S&P 500 Slips From Record High as Investors Digest Flurry of Earnings Reports, Await Fed Rate Decision, Big Tech Results

Biggest S&P 500 Movers on Tuesday

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Decliners

• Shares of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning specialist Carrier Global (CARR) posted the steepest drop of any S&P 500 stock Tuesday, sinking nearly 11%. Despite reporting stronger-than-expected second-quarter profit and meeting revenue forecasts, Carrier trimmed its full-year outlook for organic growth in residential markets. The company also discussed headwinds in the light commercial segment and challenges in international markets.
• Package delivery giant United Parcel Service (UPS) reported mixed quarterly results, with revenue edging ahead of estimates but earnings per share missing the mark. A decline in average daily domestic package volume contributed to a 3% year-over-year decline in revenue. The shipping company opted against providing full-year guidance for revenue and operating profit, citing uncertainties related to shifting trade policy and the macroeconomic outlook. UPS shares tumbled more than 10%.

• Brown & Brown (BRO) shares dropped more than 10% after the insurance brokerage and risk management firm released second-quarter earnings. Although the company posted stronger-than-expected top- and bottom-line results, net income was down 10% from a year ago. During Brown & Brown’s earnings call, analysts raised questions about potential margin pressure and the possibility that softness in the insurance markets could stifle revenue growth.

Advancers

• Shares of Corning (GLW) surged nearly 12%, securing the S&P 500’s strongest performance on Tuesday. The supplier of specialized glass for smartphone and television screens as well as fiber optic cables topped sales and profit estimates with its second-quarter results. The glassmaker has benefitted from increased demand for its cabling solutions related to the rapid buildout of artificial intelligence data centers. JPMorgan analysts said the possible launch of a foldable iPhone by Apple (AAPL) could be another positive for Corning given the increased glass surface area and complexity.
• Incyte (INCY) shares rose more than 10% in the wake of the biopharmaceutical company’s quarterly earnings release. Although product revenue for the second quarter fell shy of consensus expectations, EPS came in better than expected. Incyte highlighted solid year-over-year sales growth for skin treatment Opzelura and increased its full-year sales outlook for its top-selling drug Jakafi, which is used as a therapy for several blood conditions.
• Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) reported quarterly sales and profits that surpassed analysts’ expectations, and shares of the electronic design automation firm advanced 9.7%. Bookings were also better than anticipated, and Cadence lifted it full-year outlook, pointing to the strength and breadth of its products across various areas within the AI space. The company also said it would pay a penalty of more than $140 million related to the unlawful export of semiconductor design tools to China.

–Michael Bromberg

Sarepta Jumps After FDA Allows Elevidys Sales to Resume

1 hr 8 min ago

Shares of Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT) jumped 14% Tuesday after the company said it had been informed by the Food and Drug Administration that it could resume shipping a drug it paused sales of last week.

Sarepta had announced early last week that it was voluntarily pausing shipments of Elevidys, days after the company pushed back on an FDA request for it to do so. The drug has been the subject of an FDA review since a third patient who was taking the drug as a treatment for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy died earlier this month.

The company said after the bell Monday that the FDA has concluded that that death was unlikely to be related to the drug, and said it will “continue dialogue on next steps in the safety labeling process and risk-mitigation approach” for the medication.

“We are very pleased that FDA chose to rapidly and comprehensively complete that review and to recommend that we remove our voluntary pause and resume shipment” of the drug for ambulatory patients, Sarepta CEO Doug Ingram said.

Oppenheimer analysts upgraded the stock to “outperform” with a $37 price target, up from $30 previously following the news of shipments resuming. The analysts said they believe the news was the “desired outcome” for patients who were briefly without access to the drug and said they expect shares to gain on the news.

Sarepta previously said a patient died in March and another died last month, both of acute liver failure. Shares of the drugmaker were boosted earlier this month when Sarepta announced a restructuring plan, saying it would cut about 500 jobs and pause the development of several of its drugs.

–Aaron McDade

Cadence Stock Pops After Company Boosts Outlook

1 hr 48 min ago

Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) shares surged Tuesday after the firm settled legal proceedings with the U.S. government and lifted its full-year outlook.

The stock closed nearly 10% higher, leading Nasdaq 100 advancers and boosting its year-to-date gain to 22%.

The San Jose, Calif.-based company reported second-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $1.65 on revenue that rose 20% year-over-year to $1.28 billion. Both figures exceeded consensus estimates of analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha.

Cadence also said that its results included a one-time charge of $140.6 million to settle legal proceedings with the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Commerce relating to “operations and business dealings in China.”

Cadence now sees 2025 revenue in the range of $5.21 billion to $5.27 billion, up from the prior forecast of $5.15 billion to $5.23 billion, and adjusted EPS of $6.85 to $6.95, up from $6.73 to $6.83

–Aaron Rennie

Boeing Beats Revenue Estimates, Cuts Losses

2 hr 26 min ago

Boeing (BA) posted better-than-expected sales and it slashed its red ink as deliveries increased.

The planemaker on Tuesday reported second-quarter revenue jumped 35% year-over-year to $22.75 billion, while analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha were looking for $21.67 billion. Boeing also cut its core, or adjusted, per-share loss to $1.24 from $2.90 a year ago.

Commercial deliveries soared 63% to 150, helping the Commercial Airplanes unit’s revenue to skyrocket 81% to $10.87 billion. The company credited the gains to its flagship 737, which made up 69% of the total. The 104 737 deliveries were 34 more than in 2024.

Defense, Space & Security segment revenue was up 10% to $6.62 billion, while revenue for the Global Services division rose 8% to $5.28 billion.

Alluding to the problems Boeing has faced with production and quality issues, CEO Kelly Ortberg said the company remains “focused on restoring trust and making continued progress in our recovery while operating in a dynamic global environment.”

Shares of Boeing were at their highest level since January 2024 at the close of trading yesterday. While the stock initially jumped following the earnings report today, it finished the day down more than 4%. Still, they’ve added 28% since the beginning of the year.

–Bill McColl

SoFi Jumps on Quarterly Results, Raised Outlook

3 hr 14 min ago

SoFi Technologies (SOFI) shares jumped Tuesday after the personal finance tech firm posted better-than-estimated results and boosted its revenue and earnings outlook.

The company, a favorite among retail traders, posted second-quarter earnings per share (EPS) of 8 cents on revenue that rose 43% year-over-year to $854.9 million. Analysts polled by Visible Alpha had expected 6 cents and $809.1 million, respectively. The company said that its members grew 34% year-over-year in the second quarter to a record 11.7 million members.

Citing “the strong first half of the year,” the company raised its guidance for the full year. It said it now expects to record adjusted net revenue of approximately $3.375 billion, $65 million higher than the top end of its prior guidance range of $3.235 billion to $3.310 billion. It also projected full-year GAAP EPS of around $0.31, above prior guidance of $0.27 to $0.28.

The new projections are above Visible Alpha estimates of full-year 2025 revenue of $3.31 billion and EPS of $0.28 a share.

The company also said its management team expects to add at least 3 million new members this year, an approximately 30% rise year-over-year.

SoFi shares were up more than 7% in late trading Tuesday, after rising nearly 20% early in the session.

The stock tumbled more than 10% in January when the company issued disappointing full-year guidance. It posted record net revenue and raised its guidance in late April, however, and its shares are now almost 50% higher so far this year.

–Nisha Gopalan

How Much Traders Expect Microsoft to Move After Earnings

4 hr 24 min ago

Microsoft (MSFT) is scheduled to report earnings after the closing bell Wednesday, with traders anticipating its stock could climb to all-time highs.

Recent options pricing suggests traders expect Microsoft stock could move nearly 4% in either direction from Tuesday’s intraday level around $513 by the end of Friday’s trading session. A move of that scale would lift shares to a fresh record near $532 or drop them to about $494, about where they were at the start of July. The stock has set multiple record highs this month. 

Microsoft stock has registered an average post-earnings move of 5% over the past four quarters, falling in three of those instances. April was the exception, when shares jumped 8% the day after earnings as cloud and AI growth drove better-than-expected results. 

Ahead of Wednesday’s earnings report, all 20 brokers covering Microsoft tracked by Visible Alpha have “buy” ratings for the stock. Their average price target around $580 represents a 13% premium over Monday’s closing price. 

Wall Street analysts expect Microsoft’s quarterly revenue and profits to have surged year-over-year amid growing AI demand. Wedbush analysts, who recently raised their price target to $600, said the company “is just hitting its next phase of monetization on the AI front,” thanks to the adoption of Copilot, its chatbot, and its cloud-computing platform Azure.

–Andrew Kessel

What You Need to Know About the Fed Meeting

4 hr 49 min ago

The Federal Reserve’s two-day monetary policy meeting kicked off Tuesday, as financial markets await clues about the central bank’s appetite for interest rate cuts in the coming months.

Members of the Federal Open Market Committee are deliberating over monetary policy and are scheduled to release their decision about their key federal funds rate after the meeting at 2 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday. Following the announcement, Fed Chair Jerome Powell is expected to hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m.

Don’t Expect Lower Borrowing Costs

Fed officials are widely expected to hold the key fed funds rate at 4.25% to 4.5%, the same as it’s been since December.

Policymakers consider this rate high enough to put upward pressure on interest rates for all kinds of loans. The high rates are designed to discourage borrowing and spending, and slow down the economy in an effort to push inflation down to the Fed’s goal of a 2% annual rate.

However, the decision of the Fed’s 12-member policy committee may not be unanimous. Two members have signaled they favor a rate cut this week.

Financial markets are betting that those in favor of a cut will be outvoted, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool. The tool forecasts rate movements based on fed funds futures trading data.

The FOMC’s policy statement, and Powell’s press conference afterward, could offer clues about how willing the Fed will be to cut rates at its next meeting in September.

Fed’s Balancing Act Hasn’t Gotten Easier

In recent weeks, several Fed officials, including Chair Jerome Powell, have said they’re concerned about the “inflation” side of the central bank’s “dual mandate” to keep inflation low and employment high.

With the unemployment rate at 4.1%, low by historic standards, and core inflation at 2.7%, over the Fed’s target, many Fed officials favor keeping rates high to stifle inflation, rather than cutting them to boost hiring.

President Donald Trump’s trade war complicates the outlook. Fed officials are concerned the sweeping import taxes he’s imposed could increasingly be passed on to consumers, igniting inflation.

At the same time, the tariffs could slow down the economy and hurt the job market, risking a state of “stagflation” and leaving the Fed with a dilemma about its monetary policy.

Fed Under Pressure to Cut Rates Soon

Trump has repeatedly demanded that the Fed lower interest rates and has even threatened to fire Powell for not doing so.

Trump’s pressure campaign against Powell has included insults, accusations of cost overruns in a renovation project at the Fed’s Washington headquarters, and threats to announce the next Fed chair early. Trump wants the Fed to cut rates iso that he federal government’s interest payments on the national debt are lower.

Trump’s demands have raised questions about the central bank’s independence. The Fed is supposed to make policy decisions based on economic considerations rather than political ones.

–Diccon Hyatt

Whirlpool Slides After Weak Earnings, Reduced Outlook

5 hr 10 min ago

Whirlpool (WHR) shares plunged Tuesday, a day after the maker of washers, dryers, and other major appliances posted worse-than-expected results, cut its guidance, and planned to reduce its dividend because of what it called “negative consumer sentiment.”

The owner of its eponymous brand as well as Maytag, KitchenAid, and others reported second-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $1.34, with revenue declining more than 5% year-over-year to $3.77 billion. Both fell short of Visible Alpha estimates. 

The Benton Harbor, Mich.-based firm added that along with falling consumer sentiment, its results continued to be hurt by high levels of promotional activity and new U.S. tariffs, with competitors “stockpiling Asian imports into the U.S.” ahead of the implementation of the new duties.

CFO Jim Peters said the company faced an “uncertain environment,” and because of that “we are focused on what we can control: executing cost reduction, proactively managing debt maturities, and strengthening our balance sheet to ensure financial resilience.” 

As part of that cost reduction, Whirlpool announced that it was recommending slashing its annual per share dividend to $3.60 from $7.00.

The company also lowered its full-year adjusted EPS outlook to a range of $6.00 to $8.00 compared to the previous forecast of approximately $10.00.2

Shares of Whirlpool were down 13% in recent trading and have now lost about a quarter of their value since the start of the year.

–Bill McColl

Corning Stock Soars as Earnings Top Expectations

5 hr 30 min ago

Shares of Corning (GLW), a specialized glassmaker for smartphones and AI data centers, popped Tuesday as the company’s second-quarter results exceeded expectations. 

Corning reported sales of $3.86 billion, up 19% year-over-year and above the analyst consensus from Visible Alpha. The surge was driven by optical communications sales, which rocketed 41% to $1.57 billion, comfortably ahead of Street estimates. The company’s adjusted earnings of 60 cents per share were a record high and beat expectations, as did its current-quarter sales and profit forecasts.

Shares of Corning jumped were up 13% in recent trading, making the stock the top gainer in the S&P 500 on Tuesday.

The stock has increased in price by roughly a third in 2025, as the glassmaker has been a lesser-known beneficiary of the AI boom. In addition to smartphone and television screens, Corning makes fiber optic cabling solutions for data centers, which have seen a surge in demand as investment in AI has grown.

JPMorgan analysts say Corning has a unique upside opportunity: a foldable iPhone. The bank expects Apple (AAPL) to launch a foldable device as part of the iPhone 18 lineup in 2026. The increase in total glass area, as well as the complexity of the foldable model, could be a catalyst for Corning, JPMorgan said Tuesday. 

JPMorgan has an overweight rating for the company. Meanwhile, Citi reiterated a buy rating and $60 price target, which Corning has exceeded with its Tuesday rally. The consensus target of brokers tracked by Visible Alpha is roughly $58.

–Andrew Kessel

Spotify Sinks on Weak Results, Outlook

7 hr 4 min ago

Spotify (SPOT) shares tumbled Tuesday after the Swedish audio streaming giant reported worse-than-expected second-quarter results and issued a mostly disappointing outlook.

The company posted earnings per share (EPS) of 0.42 euros ($0.49) on revenue that rose 10% year-over-year to 4.19 billion euros ($4.85 billion). Analysts polled by Visible Alpha had expected EUR1.82 and EUR4.26 billion, respectively. Last quarter, Spotify had projected Q2 revenue of EUR4.3 billion.

The company said that “outsized currency movements during the quarter” affected revenue, and that operating expenses rose 8%.

Monthly active users climbed 11% to 696 million. Analysts had estimated 689.4 million MAUs, while Spotify had projected 689 million last quarter. Premium subscribers increased 12% to 276 million, topping analysts’ expected 273.4 million and Spotify’s prior guidance of 273 million.

For the third quarter, Spotify is projecting EUR4.2 billion in revenue, 710 million monthly active users, and 281 million premium subscribers. Analysts were looking for EUR4.48 billion, 707.2 million, and 279.1 million, respectively.

Spotify shares were down 10% in recent trading. Even with today’s sharp decline, the stock has gained 40% since the start of 2025.

–Nisha Gopalan

UPS Reports Better Revenue, Lower Profit Than Expected

8 hr 7 min ago

United Parcel Service (UPS) shares sank in recent trading after the shipping giant reported better second-quarter revenue than analysts had expected, but its profit fell short and it didn’t provide a new full-year outlook.

UPS on Tuesday posted adjusted earnings per share of $1.55 on revenue that fell about 3% year-over-year to $21.2 billion. Analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha had forecast $1.57 and $20.87 billion, respectively.

“Our second quarter results reflect both the complexity of the landscape and the strength of our execution,” CEO Carol Tomé said. “We are making meaningful progress on our strategic initiatives, and we’re confident these actions are positioning the company for stronger long-term financial performance and enhanced competitive advantage.”

UPS said it is not providing a revenue or profit forecast “given the current macro-economic uncertainty,” but said it expects about $3.5 billion in capital expenditures this year, along with $5.5 billion in dividend payments and $1 billion in stock buybacks, which it has already completed. Last quarter, UPS declined to provide an update, citing the same “macro-economic uncertainty,” after projecting about $89 billion in 2025 revenue in January.

UPS shares were down roughly 10% in intraday trading, putting them down more than 27% since the start of this year.

UPS last quarter announced plans to cut about 20,000 jobs this year as part of a cost-cutting effort to generate about $3.5 billion in long-term savings. Earlier this month, the company announced the opening of a voluntary driver buyout program that would pay $1,800 per year the employee has worked for UPS, with a minimum of $10,000, in addition to any earned retirement benefits.

Ahead of the report, UBS analysts cut their price target to $124 from $128 and lowered some profit estimates, as they said the closing of the de minimis exemption and other factors within the U.S. could impact shipping demand.

-Aaron McDade

Meta Levels to Watch With Earnings Coming Wednesday

8 hr 40 min ago

Shares in Meta Platforms (META) were little changed in early trading Tuesday ahead of the tech giant’s highly anticipated quarterly earnings report, due after Wednesday’s close.

Investors will pay close attention to the company’s AI infrastructure spending plans after its Magnificent Seven rival, Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL), last week raised its 2025 capital expenditures projection by $10 billion to $85 billion. Meta has said it expects to spend $64 billion to $72 billion in capex this year, a figure Wells Fargo analysts expect to reach $76.7 billion in 2026.

The stock was down slightly at around $716 in recent trading, after gaining nearly 1% on Monday. Meta shares have risen about 22% since the start of the year, boosted by the company’s ongoing efforts to fortify its AI position among its big tech peers.

After hitting an all-time high last month, Meta shares have undergone a pullback toward the respected 50-day moving average (MA) ahead of the tech giant’s quarterly results. However, the relative strength index sits above neutral territory, indicating price momentum remains positive.

It’s worth pointing out that trading volume in the stock has remained subdued in recent months, suggesting that larger market participants are waiting for the company’s report before deploying further capital.

Investors should watch key overhead areas on Meta’s chart around $740 and $930, while also monitoring major support levels near $680 and $635.

Read the full technical analysis piece here.

–Timothy Smith

Novo Nordisk Stock Plunges After Wegovy Maker Cuts Outlook

8 hr 55 min ago

U.S.-listed shares of Novo Nordisk (NVO) sank in early trading after the Danish drugmaker cut its full-year outlook and named a new CEO.

Novo Nordisk, which makes blockbuster weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, now expects 2025 sales growth at constant exchange rates of 8% to 14%, down from its early May forecast of 13% to 21%. It attributed the cut to lower growth expectations for Wegovy and Ozempic in the U.S. obesity and diabetes markets, respectively, and “lower-than-expected penetration” in some international markets.

Novo Nordisk named Maziar Mike Doustdar as its next CEO, effective Aug. 7, when he will replace Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen. In May, the company announced Jørgensen would be stepping down once a new chief executive was selected.

Novo Nordisk said that the sales outlook for Wegovy in the U.S. “reflects the persistent use of compounded GLP-1s, slower-than-expected market expansion and competition,” indicating that it belives some competing products are being sold illegally. The company sees 2025 operating profit growth, or EBIT, of 10% to 16%, down from its prior projection of 16% to 24%.

U.S.-listed shares of Novo Nordisk were down 20% in recent trading. Coming into today, the stock had lost about about 20% since the start of the year and more than 45% over the past 12 months. The stock has been under pressure amid slowing sales growth and studies that showed the active ingredient in rival Eli Lilly’s (LLY) Mounjaro and Zepbound caused greater weight loss than that of Ozempic and Wegovy.

–Aaron Rennie

UnitedHealth Reports Weak Earnings, Cuts Profit Outlook

9 hr 45 min ago

Shares of UnitedHealth Group (UNH) fell in premarket trading Tuesday after the health insurance giant’s second-quarter profit came in worse than analysts had forecast.

The insurer posted adjusted earnings per share of $4.06 on revenue that increased about 13% year-over-year to $111.6 billion. Analysts polled by Visible Alpha had projected $4.64 and $111.88 billion, respectively.

After suspending its outlook when ex-CEO Andrew Witty departed in May, UnitedHealth reinstated its forecasts on Tuesday. The company now projects $445.5 billion to $448.0 billion in full-year revenue, while its estimates for EPS and adjusted EPS were slashed again by about $10 each to at least $14.65 and at least $16, respectively, citing “higher realized and anticipated care trends.”

 UnitedHealth said it “expects to return to earnings growth in 2026.”

Last quarter, UnitedHealth’s stock plummeted 22%—its worst day since 1998—after the firm’s Q1 results came up short and it cut its 2025 adjusted EPS forecast to a range of $26.00 to $26.50 from the prior $29.50 to $30.00.

Shares were down about 3% in recent premarket trading. They entered the day down more than 40% since the start of this year, making the stock the biggest decliner in the Dow Jones Industrial Average in 2025.

Analysts have remained bullish on UnitedHealth’s stock despite disappointing results, a sudden CEO change, and a Department of Justice investigation into its billing practices.

–Aaron McDade

Major Index Futures Point to Higher Open

10 hr 13 min ago

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.1%.

S&P 500 futures rose 0.3%.

Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.5%.