Investopedia Markets News (all except PF)

Elon Musk gets plenty of attention. He’ll get even more this week.

SpaceX is set to issue its first quarterly earnings report as a public company Tuesday afternoon, calling attention to Silicon Valley’s surging investment in AI and the supply chain supporting the buildout. The results will follow a volatile seven weeks for Elon Musk’s newly public moonshot.

The rocket, connectivity and AI company sold shares for $135 in the largest initial public offering on record in June. The stock shot up in its first days, surpassing $225, and then steadily slid, falling below its IPO price and touching a low of $107 last week. 

Enthusiasm for SpaceX stock has flagged amid operational setbacks and a pullback in AI stocks. Tech giants have issued new stock and used debt to finance their increasingly expensive AI data center buildout, raising questions about when the investments will pay off. Investors recently dumped shares of several Magnificent 7 members, including Musk’s EV maker Tesla, after the companies indicated their AI spending spree is far from over.

SpaceX and its counterparts’ big AI spending has been a tailwind for chip, memory and data storage stocks, which have soared this year as builders snapped up their products. Suppliers, including Advanced Micro Devices, Western Digital and SanDisk, will report this week, along with energy companies benefiting from the AI boom.

This week also offers earnings from outside Silicon Valley. A number of consumer companies report, including the streaming service Spotify and media giants Paramount Skydance and Walt Disney. Results are also expected from McDonald’s, Wendy’s and the parent company of Burger King and Popeyes.

The major stock indexes plunged mid-week, though they managed to end the week with gains across the board, helped by an upbeat finish to Friday’s session. The Dow had its worst day in 15 months on Wednesday as the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged. Stocks started to regain ground Thursday, when data showed the Fed’s preferred inflation index cooled in June. Mega-cap tech stocks added to the turbulence throughout the week with mixed earnings reports. For the month, the Nasdaq Composite fell 3.2%, while the Dow edged higher and the S&P 500 just ticked lower. For more, read Friday’s market recap here. 

Here’s a look at major events this week. TradingView publishes a more detailed calendar, but clicking the link will take you off the Investopedia site.

• Monday, Aug. 3: Palantir (PLTR) is set to release its second-quarter results after the market closes, and host a webcast at 5 p.m. ET. The company, which operates an AI platform and makes data analytics software, vastly outperformed expectations last quarter and raised its outlook.
• Tuesday, Aug. 4: Spotify (SPOT) is scheduled to publish its results before the opening bell and host a question-and-answer session at 8 a.m. ET. The streaming service raised prices and posted strong results earlier this year. 
• Tuesday: McDonald’s (MCD) is slated to hold a conference call on its results at 8:30 a.m. ET, with the numbers expected before then. The industry has been trying to bring back inflation-weary lower-income consumers with deals, while working to attract higher-income diners. Other restaurant chains are reporting this week, including Shake Shack (SHAK), Sweetgreen (SG), Wendy’s (WEN), Outback Steakhouse operator Bloomin’ Brands (BLMN) and Restaurant Brands International (QSR), the parent company of Burger King and Popeyes.
• Tuesday: SpaceX (SPCX) is scheduled to release its results after the market closes and host a live audio webcast at 4:30 p.m. ET. 
• Tuesday: Pinterest (PINS) is set to publish its results after the closing bell and host a conference call at 4:30 p.m. ET. The social media company posted strong results last quarter and credited AI with improving its ad services.
• Tuesday: Paramount Skydance (PSKY) will host a conference call on its results at 5 p.m. ET, with the figures expected before then. The media conglomerate came out on top of a bidding war with Netflix (NFLX) for the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). Investors have been wary of Paramount’s plan to finance the purchase with $24 billion from foreign sovereign wealth funds and $54 billion in debt. The Walt Disney Co. (DIS) will report fiscal third-quarter results on Wednesday morning, which will be its second report under CEO Josh D’Amaro. 
• Tuesday: Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) plans to release its second-quarter results after the closing bell and host a conference call at 5 p.m. ET. The chipmaker beat expectations last quarter, and bolstered enthusiasm by announcing Microsoft is using its Helios rack-scale system, which is designed to train massive AI models.
• Wednesday, Aug. 5: Uber (UBER) is slated to hold a conference call on its results at 8 a.m., with the numbers expected beforehand. The rideshare and food delivery company handed in better-than-expected results last quarter, despite rising competition and gas prices. Uber recently struck deals with the electric vehicle company Rivian (RIVN) and chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA) as it and Lyft (LYFT)—which reports Thursday—look to dispatch more self-driving cars.
• Wednesday: Eli Lilly (LLY) plans to publish its results and hold a conference call at 10 a.m. ET. The pharmaceutical company released better-than-expected numbers last quarter and lifted its outlook thanks to strong demand for weight-loss drugs. Its rival Novo Nordisk (NVO) posts results Wednesday morning.
• Wednesday: Western Digital (WDC) is slated to release its fiscal fourth-quarter results after the market closes, and host a conference call at 4:30 p.m. ET. SanDisk
• (SNDK) is also set to discuss its fiscal fourth-quarter results at that time. Memory and data storage company stocks and earnings have surged amid an AI-driven shortage. Investors have recently been concerned that the industry’s blistering growth may not be sustainable as some tech firms redesign products to cut memory costs.
• Friday, Aug. 7: Oklo (OKLO) is set to publish its results before the opening bell, followed by a conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET. The nuclear energy startup has generated buzz while forging a partnership with Nvidia and Los Alamos National Laboratory, and advancing in negotiations to secure fuel from the government for its reactors. Wall Street is keeping an eye on energy companies like Oklo and Constellation Energy (CEG), which reports Thursday, as AI drives demand for power.
• Friday: The Bureau of Labor Statistics is scheduled to release employment data for July at 8:30 a.m. ET. The monthly jobs report is among the more important economic data releases every month, serving as a key input in Federal Reserve decision-making on interest rates. The labor market has rebounded this year after a rough stretch in 2025, with employers in a “low-hire, low-fire mode” that has frustrated job seekers but helped sustain economic growth. The Fed, under new Chair Kevin Warsh, has been more focused on taming inflation amid the signs of stability in the labor market. Economists expect that employers added 85,000 jobs last month, up from 57,000 in June.

American wealth hasn’t ridden on the stock market this much since the 1950s, Peter Gratton writes. GDP grew slower than expected last quarter, but could rebound later this year, Diccon Hyatt reports. Delta (DAL) and DraftKings (DKNG) are launching a free, in-flight “sports knowledge contest,” Aaron Rennie reports. And here’s Daniel Liberto’s look at the levels of mortgage debt held by retirees.

• AMD is set to report earnings Tuesday afternoon, with traders anticipating its stock could move up to 10% by the end of the week following the results.
• The chipmaker is projected to post growing revenue and profits on booming AI demand.

Advanced Micro Devices is scheduled to report earnings after markets close Tuesday, with traders anticipating a big move from the chipmaker’s stock.

Based on recent options prices, AMD (AMD) shares are seen swinging up to 10% in either direction by the end of the week. A move of that size from Friday’s close could see the stock rally as high as $527, or give back some of this year’s gains to slip below $430.

The chipmaker’s stock has more than doubled in value since the start of the year as data center sales surged, though it’s slipped nearly 19% off its June highs amid a broader pullback in the AI trade.

Strong results from AMD could help refresh investors’ enthusiasm for the stock, which has fallen from its highs lately.

Analysts from UBS and Bank of America recently lifted their price targets to $730 and $620, respectively, from $700 and $560 following AMD’s Advancing AI event where it unveiled a slate of new products. William Blair analysts said after the event that AMD is “now on the offense to grab share, with a robust product roadmap and a focus on open standards helping it land large commitments from hyperscaler and AI lab customers.”

AMD is projected to report second-quarter revenue of $11.34 billion, up about 48% year-over-year, and adjusted earnings of $1.61 per share, more than three times last year’s 48 cents, according to Visible Alpha estimates.

Analysts are widely bullish on AMD, with seven of the nine analysts tracked by Visible Alpha recommending buying the stock, compared to two neutral ratings. Their mean price target of $582 would suggest more than 20% upside from Friday’s close.

• Coinbase shares plunged Friday, after the crypto exchange posted weaker-than-expected results for the second quarter.
• The company’s revenue of $1.22 billion missed Wall Street estimates, driven by a decline in crypto trading volumes.

Shares of Coinbase Global (COIN) dropped about 10% in recent trading, extending their recent slide.

The bruising came after America’s largest public crypto exchange posted second-quarter results that missed Wall Street estimates. Its revenue of $1.22 billion, largely tied to crypto trading volumes, missed analyst expectations of $1.29 billion, per Visible Alpha. The company also reported a net loss of $359.5 million, compared to Street estimates of $120.7 million.

The effects of crypto winter shows in the company’s business. Transaction revenue fell in the three months ended in June compared to the period a year prior, primarily driven by a 38% decline in consumer crypto spot trading volume, according to the company. Part of that was offset by growth in its derivatives and prediction markets trading—a couple of the many offerings Coinbase recently rolled out in a bid to pivot away from being linked to the crypto market.

CEO Brian Armstrong in an earnings call said Coinbase’s sales “really decoupled from Bitcoin trading fees,” with about 88% of its net revenue coming from something other than spot trading in the cryptocurrency and “more durable” than in past cycles.

“Coinbase is no longer a bet just on the price of Bitcoin,” he said.

That might be true, but, if Coinbase shares only reflected the performance of bitcoin, it might be doing better. As of yesterday’s close, Coinbase’s stock performance was roughly in line with bitcoin’s 27% decline, but after yesterday’s earnings report, it’s lower.

• New tariffs on 60 trading partners replaced an expiring global tariff last week with rates of 10% or 12.5%.
• Importers immediately filed lawsuits after the tariffs took effect, arguing they revived a tariff regime the Supreme Court already struck down.

President Donald Trump’s newest tariffs landed last week with little effect on markets or prices, and importers sued to overturn them within hours.

The tariffs are the administration’s third attempt in a year at a broad tax on imports. The Supreme Court struck down the first in February. The 10% global tariff that Trump used to replace them had a 150-day limit. Once those duties lapsed July 24, the administration imposed new ones of 10% or 12.5% under a different portion of the trade law.

The U.S. Trade Representative said the new tariffs were to punish countries for not doing enough to stop the trade in products made with forced labor. Opponents were in court the same day. A spice importer and a watch retailer filed a proposed class action in the U.S. Court of International Trade seeking to void the duties and recover refunds with interest. Learning Resources, the family toymaker that beat the emergency-powers tariffs at the Supreme Court, sued separately.

The additional tariffs are similar to those that expired, leaving the economic outlook little changed. Until the courts settle the legality of the latest duties, businesses will continue to price goods around them.

The new import taxes are in addition to the 25% tariff Trump recently imposed on Brazil, as well as other tariffs the Trump administration has imposed on specific items like steel and cars. On top of that, Trump has threatened to impose a 50% tariff on Canadian products, although that is not set to go into effect until Aug. 19, giving negotiators in both countries time to defuse the dispute.

A 100% tariff on patented drugs and their ingredients hits 17 large drugmakers Friday, with other importers covered starting Sept. 29. Generics are exempt, and companies that struck pricing or onshoring deals with the administration face reduced rates or none at all.

Given that the resulting regime of import taxes is sprawling, continually changing, and subject to many exemptions, experts have found it challenging to analyze their effects.

“Calculations of the average effective tariff rate on all imports have become fiendishly difficult,” Samuel Tombs, chief U.S. economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, wrote in a commentary.

Economists say the Section 301 duties are less likely to affect inflation and consumer finances than those from last year, which were largely passed along to consumers, pushing up prices and contributing to inflation.

“The new tariffs announced are broadly consistent with the previous tariff levels that expired and should not trigger a renewed rise in goods prices, in our view,” Angelo Kourkafas, senior investment strategist at Edward Jones, said.

The latest round of tariff changes went little noticed by financial markets, which were convulsed last year by the import tax regime enacted on “Liberation Day.”

“For the most part, markets have long since become inured to the trade wars and mostly shrugged off the latest tariff news,” Douglas Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a commentary. “However, the series of announcements and threats served as a rather loud reminder that trade will act as a drag on growth for some time yet.”

Because the new rates so closely track the old ones, consumers are unlikely to notice much of a difference.

“While there remains considerable uncertainty around the size and timing of tariff passthrough, our modeling suggests that much of the inflationary impact is now behind us,” Tombs wrote.

Experts at the Yale Budget Lab pegged the new statutory tariff rate at 11.1% as of last week, noting it would rise to 11.8% by the end of the year as scheduled increases take effect.

The rate importers actually end up paying could be lower. Oxford Economics puts the effective rate at 9.6% once the pharmaceutical tariffs take effect Friday, up from 8.6% beforehand.

Those rates are far higher than the ones in place before the second Trump administration. A typical U.S. household will pay an extra $1,100 this year toward tariff-related price increases, the Yale Budget Lab estimated.

But it’s unclear how long the new tariffs will remain in place, with some experts saying they’re just as likely to be struck down as the earlier ones.

The new import taxes once again raise the question of whether the president has the authority to impose tariffs without Congress’s help, Alan Wm. Wolff, a senior fellow at PIIE, wrote in a commentary.

“The answer is no: Congress did not delegate authority of such breadth to the president,” he wrote. “It cannot constitutionally do so. These new tariffs would represent another case of presidential overreach. If they were challenged in court, the Supreme Court would likely overturn them.”

“If you’re a SpaceX shareholder—if you like it or not, you’re going to get Tesla. It’s just a matter of time,” Paul Meeks, Head of Technology Research at Freedom Capital Markets, recently said in an interview with Investopedia. That time may be sooner than many thought. 

CEO Elon Musk has reportedly told Tesla (TSLA) executives to prepare to separate the electric vehicle maker’s Chinese business from its U.S. operations in preparation for a merger with SpaceX (SPCX), according to the Wall Street Journal.

• Elon Musk reportedly told Tesla executives to prepare for a potential merger with SpaceX.
• Separating Tesla’s Chinese business could address geopolitical concerns and ease a merger with SpaceX.
• SpaceX and Tesla stocks have both declined significantly amid speculation about a potential merger.

Spinning off, selling, or closing the business could remove an obstacle to bringing Tesla and SpaceX, a major U.S. military contractor, under one roof amid rising geopolitical tensions between the world’s two largest economies. 

Musk, writing on X, insisted the idea of separating Tesla’s businesses had “never even come up in a discussion ever,” and dismissed the Wall Street Journal’s story as “absurdly fake news.”

Investors and analysts have been speculating about a potential Tesla-SpaceX tie-up since the former’s blockbuster IPO in June. It came up on Tesla’s earnings call last week when an analyst asked Musk whether he thought a merger made sense. “We can’t talk about combining companies, that kind of thing, on an earnings call,” Musk replied, but he did proceed to list several ways the businesses already overlap and collaborate, including the Terafab chip manufacturing plant and Starlink integration with Cybercabs.

Tesla and SpaceX stocks were both lower in early trading on Friday. SpaceX stock closed at an all-time low yesterday, and was down about 50% from its all-time high. Tesla stock has lost about one-third of its value since the start of the year.

• Reddit shares dropped 22% Friday after the CEO warned of volatile search referrals and traffic.
• Reddit’s quarterly profits and revenue topped Wall Street estimates.

Reddit easily trumped Wall Street analysts’ quarterly profit and revenue estimates. Investors are dropping the stock anyway.

Shares of Reddit were down nearly 23% in recent trading, a day after co-founder and CEO Steve Huffman warned in a letter to shareholders that “search referrals were choppy in the quarter, and traffic was more volatile later in the quarter.”

Reddit—known for its platform where people gather in communities to discuss almost any topic—posted second-quarter earning of $1.25 per share on revenue that rose 61% year-over-year to $804.9 million. Analysts polled by Visible Alpha had expected $0.97 per share and $732.4 million, respectively.

Average Daily Active Uniques climbed 18% to 130.3 million, in line with expectations. “While our visibility in referral traffic remains low, we’re not building for drive-by traffic,” Huffman wrote. “We’re building a daily destination.”

With Friday’s slide, Reddit shares have lost about 40% of their value since the start of the year.

• Palantir’s latest quarterly results are due Monday afternoon, with options pricing suggesting traders see the stock swinging up to 10% in the days following the report.
• Shares of Palantir have been pressured this year amid a broader slump in software stocks.

Palantir is due to report earnings after the closing bell today, with traders expecting a big swing in the software maker’s stock.

Based on recent options pricing, Palantir (PLTR) shares are seen moving up to 10% in either direction by the end of the week following the results. From Friday’s close, that could see the shares rise back above $135, recovering some of their recent losses, or slip below $111.

Palantir shares have lost nearly a third of their value since the start of the year. Solid earnings haven’t been enough to lift the stock out of its slump, amid a broader pullback in software stocks.

Another strong quarter could help improve sentiment around Palantir’s stock, which has taken a hit lately.

Citi analysts wrote ahead of the report that Palantir’s recent slide could offer investors an opportunity to buy, and said they expect a strong performance from Palantir’s commercial business.

Analysts expect Palantir to report second-quarter revenue of $1.81 billion, up over 80% year-over-year, along with adjusted earnings of 35 cents per share, more than double what Palantir reported a year ago.

Analysts are largely bullish on Palantir stock, with the six tracked by Visible Alpha split between four “buy” and two neutral ratings. Their mean price target of $197 would suggest 60% upside from Friday’s close.

• Apple shares fell 9% in early trading Friday after the company issued a weaker-than-expected revenue outlook.
• The company cited supply constraints in the face of soaring memory costs.
• Investors’ attention may turn to leadership changes and the potential launch of a foldable iPhone in September.

Apple shares are stumbling after the iPhone maker gave a weaker-than-expected outlook.

Apple (AAPL) shares were down 9% in recent trading, making it one of the biggest decliners in the S&P 500 on a day when broader markets gained. Executives said in yesterday’s earnings call that they expect 9% to 11% revenue growth in the current quarter, below the 11.8% analysts were looking for.

Apple said it faces “supply constraints,” as the company grapples with soaring costs of memory components that have pushed it to hike prices for some of its products. Jefferies analysts also said consumers may have pushed up plans to buy new devices ahead of price increases, which could negatively impact sales in the next couple quarters.

The company’s fiscal third-quarter earnings and revenue topped analysts’ estimates, as iPhone sales surged, though revenue from its services segment came in short of the analyst consensus per Visible Alpha. 

Investor focus will now likely turn to changes anticipated in September, when CEO Tim Cook will hand over the top job to John Ternus and Apple is set to unveil its newest iPhone lineup. This year, that could include the first foldable iPhone. 

Even with Friday’s slump, Apple shares are still up about 12% since the start of the year after hitting a record high earlier this week.

• Amazon shares surged after the company reported earnings far above analyst expectations.
• Amazon Web Services revenue grew 37% to $42.2 billion, exceeding forecasts by nearly $2 billion.

Amazon stock is soaring after the tech giant handily topped estimates in its latest earnings last night.

Amazon (AMZN) shares were up more than 13% in morning trading after the company said it earned $5.75 per share, well above the $1.99 analyst consensus thanks to a boost from Amazon’s investment in Anthropic. Amazon posted $200.6 billion in revenue, up 20% and above the $196.8 billion analyst forecast.

Sales in the e-commerce and cloud computing company’s Amazon Web Services jumped 37% to $42.2 billion, nearly $2 billion above estimates. Sales growth in the cloud services division is a key metric for Amazon and the broader AI trade, as it serves as an indicator of demand from other companies that run AI products.

JPMorgan analysts lifted their price target to $365 from $330 following the report, writing that they are “encouraged by the strength” of AWS revenue growth. The analysts noted that Amazon executives called the return on their AI investments “compelling,” with a “clear line-of-sight to strong financial returns.”

Analysts from William Blair said AWS growth “continues to astound,” and wrote that they expect the segment to continue gaining momentum.

• Novo Nordisk’s U.S.-listed shares fell premarket after disappointing heart drug trial results.

• The Phase 3 trial showed the heart drug ziltivekimab failed to reduce cardiovascular risks.

U.S.-listed shares of Novo Nordisk closed Thursday up just 1% this year. They look likely to drop into the red today.

Novo Nordisk’s (NVO) U.S.-listed shares were sinking about 9% premarket after the Danish pharmaceutical firm said its heart drug ziltivekimab, aimed at inflammatory conditions, did not meet expectations in a Phase 3 trial.

“While ziltivekimab demonstrated target engagement and inhibition of the IL-6 pathway, as reflected by expected reductions in free IL-6 and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) respectively, this did not translate into major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) risk reduction versus placebo in people with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), chronic kidney disease (CKD) and inflammation,” it said.

Novo Nordisk, known for its blockbuster weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, said that although the outcome will not impact its 2026 adjusted operating profit outlook, it “will result in a non-cash impairment charge” in the third quarter.