Good morning. The English are coming. So are the Dutch, Germans, Danish, Swiss and different Europeans driving development in overseas direct funding within the U.S. proper now. FDI rose by $266 billion to $5.86 trillion on the finish of 2025, with Europe accounting for a lot of the rise and manufacturing remaining the most important goal.
We all know why it’s occurring: Corporations need entry to the world’s deepest client market and pool of capital, together with U.S. expertise—and, after all, manufacturing on American soil is a hedge in opposition to tariffs. It’s excellent news for policymakers on the lookout for tangible wins.
A number of European CEOs have advised me their objective is to construct deeply-rooted American companies. Galderma is a living proof. The Swiss dermatology firm, whose manufacturers vary from Cetaphil and Alastin to injectable fillers resembling Sculptra and Restylane, generated $5.24 billion in income final yr. The U.S. accounted for 40% of these gross sales and is its fastest-growing market. Galderma introduced final yr that it’ll make investments greater than $650 million in U.S. manufacturing by 2030. “If you wish to succeed, you must succeed within the U.S.,” CEO Flemming Ørnskov advised me.
Ørnskov’s first precedence was entry to R&D expertise. “The enterprise was in Fort Value, and I mentioned, ‘If we need to be competing in opposition to Sanofi and all people else, let’s transfer it to Boston.’” (The French drugmaker Sanofi’s Dupixent competes with Galderma’s Nemluvio in treating pores and skin situations resembling eczema.)
Galderma’s large aggressive goal is AbbVie-owned Allergan Aesthetics, the U.S. injectables chief that makes Botox and Juvéderm. “Till now we have closed the hole to Allergan in market share, I gained’t suppose we’ve succeeded,” mentioned Ørnskov.
That’s why geography issues: For Galderma’s U.S. headquarters, he picked Miami as a result of it serves a fast-growing client market and is a gateway to Latin America. He’s additionally constructing a presence in Orange County, Calif., as a result of, he says, “the aesthetic enterprise depends on experience and that experience is so concentrated there.” Fort Value stays an necessary distribution hub.
In fact, there are additionally some challenges for firms looking for a foothold within the U.S., Ørnskov mentioned: “The bar for aesthetic merchandise approval is the best within the U.S.—by far the best—and it’s grow to be even harder … but it surely’s such an necessary market that now we have to do no matter it takes.”
Contact CEO Day by day through Diane Brady at diane.brady@fortune.com
High management information
Do CEOs really matter?
The Pulitzer Prize-winner creator of Weapons, Germs, and Metal examines that query in his forthcoming ebook. In an excerpt from Income, Prophets, Coaches, and Kings, Jared Diamond explains that CEOs have extra discretion in sure industries, resembling computer systems, cleaning soap and fragrance, video games and toys, movement footage, and clothes for younger individuals. However CEOs have much less discretion in public utilities, metal, shipbuilding, railways, and gasoline transmission.
OpenAI limits entry to Astra’s high cyber instruments
OpenAI’s Astra is considerably extra succesful than its present frontier AI mannequin, GPT-5.6 Sol, which itself is extremely succesful at cyber duties. However solely a handful of companions will get entry to its most superior cybersecurity capabilities as OpenAI works to stability serving to firms stop cyberattacks whereas not empowering attackers on the similar time.
New invoice would tax AI tokens to fund jobs
A brand new Home proposal would impose an excise tax on main AI firms and robotically improve the levy if unemployment climbs, funneling the cash into creating jobs in areas from housing development and infrastructure to youngster and elder care. The invoice proposes a bifurcated taxation: both tax the worth of the tokens or tax income from AI providers and sure transactions with affiliated firms, whichever yields the upper sum.
The markets
S&P 500 futures are down 0.25% this morning. The STOXX Europe 600 was down 0.63% in early buying and selling. The U.Okay.’s FTSE 100 was down 0.52% in early buying and selling. The Nikkei 225 was down 2.85%. South Korea’s KOSPI was down 3.99%. China’s CSI 300 was down 1.38%. Hong Kong’s Hold Seng was down 0.07%. India’s NIFTY 50 was down 0.72%. Bitcoin is down at $77k.
Across the watercooler
The Pentagon is giving 3 million navy and civilian employees entry to ChatGPT and Grok by a safe AI platform constructed for ‘warfighter wants’ by Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
IKEA is spending $1.4 billion to chop costs, becoming a member of Walmart and Goal in a race to win again customers by Mia Osmonbekov
As soon as a champion for bodily media, Sony is now telling PlayStation clients they don’t really personal the digital video video games they paid $70 for by Sasha Rogelberg
As Gen Z flocks again to accounting, EY is investing $100 million in bonuses for workers who show they’ve human abilities by Preston Fore
From a Singapore airport soundtrack to new AI-powered PCs, HP is on the lookout for a brand new rhythm in Asia by Angelica Ang
CEO Day by day is curated and edited by Joseph Abrams, Jason Ma, Claire Zillman, and Lee Clifford.
