NATO Members Set To Agree To 5% Defense Spending, Rubio Says

By: bitcoin ethereum news|2025/05/16 16:45:05

Topline Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday said all NATO members will soon agree on a goal to raise their defense spending level to 5% of their GDP over the next decade, addressing a key complaint raised by President Donald Trump about the alliance’s other members not paying a fair share. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the media following an informal meeting of The North ... More Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) foreign ministers in Antalya. Key Facts In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday, Rubio said there had been a significant uptick in defense spending by NATO member nations ever since Trump first raised the issue in 2018. The secretary of state said that when Trump first raised the issue in 2018, some members’ spending was less than 1% of their GDP, but this has since gone up substantially, with “virtually every member” being above 2% and “many of them” over 4% of the GDP ahead of the 2025 NATO summit in June. By the time next month’s summit takes place, “all will have agreed on a goal of reaching 5% over the next decade,” he added. Rubio, who was in Turkey to attend a meeting of NATO foreign ministers, said if everything materializes as planned, it will be the first time in the alliance’s history where the members have “reached targets and goals that will allow NATO partners to be more than 50 percent of the Alliance.” What Do We Know About Nato’s 5% Spending Proposal? AFP reported that NATO chief Mark Rutte has floated the proposal for the alliance’s 32 members to commit to spending 3.5% of their GDP on their militaries and an additional 1.5% on other security-related expenses over the next decade to address Trump’s complaints. The report said Rutte’s plan will push members to raise defense spending by 0.2 percentage points of their GDP each year over the next seven years until the 3.5% target is reached. The other 1.5% security spending is deliberately defined more loosely and could include everything from infrastructure projects, cyberdefense spending, and even support for Ukraine. How Have Nato Members Reacted? German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul expressed support for the plan at a meeting with other NATO foreign ministers in Turkey. Wadephul told reporters that the final result of this proposal would be in line with the 5% spending Trump “considers necessary,” and “we are following him in this respect.” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot also endorsed Rutte’s plan, saying the 3.5% target was “the right amount for core defense spending.” Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/05/16/rubio-says-nato-members-are-set-to-agree-on-5-defense-spending-goal/

On March 4, 2026, DDC Enterprise Limited (NYSE American: DDC) today announced preliminary, unaudited full-year financial performance for the year ended December 31, 2025. The company expects to achieve record revenue and record positive adjusted EBITDA, primarily driven by continued growth in its core consumer food business and overall margin improvement. The final audited financial report is expected to be released in mid-April 2026.

2025 Full-Year Financial Highlights

Revenue: Expected to be between $39 million and $41 million, reaching a new company high.

Organic Growth: Excluding the impact of the company's strategic contraction of its U.S. operations, core revenue is expected to grow 11% to 17% year over year.

Gross Profit Margin: Expected to be between 28% and 30%, reflecting continued operational efficiency improvements.

Adjusted EBITDA: The company expects to achieve a positive full-year result in 2025, a significant improvement from a $3.5 million loss in 2024, mainly due to rigorous cost controls and a higher-margin sales mix.

Core Consumer Food Business Performance

In 2025, DDC's core consumer food business maintained strong operational performance.

The company also disclosed Core Consumer Food Business Adjusted EBITDA, a metric that further excludes costs related to its Bitcoin reserve strategy and non-cash fair value adjustments related to its Bitcoin holdings from adjusted EBITDA to more accurately reflect the core business performance.

In 2025, Core Consumer Food Business Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $5.5 million and $6 million.

Bitcoin Reserve Update

In the first half of 2025, DDC initiated a long-term Bitcoin accumulation strategy, holding Bitcoin as its primary reserve asset.

As of December 31, 2025: The company holds 1,183 BTC.

As of February 28, 2026: Holdings increased to 2,118 BTC

Today's additional purchase of 65 BTC brings the company's total holdings to 2,183 BTC

DDC Founder, Chairman, and CEO Norma Chu stated, "We are proud to have closed 2025 with record revenue and positive adjusted EBITDA, demonstrating the steady growth of the company's consumer food business and the ongoing improvement in profitability. We are building a disciplined, growth-oriented food platform and strategically allocating capital to Bitcoin assets with a long-term view, aligning with our core beliefs. We believe that this dual-track model of 'Steady Consumer Business + Strategic Bitcoin Reserve' will help DDC create lasting long-term value for shareholders."

Adjusted EBITDA Definition
For the full year 2025, the company defines "Adjusted EBITDA" (a non-GAAP financial measure) as: Net income / (loss) excluding the following items:· Interest expense· Taxes· Foreign exchange gains/losses· Long-lived asset impairment· Depreciation and amortization· Non-cash fair value changes related to financial instruments (including Bitcoin holdings)· Stock-based compensation

About DDC Enterprise Limited

DDC Enterprise Limited (NYSE: DDC) is actively implementing its corporate Bitcoin Treasury strategy while continuing to strengthen its position as a leading global Asian food platform.

The company has established Bitcoin as a core reserve asset and is executing a prudent, long-oriented accumulation strategy. While expanding its portfolio of food brands, DDC is gradually becoming one of the public company pioneers in integrating Bitcoin into its corporate financial architecture.

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DDC Enterprise Limited Announces 2025 Unaudited Preliminary Financial Performance: Record Revenue Achieved, Bitcoin Treasury Grows to 2183 Coins