Pre-workout or pre-game? Your can of Celsius Astro Vibe could actually contain High Noon vodka seltzer. The mix-up was discovered after High Noon noticed that a shared packaging supplier had mistakenly shipped it empty Celsius cans, some of which made their way into High Noon 12-packs. The FDA recall cautioned, “Consumption of the liquid in these cans will result in unintentional alcohol ingestion.” Not the vibe we were going for! The S&P 500 fell into the red and never made it back to positive territory after Fed Chair Jay Powell warned of more tariff-induced pressure on inflation to come, causing traders to price in lower odds of interest rate cuts. The benchmark US stock index fell 0.1%, the Nasdaq 100 gained 0.2%, and the Russell 2000 slumped 0.5%. |
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Meta was up more than 9% after-hours yesterday after the social media and AI behemoth beat second-quarter analyst expectations by a long shot: |
- After market close Wednesday, it posted earnings per share of $7.14, versus the FactSet analyst consensus estimate of $5.88, and revenue of $47.516 billion, compared to Wall Street’s $44.806 billion forecast.
- Meta has been on a spending spree as it tries to make itself an AI leader and achieve artificial general intelligence, partly through establishing a “superintelligence team” of AI experts poached from competitors.
- Meta now expects capital expenditures this year to reach between $66 billion and $72 billion, narrowed and slightly higher than its prior outlook of $64 billion to $72 billion, and up approximately $30 billion year over year at the midpoint.
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Next year will be a big one for spending, too. “While the infrastructure planning process remains highly dynamic, we currently expect another year of similarly significant capital expenditures dollar growth in 2026 as we continue aggressively pursuing opportunities to bring additional capacity online to meet the needs of our artificial intelligence efforts and business operations,” Meta said in its earnings release. |
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Investors have been hoping that AI will bolster the company’s already huge advertising business and help mitigate the spending. That looks to be the case, as ad revenue grew 21% year on year. Meanwhile, Meta’s net income grew 36% to $18.337 billion. |
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Microsoft also popped 7% in after-hours trading yesterday. The tech giant reported revenue of $76.4 billion, up 18% year on year, surpassing Wall Street estimates of $73.86 billion. The real shocker? Microsoft’s cloud business is on a real tear — specifically Azure and Azure alone, where revenue is up 39% percent year over year. Let’s break down the results by the company’s broader businesses, shall we? |
- ☁️ 🤖 “Intelligent Cloud” (Azure, server products): $29.9 billion in revenue, up 26% year on year.
- 📝 📊 “Productivity and Business Processes” (Microsoft 365, LinkedIn, Dynamics): $33.1 billion in revenue, up 16% year on year.
- 💻 🎮 “More Personal Computing” (Windows, Xbox, Bing): $13.5 billion in revenue, up 9% year on year.
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Capex actually came in a bit south of expectations, at $17.08 billion, compared to analysts’ consensus of $17.84 billion. The company had forecast an increase from the third quarter’s $16.7 billion. |
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Last summer, Novo Nordisk was Europe’s biggest company, but much like its Ozempic and Wegovy users, it’s shrunk to half the size, as this chart shows. Though the company has a first-mover advantage in the GLP-1 business, is Novo the latest in a long list of cautionary tales (MySpace, BlackBerry, Yahoo Search, Zoom, Peloton) that shows being first isn’t always enough? What’s eating Novo Nordisk’s lunch? |
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What is the most-streamed show in the US? |
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Yesterday’s Big Daily Movers |
- Sarepta Therapeutics, Capricor Therapeutics, Replimune Group, Lexeo Therapeutics, UniQure, and other biotechs rallied on news that Vinay Prasad, a top official at the Food and Drug Administration, abruptly left the regulator
- Avis plunged 16% on Q2 earnings as CEO says “garbage sundae” of recalls is squeezing the company
- Adidas slumped after the shoemaker posted lower-than-expected sales in the second quarter and warned of the impacts of US tariffs for the second half of the year
- Marvell Technology soared after Morgan Stanley boosted its price target on the stock to $80 from $73
- Tendies giant Wingstop surged after reporting better-than-expected Q2 sales and profit
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- June personal consumption expenditures (the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge)
- Earnings expected from Apple, Amazon, CVS, Biogen, Strategy, Coinbase, Clorox, Roku, Lumen Technologies, Reddit, Roblox, Riot, Mastercard, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Cigna
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Advertiser's disclosures:
1 References to specific companies are strictly for illustrative purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice or recommendations regarding those companies. Holdings are subject to change. This is not meant as a guarantee of any future result or experience. For holdings information for TOPT, please visit TOPT’s product page. Carefully consider the Funds' investment objectives, risk factors, and charges and expenses before investing. This and other information can be found in the Funds' prospectuses or, if available, the summary prospectuses which may be obtained by visiting www.iShares.com or www.blackrock.com. Read the prospectus carefully before investing. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. This material is provided for educational purposes only and is not intended to constitute investment advice or an investment recommendation within the meaning of federal, state or local law. You are solely responsible for evaluating and acting upon the education and information contained in this material. BlackRock will not be liable for direct or incidental loss resulting from applying any of the information obtained from these materials or from any other source mentioned. BlackRock does not render any legal, tax or accounting advice and the education and information contained in this material should not be construed as such. Please consult with a qualified professional for these types of advice. Diversification and asset allocation may not protect against market risk or loss of principal. Funds that concentrate investments in specific industries, sectors, markets or asset classes may underperform or be more volatile than other industries, sectors, markets or asset classes and the general securities market. The strategies discussed are strictly for illustrative and educational purposes and are not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or to adopt any investment strategy. There is no guarantee that any strategies discussed will be effective. The iShares Funds are not sponsored, endorsed, issued, sold or promoted by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, nor does this company make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in the Funds. BlackRock is not affiliated with S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC. The iShares Funds are distributed by BlackRock Investments, LLC (together with its affiliates, “BlackRock”). BlackRock is not affiliated with Sherwood. ©2025 BlackRock, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. iSHARES, BLACKROCK, and THE MARKET IS YOURS are trademarks of BlackRock, Inc. or its affiliates. All other trademarks are those of their respective owners. iCRMH0725U/S-4669952-2/2 2 EnergyX has reserved 200,000 bonus shares for issuance to qualifying investors in this offering at no additional cost. These shares will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, one bonus share for every five shares purchased, equal to a 20 percent boost in your investment. To qualify for bonus shares, you must be an existing EnergyX shareholder or invest at least $5000 in this offering. See website for further details. 3 The minimum investment is $1000. This is a paid advertisement for EnergyX’s Regulation A+ Offering. Please read the offering circular and related risks at invest.energyx.com. Investing in private company securities is not suitable for all investors because it is highly speculative and involves a high degree of risk. It should only be considered a long-term investment. You must be prepared to withstand a total loss of your investment. Private company securities are also highly illiquid, and there is no guarantee that a market will develop for such securities. |
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