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Claire Yubin Oh4/29/26

Starbucks beats Q2 estimates, raises 2026 guidance

Starbucks shares ticked up as much as 6% in premarket trading on Wednesday after the coffee chain raised its full-year outlook and reported its second consecutive quarter of traffic growth.

CEO Brian Niccol, who joined from Chipotle in a high-profile deal in 2024, commented that the latest quarter “marked the turn in our turnaround as our Back to Starbucks plan drove both top- and bottom-line growth.”

During his tenure, Niccol has focused on addressing a range of customer complaints to improve the chain’s performance, from long waits to a lack of seating. And in its first positive quarter of same-store sales since the start of 2024, same-store sales jumped 7.1% in North American stores and 2.6% internationally for the quarter that ended March 29, driven by higher customer traffic, per the company’s press release. In North America, that blew past consensus expectations for 4% growth.

For the fiscal full year, Starbucks now expects its global and US same-store sales to increase by at least 5%, up from its previous guidance of 3% growth. The company also hiked its adjusted earnings-per-share outlook to a range of $2.25 to $2.45 from $2.15 to $2.40 per share. Niccol also noted that while higher gas prices have yet to change the behavior of Starbucks customers, the higher full-year guidance came with caution about the uncertainty and inflationary consequences of the war.

For the fiscal full year, Starbucks now expects its global and US same-store sales to increase by at least 5%, up from its previous guidance of 3% growth. The company also hiked its adjusted earnings-per-share outlook to a range of $2.25 to $2.45 from $2.15 to $2.40 per share. Niccol also noted that while higher gas prices have yet to change the behavior of Starbucks customers, the higher full-year guidance came with caution about the uncertainty and inflationary consequences of the war.

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J. Edward Moreno7/7/26

SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

US job growth falls far short of estimates in June; unemployment rate unexpectedly dips to 4.2%

Job growth was 57,000. Analysts foresaw job growth of 113,000; prediction markets were more optimistic, looking for job growth above 125,000 but below 150,000.

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Meta surges on report it’s starting a cloud business to sell excess AI compute

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markets

Paige Oamek6/30/26

Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).
Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

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