Investopedia Markets News (all except PF)

• Major U.S. equities indexes slid Thursday afternoon, led by tech stocks after a flurry of earnings reports and as worries about an AI bubble resurfaced.
• DoorDash shares tumbled after the delivery firm posted quarterly earnings that missed estimates and warned its costs would continue to rise.
• Datadog shares surged after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly results.

Major U.S. equities indexes slid Thursday afternoon, led by tech stocks after a flurry of earnings reports and as worries about an AI bubble resurfaced. The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all lost ground.

DoorDash (DASH) was the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500 after the food delivery firm’s earnings fell short of forecasts and it gave a weak outlook. The company warned it would continue to see expenses rise to support its investments in new products and expansion plans.

Shares of Paycom Software (PAYC) also declined after the provider of software for human resources departments missed profit estimates and reiterated its outlook, raising concerns about demand and potential growth.

Datadog (DDOG) was the best-performing stock in the S&P 500 as shares soared after the cloud data security firm reported earnings that beat forecasts and boosted its outlook as its larger customer base grew.

Shares of Snap (SNAP) took off after the operator of the Snapfish photo and video social media site posted better-than-expected quarterly results as its users grew and spent more. Snap also announced a stock buyback and an agreement that will provide Snapchat users with conversational artificial intelligence search.

Air Products and Chemicals (APD) shares jumped after the provider of gases and chemicals exceeded earnings estimates as sales rose in Europe and Asia.  

Oil and gold futures dropped. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note slid. The U.S. dollar lost ground to the euro, pound, and yen. Prices for most major cryptocurrencies fell.

• DoorDash's quarterly earnings missed analysts' estimates as its cost rose, sending shares tumbling Thursday.
• The delivery firm also gave a weaker-than-expected outlook, expecting its investments in new products and initiatives like delivery robots will squeeze profits.

DoorDash (DASH) shares tumbled Thursday after the food delivery firm missed profit estimates and gave a weak outlook.

The stock dropped 17.5% to close near $197, making it the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500 Thursday. Read Investopedia's full daily markets coverage here.

The company reported third-quarter earnings per share of $0.55, well below what analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha were looking for. Revenue grew 27% year-over-year to $3.45 billion, ahead of forecasts.

The food delivery giant said orders were up 21% to 766 million, and marketplace gross order value increased 25% to $25 billion. However, costs and expenses jumped 23% to $3.19 billion as the company's investments in expanding its reach along with new product and initiatives like delivery robots grew.

DoorDash also said it anticipates spending “several hundred million dollars" more in 2026 than 2025, adding "we wish there was a way to grow a baby into an adult without investment, or to see the baby grow into an adult overnight, but we do not believe this is how life or business works.”

The big drop in DoorDash's stock Thursday would suggest investors have little appetite to stomach the delivery company's rising costs.

DoorDash said it sees current-quarter adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) in the range of $710 million to $810 million, below the analyst consensus.

Analysts at Deutsche Bank and Oppenheimer, who reiterated "buy" or equivalent ratings for the stock following the results, voiced confidence it still has room to rise, though they pared back their targets to $298 and $280, respectively, given the dramatic rise in costs.

Even with Thursday's decline, shares of DoorDash have added close to a fifth of their value in 2025.

This article has been updated since it was first published to reflect more recent stock prices.

• About 40 airports will reduce flight capacity by 10% beginning Friday in response to the government shutdown, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said.
• It's unclear whether Republicans and Democrats will reach a deal to reopen the government and improve staffing at airports ahead of the holiday season.

Airports can seem like zoos around the holidays. This year, capacity cuts stemming from the government shutdown could cause a little extra chaos.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy yesterday said flight capacity would be reduced by 10% at select airports beginning Friday to keep the workload sustainable for understaffed, and currently unpaid, air traffic controllers. Some 5 million to 6 million travelers have flown for Thanksgiving, the busiest holiday for travel, in recent years, according to the American Automobile Association.

Duffy said officials would today share which 40 airports will be impacted. The DOT and Federal Aviation Administration hadn't published an official list on their websites or social media accouts as of 4 p.m., but some news outlets reported the cutbacks would hit most major airports. Officials will start with a roughly 4% reduction this weekend and cut back further as needed, The Wall Street Journal reported.

It's unclear when Democrats and Republicans will reach a deal to end a shutdown that has stretched into its second month; Nearly 45% of those wagering on Polymarket, a predictions market, don't expect a resolution until at least Nov. 16.

The uncertainty weighed on some airline stocks Thursday. Shares of the biggest U.S. airlines fell throughout the day, with American Airlines (AAL) down by about 2% at closing, and Delta (DAL) and United (UAL) airlines off by roughly 1%. The JETS ETF, which includes airline stocks, was down about 1.5%.

Flying home for the holidays may be extra chaotic this year. Disruptions may be prevalent, so those booking flights may also want to have a backup plan in mind.

Duffy said the reductions would ensure safety and reduce disorder going into the busy holiday season. "There will be more disruption. Would I still book? If there's deals out there, I'd book," Duffy said during a Fox News interview he shared on X Thursday morning.

AAA spokeswoman Aixa Diaz said it's hard to gauge how such a dynamic situation will influence Americans' travel plans by, for instance, driving rather than flying.

"As we learn more about which airports are affected, we'll get a better sense of the impact of the reduction," Diaz said. "Some holiday travelers may wait closer to Thanksgiving to decide what they want to do."

The airline industry group Airlines for America said it was working with the federal government "to understand all details of the new reduction mandate and will strive to mitigate impacts to passengers and shippers."

This article has been updated since it was first published to reflect closing share prices and add context.

• Snap reported strong results and guidance as its user base and revenue grew.
• The social media company also signed a $400 million partnership with Perplexity to offer Snapchat users a conversational AI-powered search option.

Snap shares soared some 12% on Thursday after the owner of the Snapchat social media platform posted better-than-expected results and guidance on user growth and spending.

The company also approved a stock buyback and struck a deal to provide conversational artificial intelligence (AI) search to Snapchat.

The latter bit of news is likely a big reason for the lift in the shares today. Snap (SNAP) said it is partnering with AI-powered answering engine Perplexity to give Snapchat users “a new way to ask questions, explore topics they care about, and learn about the world,” saying Perplexity’s system would be integrated into Snapchat beginning early next year.

Snap said the integration of Perplexity “marks a first step in Snap’s effort to make Snapchat a platform where leading AI companies can connect with its global community in creative and trusted ways.” Perplexity will pay $400 million in a combination of cash and equity over one year, Snap said.

Snap's efforts to boost growth are on display with its latest quarterly results and Perplexity deal. Investor reaction indicates a reward for the social-media company's effort to integrate the services AI startups provide into its offerings.

Snap posted a third-quarter loss of 6 cents per share, better than the 12 cents per share loss analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha were looking for. Revenue increased 10% to $1.51 billion, also above forecasts. The company’s average daily active users grew 8% to 477 million, and average revenue per user was up 2% to $3.16. Ad revenue was 5% higher to $1.32 billion. All those topped estimates as well.

The company sees current-quarter revenue in the range of $1.68 billion to $1.71 billion, while the Visible Alpha prediction is $1.69 billion.

Snap said its board has authorized a buyback plan of up to half a billion dollars, the goal of which is to offset some of the dilution associated with its compensation practices.

Shares of Snap have mostly traded in negative territory throughout 2025, and despite today’s gains, they remain down 20% for the year.

Episode 267 of the Investopedia Express podcast with Caleb Silver (November, 3, 2025)

Subscribe Now: Apple Podcasts / Spotify / PlayerFM 

Rampant speculation, a divided Federal Reserve, big companies making big bets, and geopolitical instability. Sound familiar? That’s exactly the environment that led to the biggest stock market crash in history nearly a century ago, and many of those ingredients are prevalent at the end of 2025.

Andrew Ross Sorkin, the best-selling author, New York Times writer, and CNBC Anchor, joins The Express to talk about what really caused the Great Crash of 1929, the key players behind it, and the eerie similarities to what’s happening today in the stock market and the economy. Plus, blowout earnings from the biggest tech companies like Amazon and Alphabet are keeping the bulls running into the best six months of the year.

Links for Show Notes:

• https://www.investopedia.com/articles/trading/07/hindenburgomen.asp
• https://www.amazon.com/1929-Inside-Greatest-History-Shattered/dp/0593296966

• U.S. employers announced the most job cuts in October than in any October since 2003.
  
• The report by private consulting firm Challenger, Gray, & Christmas is more important because the ongoing shutdown has delayed official government reports.
  

The low-hiring, low-firing job market suddenly has a lot of firing.

U.S. employers announced 153,074 job cuts in October, the most for that month since 2003, consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said Thursday. That was more than double the 54,064 layoff announcements in September, and up 175% compared to October 2024.

The layoff surge is a red flag about the health of the job market, which has been slowing down by just about any available measure. The most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed job growth decreased sharply over the summer as tariffs-related uncertainty, federal workforce cutbacks, President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration, and the adoption of artificial intelligence all took their toll.

October's layoff surge could be a turning point for a job market that has deteriorated over the course of the year. Until now, many employers have cut back on hiring but been reluctant to lay people off in significant numbers.

Reports by companies like Challenger usually take a back seat to official data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics because the BLS data is more comprehensive, based on massive surveys, and is considered the "gold standard" for reliability by economists. But with the government and all its statistical agencies shut down since Oct. 1, investors, business leaders, and officials at the Federal Reserve must rely on alternate data sources to assess the health of the economy.

"Some industries are correcting after the hiring boom of the pandemic, but this comes as AI adoption, softening consumer and corporate spending, and rising costs drive belt-tightening and hiring freezes," Andy Challenger, workplace expert and chief revenue officer for Challenger, said in a press release. "Those laid off now are finding it harder to quickly secure new roles, which could further loosen the labor market."

The layoff announcements in October came from the country's largest employers. Amazon, for instance, said it would lay off 14,000 corporate workers because AI made their jobs unnecessary.

News of the day for Nov. 6, 2025

Stock futures are ticking higher after markets rose Wednesday, signaling some renewed momentum in the AI trade; Tesla shareholders are watching today’s vote on CEO Elon Musk’s pay package; airline stocks are slipping on the government’s plans to reduce air traffic amid staffing issue related to the shutdown; Snap shares are jumping after it reported strong quarterly results and announced a deal with AI chatbot Perplexity; DoorDash is down after it delivered worse-than-expected earnings and a downbeat outlook.

Here's what you need to know today.

Stock futures are edging higher in early trading. Major market indexes pulled higher in yesterday's session as investors shook off some of the worries over the artificial intelligence trade that led to a pullback earlier this week. Futures associated with the S&P 500 were up by 0.2% after that index gained 0.4% in yesterday’s session, while futures tied to the Nasdaq 100 rose by 0.1% after the tech-focused index moved higher by 0.7% on Wednesday. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were little changed, ticking just a bit higher, after that index moved up by 0.5% in the prior session.

Bitcoin traded at over $103,200, ticking below yesterday’s levels. Yields on the 10-year Treasury note were at 4.14%, slightly lower than yesterday’s for the influential gauge of consumer borrowing costs. Gold futures continued to trade at more than $4,000 an ounce after dipping lower earlier this week.

Tesla (TSLA) shares are inching higher ahead of an expected shareholder vote today that is likely to determine whether the electric vehicle maker will award CEO Elon Musk a trillion-dollar pay package. While several major investment groups have voted against Musk’s pay package, others have backed it, as has company leadership, which has said it needs Musk at the helm to help usher in new advances in robotics and artificial intelligence.  A preliminary tally of this year’s 14 proposals, which include the pay package, is expected after a meeting set to start at 3 p.m. central time. Tesla shares, which came into today’s trading session up 14% so far this year, were higher by 0.4% in premarket trading.

Airline stocks are falling after the government said it would reduce air traffic to manage staffing levels that have been impacted by the ongoing U.S. government shutdown. The U.S. government will reduce air traffic at 40 major airports by 10% to help with staffing issues as the government shutdown continues to put pressure on transportation employee staffing levels, according to news reports. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a news conference that the reductions would start Friday and that the 40 airports would be announced today.

Shares of Delta Air Lines (DAL) Southwest (LUV) and JetBlue (JBLU) were lower by less than 1% in early trading, while United Airlines (UAL) and American Airlines (AAL) dropped more than 1% on the news.

Snap (SNAP) shares are soaring in premarket after the social media app posted better sales, heavier traffic and narrower losses than analysts had expected. The social media firm also announced a deal to integrate AI search engine Perplexity into its search features. Snap’s third-quarter revenue of $1.5 billion was ahead of analyst projections of $1.49 billion compiled by Visible Alpha, while its adjusted losses per share of 6 cents was better than the 12 cents a share in losses that analysts expected.

The company reported 477 million global active daily users, resulting in an average revenue per user of $3.16, which was better than the projections of 476.3 million global users generating $3.13 apiece. Snap shares have lost nearly a third of their value so far this year, but were up by almost 18% in premarket trading.

DoorDash (DASH) shares are falling in early trading after its quarterly earnings came in lower than expected, despite delivering more orders and bringing in more revenue than analysts projected. DoorDash reported that fiscal fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.55, while analysts tracked by Visible Alpha were forecasting $0.67. Its 776 million orders and revenue of $3.45 million were above the Visible Alpha consensus.

The food delivery service also disappointed investors with its fourth quarter outlook, as its adjusted EBITDA guidance of between $710 million and $810 million was below expectations of $849.7 million.  DoorDash shares are higher by 40% so far this year, but are down from the highs it hit in early October. Shares fell by more than 10% in premarket trading.

• Quantum computing stocks have rallied even more dramatically than AI stocks in the past year as investors increased their bets on the technology.
• Technological breakthroughs from tech giants like Google have increased quantum's visibility and potentially expedited the technology's commercialization.
• Still, the stocks are susceptible to dramatic swings driven by the slightest shifts in sentiment.
  

Move over, AI.

Quantum computing stocks—those representing a technology that teases vast computing power—have soared in the past year, making even the artificial-intelligence rally look tame. Shares of D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) and Rigetti Computing (RGTI) have soared 2,700% and 3,100%, respectively, over that period. Quantum Computing (QUBT) is up 1,100%. IonQ (IONQ), up 250%, is the laggard of the bunch. 

Only a few of Wall Street’s favorite AI stocks have posted comparable gains in the past 12 months. Software companies Palantir (PLTR) and Applovin (APP), lauded for their AI-driven growth, have risen roughly 300% in the past year. Nvidia (NVDA), the poster child of the AI boom, has gained about 44%.

Rallies typically slow with age, so it's understandable that the fresher theme has more momentum behind it—particularly at a time when investors have been willing to lean into speculative concepts and companies. But compare quantum stocks over the past year and AI stocks in the year after ChatGPT was released, and quantum still dramatically outpaces AI: Nvidia shares rose 206% in the 12 months starting Nov. 30, 2022, while server maker Super Micro Computer (SMCI) soared 212%.

Everyday investors often fear they're missing out when they see asset prices skyrocketing the way quantum computing stocks have. That fear can drive investors to make risky bets on poorly understood stocks that they panic sell at a loss when the rally hits a rough patch.

Granted, Wall Street didn’t immediately grasp how significant ChatGPT would be for Nvidia, and the chipmaker’s stock gains accelerated in 2023. But even in the yearlong period that Nvidia rose the fastest—between March 2023 and March 2024—its approximately 300% return still pales in comparison to most quantum stocks in the last 12 months.

A string of technological breakthroughs and Big Tech investments has raised quantum computing’s visibility on Wall Street over the past year. 

Last December, Google (GOOG) unveiled Willow, a quantum chip that it claims can solve a problem in 5 minutes that would take the world’s fastest supercomputer 10 septillion years to complete. (That’s 714 trillion times the estimated age of the universe.) Microsoft (MSFT) debuted its own quantum chip in February, and Nvidia last month unveiled hardware designed specifically to connect quantum computers and the accelerated computing chips that power AI.

As with the early days of the AI rally, quantum investors are betting the nascent technology will have profound implications for the economy and business. Quantum computing is expected to drive advancements in drug discovery, advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity, financial modeling, and logistics, to name just a few of its possible commercial applications. 

Due to the speculative nature of quantum investments, the stocks swing dramatically on the slightest shift in sentiment. Shares of Rigetti plummeted 45% one day in January when Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said he believed a “very useful” quantum computer was still about 20 years out.

Quantum stocks, despite their recent run-up, are relatively small compared with AI darlings. The four aforementioned companies have market capitalizations ranging from $2.5 billion (D-Wave Quantum) to $18.5 billion (IonQ)—valuations that are by no means small, but which are dwarfed by Nvidia's $5 trillion market cap.

Another factor driving the stocks higher in recent months: the Trump administration's hands-on approach to public-private partnerships. The Wall Street Journal recently reported the White House was in talks to invest in several quantum computing companies. The Trump administration, which has struck similar deals with chipmaker Intel (INTC) and rare earths miners, denied the reports, but that didn't stop quantum stocks from soaring.

Huang’s 20-year quantum timeline may be one of the most pessimistic forecasts out there, but the technology does face hurdles to commercialization. Quantum computers are too error-prone to achieve “quantum advantage"—the point at which a quantum computer can solve a real-world problem faster than a classical computer—according to a recent Bank of America report.

Last month, IonQ announced it had achieved fidelity—a measure of computational accuracy—of 99.99%, a record for quantum computers that essentially means the computer would make one mistake for every 10,000 computations. But the binary computers we use today boast much higher fidelity, making a mistake in one out of every 10 quintillion computations, according to BofA. To achieve “quantum advantage,” BofA estimates quantum will need to reach fidelity of 99.9999%. 

And it may be difficult to integrate quantum computers with existing digital infrastructure like data centers and software, according to BofA.

Nonetheless, consulting firm McKinsey estimates the quantum computing market could reach $97 billion by 2035, and nearly $200 billion by 2040. And monetization by leading technology companies may not be that far off: Bank of America analysts in a note last month said they expect quantum computing to have a material impact on computing pioneer IBM’s (IBM) results by 2030.

• A big vote on Elon Musk's pay landed today, with the company reporting that over 75% of voters approved a proposal that could make him a trillionaire.
• Prediction markets bettors across Polymarket, Kalshi, and Robinhood showed near-certain probabilities that shareholders approve Musk's pay package.

The fate of Tesla—or, at least, the answer to the question of whether its chief Elon Musk stays or walks—may have been settled at today's shareholder vote.

A preliminary tally on this year's 14 proposals, which include giving Musk greater control over Tesla (TSLA) as well as a trillion-dollar pay package, was rolling in late Thursday at a shareholder meeting that started after the close of trading. In that vote, the company said, more than 75% of voters moved to approve the proposal.

The crowd assembled for the meeting cheered as the result was announced. A final count will likely come in a few days, filed to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Though shareholders voted with Tesla to approve a past compensation deal for Musk on more than one occasion, the days leading up to today's shareholder vote were been fraught with tension. The EV-company-with-robotics-and-AI-ambitions made clear its position that it would be lost without Musk at the helm and that the incentives it recommends are necessary to retain him.

"We believe that Elon's singular vision is vital to navigating this critical inflection point," Robyn Denholm and Kethleen Wilson-Thompson, members of the special committee of Tesla's board of directors wrote in a letter to shareholders.

Counterpoint Global, an investment team within Morgan Stanley Investment Management, as well as the Florida State Board and Schwab Asset Management, said they intend to cast their votes in favor of Musk's compensation package.

The Tesla shareholder vote for revived a debate over key-person risk as well as corporate governance practices. High-profile investor groups holding big chunks of company stock took both sides of the issue this time around, though the company ultimately got what it wanted—as did Musk.

On the other side, major proxy advisory firms Glass Lewis and ISS advised shareholders to vote against the compensation package, citing dilution and a lack of key-person risk mitigation. Norway's $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund disclosed earlier this week that it voted against the pay package for those reasons and others. The New York State Common Retirement Fund earlier this month said it intends to vote against it, and exhorted others to do the same.

The trillion-dollar vote drew in bettors across prediction markets Polymarket, Kalshi, and Robinhood—all of which overwhelmingly indicated the expectation—at 90% or higher—that Musk's pay deal will pass.

Shares of Tesla fell about 3.5% on Thursday, closing around $446 to leave them up about 10% for the year.

This article has been updated since it was first published to reflect share-price movement and the announcement of the vote.

• E.l.f Beauty, which prices 75% of its products under $10, says consumers tend to maintain their self-care routines during times of uncertainty.
• For now, however, investors are dumping the shares after the company's full-year revenue outlook came in lower than expected.

A big beauty brand thinks uncertain consumers won’t abandon their self-care routines this holiday season—and they might even step them up. 

That’s a trend that E.l.f Beauty (ELF), which prices 75% of its products under $10, has seen in previous cycles of macroeconomic uncertainty, CFO Mandy Fields told Investopedia on Wednesday. In the meantime, however, investors are concerned about the company's outlook, sending the stock sharply lower in after-hours trading after its latest quarterly results arrived.

“A lot of things are going on in the economy right now,” Fields said. “You have a government shutdown, SNAP benefits not going to folks who need them, layoffs and tariffs.” The company in August raised prices on some products by $1, citing higher business costs due to tariffs and inflation.

Ever heard of the lipstick effect? It's the idea that when they're under stress, consumers tend to seek out small splurges—which, if you're a company like E.l.f. Beauty, could be good news, since it sells a lot of comparatively low-priced cosmetics. But when people are talking about it, it's also a sign that consumers might not be feeling great economically.

Shoppers are being “choiceful,” said Fields. “They have a finite amount of money.” And when budgets are tight, Fields said, consumers often seek out affordable indulgences, such as cosmetics–or what’s sometimes called  the “lipstick effect.”

“We represent that value,” she said. “You can buy a couple of lipsticks or our lip balms and still have money left in your pocketbook.”

Heading into the holiday shopping season, Fields said the company’s portfolio of brands—including its flagship lower-priced e.l.f. Cosmetics and skincare line and higher-priced brands such as Keys Soulcare and Hailey Bieber’s brand Rhode—allows it to cover a spectrum of price points.

California-based e.l.f. Beauty on Wednesday reported its fiscal second-quarter (ended Sept. 30) financial results. Sales rose 14% year-over-year to $344 million from $301 million a year earlier, climbing 12% for the first six months of the fiscal year but substantially missing the Visible Alpha analyst consensus. Adjusted net income of $40 million, or 68 cents per share, compared with $45 million, or 77 cents a share, a year earlier, but beat estimates. 

E.l.f. predicts full-year fiscal 2026 revenue in the range of $1.55 to $1.57 billion, suggesting an 18% to 20% increase year-over-year but coming in lower than Wall Street expected. That weighed on the stock, which was already in the red for 2025, in after-hours trading, sending it more than 20% lower in recent action. 

"We remain confident in our strategy to grow market share," CEO Tarang Amin said in a statement.

"The latest numbers show a serious weakening of the bottom line," said Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData Retail. "That said, maintaining its value position even at the expense of short-term profit is the right move."