Earnings
Big tech splits as Microsoft rallies and Meta sinks
Earnings season delivers a sharp divide, with capital spending rewarded and weak guidance punished.
The earnings tape is a tale of two megacaps. CNBC says Microsoft jumps 7% after boosting capital spending plans and citing demand, while Meta plunges almost 10% after disappointing guidance and dwindling free cash flow. Those two moves help explain why tech is weak overall even with one major winner.
Semis are under pressure too. Qualcomm issues light guidance and says it will raise prices during a memory crunch, while the most active names list shows Intel down 5.1%, Nvidia down 3.6%, and Micron down 9.9%. Marketwide losers also include SMCI at minus 9.7% and AMD at minus 5.5%.
Consumer and travel names get their own headlines. Starbucks jumps on a higher full-year outlook, Chipotle lifts its same-store sales forecast even as cyclospora fears hit late-July traffic, and Carvana falls after its 2026 guidance misses expectations. CNBC also flags Humana topping estimates while maintaining its profit outlook, and Hims & Hers falling after an FTC lawsuit.
The day’s stock winners and losers outside megacap tech are just as scattered. Huron Consulting Group, Manhattan Associates, Lithia Motors, ExlService, and CBIZ are all up strongly, while Parsons, Lemonade, Lennox, Fervo Energy, and Allied Gold are hit hard. The earnings season is clearly not rewarding one single theme.