🏦 Big Tech Earnings...

Good afternoon! Amazon just stepped deeper into Elon Musk’s orbit—literally. The company launched the first 27 satellites for Project Kuiper, its answer to Starlink, marking the start of a plan to beam high-speed internet from space. The tech will plug into Amazon Web Services, giving cloud customers access to satellite data, weather forecasting, and more.

It’s a long road ahead: Amazon needs 578 satellites before it can flip the service on, and over 3,200 for full coverage. With a tight 2026 FCC deadline and rocket launch slots in short supply, Bezos is racing against time—and Musk’s 7,000-plus satellite head start.

MARKETS

• Stocks staged a comeback Wednesday after a rough start, closing out a volatile month with a surprise rally. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both bounced from early 2% drops, while the Dow rose 0.3%, notching its longest win streak of 2025.

• Markets were rattled by weak economic data, including the first GDP contraction in three years, and fading AI hype. Crude prices also tumbled, posting their worst month since 2021 on slowing demand fears.

Gold hitting record highs

The price of gold keeps heating up. If the record-breaking year of 2024 wasn't enough, gold hit a major historic 2025 milestone by crossing the $3,000/ounce threshold!

Here are 3 Key Reasons:

1. Looming economic & political uncertainty

2. Increasing central bank demand

3. Rising National Debt - over $36 Trillion

So, could gold surge even higher?

According to a recent statement from Jeffrey Gundlach, famed American business man and investor… “Gold continues its bull market that we’ve been talking about for a couple of years, ever since it was down to $1,800.” He expects gold to reach $4,000/oz.

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STOCKS
Winners & Losers

What’s up 📈

• Oddity Tech popped 30.36% after raising its full-year revenue outlook and reporting a strong Q1 beat. ($ODD)

• WingStop soared 14.48% following an excellent earnings report that highlighted strong growth and operational momentum. ($WING)

• Seagate Technology jumped 11.56% after beating Q3 expectations and raising guidance, saying tariff disruption should be minimal. ($STX)

• GE HealthCare Technologies climbed 3.29% after reporting a Q1 earnings beat despite trimming forward guidance. ($GEHC)

• Humana gained 0.92% after beating earnings expectations and maintaining its fiscal outlook. ($HUM)

What’s down 📉

• Snap plunged 12.43% after refusing to issue a forecast and citing macroeconomic uncertainty weighing on ad spend. ($SNAP)

• Super Micro Computer dropped 11.50% after reporting weak preliminary results and cautioning on Q3 performance. ($SMCI)

• Etsy fell 5.74% despite a revenue beat, as concerns grew over shrinking user engagement and profit pressure. ($ETSY)

• First Solar declined 8.32% after missing Q1 earnings estimates and guiding lower for the full year. ($FSLR)

• Starbucks slipped 5.66% after reporting weaker-than-expected earnings and revenue, and flagging future tariff headwinds. ($SBUX)

• Nike fell 1.98% after a downgrade from Wells Fargo, which warned of recession and tariff risks to earnings. ($NKE)

EARNINGS
Big Tech Earnings From Meta, Microsoft, Robinhood, Snap & Qualcomm

📈 Meta defies tariff turbulence: Meta jumped over 4% after reporting a blowout quarter that soothed investor nerves around trade war fallout. Ad revenue hit $42.3 billion, easily topping estimates, and EPS soared to $6.43. Despite rising costs from Trump’s tariffs, Meta raised its spending forecast to up to $72 billion—mainly to keep pouring money into AI. With Llama models, a new Meta AI app, and 3.4 billion daily users across its platforms, Zuck’s full-speed AI push shows no signs of slowing. It’s a bold move as rivals like OpenAI and Google ramp up, but Meta’s combo of scale, ad money, and AI firepower makes it a serious contender.

☁️ Microsoft’s AI cloud has legs: Microsoft shares surged 8% after a cloud-powered beat across the board. Revenue climbed 13% to $70.1 billion, with Azure growing 33%, nearly half of that thanks to AI. Copilot and other AI tools are helping Microsoft charge more per user, even as capital expenditures cool off for the first time in two years. With AI demand still outrunning data center capacity, Microsoft isn’t slowing down just playing smarter. Its cloud strategy is starting to look like the backbone of enterprise AI, giving Microsoft a durable edge as the space matures.

💰 Robinhood rides the tariff chaos: Retail investors showed up in force as Robinhood posted 50% revenue growth to $927 million and more than doubled net income to $336 million. Volatile markets from Trump’s tariffs gave day traders a reason to dive back in, and Robinhood plans to keep them around with upcoming bank-like features. Crypto growth slowed but still hit $252 million. Shares dipped post-earnings, but management’s $1.5 billion buyback plan signals they’re betting long on themselves.The company’s transformation from meme-stock darling to full-service fintech might finally be gaining credibility.

📉 Snap snaps under pressure: Snap stock dropped 18% after it withheld guidance and flagged tariff-related ad weakness. Revenue hit $1.36 billion, just above expectations, but execs warned that macroeconomic headwinds and Trump’s changes to the de minimis rule are making advertisers skittish. The company cut expense targets and hiring plans while leaning more into direct response ads. Despite the drag, Snap+ subscriptions jumped 59% to 15 million, showing there’s still life behind the Lens. But with AI competition and economic uncertainty rising, Snap’s ad business may have a tough time finding its next growth story.

📉 Qualcomm gets tariff jitters: Qualcomm beat on earnings and revenue $2.85 EPS on $11B in sales but spooked investors with a weak outlook. The chipmaker projected $9.9B–$10.7B in June quarter revenue, below estimates, reigniting fears that smartphone demand in China could take a tariff-fueled hit. With over half its phone business tied to China, Qualcomm is vulnerable even without direct impact yet. Shares fell 5% after hours as the company tries to diversify beyond phones into autos and AI chips. Until that diversification pays off, Qualcomm’s fortunes will stay tightly linked to China and to Washington’s trade policy chessboard.

NEWS
Market Movements

• ⚖️ Judge finds Apple lied under oath in Epic Games case: A federal judge held Apple in contempt, accusing it of misleading the court about its App Store commission changes. The court referred Apple and a top exec for possible criminal contempt. ($AAPL)

• 🧠 Nvidia CEO says China is neck and neck in AI race: Jensen Huang warned that China is not behind in AI and praised Huawei’s capabilities, while reaffirming Nvidia’s $500B U.S. investment plan despite restrictions on chip sales to China. ($NVDA)

• 💻 Microsoft says AI now writes 30% of its code: Microsoft revealed that nearly a third of its code is now AI-generated, reflecting the fast integration of AI into development pipelines. Other tech giants like Meta are following suit. ($MSFT)

• 🦉 Duolingo to replace contractors with AI to scale faster: Duolingo will phase out contract workers in favor of AI tools, aiming to accelerate content creation and cut down on hiring. AI fluency will factor into new hires and performance reviews. ($DUOL)

• 🌊 Norwegian Cruise Line sinks on cautious consumer sentiment: Shares dropped after Q1 revenue missed slightly, and guidance was trimmed due to weaker demand for Europe cruises. The company emphasized steady onboard spending and value-seeking behavior. ($NCLH)

  🚚 Amazon to invest $4B in rural delivery expansion: Amazon will triple its rural delivery network by 2026, adding over 200 stations and cutting delivery times in half, creating 34,000+ jobs. The announcement comes ahead of its earnings release. ($AMZN)

• 🛫 JetBlue seeks loyalty tie-up with United after outlook cut: JetBlue is negotiating a partnership with United Airlines focused on loyalty revenue, following its scrapped 2025 forecast. The alliance steers clear of pricing coordination, unlike its blocked deal with American. ($JBLU) ($UAL)

• 🛍️ Walmart and Target resume China orders to avoid empty shelves: After pausing orders due to tariffs, Walmart and Target have restarted limited purchasing from Chinese suppliers following meetings with President Trump. ($WMT) ($TGT)

• 💊 Novartis to acquire Regulus Therapeutics in $1.7B deal: Regulus shares surged after Novartis announced plans to acquire the biotech firm, with the transaction expected to close in the second half of 2025. ($NVS) ($RGLS)

ECONOMY
U.S. Economy Shrank in First Quarter as Imports Surged Ahead of Tariffs

The U.S. economy just hit the brakes—for real this time.

GDP fell 0.3% in Q1, marking the country’s first economic contraction since 2022. Wall Street was expecting a small gain, but a pre-tariff import frenzy turned the number negative. Imports surged 41.3% as companies scrambled to stockpile goods before Trump’s sweeping trade duties kicked in.

Consumers? Still Swiping—But Less So

Americans didn’t slam their wallets shut, but they weren’t exactly in a spending mood either. Consumer spending rose 1.8%—its weakest pace since mid-2023. Meanwhile, federal government outlays dropped sharply as Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency lived up to its name and cut back.

While the economy cooled, inflation heated up. The Fed’s favorite measure, core PCE, rose 3.5%—up from 2.6% in Q4. That’s the kind of number that makes central bankers sweat, especially when paired with a shrinking economy. Markets are now betting the Fed’s rate-cut path could get bumpy.

The Trade-Off: Trump’s tariffs may eventually “bring back manufacturing,” but right now they’re bringing economic whiplash. The bulk of those levies didn’t land until April, meaning Q2 could be even messier. Trump, for his part, blamed Biden for “bad numbers” and told Americans to be patient—“the boom is coming.”

Calendar
On The Horizon

Tomorrow

After Wednesday’s data dump, Thursday gives investors a breather—kind of. We’ll still get a pulse check on the job market with weekly jobless claims and see how factories are holding up via the ISM manufacturing readout.

As for earnings, it's a full-on earnings buffet. Apple and Amazon will dominate the spotlight, but keep an eye on names like Eli Lilly, Airbnb, CVS, Hershey, Moderna, and Roblox. From steel to skincare to streaming, it’s a little bit of everything on the tape.

Before Market Open:

• Tariffs aren't usually a fast-food problem—but with McDonald’s global reach, they’re starting to bite. The Golden Arches has the cash to handle it, but slower sales and rising costs make this earnings report one to watch. Investors are looking for reassurance as analysts peg $2.68 EPS on $6.13 billion in revenue.

After Market Close:

• Reddit’s been on a rollercoaster—down 30% this year but still riding high from a monster run-up. With 71% revenue growth last quarter and a push into AI, the platform may have found a hedge against shaky ad markets. Wall Street’s looking for $0.02 EPS on $370.54 million in revenue when the company reports after the bell.

NEWS
The Daily Rundown

• 📦 UPS to lay off 20,000 workers after reducing Amazon deliveries: The shipping giant announced a sweeping round of job cuts, equal to about 4% of its workforce. The move follows UPS’s decision to deliver fewer Amazon packages in an effort to reduce costs by $3.5 billion. The company also suspended its 2025 outlook, citing macroeconomic headwinds.

• ☕ Starbucks uses algorithm to cut wait times by 2 minutes: A new scheduling system—not AI, just clever math—helped baristas reduce in-store order time by two minutes. The tech optimizes order sequencing for speed instead of just following the queue. It's part of Starbucks’ wider strategy to improve lagging foot traffic and boost sales under CEO Brian Niccol.

• ⚖️ Meta faces $5M defamation suit over AI chatbot mistake: Conservative activist Robby Starbuck filed a lawsuit alleging that Meta’s chatbot falsely claimed he took part in the January 6 Capitol riot. Starbuck says the error sparked personal threats and reputational damage, and that Meta failed to quickly correct the misinformation. The suit comes as scrutiny grows around AI-generated content.

• 📉 Consumer confidence falls to pandemic-era lows: Americans are feeling more pessimistic about the economy than they have in five years, according to the latest Conference Board data. The expectations index, which reflects future outlooks, plunged to its lowest point since 2011. Analysts say the reading points toward a possible recession on the horizon.

• 🎬 Dana Walden favored to become next Disney CEO: Disney Entertainment co-chair Dana Walden is emerging as the top internal candidate to succeed Bob Iger. Known for her media expertise and steady leadership, Walden is seen as the frontrunner among insiders and betting markets. The decision could define Disney’s next decade as it navigates streaming and studio challenges.

• 🥤 Coca-Cola hit by boycotts in Denmark and Mexico: Global sales have dipped in some regions amid backlash over U.S. foreign policy. In Denmark, the boycott was spurred by Trump’s Greenland comments, while Mexican consumers responded to a viral labor video. Despite the headwinds, Coke still reported 2% global volume growth in Q1.

• 👟 Adidas warns of higher sneaker prices due to tariffs: Adidas said U.S. shoppers will soon see increased prices on products like Sambas and Ultraboosts. The company blamed Trump’s latest tariffs targeting imports from countries like China and Vietnam. Retailers across industries are preparing to pass along higher costs to consumers.

• 🌍 Putin demands four Ukrainian regions in exchange for peace: Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia must retain full control over four occupied regions to agree to any peace deal. The ultimatum complicates efforts to negotiate a ceasefire and raises doubts about any near-term diplomatic resolution. U.S. officials remain skeptical about Russia’s sincerity in talks.

• 🎖️ Vietnam marks 50 years since end of war with military parade: Ho Chi Minh City hosted a large-scale commemoration of the Vietnam War’s end, emphasizing peace and national unity. The U.S. Consul General attended, underscoring improving bilateral ties. The event showcased Vietnam’s postwar transformation and growing international role.

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