Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500 cap volatile week with back-to-back weekly losses

This deal marks a roughly 60% discount to Brex's peak valuation just north of $12 billion clinched at the peak of the post-pandemic funding boom in the fall of 2021. Its also a notable takeout for venture-backed decacorns likely looking at 2026 as a year to find an exit, either via acquisition or an IPO.

The fintech boom that Brex and others rode has passed as the current meta in venture circles; now, it is all about AI. (See a16z's latest fundraising announcement splash for a sense of where the big bets are being placed.)

For the established financial industry, this year opened with many companies enjoying stock prices trading at record highs and optimism about the regulatory latitude and capital markets flexibility to make deals happen, both for clients and themselves.

A surprise proposal from the White House that would cap credit card fees at 10% shook companies in the business of card issuing, Capital One notable among them. Earnings results from America's biggest banks were also met with some skepticism from investors, and their stocks mostly traded down in response.

Recent hostilities from President Trump lobbed at JPMorgan may also cool optimism in the sector, long a punching bag for politicians on both sides of the aisle.

But the Capital One-Brex deal is still, in its way, a template of sorts for where industry observers saw this year going. And we'd be surprised if this were the last time an established financial leader announced plans for a deal like this.