Investopedia Markets News (all except PF)

• VF Corp.’s fiscal Q1 revenue exceeded expectations, but the company reported a wider-than-expected loss.

• Vans sales dropped more than anticipated, contributing to the stock’s nearly 20% decline.

VF Corp. (VFC) posted better-than-expected fiscal 2027 first-quarter revenue and lifted its full-year outlook. Its stock is sinking nevertheless.

Shares of VF, the parent company of outdoor and active brands including The North Face and Timberland, are sinking nearly 20% Wednesday to 2026 lows after it reported a bigger loss and Vans sales decline than analysts had expected, and announced the departure of its finance chief.

VF registered first-quarter revenue that fell 5% year-over-year to $1.67 billion, while analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha had called for $1.64 billion. The Denver-based company raised its fiscal 2027 revenue outlook to 2% or better growth on a constant-currency basis, up from the prior guidance of 1% to 2%.

However, VF posted an adjusted loss of $0.27 per share, wider than analysts’ consensus forecast of $0.23 per share. Vans revenue fell 8% from last year, while analysts expected a roughly 7% drop.

In addition, VF announced that Paul Vogel “will cease serving as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and will begin serving in an advisory capacity to assist in the transition of responsibilities” effective Aug. 1, when COO Abhishek Dalmia will take over those roles.

The news pulled the stock into the red for 2026. VF shares entered Wednesday up about 1% this year.

• Procter & Gamble shares fell Wednesday after the consumer products giant’s fourth-quarter sales fell short of estimates.
• The Tide and Old Spice maker blamed a “very challenging geopolitical and economic environment” over the last fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble’s stock is taking a hit Wednesday after sales fell short of Wall Street estimates.

Shares of Procter & Gamble (PG) were down 3% in recent trading after the maker of Tide, Old Spice, Pampers, and dozens of other consumer brands posted fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $21.20 billion, slightly below the $21.22 billion analysts had expected, per Visible Alpha estimates. The company’s adjusted earnings per share of $1.43 was 2 cents ahead of expectations.

CEO Shailesh Jejurikar, who took over Procter & Gamble at the start of the year, pointed to a “very challenging geopolitical and economic environment” for the results.

Procter & Gamble’s lackluster fourth-quarter sales could be taken as a sign that consumers are feeling the pressure of rising prices over the last several months, fueled by the Iran war.

Procter & Gamble said it now expects sales to rise 1% to 3% in fiscal 2027, with flat to 3% growth in adjusted EPS. The midpoint of each range was just below the analyst consensus. The company also said that in the upcoming fiscal year, it will take on the remainder of the $1 billion to $1.6 billion in restructuring costs under a plan announced last year that included layoffs of about 7,000 employees.

Wednesday’s decline erased much of Procter & Gamble’s stock gains for the year, leaving it up just 1% for 2026 so far.

News of the day for July 29, 2026

Stock futures are pointing to a mixed open for major indexes as investors await a Federal Reserve decision on interest rates and earnings reports from major tech companies; market participants generally expect the Fed to hold its key rate steady today, but some are bracing for the possibility of a surprise hike; oil prices are rising as fighting resumed in the Middle East; Meta and Microsoft are set to report earnings after the closing bell; and Ford shares are gaining after the automaker reported solid earnings and raised its full-year outlook. Here’s what you need to know today.

Stock futures are little changed this morning ahead of a Fed rate decision and press conference that have the potential to be market-moving, as well as Big Tech earnings after the closing bell that will set the tone for the AI trade. Futures tied to the benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq were recently up 0.2%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipped 0.3%. The major indexes posted a third straight day of mixed results yesterday, with solid earnings lifting the S&P and Dow while slumping chip stocks dragged the Nasdaq lower. WTI oil futures were up more than 4% to above $82 a barrel amid renewed fighting between the U.S. and Iran (more on that below). Gold futures were little changed around $4,030 an ounce, while bitcoin was trading at $64,400, after hitting a low of $62,700 yesterday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which affects interest rates on consumer loans, rose to 4.63% from 4.61% at yesterday’s close.

The Federal Open Market Committee is set to announce its latest decision on interest rates this afternoon, with Kevin Warsh scheduled to give his second post-meeting press conference as Fed Chair at 2:30 p.m. ET. Traders are pricing in about a 64% chance that the Fed holds rates steady today, per the CME Group’s FedWatch tool. That indicates an unusual lack of certainty among market participants heading into a Fed decision. Since taking over the top spot in May, Warsh has made clear that the Fed’s top priority is fighting inflation. Rising fuel prices stemming from the Iran war have pushed inflation further above the central bank’s 2% annual target in recent months, leading investors to expect that the Fed will need to raise interest rates soon. Meanwhile, Warsh has said the Fed will provide less guidance on where rates are headed under his leadership, which has market participants bracing for a possible surprise today.

Crude oil prices are back on the rise after three days of declines, as the U.S. military and Jordan each said they intercepted Iranian missiles early this morning. Fighting had paused over the weekend, with investors hopeful that progress could be made towards a new round of peace talks that could end the conflict. Hours before the Iranian missile launches, the U.S. military said it had worked with the Saudi Arabian military to launch attacks in Iraq against Iran-backed militias that have been the source of some recent attacks in the region, according to The Associated Press. WTI futures, the U.S. crude benchmark, were up more than 4% to $82.50 a barrel recently, while Brent futures, the international standard, jumped 4.5% to $88 per barrel.

Two Magnificent Seven companies are set to report earnings today, with results from Meta Platforms (META) and Microsoft (MSFT) due after the closing bell. The results come at a complicated time for tech, as investors appear to have grown used to revenue and profit growth that would have previously sent stocks soaring, and are now looking for evidence that the companies will see a return on their massive investments in AI. Investors have also grown increasingly wary of those spending plans. Alphabet (GOOGL) stock tumbled last week after the Google parent lifted its capital expenditures forecast for the year. The reaction to the results from Meta and Microsoft could also set the stage for how investors will receive results from Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN) tomorrow.

Ford (F) shares are surging this morning after the automaker reported a higher-than-expected profit and lifted its full-year forecast. The company announced after the closing bell yesterday that it generated $48.3 billion in revenue in the second quarter, more than $1 billion shy of the analyst consensus compiled by Visible Alpha, but its adjusted earnings of 42 cents per share topped estimates. Ford also raised its full-year adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) and adjusted free cash flow outlooks, in part because of tariff refunds the company expects to get from the federal government. Ford shares, which through Tuesday’s close had gained 14% so far this year, were up more than 5% in recent premarket trading.

Episode 305 of the Investopedia Express with Caleb Silver (July 27, 2026)

Subscribe Now: Apple Podcasts / Spotify / PlayerFM

With the echoes of the Dotcom bubble bursting and the ashes of the Great Financial Crisis still resonating in their minds, many Gen Z investors have taken a cautious, unique approach to long-term investing. Mary Esposito, the personality behind “Money with Mary,” shares her investing strategy and how she has navigated becoming an Instagram star and a small business operator in her early 20s. Plus, a new round of tariffs and a spike in energy prices are putting the Fed and new Chair Kevin Warsh on the defensive against inflation as the bond vigilantes circle.

• Apple is due to report earnings Thursday afternoon, with options pricing suggesting traders see its stock swinging up to about 3% by the end of the week.
• Thursday’s report will be Apple’s last with Tim Cook as CEO, with John Ternus set to take over the top job in September.

Apple is set to report earnings after the closing bell today, with traders expecting the iPhone maker’s stock could near its recent record following the results.

Based on current options pricing, Apple (AAPL) shares are seen swinging up to about 3% in either direction by the end of the week. A move of that size from the stock’s level around $332 Thursday morning could send the stock closer to yesterday’s record just under $345, or below $322, giving up some of its gains.

Apple overtook Nvidia (NVDA) as the world’s most valuable company and watched its market capitalization briefly cross the $5 trillion threshold earlier this week. The iPhone maker’s stock has added nearly one-quarter of its value this year amid optimism around strong iPhone sales and anticipated advances under new CEO John Ternus, who’s set to take the helm from Tim Cook in September.

Thursday’s earnings call will be Apple’s last with Tim Cook as CEO, with investors likely to watching closely for any updates on the company’s plans.

Ahead of the report, Morgan Stanley analysts lifted their price target to $364 from $360, suggesting investors could be underestimating Apple’s potential revenue growth in the next few quarters from recent price hikes to offset soaring memory costs.

Apple is projected to report fiscal third-quarter revenue of $108.2 billion, up 15% year-over-year, along with earnings per share of $1.87, compared to $1.57 the same time a year ago, per Visible Alpha estimates.

Wall Street analysts are largely bullish on Apple. Five of the eight analysts tracked by Visible Alpha have issued “buy” recommendations, compared to one neutral and two “sell” ratings, though their mean target of $333 would suggest little room to rise from the stock’s recent level after its torrid rally.

This article has been updated and corrected since it was first published to reflect more recent prices and analyst estimates.

• Chipmaker stocks, including Broadcom and Intel, fell sharply, dragging the Nasdaq lower.
• Concerns over AI spending sustainability are weighing on investor sentiment for tech stocks.

Shares of a number of chipmakers fell today, extending a rough stretch for the AI trade and dragging the Nasdaq lower.

Shares of Broadcom (AVGO), Micron (MU), Marvell (MRVL), Intel (INTC), SanDisk (SNDK), SK Hynix (SKHY) and several others sank Tuesday. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) was down more than 4%, while the Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM) sank more than 8%.

Earnings reports from a number of Magnificent Seven firms this week could give investors their latest look into the spending plans of big tech companies, which could benefit chipmaker stocks.

Analysts have noted that investors haven’t been rewarding solid tech earnings lately the way they used to, amid worries around the sustainability of AI spending. 

Meanwhile, China-listed shares of memory chipmaker CXMT, which had soared in its debut on the Shanghai Stock Exchange yesterday, lost 4%.

• Fitch warns that an AI-related market correction could pose significant credit risks.
• Slowing U.S. consumer momentum, high inflation, and geopolitical uncertainty add to economic vulnerabilities, according to Fitch.

As semiconductor and other AI-related stocks slide, worries are mounting about the potential consequences of a protracted pullback.

Fitch, one of America’s big three credit rating agencies, warns that the possibility of an AI-related market correction, along with geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East, could pose a “major credit risk.”

“The combination of revenue uncertainty and the extent to which capital markets and economies have become intertwined with AI have created a vulnerability for credit in the event of a re-evaluation of long-run returns potential,” Fitch said in a report released Monday.

“This is on top of a broader context of slowing US consumer momentum, high inflation risks stemming from the 2Q energy shock and structural public finance pressures limiting the ability to respond to risk events,” Fitch wrote.

Bank of America earlier this month said its latest survey of fund managers found close to half of respondents identified AI spending by America’s biggest tech giants as the most likely source of a systemic credit event or financial breakdown, up from just around a third two months ago.

• Apple briefly became the second company to reach a $5 trillion market value.
• Optimism around new product launches and AI developments has driven Apple shares to record highs lately.

Shortly after unseating Nvidia as the world’s most valuable company, Apple (AAPL) became the second to hit a market value of $5 trillion after the chip giant.

Shares of the iPhone maker climbed close to 2% to a fresh high of $342.89 shortly after the open Tuesday, briefly pushing the company’s market capitalization above the $5 trillion mark. It later pared those gains, with the stock up a bit less than 1% in late-afternoon trading.

Nvidia broke the $5 trillion mark late last year. Growing optimism around anticipated product launches and AI developments under Apple’s new CEO John Ternus, who’s set to take the helm from Tim Cook in September, has helped boost the shares to a series of record highs in recent weeks.

Apple is set to post its latest quarterly results after the closing bell Thursday, when it could share more updates.

Shares of Apple have added about a quarter of their value in 2026 so far, outpacing the S&P 500’s roughly 8% gain and making Apple the best-performing Magnificent 7 stock year-to-date.

Apple’s stock would need to finish today’s session near $341 to keep its market cap above $5 trillion.

• Investors are uncertain if the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates or keep them steady at its upcoming meeting.
• Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s reduced guidance has left markets speculating about potential policy surprises.
• Inflation remains above the Fed’s 2% target, with risks tied to oil prices and economic pressures.

It’s not entirely a coin toss, but investors are in the dark on whether the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates on Wednesday or leave them unchanged.

The uncertainty is partly on purpose. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, long a critic of past market steering, pulled back on such guidance when he took the helm in May.

In recent years, investors got used to Fed officials telegraphing the outcome of meetings beforehand—keeping surprises to a minimum. But now markets are adjusting to Warsh’s vaguer playbook. 

Many still expect the Federal Open Market Committee to keep its benchmark federal funds rate at a target range of 3.50% to 3.75%. But traders see a roughly 30% chance that the FOMC will opt for a surprise rate hike, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool, which uses futures market pricing to gauge Fed probabilities.

“The upcoming FOMC meeting will be the first in quite some time that a large portion of observers will get an outcome they did not anticipate,” wrote Padhraic Garvey, ING’s regional head of research for the Americas. 

The Fed’s decision could quickly affect borrowing costs, markets, and investor expectations. A shift toward less predictable communication may also increase market volatility around future policy meetings.

June’s cooler inflation data, thanks to lower gas prices, should give the Fed breathing room to keep rates steady, Garvey wrote. But inflation is still rising at an annual pace of 3.5%—quite above the Fed’s 2% target—and is at risk of rising further if the Iran war heats up again.

That could lead to a “protective hike” from the Fed, Garvey wrote, which would also enhance Warsh’s credibility as an inflation-fighter early in his tenure. 

“We don’t call for a hike, but can see how it could happen,” Garvey wrote.

A rate hike would help Warsh show “he means business when it comes to fighting inflation,” wrote Richard de Chazal, macro analyst at William Blair.

Fed officials generally still see scenarios where inflation comes down—if the Iran war calms, tariff impacts continue to be relatively muted and rent prices keep softening. But they also see risks of the Iran war keeping oil prices higher, all while the artificial intelligence buildout drives prices up.

Inflation is “still too high and is assuredly not heading in the right direction,” de Chazal wrote, giving Warsh a chance to send a message. To be sure, a rate hike could surprise markets and lead to volatility, de Chazal noted. But it may be a trade-off Warsh is willing to make, particularly if the Fed is leaning toward hiking in September anyway.

“Under the prior regime, avoiding surprises was often viewed as a policy objective in itself,” he wrote. “Under the new regime, restoring anti-inflation credibility may be viewed as the higher priority.”

It’s a debate the Fed will undoubtedly have at its two-day meeting, where the main question is whether the Fed has “run out of patience,” wrote Michael Gapen, chief U.S. economist at Morgan Stanley. 

He sees the Fed staying on hold at Wednesday’s meeting, noting that “inflation has shown enough improvement to buy more time and keep the Fed on the sideline.” If the Fed does hike rates, it could be because Warsh “may have a much more hawkish reaction function than we think,” Gapen wrote, making him more inclined to raise rates.

“Will he seek to establish his inflation-fighting bona fides … with rate hikes now to help inflation converge to 2% more quickly?” Gapen wrote. “We do not think so, but we cannot rule it out.”

Analysts are also wondering whether July’s unusually uncertain Fed meeting is the new normal.

Some of the haziness is likely temporary, according to Joseph Abate, U.S. rates strategist at SMBC, since markets haven’t learned to read Warsh just yet.

“As he speaks publicly more often, markets will become more familiar with his thinking and which data he is watching,” Abate wrote.

But Warsh’s inclination to avoid discussing the Fed’s future policy moves “may make it difficult for markets to map out his reaction function,” Abate wrote. That means, for example, that investors will struggle to decide on whether the most recent jobs or inflation report may sway Warsh’s views one way or the other.

There are potential consequences to staying mum, wrote Barclays Economist Jonathan Millar. The lack of guidance has meant “markets are filling the void with speculation that Warsh may be eyeing a surprise hike,” Millar wrote.

Warsh’s goal is to give the market fewer signals on Fed policy—so that markets react to incoming economic data on their own rather than off Fed speeches about the economy.

The risk is that market expectations become self-fulfilling, with Fed officials facing “growing pressure to deliver a hike regardless of whether incoming data” supports it, Millar wrote.

That doesn’t seem to be the case right now, he wrote, pointing to the still-low probability of a hike. But the pre-FOMC moves “offer a glimpse of the uncertainty that can emerge when the committee’s reaction function is difficult to infer,” he wrote.

“Expectations can begin to feed back into policy outcomes, creating a hall-of-mirrors dynamic that is difficult for either markets or policymakers to navigate,” he wrote.

• Amazon is due to report earnings Thursday afternoon, with its stock seen swinging up to 6% by the end of the week, based on recent options pricing.
• Analysts have said they expect Amazon to report rising revenue and profits, though investors could be more focused on its AI spending plans.

Amazon is set to report earnings after the closing bell today, with traders expecting a big move from the e-commerce giant’s stock.

Amazon (AMZN) shares are seen swinging up to 6% in either direction by the end of the week, based on recent options pricing. A move of that size from the stock’s recent level around $238 could see the shares climb close to $253, recovering some of their recent losses, or slip below $223.

Heading into the results, Amazon shares are up 3% for the year and 15% off their May highs in the wake of Amazon’s first-quarter report. The stock has taken a hit amid a broader pullback in the AI trade in recent weeks as investor worry about big tech companies’ massive spending on AI infrastructure.

Investors will likely be keeping a close eye on Amazon’s capital expenditures after Alphabet hiked its spending forecast last week.

Bank of America analysts recently wrote that they expect a “modest” bump in Amazon’s retail sales from its Prime Day sales event, though investors may be more focused on its Amazon Web Services. Wedbush analysts said they see “continued heavy investment” in Amazon’s AI chipmaking efforts and satellite internet network.

Amazon is projected to report $196.75 billion in revenue for the second quarter, up about 17% year-over-year, with a more than 30% jump in AWS revenue to $40.49 billion. Analysts see Amazon reporting earnings of $1.99, up from $1.68 the same time last year, per Visible Alpha estimates.

Wall Street analysts are largely bullish on Amazon stock, with 18 of the 19 analysts tracked by Visible Alpha recommending buying the stock, while just one holds a neutral rating. Their mean target of $312 would suggest nearly 40% upside from Wednesday’s close.

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