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%.
Meta crushed earnings
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.
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.
The Takeaway
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 will keep making money until it’s Azure in the face
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.
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.
The Takeaway
Hey, it turns out that people like cloud computing in general and AI in particular. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said, “Cloud and AI is the driving force of business transformation across every industry and sector.”
Off The Charts
The Best Thing We Read Today
Pharma giant Novo Nordisk is looking slimmer
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?
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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
What Else We're Snackin'
The CEO of Commvault revealed to Sherwood News what the “next wave” for the data security firm looks like
Meme stocks suffered their biggest drop yesterday since the stock market bottomed in April
How the AI spending boom is eating the US economy, in one chart
Apple AI innovation “is not coming from inside the walls of Apple Park,” per analyst Dan Ives
The White House released its long-awaited crypto report, but bitcoin fans were disappointed
Snack Fact Of The Day
Roughly one of every six households in the US has a mean net worth of at least a million dollars.
Today's Events
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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iCRMH0725U/S-4669952-2/2
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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.