Biggest S&P 500 Movers on Wednesday
21 hr 50 min ago
Decliners
IDEX (IEX) shares tumbled 11.3%, the most of any S&P 500 stock, following the industrial equipment manufacturer’s quarterly earnings report. Although the provider of pumps, valves, and other apparatuses topped sales and profit estimates, its outlook for the current quarter and the full year came in below analysts’ forecasts. The company cited soft demand as customers exercise caution in the uncertain macroeconomic environment.
Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) missed second-quarter revenue and earnings forecasts, and shares of the trucking company plunged 9.7%. The company said softness in the domestic economy and an extended period of weakness in freight markets weighed on its performance.
President Trump declared that the U.S. will impose a 50% tariff on copper products, but not the metal in its raw form. Copper futures, which soared earlier this month when Trump said he would impose the tariffs, tumbled in the wake of the announcement, as did shares of major copper producer Freeport-McMoRan (FCX), which ended Wednesday’s session 9.5% lower.
Advancers
Generac Holdings (GNRC), a manufacturer of backup power generators, surpassed analysts’ forecasts with its second-quarter results. Sales increased year-over-year in Generac’s residential segment, as well as its commercial and industrial business. Gross margin also improved from a year ago, which the company attributed to strong pricing and reduced input costs. Shares of Generac powered 19.6% higher, notching the S&P 500’s top performance on Wednesday.
Teradyne (TER) shares skyrocketed 18.9% after the provider of automatic test equipment beat quarterly sales and profit estimates. Better-than-expected revenue from Teradyne’s semiconductor test group contributed to the solid performance, and the company’s CEO highlighted system-on-a-chip for artificial intelligence applications as a key growth driver.
Humana (HUM) shares jumped 12.4% after the health insurer topped sales and profit expectations for the second quarter and raised its full-year outlook. Humana issued stronger-than-expected forecasts for its Medicare Advantage business and CenterWell, which provides primary care and in-home health services to seniors. Elevated health care costs have forced Humana and its health insurance industry peers to cut or withdraw guidance over the past two years.
-Michael Bromberg
Meta Shares Pop as Results Blow Past Estimates
22 hr 11 min ago
Meta (META) shares jumped to new highs in extended trading Wednesday after the tech giant reported results that blew past expectations on the top and bottom lines.
The Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp owner’s shares were up 12% recently at around $780, well above last month’s record highs. The stock was up about 19% for 2025 through Wednesday’s close.
Meta’s quarterly revenue grew 22% year-over-year to $47.52 billion, well above the analyst consensus from Visible Alpha. Its net income rose to $18.34 billion, or $7.14 per share, from $13.47 billion, or $5.16 per share a year earlier, also surpassing estimates.
Advertising revenue, which makes up the bulk of Meta’s revenue, climbed 21% to $46.56 billion, exceeding expectations.
Earlier Wednesday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg signaled that Meta’s AI development efforts are showing progress in a letter posted on the company’s website.
“Over the last few months we have begun to see glimpses of our AI systems improving themselves,” Zuckerberg said. “The improvement is slow for now, but undeniable. Developing superintelligence is now in sight.”
Looking ahead, Meta said it expects third-quarter revenue in the range of $47.5 billion to $50.5 billion, higher than the $46.29 billion analysts called for.
Meta also said it now expects $66 billion to $72 billion in capital expenditures this year, raising the lower end of its projected range by $2 billion. The company said its capex is likely to grow similarly in 2026 as Meta continues “aggressively pursuing opportunities” to advance its AI development efforts.
-Andrew Kessel
Microsoft Stock Jumps on Strong Earnings
22 hr 27 min ago
Microsoft (MSFT) reported quarterly earnings that topped analysts’ expectations on the strength of growth in its Intelligent Cloud segment, sending shares sharply higher in extended trading Wednesday.
The tech titan posted fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $76.44 billion, up 18% year-over-year and above analyst estimates compiled by Visible Alpha. Net income rose to $27.23 billion, or $3.65 per share, from $22.04 billion, or $2.95 per share a year earlier, also beating projections.
Revenue from Microsoft’s Intelligent Cloud segment, which includes Microsoft Azure, grew 26% to $29.89 billion, topping the analyst consensus from Visible Alpha.
“Cloud and AI is the driving force of business transformation across every industry and sector,” CEO Satya Nadella said in a release. “We’re innovating across the tech stack to help customers adapt and grow in this new era, and this year, Azure surpassed $75 billion in revenue, up 34 percent, driven by growth across all workloads.”
Satya Nadella speaking at the Microsoft Build conference in Seattle in May.
Jason Redmond / AFP / Getty Images
The release marked the first quarter Microsoft reported the scale of its Azure business in dollars.
Microsoft shares were up more than 7% in recent after-hours trading to about $552, well above last week’s record highs.
-Andrew Kessel
Novo Nordisk Stock Keeps Sliding as BofA Downgrades
22 hr 46 min ago
U.S.-listed shares of Novo Nordisk (NVO) fell sharply for a second straight day Wednesday, this time after Bank of America downgraded the stock.
On Tuesday, the stock plummeted nearly 22% after the Danish drugmaker cut its full-year outlook and named a new CEO. The maker of blockbuster weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy said it now expects 2025 sales growth at constant exchange rates of 8% to 14%, down from its early May forecast of 13% to 21%.
In response, Bank of America analysts wrote Wednesday that they were downgrading the stock to “neutral” from “buy.” The analysts also reduced their earnings forecasts for the company for the next several years based on trends expected in the second half of this year and more pressure anticipated in 2026 and 2027.
Novo Nordisk’s U.S.-listed shares closed 7% lower on Wednesday. They have lost more than 40% of their value in 2025 and are down about 60% over the past 12 months.
Novo Nordisk stock is trading at its lowest levels since 2022.
TradingView
-Aaron Rennie
Harley-Davidson Jumps After Sale of Stakes in Financing Arm
23 hr 8 min ago
Harley-Davidson (HOG) expects to have $1.25 billion in new discretionary cash at its disposal thanks to the sale of nearly 10% of its financing division.
Harley-Davidson agreed to sell a pair of nearly 5% stakes in Harley-Davidson Financial Services (HDFS), which extends financing options, including retail loans to customers, to private equity firms KKR and PIMCO. Those partnerships create “a long-term stable funding mechanism” for HDFS, CEO Jochen Zeitz said.
Shares of the motorcycle retailer soared 13% on Wednesday following the announcement.
The company said it plans to reinvest up to $300 million into the company, while using $450 million to reduce its debt and returning about $500 million to shareholders in a continuing share buyback.
Meanwhile, Harley-Davidson on Wednesday also reported weaker-than-expected second-quarter results before the opening bell. Revenue dropped 19% year-over-year to $1.31 billion as global motorcycle shipments decreased by 28% amid what Zeitz called “a challenging commercial environment.”
Despite the big gain Wednesday, Harley Davidson shares are still down 14% so far in 2025.
-Andrew Kessel
Is Starbucks Getting the ‘Shot of Energy’ It Needs?
23 hr 31 min ago
Brian Niccol isn’t just focused on getting “Back to Starbucks” anymore.
On the company’s quarterly earnings call Tuesday, the coffee giant’s CEO unveiled a slate of new initiatives, telling analysts, “we’re not just getting ‘Back to Starbucks,’ we are building a better Starbucks,” according to a transcript provided by AlphaSense.
Brian Niccol during the Golden Bear Pro-Am prior to the Memorial golf tournament in May.
Michael Reaves / Getty Images
Niccol said Starbucks plans to invest more than $500 million in additional labor hours into its U.S.-operated portfolio. The company is also looking to test new product lines, Niccol said, including coconut water-based tea and coffee beverages, as well as gluten-free and high-protein menu options.
“Team Niccol (is) the shot of energy hoped for,” JPMorgan analysts said after the call, and lifted their price target for Starbucks (SBUX) stock to $105 from $100.
Bank of America analysts also raised their target, to $144 from $110, while Morgan Stanley moved to $103 from $95.
Starbucks shares rose as much as 6% in early trading Wednesday before closing the session down slightly at just below $93.
The company’s “Back to Starbucks” turnaround plan was intended to help speed up service and get customers to spend more time in cafes. Its initiatives have included using algorithms to sequence orders, expanding free refills, and having baristas return to writing customers’ names on cups. The coffee giant has also seen layoffs.
Starbucks on Tuesday reported better-than-expected quarterly sales, but its adjusted profit missed Wall Street’s expectations. Oppenheimer analysts, who maintained a neutral rating, said they see a “difficult setup” for earnings to catch up enough to justify the stock’s valuation.
“While we believe Mr. Niccol’s strategies to improve the business will gain momentum, the sales and margin recovery path appears elongated,” they said, and suggested they would remain on the sidelines until they see a “better entry point.”
-Andrew Kessel
Wingstop Soars on Strong Results, Boosted Outlook
July 30, 2025 03:59 PM EDT
Shares of Wingstop (WING) soared Wednesday after the chicken chain posted better-than-expected second-quarter results and raised its growth outlook.
The Dallas-based company reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.00 on revenue that increased 12% year-over-year to $174.3 million. Analysts polled by Visible Alpha had projected $0.88 and $173.4 million, respectively.
Systemwide sales of $1.34 billion also topped estimates, while company-owned domestic same-store sales rose 3.6% when analysts were looking for a decline of 2.7%.
Wingstop increased its full-year global unit growth outlook to a range of 17% to 18% from the prior 16% to 17%.
Wingstop shares were up 27% in late trading to around $369. Bank of America analysts raised their price target for the stock to $430 from $360 last month, saying the company is growing more efficient and that its sales may benefit from loyalty and sports marketing pushes.
-Aaron Rennie
Fed Holds Rates Steady Despite Demands from Trump
July 30, 2025 02:47 PM EDT
The Federal Reserve held its key interest rate steady Wednesday, defying demands from President Donald Trump to slash borrowing costs.
The Fed’s policy committee voted to keep the central bank’s key fed funds rate in a range of 4.25% to 4.5%, the same since December, in an effort to push down inflation. Two members of the 12-person committee, Fed Governors Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller, dissented and voted to cut rates by 0.25 percentage points. Financial market participants widely expected the rate decision.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell and other Federal Open Market Committee members have resisted increasing pressure from Trump to cut rates. Trump has hurled insults, threats, and demands at Powell and accused him of mismanaging a renovation project at the Fed’s Washington headquarters. Trump has said he wants lower interest rates to reduce the interest the federal government pays on the national debt.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell speaking at the start of a press conference following today’s policy committee meeting.
Mandel Ngan / AFP / Getty Images
Fed officials have said they’re holding the rate steady at a higher-than-usual level to raise borrowing costs on all kinds of loans and bring inflation down to the Fed’s goal of a 2% annual rate. They have also voiced concerns that Trump’s tariffs will increase inflation as the costs of the import taxes are passed along to consumers.
“Although swings in net exports continue to affect the data, recent indicators suggest that growth of economic activity moderated in the first half of the year,” the committee said in a statement. “The unemployment rate remains low, and labor market conditions remain solid. Inflation remains somewhat elevated.”
Fed officials are widely expected to cut borrowing costs later in the year, with financial markets pricing in a 58% chance of a September rate cut according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool, which forecasts rate movements based on fed funds futures trading data.
The Fed faces a balancing act on its monetary policy: rates too low could stoke inflation, while high borrowing costs could slow the economy too much and cause mass layoffs.Trump’s extensive campaign of raising import taxes has raised concerns on both sides of the Fed’s “dual mandate” from Congress to keep inflation low and employment high. So far, the economy has avoided a severe uptick in prices and mass layoffs, though recent data show some tariff-related price hikes are taking hold and the economy is starting to slow down.
-Diccon Hyatt
Buybacks Have Slowed. Will Dividends Have a Comeback?
July 30, 2025 01:57 PM EDT
A decade-old corporate trend could be poised to revert.
Share repurchases—when companies spend excess cash to buy their own stock—have been the corporate payout method-of-choice over the last decade as low interest rates made holding cash less attractive. Tax benefits, as well as the flexibility of buyback programs, helped. But some of those factors have reversed, and valuations have risen, meaning things may be poised to change.
Though buyback activity remains at highs, companies have been pumping the brakes as the S&P 500 has bounced back from tariff-induced declines and returned to rally mode. Rates are also comparatively high now, which may also be weighing on on buybacks, making borrowing money to repurchase shares more expensive and other uses for cash more appealing.
“We have seen a deceleration in buybacks as a (percentage) of market cap since early March, suggesting elevated rates/valuations may finally be having some impact,” according to a recent note from Bank of America.
Dividend payers, which return value to shareholders directly, have become rarer. Dividends accounted for a mere 16% of the S&P 500’s returns in the decade through 2024, compared to almost 40% in the 100 years prior to 2013. Investors might welcome a return of dividend-paying stocks, which have a tendency to outperform the broader market.
Stocks are now near highs, raising concerns about valuations. A 1% excise tax introduced in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 is likely also part of the corporate math slowing the pace of share buybacks.
Warren Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholders meeting in 2019.
Houston Cofield / Bloomberg / Getty Images
Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) broke its years-long streak of regular repurchases in May 2024 and has yet to resume them. (It’s also, however, never paid a dividend.) Warren Buffett explained his reasoning during Berkshire’s annual shareholder meeting in May, using Apple (AAPL), which spent some $100 billion a year buying back shares and paying the tax on those purchases, as an example.
“It doesn’t sound like much, but well, a billion dollars sounds like a lot still,” said Buffett, who said Berkshire would only buy back its shares again if they were “almost certainly underpriced.”
-Crystal Kim
Teradyne Leads S&P 500 After Reporting Strong Results
July 30, 2025 01:31 PM EDT
Shares of Teradyne (TER) paced S&P 500 advancers Wednesday, a day after the automatic test equipment manufacturer posted strong second-quarter results, paced by gains in its Semiconductor Test Group.
The North Reading, Mass.-based firm reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.57, while analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha had anticipated $0.54. Revenue fell nearly 11% year-over-year to $651.8 million but also beat estimates.
Semiconductor Test Group revenue of $492 million topped expectations of $488.6 million. Teradyne also generated revenue of $75 million in Robotics and $85 million in its Product Test segment.
“System-on-a-Chip (SOC), primarily for artificial intelligence applications, was the strongest growth driver,” Teradyne CEO Greg Smith said. “Visibility into the remainder of the year has improved, and demand in compute, networking and memory is strengthening. The exact timing of program ramps and capacity adds remain uncertain, but we believe that AI will drive strong second half performance for Teradyne.”
Teradyne’s third-quarter projections of adjusted EPS between $0.69 and $0.87 and revenue of $710 million to $770 million were mostly below estimates but represent sequential growth from Q2.
Shares soared about 20% in recent trading but remain more than 12% lower in 2025.
-Aaron Rennie
What Analysts Think of Microsoft Ahead of Earnings
July 30, 2025 12:35 PM EDT
Microsoft (MSFT) is scheduled to report fiscal fourth-quarter earnings after the closing bell today, with Wall Street resoundingly bullish on the software giant heading into the results.
All 20 analysts covering Microsoft tracked by Visible Alpha have a “buy” or equivalent rating for the stock. Their consensus price target around $580 implies 13% upside over Tuesday’s close just above $512, after setting a record high Friday at $513.71. The shares have added about a fifth of their value in 2025 so far.
Wedbush, which has Microsoft on its “Best Ideas List,” recently raised its price target to $600. The company “is just hitting its next phase of monetization on the AI front,” Wedbush said, thanks to the adoption of Copilot, its chatbot, and the cloud-computing platform Azure.
Revenue from Microsoft’s Intelligent Cloud segment, which includes Azure, is expected to grow 22% to $28.96 billion, according to estimates compiled by Visible Alpha.
Citi analysts have called Microsoft their “top pick,” giving it a price target of $613. The bank said Microsoft has pricing and margin power that is “nearly unmatched in enterprise software.” Jefferies analysts issued a price target of $600 earlier this month.
Analysts on average expect Microsoft to report quarterly revenue of $73.86 billion, up 14% year-over-year, and net income of $25.27 billion, or $3.38 per share, compared to $22.04 billion, or $2.95 per share, a year earlier.
Wall Street will be watching for updates on Microsoft’s AI spending ambitions in fiscal year 2026, which began this month.
In April, CFO Amy Hood said capital expenditures are expected to grow this fiscal year, but at a slower rate than in fiscal 2025. Microsoft at the time said it expected $80 billion of capex in fiscal 2025.
-Andrew Kessel
Humana Stock Jumps as Insurer Boosts Outlook
July 30, 2025 12:08 PM EDT
Humana (HUM) shares took off Wednesday when the health insurer boosted its guidance as it sees fewer losses of Medicare Advantage customers than previously thought.
The company now anticipates full-year adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of about $17.00, up from its previous outlook of approximately $16.25. It expects revenue to be at least $128 billion, versus the earlier forecast of $126 billion to $128 billion. Humana estimated Medicare Advantage membership will drop as many as 500,000 members, lower than its former prediction of approximately 550,000.
In addition, it sees its CenterWell Primary Care medical treatment centers for senior citizens to have a net patient growth of 50,000 to 70,000. Its prior guidance was for an increase of 30,000 to 50,000.
The company also reported second-quarter profit and sales that exceeded analysts’ expectations, with adjusted EPS of $6.27, and revenue nearly 10% higher year-over-year to $32.39 billion.
Humana credited the results to outperformance at CenterWell on higher-than-anticipated prescription volumes and favorable drug mix, as well as higher insurance revenue as Medicare Advantage membership came in above expectations.
Humana shares were up about 6% in recent trading, trimming the stock’s year-to-date decline to about 3%.
-Bill McColl
Why Marvell Shares Are Soaring Today
July 30, 2025 11:50 AM EDT
Shares of Marvell Technology (MRVL) soared on Wednesday after Morgan Stanley raised its price target on the chipmaker’s stock, citing the “exceptional” strength of AI demand.
Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore on Wednesday raised his Marvell price target by about 10% to $80 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating.
“Marvell is firmly in the AI winners camp, and sentiment has swung aggressively negative compared to a few months ago,” Moore wrote. “We are more excited for their opportunity in optical, which brings higher margin and durability vs. their ASIC opportunity, which has disappointed.” (ASIC refers to application-specific integrated circuit, a class of customizable chip that combines several circuits to perform tasks that would otherwise require multiple interconnected chips.)
Marvell shares were up nearly 8% in recent trading, making it the best-performing stock in the Nasdaq 100. Despite Wednesday’s gain, Marvell shares have lost about a quarter of their value since the start of the year.
Marvell shares have significantly lagged the Nasdaq 100’s gains so far this year. The stock trails only Lululemon and The Trade Desk on the list of biggest decliners in the index in 2025.
Marvell is just one of several semiconductor stocks Moore expects to benefit from strong AI demand over the next year. He also raised his 12-month price targets on Nvidia (NVDA) by 17%, Broadcom (AVGO) by 25%, Astera Labs (ALAB) by 26%, and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) by more than 50%. All of those stocks were also trading in the green on Wednesday.
“While stock prices have moved higher, our conviction on AI spend durability in 2026 continues to grow,” Moore wrote. Google parent Alphabet (GOOG) last week raised its full-year capital expenditures forecast, citing the need to accelerate data center buildouts to meet seemingly insatiable demand for AI and cloud computing. Investors will get more updates on the strength of AI investment after markets close on Wednesday when tech giants Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta (META) report earnings.
-Colin Laidley
GE HealthCare Slides Despite Strong Q2 Results
July 30, 2025 10:43 AM EDT
GE HealthCare (GEHC) on Wednesday reported better second-quarter results than analysts had expected and lifted its outlook for the full year. The strong report wasn’t enough to keep its stock from tumbling.
The former General Electric division said it generated $5 billion in revenue and earned $1.06 per share, each up from the same time a year ago and better than the analyst consensus compiled by Visible Alpha. Sales rose across all four of GE HealthCare’s segments in the quarter.
The company said it now expects organic revenue growth of about 3% this year, narrowed from its previous range of 2% to 3%. Adjusted earnings per share are now forecast from $4.43 to $4.63, up from $3.90 to $4.10, with the new range including an expected headwind from tariffs of about 45 cents, down from 85 cents previously.
While the tariff impact is smaller than what GE HealthCare expected last quarter, the company’s adjusted EPS range is still below where it was at the start of the year. GE HealthCare had topped estimates last quarter and announced a new stock buyback plan, outweighing the lowered profit forecast.
Each of the other two former GE divisions, GE Aerospace (GE) and GE Vernova (GEV), beat estimates in their own second-quarter results earlier this month.
GE HealthCare shares were down about 8% in recent trading.
-Aaron McDade
What Analysts Think of Meta Stock Ahead of Earnings
July 30, 2025 09:51 AM EDT
Meta Platforms (META) is scheduled to report second-quarter results after the closing bell, with analysts overwhelmingly bullish on the tech giant as it invests heavily in AI.
Of the 27 analysts covering Meta who are tracked by Visible Alpha, 25 have a “buy” or equivalent rating for the stock, alongside two “hold” ratings. Their consensus price target near $755 implies close to 8% upside over Tuesday’s close.
Meta’s AI infrastructure spending plans will be in focus, particularly after Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) last week raised its projected 2025 capital expenditures to $85 billion from $75 billion.
Meta has said it expects to spend $64 billion to $72 billion in capex this year, a figure Wells Fargo analysts said earlier this month they expect to reach $76.7 billion in 2026.
Meta is “taking decisive action to fortify its AI bets,” the bank wrote, raising its price target to $783 from $664. “The market has received the investments favorably, but expectations for the returns also (are) rising.”
CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been on an AI hiring spree lately, even getting personally involved in recruiting talent for Meta’s “Superintelligence” unit. The company reportedly offered a pay package valued at more than $200 million to lure an Apple (AAPL) executive in charge of AI models, and its other recent hires have included former Github CEO Nat Friedman and ex-Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang.
Analysts on average expect Meta to report second-quarter revenue of $44.83 billion, up 15% year-over-year, and net income of $15.21 billion, or $5.90 per share, gaining from $13.47 billion, or $5.16 per share, a year earlier.
-Andrew Kessel
Major Index Futures Inch Higher
July 30, 2025 08:44 AM EDT
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up fractionally.
TradingView
S&P 500 futures rose 0.1%.
TradingView
Nasdaq 100 futures also added 0.1%.
TradingView
