Investopedia Markets News (all except PF)

• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration could adjust tariff levels on products not easily produced in the U.S., including coffee and bananas.
• Coffee prices are higher by nearly 20% after President Donald Trump cited a national emergency in setting a 50% tariff on Brazil, the world’s leading coffee producer.

Your trip to the coffee shop may get a bit easier if White House officials follow through with their latest proposal to adjust certain tariff rates.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that the U.S. could soon lower tariffs on items that aren’t easily produced domestically, some of which are significantly more expensive because of tariffs.

“You're going to see substantial announcements over the next couple of days in terms of things we don't grow here in the United States," Bessent said in an interview on Fox & Friends. "Coffee being one of them, bananas, other fruits. Things like that. So that will bring the prices down very quickly."

Coffee prices have risen dramatically in recent months, as exports from one of the world’s leading coffee producers, Brazil, face a tariff rate of 50%. The latest Consumer Price Index inflation report showed that coffee prices were nearly 19% higher in September than at the same time last year. Another leading product of Brazil, banana prices are higher by almost 7%. 

President Donald Trump’s tariff policies are affecting prices on a range of items, particularly those that can’t be easily produced in the U.S. A change in tariffs for certain items produced in other countries could help bring prices down for consumers who are paying more for some grocery store products.

The move would come as some have criticized broad U.S. tariffs for raising prices on products that aren’t easily grown or made in the U.S. Only some parts of Hawaii and Florida have the climate needed for bananas, according to the Tax Foundation, while Brazilian coffee is also hard to match.

“To the extent that Brazilian coffee may have a unique flavor profile, US producers cannot simply make ‘Brazilian coffee’ in the US,” wrote a Tax Foundation team led by economist Alex Durante. “In this situation, some consumers may opt to simply pay the higher import price for Brazilian coffee rather than switch to another type.”

Legislators have pointed to the impact tariffs are having on the price of coffee, including a bipartisan group of House members who introduced legislation to repeal tariffs on all coffee products. 

“Families across America are feeling the cost of higher coffee prices, ... and tariffing a product we can't grow at a large, commercial scale, only makes it worse,” said Nebraska Republican Representative Don Bacon in a statement. “Tariffs are simply a tax on American consumers, raising the price of everyday goods without creating jobs or bringing production on-shore.”

• A chipmaker got a boost on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, following its first analyst day, while an AI software darling pared back some of its recent gains. 
  
• Advanced Micro Devices shares jumped after the company said it's seen strong demand driven by AI and offered a rosy outlook.
  
• Palantir Technologies shares reversed a portion of their recent uptick bolstered by hopes of the government reopening.

A semiconductor stock powered higher after the company highlighted strong demand trends and provided an upbeat sales forecast at its first-ever analyst day. Meanwhile, shares of an artificial intelligence software firm gave back some of their recent gains.

Major U.S. equities indexes ended with mixed results Wednesday as the House of Representatives prepared for a vote that could bring an end to the longest-ever U.S. government shutdown. The S&P 500 eked out a 0.1% gain, and the Dow advanced 0.7% to notch a record close for the second straight day, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq slipped 0.3%. For more coverage from Investopedia on the day's major stories in the financial markets, see here.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) shares surged 9%, notching the S&P 500's strongest daily performance, a day after the semiconductor manufacturer held its first ever analyst day. CEO Lisa Su said the company has seen "insatiable" AI demand and projected that AMD's revenue could grow to an annual rate of 35% over the coming three to five years. The chipmaker also said its total addressable AI market could reach $1 trillion by 2030.

Shares of major airlines surged with the prospect of the government reopening soon. United Airlines (UAL) climbed over 5%, and shares of Delta Air Lines (DAL) rose close to 5%. Southwest Airlines (LUV) added about 4%.

Shares of entertainment giant Paramount Skydance (PSKY) fell 7%, losing the most of any S&P 500 constituent. With Wednesday's downturn, the stock gave back a portion of the strong gains posted in the prior session in the wake of the company's first earnings report since the completion of its merger in August. Although the company outlined ambitious investments in its studio and streaming businesses, its third-quarter revenue fell short of forecasts, and some analysts have expressed valuation concerns following the stock's major post-merger surge.

Oracle (ORCL) stock extended its decline from record-high levels reached last month, sinking nearly 4% on Wednesday. The enterprise software provider has garnered attention from major AI deals in recent months, including a $300 million cloud computing agreement with ChatGPT creator OpenAI. However, Oracle missed sales and profit forecasts in its latest quarterly report released in September, and uncertainties remain about the sustainability of its ambitious growth targets.

Palantir Technologies (PLTR) shares also declined close to 4%. The AI software giant and defense contractor had notched solid gains earlier this week amid hopes that the federal government could be nearing a return to business as usual. However, the stock's recent runup also added fuel to worries it could be overvalued.

• The AI rally has stumbled in recent weeks as investors have questioned whether big tech's massive AI investments are inflating an AI bubble.
• Some investors argue tech giants are spending too much, too fast on a technology that is unlikely to generate a healthy return on investment anytime soon. AI bulls argue bubble concerns are overblown.

Nvidia is slated to report quarterly results next Wednesday. It could be a make-or-break moment for the bull market. 

Anxiety about AI is running high on Wall Street heading into Nvidia's (NVDA) print. AI stocks weighed on the broader market last week, when the Nasdaq notched its worst weekly performance since early April’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcement roiled markets.

The mood improved to start the week amid signs that the government was moving closer to reopening. But AI jitters returned after Japanese investment firm SoftBank on Tuesday said it had sold its entire stake in Nvidia: Shares of both companies slumped despite SoftBank executives clarifying that the sale was made to fund other AI investments, not a sign that the company had soured on the chipmaker. 

Nvidia's quarterly earnings report is one of the most closely followed events on Wall Street. Investors parse Nvidia's results and guidance for confirmation that the AI infrastructure buildout, which made the chipmaker the world's most valuable company and has help power partners' and competitors' shares higher, is continuing.

Some investors are increasingly concerned that an AI bubble is forming, fueled by a series of circular business deals, massive AI investments, and optimism about the technology’s near-term commercial utility. Michael Burry, known for predicting the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis, recently revealed his hedge fund had shorted $1.2 billion of Nvidia and Palantir (PLTR) stock as of the end of September.

The major hyperscalers—tech giants like Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOG), Amazon (AMZN), Meta (META), and Oracle (ORCL)—plan to spend hundreds of billions of dollars this year and next as they construct data centers and outfit them with the advanced chips and support equipment required the train and run artificial intelligence. That spending has been a boon to companies like Nvidia, whose sales and earnings have soared over the past three years. 

But some investors question whether the hyperscalers would recoup their investments. BCA Research analysts last week suggested shorting hyperscaler stocks, citing their belief that the speed and scale of AI investments will weigh the companies' returns on equity, and thus their stock valuations, regardless of profit growth in their core businesses. 

“Our biggest fear would be a repeat of the telecom and fiber buildout experiences, where the revenue curve failed to materialize at a pace that justified continued investment,” wrote JPMorgan analysts on Wednesday.

JPMorgan estimated that it would require about $650 billion of annual revenue indefinitely for tech companies to reap a 10% return on their AI investments through 2030. For scale, they likened that figure to nearly six basis points of global gross domestic product or nearly $35 a month from every current iPhone user.

The growing importance of OpenAI to the rally has also raised eyebrows. According to CEO Sam Altman, the start-up recently reached an annualized revenue run rate of $20 billion. But JPMorgan estimates the ChatGPT maker has agreed to pay just three companies—Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and Broadcom (AVGO)—between $1.2 trillion and $1.5 trillion for data center capacity over the next 5 years.

To be sure, many investors see ample reason to remain bullish on AI stocks—or, at least, that it's too hard to call the top to bet against them.

They note that comparisons of today to the Dotcom Bubble ignore that tech valuations are below their Dotcom peaks, and that, unlike during the 1990s internet craze, the companies making the biggest investments in AI infrastructure are among the world's largest most profitable companies.

Others point to the likelihood that the Federal Reserve is in the middle of a rate-cutting cycle, which should stimulate data center construction by making borrowing more affordable. Rate cuts are also expected to increase liquidity in financial markets, likely boosting stock prices.

AI excitement can still send a stock soaring despite the skeptics. Chipmaker AMD on Tuesday said it expects the AI chip market to reach $1 trillion by 2030, and that it is aiming to grow its share of that market to double digits. Oppenheimer analysts in a note on Wednesday called the updates "more sizzle than steak," and lamented the absence of a major customer announcement.

Still, the projections caught the attention of investors. AMD shares finished today up more than 8%.

• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested on Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s proposal for a $2,000 tariff “dividend” could be paid to families making $100,000 or less a year.
• Bessent acknowledged in the interview that no decision had been made on the stimulus proposal.

New details are emerging over how a stimulus proposal from President Donald Trump could take shape.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a televised interview on Wednesday that Trump is considering a stimulus check of $2,000 for families making $100,000 a year or less. Those income levels would be similar to the qualifications for COVID stimulus checks, said Erica York, vice president of federal tax policy at the Tax Foundation.

A $2,000 stimulus check could provide financial relief to more than 123 million Americans. But the U.S. national debt is near $38 trillion, and issuing stimulus payments without offsetting the cost could further increase that debt.

“There are a lot of options here,” Bessent said in the interview. “The president is talking about a $2,000 rebate and that would be for families making less than, say, $100,000.”

Bessent acknowledged in the interview that no decision has been made on the stimulus proposal. 

Bessent’s comments come after Trump posted on Truth Social this weekend that a "dividend of at least $2000 a person" would be paid to "everyone." However, his post noted that “high-income” earners would not receive the payment. The payments would be funded through tariff revenues, Trump wrote.

Wednesday's comments are slightly different than what the Treasury Secretary said earlier in the week. Bessent said that the “dividend” from tariffs may not be a direct check but could come in the form of tax relief in an interview on Sunday.

“The $2,000 dividend could come in lots of forms, in lots of ways," he said on This Week on ABC. "It could be just the tax decreases that we are seeing on the president's agenda.”

Whether the federal government’s budget supports issuing stimulus checks to Americans has been questioned by some economists. York wrote that new tariffs are expected to raise nearly $217 billion in revenue in 2026. However, tax data for 2022 show that if the 123 million families making less than $100,000 each got the proposed stimulus, that would cost nearly $300 billion.

Major U.S. equities indexes were mixed at midday Wednesday ahead of a vote to fund the federal government and end the 43-day shutdown. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose to a record high but the Nasdaq and S&P 500 were lower. 

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) shares surged 9% to lead the S&P 500 after the chipmaker issued upbeat targets at its first analyst day.

Shares of On Holding (ONON) jumped 20% after the Roger Federer-backed Swiss sneaker maker reported better-than-expected results and raised its full-year outlook for a third straight quarter.

International Business Machines (IBM) shares gained about 2% when the company announced several quantum-computing "breakthroughs."

Circle Internet Group (CRCL) stock sank 10% after the USDC stablecoin issuer lifted its adjusted operating expenses forecast for the fiscal year.

Paramount Skydance (PSKY) was the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500 with a 6.5% decline, a day after it surged nearly 10% following its first quarterly earnings report since the August completion of the merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media.

Shares of mobile advertising technology firm AppLovin (APP), which registered the steepest daily decline in the S&P 500 yesterday with a nearly 9% drop, slipped a further 1.5%.

Oil futures sank more than 3%. Gold futures advanced nearly 2%. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell. The U.S. dollar rose against the pound and yen but slipped against the euro. Prices for most major cryptocurrencies were lower.

• Advanced Micro Devices hosted its first analyst day yesterday, where the chipmaker unveiled rosy new targets fueled by booming AI demand.
• AMD said it now believes its total addressable AI market could be over $1 trillion by 2030, up from a previous target of $500 billion by 2028.

Advanced Micro Devices shares are getting a boost from its outlook.

The stock was up about 10% in early trading Wednesday, leading gains on the S&P 500 after the chipmaker yesterday unveiled ambitious new targets at its first analyst day. (Read our daily markets coverage here.) Chip stocks were broadly rising, too, with the SOX index of semiconductor shares up 1.5%.

CEO Lisa Su on Tuesday told analysts the company is seeing "insatiable" AI demand, suggesting that its revenue growth could climb to 35% per year over the next three to five years, with gross margins of 55% to 58%. AMD (AMD) said last week its third-quarter adjusted gross margin was 54%.

AMD said it now believes its total addressable AI market could be over $1 trillion by 2030, up from a previous target of $500 billion by 2028.

The jump in AMD's stock price Wednesday could point to growing investor optimism in opportunities for the chipmaker, long seen as occupying a distant second place to AI chip leader Nvidia.

Several Wall Street analysts said they remain bullish on the chipmaker's stock following the event, though they declined to raise their price targets amid persistent worries about an AI bubble and the possibility that AMD's upward momentum could reverse course if it pops.

Citi analysts, who maintained a neutral rating for the shares, said they believe AMD's targets "will likely be maintained or exceeded until the AI bubble bursts but our conversations with investors indicate many are already there."

"We believe the AI bubble will likely burst within a couple years and could result in much lower estimates," they wrote.

Shares of AMD have roughly doubled in value in 2025 so far, with most of those gains coming in the past few months after a string of big AI deals, including one with ChatGPT maker OpenAI.

• Palantir Technologies Inc.'s (PLTR) new fellowship offers high school graduates a paid pathway toward working at the company, along with training and courses on topics like Western Civilization.
• CEO Alex Karp said the initiative is meant to challenge traditional higher education.
• The fellowship comes amid a tough job market for recent college grads.

Palantir Technologies, whose share price has more than tripled in the past year, is paying 22 high school graduates about $5,400 a month this fall to forgo college, with several turning down Ivy League offers to do it.

The data analytics giant's "Meritocracy Fellowship" promises teenagers a shortcut past the traditional degree: four months of training, including lectures in philosophy and history, then the potential for full-time engineering roles. Students were caught off guard spending their first month in seminars about Western civilization and American history, with one participant admitting to a program lecturer that he'd "never taken a note in his life" before the coursework, according to The Wall Street Journal.

While CEO Alex Karp calls American universities "broken," the company hasn't confirmed how many fellows will actually receive job offers—or what happens to those who don't make the cut.

Karp has been vocal about the value of a college education, although he has three degrees himself: a B.A. from Haverford College, a J.D. from Stanford University, and a Ph.D. from Goethe University in Germany.

Earlier this year, he noted that where an employee went to college ultimately didn't matter once they joined the company.

Palantir’s fellowship highlights a potential shift in how employers value skills and experience over degrees. For young people weighing college against real-world opportunities, the program potentially shows the promise and risk of skipping traditional paths—you could gain hands-on training and income sooner, but miss the broader credentials and career flexibility a degree still provides.

"If you did not go to school or you went to a school that's not that great or you went to Harvard or Princeton, Yale, once you come to Palantir, you're a Palantirian. No one cares about the other stuff," said Karp, per an Investing.com earnings call transcript.

Palantir's call for fellows, however, suggests he believes college degrees are becoming less useful and potentially detrimental to a career track. "American universities have lost their way... They reward conformity over originality, safety over risk, and comfort over truth," it says. "Skip the debt. Reclaim years of your life. Earn the Palantir degree."

So what does this alternative "Palantir degree" actually teach? The company's application says that "our most vital technologies cannot be created by those indifferent to their purpose," which is "to defend the West effectively." This fall's seminar included Frederick Douglass's autobiography; a visit to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; and discussions of Lincoln and Churchill—topics that many fellows would have encountered if they had taken high school AP classes or, for that matter, in a typical university's liberal arts curriculum.

Palantir is now accepting applications for the next fellowship in New York City, running from August to December 2026. To be eligible, applicants must have graduated from high school and can't be enrolled in college. The estimated salary for the position is $5,400 a month, though the job ad says that might be adjusted based on experience.

Palantir's new fellowship has been introduced at a time when the unemployment rate for recent college graduates is 4.8%, exceeding the 4.0% unemployment rate for all workers.

As the chart above shows, despite the challenging outlook for recent college graduates, those with college degrees have historically earned a significant and increasing wage premium over those without one.

The data, from a 2025 Federal Reserve Bank of New York analysis, found that as of 2024, the median college graduate earned about $80,000 versus $47,000 for those with just a high school diploma.

News of the day for Nov. 12, 2025

Stock futures are higher this morning after the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record high on Tuesday; the House of Representatives is poised to vote on legislation to end the six-week U.S. government shutdown; Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) shares are rising after the chipmaker projected strong revenue growth over the coming years; the White House is reportedly examining measures that could limit the influence of proxy advisers and index-fund managers in shareholder voting; and shares of On Holding are soaring after the sneaker maker posted strong earnings and raised its guidance. Here's what you need to know today.

Stock futures are moving higher as investors keep close tabs on developments in Washington D.C., with a key vote scheduled later today that could end government shutdown. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.2% recently after the blue-chip index closed at a record high on Tuesday. Futures tied to the benchmark S&P 500 index and the tech-heavy Nasdaq were up 0.4% and 0.6%, respectively. Bitcoin was at just under $105,000, up from an overnight low of around $102,500. Gold futures rose 0.6% to $4,140 an ounce, trading near their highest levels in three weeks. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which affects borrowing costs on a wide array of consumer loans, was at 4.08%, down from the previous close of 4.11%.

The House of Representatives is set to vote on a spending measure that would reopen the government through January and end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. A key House committee moved the Senate-passed legislation forward in an early-Wednesday vote, rejecting attempts by some Democrats to amend the legislation. President Donald Trump is expected to sign the legislation, bringing an end to the shutdown, which is now in its 43rd day. The work stoppage has contributed to a freeze on U.S. government economic reports, while also creating staffing issues in the air traffic control system that prompted officials to reduce the number of flights.

Shares of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) jumped in premarket trading after CEO Lisa Su said the chipmaker’s revenue could grow by 35% annually over the next three-to-five years owing to continued strong demand for artificial intelligence chips. At the company’s first-ever analysts day on Tuesday, Su said that the company’s AI data center business could grow by 80% annually over the same period, potentially hitting tens of billions of dollars in sales by 2027. AMD also said its gross margins would come in at around 55% to 58% in coming years, ahead of analysts' forecasts. Shares of AMD, which have nearly doubled in value since the start of the year, were up 6% ahead of the bell.

The White House is looking at new measures that would reduce the influence of proxy advisers and index-fund managers on shareholder voting, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. The report said that Trump administration officials are considering executive orders that could ban proxy advisers such as Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis from making recommendations on shareholder votes. Officials are also looking to curtail the influence of index-fund managers such as BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street, according to the report. The influence of proxy firms has been criticized by top corporate executives, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who faced resistance from proxy advisers ahead of a recent shareholder vote on his trillion-dollar pay package.

Shares of On Holding (ONON) are soaring in premarket trading after the Roger Federer-backed Swiss sneaker maker reported better-than-expected third-quarter results and raised its full-year outlook. On posted adjusted earnings of 0.43 Swiss francs ($0.54) per share on net sales that jumped 25% year-over-year to 794.4 million Swiss francs ($994.2 million), well above Wall Street estimates. The Zurich-based company, which lifted its guidance for a third straight quarter, now expects full-year sales to grow by 34% on a constant-currency basis, up from a previous projection of at least 31%. Profitability is also expected to rise. On co-founder and executive co-chairman Caspar Coppetti told CNBC the company won't be offering Black Friday deals and will be "full price through the holiday season." On shares, which through yesterday's close had shed more than a third of their value this year, were up 8% in recent trading.

• A big investor's sale of its stake in Nvidia weighed on semiconductor stocks Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025, while a media giant got a boost after outlining saving and investment plans.
• Paramount Skydance soared after the entertainment conglomerate discussed an ambitious cost-saving and investment roadmap.
• SoftBank announced that it unloaded its stake in Nvidia, and semiconductor stocks lost ground broadly.

Semiconductor stocks came under pressure Tuesday as a major investor sold its stake in Nvidia, the world's most valuable company. Meanwhile, shares of a media and entertainment giant pushed higher after the company boosted cost-savings targets and discussed heavy investment plans.

Major U.S. equities indexes ended the session mixed as investors awaited details on a potential end to the record-setting government shutdown. The S&P 500 edged 0.2% higher, while the Dow jumped 1.2%. Technology was the weakest-performing sector, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 0.3%. For Investopedia's full daily market summary, click here.

Japanese holding company SoftBank (SFTBY) said that it sold its stake in AI chip behemoth Nvidia (NVDA). SoftBank stressed that it was not abandoning AI, noting that proceeds from the asset sale would help fund its investments in ChatGPT owner OpenAI. Still, the move weighed on semiconductor stocks: Nvidia sank about 3%, while the PHLX index of chip shares fell 2.5%.

The uncertainty surrounding the AI boom extended beyond the semiconductor industry into other areas exposed to the technology. Shares of nuclear-focused energy generator Vistra (VST), which has drawn attention for its opportunity to power AI data centers, dropped 4.8% Tuesday. In its third-quarter earnings report, released last week, Vistra posted lower-than-expected revenue and a year-over-year decline in net income.

Viatris (VTRS) presented its strategic growth initiatives at the UBS Global Healthcare Conference Tuesday, and shares of the pharmaceutical company jumped 10%, the most of any S&P 500 stock. The company projected 2% to 3% operational revenue growth excluding issues related to a facility in India. Viatris also said it expects new product launches to generate significant revenue and intends to return more than $1 billion to shareholders.

Paramount Skydance (PSKY) shares surged 9.8% after the entertainment giant released its first quarterly earnings report since the August completion of the merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media. The firm outlined major cost-reduction plans, including job cuts tied to asset sales in Argentina and Chile, and lifted its cost-savings target. Paramount Skydance also increased its outlook for merger savings, highlighted ambitious investments in its studio and streaming business, and said it would hike streaming prices.

Package delivery giant FedEx (FDX) jumped 5.5% after CFO John Dietrich provided a forecast for fiscal second-quarter earnings per share that exceeded consensus estimates. The upbeat outlook for the critical holiday quarter came as the shipper and its peer United Parcel Service (UPS) navigated challenges related to the grounding of their fleets of McDonnell Douglas MD-11 cargo aircraft following a devastating crash last week. UPS rose 2.1% today.

AppLovin (APP) shares tumbled 8.7%, posting the steepest daily decline in the benchmark index. Although the mobile advertising technology company topped sales and profit estimates in its latest quarterly report, released Nov. 5, reports of an SEC investigation into AppLovin's data-collection practices b have weighed on the stock. AppLovin stock has gained around 85% year-to-date, boosted by optimism surrounding its AI-powered Axon platform.

• A monthly survey of small business owners showed optimism declined in October for the second straight month to its lowest levels since April, with respondents citing worries over the government shutdown.
• Small businesses reported difficulties hiring qualified candidates, while sales and profit levels were also lower in October.

An end to the government shutdown may be coming just in time for small businesses, who are reporting hiring difficulties, slower sales and weaker profits amid the work stoppage, a closely watched survey of business owners showed.

“The shutdown will be resolved by year-end, hopefully sooner, but until then our economic measures will show weak economic growth expectations, slowing sales, and weak job growth,” said the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) in a report on its monthly survey of small businesses. “Owners are resilient but it won’t be pleasant until the shutdown is ended and the government gets back to business.”

The NFIB Small Business Index declined slightly to 98.2 in October, dropping for the second straight month and remaining just above the survey’s 52-year average. It’s the lowest reading for the survey since April’s tariffs announcements.

Small businesses make up a significant portion of the U.S. economy and can account for as much as 60% of new job creation. Therefore, small business owner sentiment can have a meaningful impact on hiring and overall economic conditions.

The survey results come as the U.S. government shutdown extended into its 42nd day, creating uncertainty over economic data and putting pressure on the nation’s air travel system. On Monday, the Senate passed a spending measure that would end the work stoppage, with the House of Representatives expected to vote on the measure on Wednesday.

“Although outlooks are still brighter than before the 2024 election, a lack of qualified labor combined with deteriorating sales and profits appeared to weigh on economic expectations,” wrote Wells Fargo economists Jackie Benson and Ali Hajibeigi.

Nearly nine of 10 owners reported being unable to find qualified employees for open positions. Labor quality was the single most important problem facing small business owners, the survey found, and especially within the construction industry, where almost half of small business owners said they had jobs they couldn’t fill.

The portion of owners reporting higher sales dropped by six points in October, while the number reporting higher profits fell by nine points. Commentary from business owners included in the report showed that health insurance costs were a growing problem.

Despite the declines, the number of businesses expecting sales to improve remained positive, while plans for capital expenditures reached their highest levels of the year.

Business owners also said economic conditions were steadier in October. The survey’s uncertainty index fell 12 points to a reading of 88, the lowest of a year marked by questions over tariffs and other changes to the business environment. 

The survey also showed that inflation was cooling for small businesses, as the number of owners raising prices in October or planning to raise prices in the next three months both declined.