Rocket Companies, the parent company of Rocket Mortgages, made its public debut Thursday with 100 million shares at $18 per share. The Detroit company, which is now valued at $36 billion, earlier filed to issue 150 million shares at $20-22 per share before downgrading prior to the offering.
"As we think about what's important to us right now, it's really finding the right investors for us, more so than it is about the price," Julie Booth, CFO of Rocket Companies, told Cheddar. "We want to get those investors that understand us and understand the long-term vision that we have."
This marks another major IPO — the third largest this year — amid an uncertain economic climate, though Booth said Rocket Mortgages is adapting well to the new normal.
"We have been able to have the majority of our team members working from home, and it's gone very well, she said. "In fact, our production is seeing record levels right now."
While the mortgage giant is especially tethered to macroeconomic conditions, the housing market has been robust amid an otherwise lackluster economic recovery.
Booth attributes this to the unique way that coronavirus has made people think more about "the importance of home," as many workers continue to work remotely.
"I think folks are really considering how they want to be able to work best, and that is attributing a lot of the demand coming to market right now for new housing," Booth said.
Rocket Mortgages also anticipates interest rates to stay low for the foreseeable future and for demand to continue apace.
"If you think about the number of mortgages out there in an $11 trillion market, the majority of those loans are able to refinance right now and obtain a lower rate," Booth said. "With about two and a half trillion dollars or so of capacity in the industry at any point in time for a given year, there is quite a long runway for us to work through that as an industry."
Nestlé has dismissed its CEO Laurent Freixe after an investigation into an undisclosed relationship with a direct subordinate. The company announced on Monday that the dismissal was effective immediately. An investigation found that Freixe violated Nestlé’s code of conduct. He had been CEO for a year. Philipp Navratil, a longtime Nestlé executive, will replace him. Chairman Paul Bulcke stated that the decision was necessary to uphold the company’s values and governance. Navratil began his career with Nestlé in 2001 and has held various roles, including CEO of Nestlé's Nespresso division since 2024.
Kraft Heinz is splitting into two companies a decade after they joined in a massive merger that created one of the biggest food companies on the planet. One of the companies will include brands such as Heinz, Philadelphia cream cheese and Kraft Mac & Cheese. The other will include brands like Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles and Lunchables. When the company formed in 2015 it wanted to capitalize on its massive scale, but shifting tastes complicated those plans, with households seeking to introduce healthier options at the table. Kraft Heinz's net revenue has fallen every year since 2020.
