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Sunday ScariesApril 25, 2026

Vol. 1 · Week of April 25, 2026

Sunday Scaries Vol. 1

Banks cut 15K jobs while making record profits. The $17B QXO/TopBuild deal, the $2.4B Blue Owl/Sila take-private, TOMS Capital pushing Voya, and what college students should know before Monday.

Welcome to the first issue. Every Sunday we send the deals, headlines, and recruiting signals that actually matter for IB and PE recruiting, distilled in 5 minutes so you walk into Monday's coffee chats sounding like the most informed person in the room.

Top Stories of the Week

1. AI is officially in the front office. Banks cut 15,000 jobs on record profits.

Six big banks (JPM, Citi, BofA, GS, MS, WFC) shed 15,000 employees in Q1 while posting a combined $47B in net income, up 18% YoY. Execs aren't blaming attrition. They're naming the tool. Wells Fargo's AI now auto-drafts pitchbooks and credit memos. Citi is targeting 20,000 more cuts. BofA called it "eliminating work and applying technology."

Why you care: The work entry-level analysts used to do is the work AI is doing now. Class sizes will compress.

Interview angle: Know which AI tools your target bank uses (MS Copilot, JPM's LLM suite). When asked "how do you see this job evolving?", you'll have a real answer.

2. The U.S. tariff refund portal opened. $127B in eligible refunds queued up.

CBP's CAPE portal went live April 20. As of mid-April, 56,497 importers had already registered for an eligible refund pool of $127B+. Citi estimates Walmart is owed $10.2B, Target $2.2B, Nike about $1B. Refunds expected in 60 to 90 days.

Why you care: Consumer and retail companies are about to get a huge cash injection. Fuel for M&A, buybacks, and capex in H2 2026.

Interview angle: "Large-cap retailers have a near-term war chest from tariff refunds. That changes the M&A calculus going into the back half of the year." Drop that in a consumer or retail group chat.

3. Voya Financial gets the activist treatment.

TOMS Capital disclosed a stake in Voya ($7B market cap, $1.1T in retirement and insurance assets) and is pushing for a sale or break-up of its stop-loss health insurance arm. Stock popped 5% on April 23.

Why you care: A textbook sum-of-parts thesis playing out in real time.

Interview angle: If asked about activist strategies or conglomerate discounts, Voya is the freshest case study you can name.

Deals of the Week

QXO acquires TopBuild, $17B. Brad Jacobs' next industrial roll-up. About 45% cash, 55% stock at a 19.8% premium. ~$300M synergies by 2030.

  • QXO advisors: Morgan Stanley (lead), Barclays, Wells Fargo Securities

Blue Owl take-private of Sila Realty Trust, $2.4B. All-cash at a 19% premium. Blue Owl pushing into healthcare net-lease real estate.

  • Blue Owl advisors: Citigroup (lead), Truist Securities, Newmark (real estate), Kirkland & Ellis (legal)
  • Sila advisors: BofA Securities, Hogan Lovells (legal)

TOMS Capital activist push at Voya, ~$7B market cap. No formal transaction advisors disclosed yet, which is normal at the early activist stage.

Pro tip: Pick one. Know it cold by Friday. One deal you can speak to fluently beats three you skimmed.

Recruiting Pulse

AI is now an interview topic, not a future threat. Analysts are telling us interviewers are already asking how candidates would use AI on day one. Get specific. "I'd use Copilot to draft initial comp tables, then verify financials manually" beats vague AI-positivity every time.

FT 2026 timing is uneven. Evercore and Lazard analysts say networking lists haven't gone out yet. Wait at least another month before mass outreach. Middle markets (Baird, Jefferies, William Blair) have roles open now.

Don't extrapolate Q1. GS IB fees were +48% and MS +36% in Q1, but tariff uncertainty has clouded the H2 outlook. Be ready for the "what's your view on the deal market?" question with nuance, not optimism.

What's New on Superday AI

Three things worth your time this week:

SIE Prep is live.

416 questions, 20 topics, mock-exam simulator. If your bank requires it post-offer, get ahead now and walk in licensed-ready.

Start the SIE diagnostic

Mock interviews got smarter.

Sessions now learn across attempts: weak categories surface first, repeat questions are filtered out, and industry-group mocks (Healthcare, FIG, RX, TMT, Energy, Real Estate, Consumer) ask sector-specific technicals.

Run a smarter mock

Firm-specific question banks added across the BBs.

GS, MS, JPM, BofA, Citi, Barclays. Real questions, real frameworks, organized by firm and group.

Browse by firm
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