Universal Orlando Resort Celebrates Grand Opening of Much-Anticipated Fourth Theme Park, Universal Epic Universe

Fireworks during the opening of Epic Universe in Orlando Florida, May 21, 2025 (Gerardo Mora/Getty Images)

Love Island USA

Comcast pops after strong Q2 fueled by Peacock and theme parks

The media giant’s quarter came down to three things: thrills, “Love Island,” and live events.

7/31/25 10:33AM

Comcast shares rose as much as 5% Thursday after the media and cable giant delivered above expectations in its Q2 results.

Adjusted earnings per share hit $1.25, beating Wall Street’s $1.16 estimate. Revenue clocked in at $30.3 billion, also topping forecasts. Comcast didn’t offer specific forward guidance.

The star of the quarter? Universal’s new Epic Universe theme park in Orlando, which officially opened its doors on May 22. It’s Comcast’s largest-ever park investment and biggest launch since The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The park helped drive a 6% jump in revenue for the company’s Content & Experiences segment and cast a halo on performance at its flagship Universal Orlando Resort.

“We are extremely proud of the successful opening of Epic Universe in May,” company execs said on the earnings call. “We’re pleased with the early results as Epic is already driving higher per cap spending and attendance across the entirety of Universal Orlando Resort.”

Peacock also pulled its weight, with revenue up over 20% year over year. The streamer held steady at 41 million paid subscribers, thanks in part to a buzzworthy new season of its US “Love Island.” Comcast called its latest ad upfront “our most successful ever,” citing record sales and major 2026 events on deck, including Super Bowl LX and the NBA All-Star Game.

The studio division got a shout-out, too: Universal’s live-action reboot of “How to Train Your Dragon” has pulled in over $600 million globally since its June 13 debut. As a result, the franchise is now officially past the $2 billion mark.

Comcast shares are down over 11% year to date.

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Matt Phillips2h

BNP upgrades Seagate on more durable cycle

Seagate Technology Holdings was up in early trading after analysts at BNP Paribas upgraded the shares to “outperform” from “neutral” and lifted their price target to $380 a share, implying a gain of almost 15% from where the stock is currently trading.

The maker of the somewhat stodgy technology known as hard disk drives — or HDDs in tech lingo — was one of the top stocks in the S&P 500 for much of last year as it was swept up in the AI data center trade.

Data centers need tons of storage capacity, and demand from hyperscalers has driven up prices and created shortages for disk drives, an industry that is dominated by a duopoly of Seagate and Western Digital. (BNP also maintained its “outperform” rating on WDC in a note Wednesday.)

The analysts at BNP say they pushed by the buy button on the stock after becoming more convinced that the upswing in sales was durable, writing:

“We have witnessed a structural shift happening in HDD industry, toward 1) an effective duopoly, 2) higher mix toward data centers, and 3) disciplined capex investments. These have supported our expectations of long-term, through-cycle profitability for the HDD industry. We are now upgrading Seagate from Neutral to Outperform as we are gaining greater conviction that robust data center storage demand could drive an upcycle longer than we initially expected. We think a secular re-rating of Seagate (as well as Western Digital) to over 20x is justified.”

Nate Becker3h

Stocks jump as Trump says “I won’t use force” to acquire Greenland

In a speech in Davos, Switzerland, US President Donald Trump said he won’t use force to acquire Greenland, sending stocks higher at the open.

“We probably won't get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force, where we would be frankly unstoppable, but I won’t do that,” Trump told the crowd, referring to his pursuit of Greenland, which has roiled markets recently. “People thought I would use force. I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force.”

He seemed to indicate that Denmark, which owns Greenland, could rebuff the US’s overtures to acquire the country without military retaliation.

“They have a choice. You can say yes and we will be very appreciative. Or you can say no and we will remember,” he said. Throughout his speech, Trump constantly reiterated his desire for the US to own Greenland.

Stocks rose at the open, with the S&P 500 rising 0.3%. S&P 500 futures, which had been down Wednesday morning, jumped after his comments.

J. Edward Moreno3h

J&J slips despite cheery 2026 guidance

Johnson & Johnson reported fourth-quarter sales that beat expectations and gave rosy guidance for 2026.

The company said it expects to bring in between $100 billion and $101 billion in revenue this year, compared to the $98.9 billion analysts polled by FactSet were expecting. The drugmaker also expects to report between $11.43 and $11.63 in annual adjusted earnings per share, compared to the $11.48 that Wall Street was expecting.

Despite beating expectations, J&J, the first major drugmaker to report earnings results this year, fell by more than 2% in premarket trading.

Luke Kawa5h

GameStop rallies after CEO Ryan Cohen purchases $10.6 million in company stock

Ryan Cohen isn’t waiting for any market cap and EBITDA performance milestones to get his hands on more shares of GameStop.

The CEO boosted his stake in the video game and collectibles retailer by roughly $10.6 million on Tuesday, purchasing 500,000 shares across a series of transactions at an average weighted price close to $21.12.

Shares are up nearly 2% in premarket trading on Wednesday.

Cohen owns approximately 8.45% of shares outstanding, making him the largest individual holder of the stock and the second-largest owner, trailing only index fund provider Vanguard. His last open market purchase of GameStop was on April 3, 2025 — also for 500,000 shares at a weighted price slightly higher than Tuesday’s buys.

GameStop recently announced a long-term pay package for Cohen that would tie his remuneration completely to the company and stock’s performance. If approved, it would see the CEO receive options that allow him to buy company stock at a discount if he’s able to concurrently achieve escalating levels of cumulative EBITDA and market cap milestones.

To receive the first tranche, Cohen would need GameStop to have bottom-line results roughly on par with any three-year stretch of the 2010s, while attaining a market cap that the company only received on a closing basis during the 2021 meme stock episode.

During his tenure atop the company, Cohen has proven adept at controlling expenses and overseeing the rapid growth of GameStop’s collectibles business, resulting in the retailer generating positive cash flow from operations for a record six consecutive quarters.

Separately, board member Alain Attal also purchased about $251,000 in company stock on Tuesday.