Bill Ackman’s Contrarian AI Bet: Why Traditional Data Giants May Outlast the Hype

Tencent's TenPay Global and Mastercard signed an MoU to enhance cross-border payment interoperability. They will explore agentic payments and deeper remittance ties, leveraging their capabilities in payment processing and risk management. Mastercard data shows a 51.3% year-over-year rise in inbound spending in China. The collaboration follows a similar agreement between Tencent and Visa.

Mastercard announced partnerships with OpenAI and Tencent's TenPay Global to advance AI-driven commerce. The company's Mastercard Agent Pay, a tokenized payment solution, is part of these agreements. Mastercard aims to build trust in AI shopping agents and improve merchant discoverability. The collaborations will explore AI-enabled commerce, cross-border payments, and QR acceptance for international visitors in China.

Visa (V) raised its quarterly dividend by 16%, citing record revenue of $46 billion in fiscal 2026. The company processed 281 billion transactions, with Q4 net sales up 13% to $12.1 billion. Visa's dividend yield is 0.75%, with a payout ratio under 25%. CEO Ryan McInerney attributed growth to strong payments volume and value-added services revenue, which rose 30% to $14 billion.

France's National Assembly approved a 5.5-cent-per-gigabyte data tax, targeting global digital giants like Netflix, Google, Meta, Amazon, and Akamai. The tax aims to generate €10 billion annually and promote digital moderation. The Finance Committee initially rejected the amendment, but a public vote secured its passage.

France's National Assembly passed an amendment to tax data sent to French users at €0.055 per gigabyte, targeting big tech firms like Google, Meta, and Netflix. The tax, expected to raise €10B annually, faces criticism for potential unintended consequences and narrow voting margin. VideoLAN estimates it could cost them over €1M yearly.

Netflix (NFLX) is cutting 2% to 3% of its London workforce, including regional production chief Anna Mallett, as part of a global restructuring. This follows a previous announcement to eliminate 1,000 roles worldwide. The moves aim to streamline operations amid Wall Street scrutiny over slowing growth and a 44% stock decline over the past year.