The AI race finally has a finish line that isn't a benchmark score: the IPO window.

Anthropic filed confidential paperwork Monday for a listing that could land as soon as fall, while OpenAI is still huddled with bankers.

And with SpaceX's rumored $1.5 trillion debut about to vacuum up every loose dollar in the room, the model makers are suddenly racing to call dibs on whatever capital is left.

Academic research shows IPOs cluster by industry, and the companies that list later in a cycle tend to underperform.

So maybe it doesn’t matter which firm cracks AGI, so much as who rings the bell first.

— Brooks & Cas

What: Warren Buffett spent decades calling department stores his worst idea, so the holding company he built spending real money on one counts as a plot twist. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) disclosed a $55M Macy's (M) stake on May 15.

Why: The bet is on attrition, not growth. Sears, JC Penney and Saks have been wiped out or gutted, and Macy's is the biggest survivor with over $20B in revenue. It trades at 1.2x book and 10x forward earnings, roughly Kohl's (KSS) territory, with a 3.4% yield and free cash flow analysts see growing 11% this year.

What Else: There's also a floor under the stock most retailers can't claim. Macy's owns or ground-leases nearly half its locations, real estate CoStar pegs at $7.9 to $10.5 billion against a $5.7 billion market cap. The catch is monetizing it, where activists keep losing. Meanwhile, CEO Tony Spring has lifted employees per store 14% while rivals cut staff to pick online orders.

Watch: Bloomingdale's comps, up 10% each of the last two quarters as Saks closes 30% of its stores.

What: Every investment conference now has a sports panel, and Ariel's Mellody Hobson found the corner nobody's crowding: women's sports.

Why: Project Level, the private-equity fund Hobson co-founded that closed $250M in February, sees a valuation gap in the market. The WNBA pulls 15% of NBA viewership but gets 3% of its media-rights money, $220M. Hobson expects that gap to close over her fund's 10-year life. McKinsey sees the global sports economy doubling to roughly $300B by 2035. That’s a big slice of pie.

What Else: Meanwhile, the entry prices are still small-cap. The most valuable women's team, the Golden State Valkyries, is worth $850M after one sold-out season, against $12.5B for the Dallas Cowboys. Project Level owns a piece of NWSL expansion side Denver Summit, where 63,000 showed for the opener, plus League One Volleyball, a club roll-up that flipped pro teams in LA for $20M and Houston for $15M.

Watch: Whether expansion fees keep climbing as the NWSL scales toward 28-32 teams. Every time the league grows, owners split the check.

What: Golf is no longer members only. US rounds played rose 14% in 2020 and have climbed nearly every year since, up 5.3% through April, with off-course participation surging 63% versus 2019.

Why: Simulators and venues did the recruiting. Golf-entertainment locations are up 80% since 2019, commercial sim sites roughly doubled in three years, and the instant-feedback screens pull in a younger, more diverse crowd. Acushnet Holdings (GOLF), owner of Titleist, has nearly tripled over six years.

What Else: Callaway Golf (CALY) spent years dragging Topgolf's debt around, but since announcing the sale of its majority stake it sits on net cash, higher margins and a wider price range, including the starter sets beginners actually buy. Junior on-course play ran 58% above 2019 in 2025, per the National Golf Foundation. Tomorrow's spenders are already on the tee.

Watch: Whether off-course dabblers convert to paying tee times, still flat near 3M beginners a year. Cheaper than a boat, and it’s starting to show.