S&P 500 Edges Higher to 3rd Straight Record Close; Nasdaq Composite Snaps Winning Streak as Big Tech Earnings On Deck

Biggest S&P 500 Movers on Tuesday

13 hr 22 min ago

Advancers

• IQVIA Holdings (IQV) shares soared 18%, securing the S&P 500’s top performance on Tuesday. The data analytics and clinical research solutions provider topped second-quarter sales and profit estimates and issued a better-than-expected full-year forecast. IQVIA’s strategic collaborations and strength in artificial intelligence, including the development of more than 50 AI agents set for launch in the third quarter, have helped boost the company’s position in the life sciences sector.
• D.R. Horton (DHI) and PulteGroup (PHM) reported quarterly sales and profits that came in ahead of expectations, and shares of the homebuilders surged 17% and about 12%, respectively. Despite the results, both companies recognized the impact of soft sentiment among potential homebuyers, with elevated mortgage rates and tariffs pressuring affordability. D.R. Horton’s executive chairman predicted that sales incentives will stay elevated and increase heading into the year. Shares of Lennar (LEN) rose more than 8%.
• Northrop Grumman (NOC) shares jumped 9.4% after the aerospace and defense firm posted higher-than-expected sales and profits for the second quarter. Demand for military aircraft and defense systems driven by heightened geopolitical tensions contributed to the performance, and Northrop could be positioned to benefit from an increased focus on high-tech missiles and drones in President Donald Trump’s military budget for next year.

Decliners

• The report from Northrop rival Lockheed Martin (LMT) was not as well-received. Lockheed shares tumbled 11%, falling the furthest of any stock in the benchmark index, after the company disclosed $1.6 billion in losses related primarily to a classified aeronautics program and an international helicopter program. Quarterly revenue fell short of consensus estimates, and Lockheed reduced its full-year profit guidance.
• Tobacco giant Philip Morris (PM) missed quarterly revenue expectations, reflecting an ongoing decline in demand for cigarettes. Although the company raised its outlook for full-year adjusted profits, it lowered its forecasts for cigarette and smoke-free shipment volumes. Phillip Morris shares sank 8.4% on Tuesday.
• Although MSCI (MSCI) exceeded quarterly sales and profit forecasts, boosted by growth in recurring subscription revenue and asset-based fees, shares of the financial data provider and market index creator slipped about 9%.

–Michael Bromberg

IQVIA Soars on Strong Earnings

14 hours ago

IQVIA Holdings (IQV) stock surged on Tuesday after the clinical research and analytics company’s second-quarter results topped estimates.

Shares jumped 18% to lead gainers on the S&P 500 after North Carolina-based IQVIA said it earned an adjusted $2.81 per share in the latest period, while revenue rose 5% from the same time a year ago to $4.02 billion, each above the consensus of analysts’ estimates compiled by Visible Alpha.

However, IQVIA narrowed its full-year forecasts, projecting revenue of $16.1 billion to $16.3 billion, compared with the previous range of $16 billion to $16.4 billion, while adjusted EPS is now expected to come in between $11.75 and $12.05, down from $11.70 to $12.10 previously.

Despite the big gain on Tuesday, IQVIA shares are still down 5% so far in 2025.

–Aaron McDade

Philip Morris Stock Slides as Sales Miss Expectations

14 hr 22 min ago

Philip Morris International (PM) shares tumbled Tuesday after the tobacco giant missed quarterly sales estimates as demand for cigarettes continued to decline.

The maker of Marlboro cigarettes and IQOS heated tobacco devices reported second-quarter revenue rose 7.1% year-over-year to $10.14 billion, while analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha were looking for $10.27 billion. Adjusted earnings per share of $1.91 beat forecasts. 

Cigarette shipment volume fell 1.5% year-over-year to 155.2 billion, with total combustibles sales up just 2.1% to $6 billion. Meanwhile, smoke-free product volume jumped 11.8% to 44.8 billion, and sales surged 15.2% to $4.2 billion.

The company boosted its outlook for full-year adjusted EPS to $7.43 to $7.56 from the previous $7.36 to $7.49. However, it said it anticipates total cigarette and smoke-free shipment volume to be up approximately 1%, down from its previous guidance of a 2% gain, as cigarette volumes are expected to slide about 2%.

Philip Morris stock fell more than 8% on Tuesday, making it one of the biggest decliners in the S&P 500. Even with Tuesday’s steep decline, the stock has gained 37% since the start of 2025.

–Bill McColl

A New Acronym for Buzzy AI and Crypto Stocks?

14 hr 38 min ago

There’s a new acronym on Wall Street, courtesy of CNBC’s Jim Cramer. 

“PARC” stands for Palantir (PLTR), Applovin (APP), Robinhood (HOOD), and Coinbase (COIN), four stocks that have been on a tear recently. “A new acronym for the meme stocks that just won’t quit,” Cramer wrote in an X post revealing the acronym last week.

The four stocks have ridden a wave of enthusiasm for Wall Street’s favorite themes to rank among the best-performing large-cap stocks of the last year. AI hype has lifted shares of Palantir and Applovin more than 400% and 300%, respectively, in the past year. The Trump administration’s embrace of cryptocurrencies and looser regulations have boosted Robinhood and Coinbase by about 350% and 50%, respectively. 

The group’s momentum has made them favorites among retail investors. Palantir and Robinhood were the third- and fourth-most popular stocks with individual investors in the first half of the year, according to data from Vanda Research. All four were among the 30 stocks with the most call option trading in the first half, a sign of their popularity with a more sophisticated, risk-taking cohort of retail investors.

The PARC stocks’ outperformance over the last year has also made them some of the priciest issues on Wall Street. Palantir’s price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio on Monday stood at about 660, nearly twice the next highest in the S&P 500. The rest of the group’s P/E ratios range between 60 and 80. 

PARC’s hefty price tag and speculative sheen may explain why X users were so quick to poke fun at Cramer. Some joked the stocks could be aptly described by reversing the order of the acronym. Others took umbrage with Cramer’s saying the highly profitable tech companies are meme stocks akin to ailing and indebted businesses like GameStop (GME) and AMC (AMC). 

Some users speculated that Cramer’s ordaining the PARC stocks “this market’s redhot four” would spell trouble for the group.  “A funny (but often true) contrarian signal has been Jim Cramer’s picks… is it the kiss of death for these stocks or can these stocks hitting ATHs overcome the JC love?” wrote one user.

So far, that hasn’t been the case; all four stocks are up since Cramer’s recommendation. It also wasn’t the case for another acronym popularized by Cramer over a decade ago: FANG, which stands for Facebook—now Meta (META), plus Amazon (AMZN), Netflix (NFLX), and Google parent Alphabet (GOOG).

Those stocks have hardly been hurt by Cramer’s recommendation. Netflix shares have risen more than 9,000% since Cramer’s recommendation, while Meta and Amazon are up more than 2,400% and 1,600%, respectively. Alphabet, already one of the world’s largest companies in 2013, has returned more than 500%.

–Colin Laidley

The ‘Stakes Are High’ for Big Tech Earnings

15 hr 34 min ago

Tesla and Alphabet are due to report quarterly results after the closing bell on Wednesday, kicking off the earnings reporting season for the Magnificent Seven group of major technology companies.

The big picture for S&P 500 company earnings is largely a question of the group of tech stalwarts’ health, and analysts expect that the numbers will be strong.

Major tech companies, whose shares have largely underperformed the broader stock market this year, are under particular pressure to post results that exceed analysts’ expectations.

Read the full article here.

–David Marino-Nachison

DR Horton, PulteGroup Results Lift Homebuilder Stocks

16 hours ago

Shares of D.R. Horton (DHI) and PulteGroup (PHM) rose on Tuesday after each homebuilder’s latest quarterly results came in better than expected, which gave a boost to other homebuilder stocks.

D.R. Horton’s fiscal third-quarter revenue came in at $9.23 billion while it earned $3.36 per share, each well above the analyst consensus compiled by Visible Alpha. PulteGroup’s own second-quarter results also beat estimates by a narrower margin at $4.4 billion and earnings per share of $3.03.

“New home demand continues to be impacted by ongoing affordability constraints and cautious consumer sentiment,” D.R. Horton Executive Chairman David Auld said. “We expect our sales incentives to remain elevated and increase further during the fourth quarter, the extent to which will depend on the strength of demand during the remainder of summer, changes in mortgage interest rates and other market conditions.”

D.R. Horton trimmed its full-year revenue forecast to $33.7 billion to $34.2 billion from $33.3 billion to $34.8 billion previously, as it now expects to close on 85,000 to 85,500 homes this year, with the top end lowered from 87,000 previously.

PulteGroup CEO Ryan Marshall said the company “saw consumers dealing with a range of issues from high interest rates and challenged affordability to macro concerns about the strength of the economy” during the spring selling season.

PulteGroup shares were up 11% in recent trading, while D.R. Horton shares rose 16%. Tuesday’s moves put each stock into the green for the year, while rival homebuilders Lennar (LEN) and KB Home (KBH) each surged more than 8%.

Homebuilder stocks had a difficult first half of the year as the housing market stayed stagnant in the first quarter and the Trump administration’s tariffs looked like they would raise construction costs across the industry.

‘-Aaron McDade

Lockheed Martin Slides as Defense Contractor Cuts Outlook

17 hr 27 min ago

Lockheed Martin (LMT) stock tumbled Tuesday as the defense contractor reported $1.6 billion in losses across a range of programs and slashed its full-year profit forecast.

Shares of Lockheed were down more than 8% in recent trading. The stock has lost about 13% of its value since the start of the year.

A classified program in Lockheed’s aeronautics program that faced “design, integration, and test challenges” led to recognize $950 million in pre-tax losses, the company said. The company reported another $570 million losses on an international helicopter program. The losses, CEO Jim Chaiclet said, “are a necessary step as we continue to take action to improve program execution.”

The company now expects full-year earnings per share of $21.70 to $22, down from a prior estimate of $27 to $27.30. Lockheed maintained its sales outlook of $73.75 billion to $74.75 billion, which is in line with the Visible Alpha analyst consensus.

In the second quarter, Lockheed reported revenue of $18.16 billion, up less than 1% year-over-year and short of the analyst consensus. The company’s net income fell to $342 million, or $1.46 per share, from $1.6 billion, or $6.85 per share, largely due to the program losses.

–Andrew Kessel

Opendoor Stock Price Levels to Watch After Monday’s Surge

18 hr 14 min ago

Opendoor Technologies (OPEN) shares bounced around Tuesday after the stock surged more than 40% yesterday as retail traders bid up Wall Street’s newest  meme stock sensation.

Shares in the online residential real estate platform soared as much as 120% Monday before giving back some of those gains as traders booked profits into the close. The stock nearly tripled in value last week after EMJ Capital founder Eric Jackson made favorable comments and members of a Reddit trading community behind the GameStop (GME) meme stock frenzy in 2021 began sharing screenshots of their Opendoor trades.

The stock was down 1% at $3.18 in recent trading, after jumping more than 20% early Tuesday. The recent rally is good news for a company that faced a potential Nasdaq delisting in May because its stock traded below $1 for 30 consecutive business days.

After bottoming out last month, Opendoor shares have surged as retail traders attempt to capitalize on the stock’s momentum. The price gapped higher on Monday before running into overhead resistance around the closely watched 200-week moving average.

The recent buying has occurred on record volume, signaling strong trading activity in the stock. While the relative strength index confirms accelerating price momentum, it also flashes overbought conditions, increasing the chances of near-term price swings.

Investors should watch overhead areas on Opendoor’s chart around $5 and $11, while also monitoring key support levels near $1.80 and 92 cents.

Read the full technical analysis piece here.

–Timothy Smith

GM Shares Slide as Automaker Warns of Tariff Hit

18 hr 33 min ago

General Motors (GM) on Tuesday posted second-quarter results that topped analysts’ estimates, but warned it could face a bigger headwind from tariffs in the second half of the year.

The parent company of Chevy and Cadillac reported adjusted earnings per share of $2.53 on revenue that fell 1.8% from the same time a year ago to $47.12 billion. Both measures came in above analysts’ estimates compiled by Visible Alpha.

Looking ahead, the automaker held its full-year outlook steady after lowering profit forecasts in April. Last quarter, GM cut its adjusted EPS forecast to a range of $8.25 to $10, down from $11 to $12 previously.

However, the company warned Tuesday that tariffs could be a larger headwind in the third quarter than the second, and affect fourth-quarter results as well.

GM CEO Mary Barra said in the automaker’s quarterly shareholder letter that executives are working to position the business to “adapt to new trade and tax policies, and a rapidly evolving tech landscape.”

GM said it is “making solid progress to mitigate at least 30%” of the projected $4 billion to $5 billion tariff headwind “through manufacturing adjustments, targeted cost initiatives, and consistent pricing.”

Shares of GM were down 7% recently, trading near their lows for the day. They entered Tuesday roughly flat on the year.

–Aaron McDade

How Much Traders Expect Tesla to Move After Earnings

18 hr 59 min ago

Tesla (TSLA) is scheduled to report its second-quarter results after the market closes on Wednesday, with investors expecting the electric vehicle maker’s stock to make a sizable move after the report.

Based on options pricing, Tesla stock is seen moving close to 7% or almost $22 in either direction from Monday’s close near $329 by the end of this week.

Tesla shares rose 5.4% the day after the electric vehicle maker’s first-quarter report, when CEO Elon Musk told investors he was weeks away from leaving his work with the Trump administration. They gained nearly 3% following Tesla’s January fourth-quarter report, after surging nearly 22% and falling 12.3%, respectively, after each of the two previous quarters’ earnings.

Tesla shares, which were up slightly on Tuesday, have lost nearly 20% of their value since the start of this year. They have recovered from the lows they experienced in March and April when Tesla was the subject of protests while Musk was working in the federal government, but have still been pressured in recent weeks as Musk has continued to insert himself into politics on social media.

The EV giant is expected to report a decline of more than 10% in revenue from the same time a year ago, to $22.78 billion, while adjusted earnings per share are projected to drop nearly 20% to 42 cents, according to estimates compiled by Visible Alpha. Analysts have said recently the stock could respond more to Musk’s comments about Tesla’s recently launched robotaxi program and other projects than the company’s quarterly financial results, as the shares rose earlier this month despite deliveries missing estimates.

Among the analysts tracked by Visible Alpha who follow the company, eight call Tesla stock a “buy,” compared with five “hold,” and four “sell” ratings. Their average price target at $301 is about 8% below Monday’s closing level.

–Aaron McDade

Is Kohl’s the Latest Meme Stock?

20 hours ago

Is a beaten-down retailer the newest meme stock?

That’s one possible explanation for today’s jump in shares of Kohl’s (KSS), which were recently up some 30% after rising more than 100% in the opening minutes of the session, leading to a temporary halt in trading. The rise had earlier wiped out a year-to-date slide that had erased roughly a quarter of the company’s market value, though the move had cooled a bit from morning highs.

The move didn’t follow any fresh corporate news, and its next quarterly earnings release isn’t imminent. It’s possible traders have instead seized on the stock—which is heavily shorted, possibly making it a candidate for a squeeze—as a vehicle for dramatic action, with the shares recently a topic of conversation on Reddit’s go-go wallstreetbets forum.

Kohl’s first-quarter results, published in late May, were better than expected, though they followed on news that the company had fired its CEO not long into the announcement of an ambitious turnaround plan.

Wall Street is broadly bearish, with Visible Alpha’s mean price target at $8, below Monday’s $10.42 per share close. UBS analysts on Monday reiterated a $4 target.

–David Marino-Nachison

QQQ Levels to Watch Ahead of Big Tech Earnings

21 hr 22 min ago

The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) came into Tuesday’s session at its highest ever level as investors await earnings reports this week from major technology companies. 

EV maker Tesla (TSLA) and Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) and computing giant IBM (IBM) are due to report quarterly results after the closing bell Wednesday, while embattled chipmaker Intel (INTC) is scheduled to release its earnings reports late Thursday.

The QQQ, which tracks the performance of the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index, has received a boost in recent months from improved sentiment surrounding technology stocks as concerns about tariffs have eased and economic data reports have remained strong.

Through Monday’s close, the ETF had rebounded 40% from its early-April low and was up 10% since the start of the year. The QQQ was down 0.8% at around $560 in recent trading.

After breaking out from a flag pattern late last month, QQQ’s price has continued its move into price discovery. Importantly, the breakout coincided with the 50-day moving average (MA) crossing above the 200-day MA to form a golden cross, a bullish chart signal that indicates the start of a new uptrend. 

Moreover, the relative strength index has remained near its overbought threshold since early May, confirming the fund’s strong price momentum.

The measured move technique forecasts a near-term price target of $589. Investors should monitor crucial support levels on QQQ’s chart around $540 and $515.

Read the full technical analysis piece here.

–Timothy Smith

Coca-Cola Profits Top Estimates, Sales Come in Short

22 hr 37 min ago

The Coca-Cola Company (KO) posted better second-quarter profits than analysts had projected on Tuesday morning, while sales fell short.

The soda maker said Tuesday it earned a “comparable,” or adjusted, $0.87 per share, 4 cents better than estimates, while revenue rose 1% to $12.5 billion in the quarter, just below the analyst consensus compiled by Visible Alpha.

Coca-Cola narrowed its full-year profit forecast, saying it expects comparable EPS to grow by about 3% from $2.88 in 2024, compared to its previous 2% to 3% range. Comparable revenue and EPS are each expected to be negatively impacted by currency exchange rates in the third quarter and second half of the year, the company said.

Shares were down nearly 1% shortly after the results were released. They entered Tuesday up about 13% since the start of this year.

Coca-Cola said in Tuesday’s release that it plans “to launch an offering made with U.S. cane sugar to expand its Trademark Coca-Cola product range” this fall. The company said the new U.S. product is “designed to complement the company’s strong core portfolio and offer more choices across occasions and preferences.”

The announcement comes after President Donald Trump last week said the company had agreed to sweeten its iconic soda with cane sugar as officials in his administration have pushed food companies to abandon certain ingredients such as artificial dyes and high fructose corn syrup.

The maker of its namesake beverage, Sprite, and dozens of others topped profit estimates while sales fell short last quarter, as the company said it expected a “manageable” impact from tariffs over the full year. Analysts said ahead of the report that Coca-Cola’s biggest tariff headwinds would likely be from fruit juice and aluminum it imports to make its products.

Soda rival PepsiCo (PEP) topped estimates in its own second-quarter report last week, touting strong international sales growth.

–Aaron McDade

Major Stock Index Futures Little Changed

22 hr 59 min ago

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.1%.

S&P 500 futures rose fractionally.

Nasdaq 100 futures were down less than 0.1%.