Welcome to Today in Business - Powered by Spark for Business, an experimental AI podcast by the New Zealand Herald. Each weekday, we bring you five stories, the best of the New Zealand Herald business journalism, summarised and delivered by an AI voice as an easily digestible recap. It's Thursday, October 30, 2025, and here are five stories you should know about. Fonterra farmers have overwhelmingly approved the $4.22 billion sale of the co-op's Mainland consumer and related businesses to France's Lactalis. Voting closed today with 88.47 percent in favour. Fonterra plans a tax-free capital return of $2 per share, approximately $3.2 billion in total, while retaining $1 billion for reinvestment. The deal includes long-term milk supply agreements and brands such as Anchor and Mainland. Chairman Peter McBride says the divestment will help simplify the business. The sale price exceeds initial valuations. Foreign Minister Winston Peters criticised the decision as "economic self-sabotage." In other news, Caniwi Capital, led by Troy Bowker, has purchased two Auckland properties from Mansons TCLM for $95 million. The unconditional deals include a $50 million acquisition of 7 Fraser Road, Mt Wellington, and a $45 million purchase at Great South Road, Greenlane. The Mt Wellington site spans 3.5 hectares and currently has industrial tenants, though Bowker indicates it may be redeveloped. The Greenlane property is a refurbished, green-rated office building with long-term leases, including Tāmaki Healthcare. Bowker says the building has high-spec fit-outs and a 10-year weighted average lease term. Meanwhile, Boeing has reported a strong third quarter with revenue rising to US$23.27 billion from US$17.84 billion a year earlier. Aircraft deliveries climbed to 160, the highest since 2018. Commercial revenue reached US$11.1 billion as the company booked 161 net orders, including 50 for Turkish Airlines. Boeing and U.S. regulators have agreed to raise seven-three-seven production to 42 aircraft per month. Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg says the triple-seven-ex program is progressing in flight testing despite delays. And Boeing's Ghost Bat drone, developed with the Royal Australian Air Force, has had autonomous trials. In technology, Alphabet has posted its first-ever $100 billion quarter, reporting third-quarter revenue of $102.3 billion, up 16 percent from a year earlier. Net income rose 33 percent to $35 billion. Google Cloud revenue jumped 34 percent. A $3.5 billion European Commission fine reduced operating income growth to 9 percent. Alphabet reports over 300 million paid subscriptions and 650 million monthly Gemini users. The company's Other Bets unit recorded a $1.4 billion quarterly loss. And Nvidia has become the world's first company valued at US$5 trillion after shares rose 4.91 percent at the Wall Street open. The California-based firm's value now surpasses the GDP of France or Germany. Microsoft and Apple each remain just above US$4 trillion. Nvidia's rise follows strong sales and new partnerships, including with Nokia. It also plans a US$5 billion investment in Intel. Analysts say Nvidia dominates the generative AI chip market, powering systems such as ChatGPT. The company's GPUs remain central to AI infrastructure worldwide, reinforcing its position as the leading semiconductor manufacturer. That was Today in Business - Powered by Spark for Business - your NZ Herald daily business summary. For the best in business, subscribe to Herald Premium at nzherald.co.nz.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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