) and 15% for Royal Caribbean (RCL). Norwegians shares sank on weak Q3 results and forecasts amid worrying cruise industry trends. To note, the company recently appointed John W. Chidsey, former CEO of Subway and Burger King, as president and CEO effective February 12, 2026, replacing Harry Sommer. Chidsey, a board member since 2025, brings experience in consumer brand turnarounds. Costco (COST) is reportedly facing a new lawsuit over its rotisserie chicken. The proposed class action lawsuit filed on Thursday cited a December study from an animal rights nonprofit alleging that the company’s Nebraska chicken processing plant has ongoing salmonella contamination issues. "Costco’s failure to control salmonella in its chicken supply is not a harmless technicality—it poses a real danger to consumers and violates their trust," the complaint said, according to a Reuters report. The plaintiff, Lisa Taylor, of Affton, Missouri, said she routinely bought one or two rotisserie chickens a month at Costco warehouses in the St. Louis area and believes she overpaid because Costco didn't disclose the contamination risk, the report said. Costco said at its annual meeting last month that $4.99 rotisserie chicken sales topped 157 million worldwide in 2025. What’s Trending on Seeking Alpha Apple adds integrated video podcasts, taking on Spotify and YouTube Michael Saylor's Strategy says it can weather Bitcoin drop to $8,000 while covering debt Goldman Sachs to drop DEI criteria for its board, WSJ reports SpaceX to compete in Pentagon contest for autonomous drone tech - report Catalyst watch: Sonoco Products Company (SON) will hold an Investor Day event in New York City. Radware (RDWR) will hold an Investor Day event in New York City. The three-day Barclays Industrial Select Conference will begin. Union Pacific (UNP), JetBlue Airways (JBLU), Jacobs (J), and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) are some of the notable companies participating. Dow, S&P and Nasdaq futures are in the red. Crude oil is down 0.5% at $63/barrel. Bitcoin is down 1.3% at $67,000. Gold is down 1.2% at $4,928. The FTSE 100 is up 0.3% and the DAX is up 0.3%. Markets in China (SHCOMP) and Hong Kong (HSI) were closed for the Lunar New Year holiday. The biggest movers for the day premarket: ZIM Integrated Shipping (ZIM) +36% - Shares jumped after Hapag-Lloyd (HPGLY) agreed to acquire the shipper for $35 per share in cash, a 58% premium that values the company at about $4.2B. Economic calendar: 8:30 am Empire State Manufacturing Index 10:00 am Housing Market Index This article was written byWall Street Breakfast5.74M FollowersSubscribeWall Street Breakfast, Seeking Alpha's flagship daily business newsletter, is a one-page summary that gives you a rapid overview of the day's key financial news. It is designed for easy readability on the site or by email (including mobile devices) and is published before 7:30 AM ET every market day.

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