Market Snapshot
| Dow | 46590.20 | -334.33 | (-0.71%) | | Nasdaq | 22740.42 | -213.27 | (-0.93%) | | SP 500 | 6699.39 | -35.95 | (-0.53%) | | 10-yr Note |
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| | NYSE | Adv 1139 | Dec 1598 | Vol 1.16 bln | | Nasdaq | Adv 1361 | Dec 3315 | Vol 14.54 bln |
Industry Watch
| Strong: Health Care, Energy, Consumer Staples, Real Estate |
| | Weak: Consumer Discretionary, Industrials, Information Technology, Financials, Materials, Consumer Staples, Utilities |
Moving the Market
Markets react to another heavy round of earnings reports, with some notable misses in the mix today
Weakness across mega-cap and tech names
Trump administration weighs sweeping software export curbs on China in retaliation for rare earth restrictions
Continued lack of macro catalysts and economic data
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Market moves lower amid uncertatinty on multiple fronts
22-Oct-25 16:30 ET
Dow -334.33 at 46590.20, Nasdaq -213.27 at 22740.42, S&P -35.95 at 6699.39
[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market retreated today as a handful of key earnings misses, geopolitical uncertainty, and weakness across the market's largest names combined to create a risk-off disposition that pushed the major averages lower.
The S&P 500 (-0.5), Nasdaq Composite (-0.9%), and DJIA (-0.7%) steadily retreated to session lows at around 2:00 ET before improving slightly to the close. The small-cap Russell 2000 (-1.5%) and S&P Mid Cap 400 (-1.2%) underperformed as the investors rotated into more defensive pockets.
Growth-oriented and high-beta sectors paced the losses throughout the day.
The communication services sector (-0.9%) finished with one of the widest losses today after Netflix (NFLX 1116.37, -124.98, -10.07%) reported a rare earnings miss. The company topped revenue estimates but missed on earnings, citing a Brazilian gross tax on outbound payments. Management noted that excluding this one-time charge, operating income and margins would have surpassed Q3 guidance. However, the stock traded sharply lower throughout the session and never received any buy-the-dip interest.
The top-weighted information technology sector (-0.8%) also faced some earnings-induced pressure. Texas Instruments (TXN 170.71, -10.13, -5.60%) missed EPS estimates for the first time in two years and issued Q4 guidance below consensus. Management noted that the semiconductor recovery is progressing, though at a slower pace than in previous cycles, as customers remain cautious amid macro and tariff uncertainty.
The PHLX Semiconductor Index retreated 2.4% as chipmaker names moved lower.
Elsewhere in the sector, Apple (AAPL 258.45, -4.32, -1.64%) finished lower after a solid gain yesterday and reports of weaker-than-expected demand for the new iPhone Air.
The mega-cap group largely underperformed today, which weighed on the consumer discretionary sector (-1.0%). Amazon (AMZN 217.99, -4.04, -1.82%) traded lower after a nice gain yesterday, as did Tesla (TSLA 438.72, -3.88, -0.88%), which is set to report earnings after the close, one of the most anticipated happenings of the week.
The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF closed 0.7% lower. The Invesco S&P 500 High Beta ETF (-1.4%) also faced a retreat as investors rotated out of more volatile stocks.
Meanwhile, the industrial sector (-1.3%) closed with the widest loss today. The sector retreated after GE Vernova (GEV 576.23, -9.10, -1.55%) missed earnings estimates, while aerospace and defense stocks saw some profit-taking after yesterday's rally.
Only four S&P 500 sectors closed with gains today.
The energy sector (+1.3%) was the only sector to move more than 1.0% higher, supported by crude oil futures settling today's session $1.27 higher (+2.2%) at $58.51 per barrel.
The market's risk-off sentiment saw the consumer staples (+0.6%) and health care (+0.6%) sectors capture gains, with the health care sector boosted by a strong gain in Intuitive Surgical (ISRG 527.03, +64.29, +13.89%) following its earnings beat.
Meanwhile, the real estate sector (+0.4%) captured a more modest gain.
Lingering concerns around the trade relationship between the U.S. and China weighed on sentiment today. The market hit a pocket of volatility after Reuters reported that the Trump administration is weighing sweeping software export curbs on China in retaliation for rare earth restrictions. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed the report to CNBC later in the afternoon.
Additionally, Mr. Bessent told Fox Business that large sanctions on Russia will be announced tonight or tomorrow.
Ultimately, the market faced pressure on multiple fronts today. Earnings misses from prominent names prompted concerns of stretched valuations, while geopolitical and trade worries added to the air of uncertainty, making it all the more important for Tesla (TSLA 438.72, -3.88, -0.88%) and the other mega-caps to hold their ground and provide leadership, as investor sentiment remains highly sensitive to any signs of weakness.
U.S. Treasuries recorded modest gains on Wednesday with most tenors finishing essentially where they started. The 2-year note yield settled down two basis points to 3.44% and teh 10-year note yield settled down one basis point to 3.95%.
- Nasdaq Composite: +17.8% YTD
- S&P 500: + 13.9% YTD
- Russell 2000: +9.9% YTD
- DJIA: +9.5% YTD
- S&P Mid Cap 400: +3.7% YTD
Reviewing today's data:
- The weekly MBA Mortgage Index fell 0.3% to follow last week's 1.8% decrease. The Purchase Index was down 5.2% while the Refinance Index rose 4.0%.
Tesla to kick off mega-cap earnings after the close
22-Oct-25 15:35 ET
Dow -317.83 at 46606.70, Nasdaq -225.05 at 22728.64, S&P -35.31 at 6700.03
[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (-0.6%), Nasdaq Composite (-1.1%), and DJIA (-0.7%) have traded in a relatively stable range above their session lows reached around 2:00 ET.
Q3 earnings reports continued to be a driver of price action, though today's batch featured a few prominent misses. Netflix (NFLX 1116.80, -124.55, -10.03%) holds a double-digit loss after an earnings miss. While the company attributed the miss to a one-time Brazilian tax payment item, the stock has not yet seen any buy-the-dip interest despite an otherwise solid report.
The market is set to receive another sizable batch of earnings releases after the close, including Tesla (TSLA 437.83, -4.77, -1.08%), which kicks off the mega-cap earnings.
Lam Research (LRCX 140.25, -4.79, -3.30%) and IBM (IBM 287.60, +5.55, +1.97%) are other prominent tech names that will also deliver their earnings after the close.
Tech and mega-cap losses widen
22-Oct-25 14:55 ET
Dow -399.47 at 46525.06, Nasdaq -328.47 at 22625.22, S&P -56.65 at 6678.69
[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (-0.8%), Nasdaq Composite (-1.4%), and DJIA (-0.8%) continue to tick lower, with today's retreat pushing the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite into negative territory for the month.
The information technology sector (-1.4%) paces the losses, with weakness in chipmaker names sending the PHLX Semiconductor Index 3.4% lower.
Apple (AAPL 256.81, -5.96, -2.27%) also retreats after reports of weak demand for the new iPhone Air.
Elsewhere, the industrials (-1.3%), consumer discretionary (-1.2%), and communication services (-1.1%) hold similar losses.
S&P 500 down 0.8% as Lennox, Coinbase, and Generac fall; AVY rises on EPS beat and WMT deal
22-Oct-25 14:30 ET
Dow -358.20 at 46566.33, Nasdaq -339.52 at 22614.17, S&P -56.65 at 6678.69
[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (-0.84%) is in second place on Wednesday afternoon, down about 57 points.
Briefly, S&P 500 constituents Lennox Int'l (LII 495.90, -53.09, -9.67%), Coinbase (COIN 313.86, -24.76, -7.31%), and Generac (GNRC 182.28, -10.22, -5.31%) pepper the bottom of the standings. LII falls after missing Q3 revenue and cutting 2025 guidance on weaker HVAC demand, soft consumer confidence, and refrigerant transition challenges, despite a slight EPS beat, while GNRC slides despite grabbing a Buy initiation out of Needham this morning and being added to the firm's Conviction List.
Meanwhile, Avery Dennison (AVY 179.86, +16.33, +9.99%) is near the top of the average after beating Q3 EPS, guiding slightly above Q4 expectations, and announcing a first-to-market RFID partnership with Walmart for fresh categories.
Gold pulls back from record highs as traders take profits ahead of inflation data
22-Oct-25 14:00 ET
Dow -442.06 at 46482.47, Nasdaq -424.13 at 22529.56, S&P -75.90 at 6659.44
[BRIEFING.COM] With about two hours to go on Wednesday the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (-1.85%) is today's worst-performing major average, down about 424 points.
Gold futures settled $43.70 lower (-1.1%) at $4,065.40/oz, as traders continued to take profits following record highs and a relatively strengthening U.S. dollar. Analysts said easing geopolitical tensions and caution ahead of key U.S. inflation data also contributed to the pullback.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index is down about -0.1% to $98.85.
Meta Platforms partners with Blue Owl to build huge Hyperion data center to power AI growth (META)
Meta Platforms (META) announced a major joint venture with Blue Owl Capital (OWL) to develop and own the Hyperion data center campus in Louisiana, marking a key milestone in META’s AI infrastructure expansion strategy. Funds managed by OWL will own an 80% interest, while META will retain 20%, with both parties contributing their respective share of the $27 bln required to build, operate, and power the facility.
- The Hyperion campus, expected to be completed by 2030, will span about 4 mln square feet, making it META’s largest data center to date.
- The facility will support and accelerate the training of META’s Llama large language model (LLM) and other AI workloads that underpin META’s growing suite of AI-powered tools and services.
- META’s AI investments are already paying off -- Q2 revenue rose 22% yr/yr, driven by higher ad impressions and increased average price per ad. AI systems like Advantage+, Andromeda, and GEM have significantly improved ad targeting and advertiser ROI.
- The joint venture structure reduces META’s upfront capital burden while transferring partial ownership and control to OWL, a tradeoff that allows META to preserve capital for other AI and product initiatives.
- The deal positions META competitively in the global AI infrastructure race, following Google’s (GOOG, GOOGL) recent $15 bln data center investment in India and OpenAI’s $1 trillion+ compute capacity agreements.
Briefing.com Analyst Insight:
META’s joint venture with OWL represents a savvy balance between growth and capital discipline. By partnering with an experienced infrastructure investor, META secures the funding and expertise needed to execute one of the largest data center projects ever undertaken while keeping its balance sheet flexible. The move underscores META’s commitment to scaling its AI capabilities, particularly around Llama and its next-generation ad platforms, without stretching resources thin. While META sacrifices some control over the project, the long-term strategic payoff -- faster AI model training, improved ad efficiency, and sustainable infrastructure growth -- appears well worth the trade. In the broader AI arms race, this partnership helps ensure META remains a formidable contender alongside GOOG, Microsoft (MSFT), and OpenAI.
Texas Instruments Slides After Q3 EPS Miss and Softer Q4 Guide; Recovery Proving More Moderate (TXN)
Texas Instruments (TXN) is trading sharply lower today after reporting its Q3 results last night. The company missed EPS expectations for the first time in two years, while revenue rose 14.2% yr/yr to $4.74 bln, topping estimates. The bigger disappointment came from its Q4 guidance, which was notably soft. Q4 EPS guidance of $1.13-1.39 fell below consensus, and the midpoint of its revenue range at $4.22-4.58 bln also came in short of expectations.
- Management said the semiconductor recovery continues but at a slower pace than prior cycles, as customers remain cautious amid macro and tariff uncertainty.
- Bookings were steady compared to Q2, and the quarter progressed largely as expected. Customer inventories remain low and noted that depletion "appears" to be behind them.
- By end market, industrial rose about 25% yr/yr, automotive increased upper-single digits, and personal electronics improved modestly. Enterprise systems and communications equipment were strongest, up roughly 35% and 45% yr/yr, respectively.
- In China, activity returned to normal following Q2's pull-forward, with management expecting that to continue. Industrial was the only market that didn't grow sequentially but was still up 40% yr/yr.
- The softer Q4 guide reflects moderating wafer starts after ramping inventory (plans to keep levels flat-to-down), softer revenue tied to a slower recovery, and higher depreciation, all weighing on fab loadings and gross margins, which declined about 50 bps sequentially.
Briefing.com Analyst Insight
TXN is facing renewed selling pressure as investors focus on the softer outlook rather than the solid top-line growth in Q3. Management's tone remained cautious, describing the recovery as more moderate than past cycles while emphasizing flexibility to navigate a wide range of outcomes. Automotive trends improved, but broader trends remain uneven, and profitability is being squeezed by lower factory utilization and rising depreciation. While TXN continues to emphasize free cash flow growth and sees long-term opportunity in data-center applications, near-term performance is defined by slower revenue momentum and margin compression.
Intuitive Surgical surges on strong Q3 results, raises FY25 outlook as procedure growth rises (ISRG)
Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) posted strong Q3 results and raised FY25 guidance, driven by accelerating procedure growth and broader platform adoption. EPS rose 30% y/y, easily beating expectations, as worldwide procedures grew by 20% y/y (up from 17% in Q2). Management lifted FY25 da Vinci procedure growth to 17-17.5% (from 15.5-17%) and gross margin guidance to 67-67.5% (from 66-67%).
- Worldwide procedures grew 20% yr/yr with da Vinci procedures up 20% and ION procedures soaring 52%. The ION platform is ISRG’s robotic bronchoscopy system for minimally invasive lung biopsies.
- Procedure growth was fueled by rapid adoption of the da Vinci 5, which offers enhanced automation, ergonomics, and efficiency for surgeons and hospitals.
- General surgery, gynecology, colorectal, and thoracic procedures all posted strong yr/yr gains, both in the U.S. and internationally.
- System utilization increased by 4%, and international markets such as India, Korea, and Europe continued to drive higher procedural volumes.
- Instrument and accessories revenue rose 20% to $1.52 bln, reflecting strong utilization and growth in recurring revenue.
- ISRG placed 427 da Vinci systems in Q3, up from 379 a year earlier, including 240 da Vinci 5 systems compared to 110 last year.
- Increased leasing activity, representing 54% of placements, is helping hospitals manage capital budgets while expanding ISRG’s footprint.
- Tariff costs reduced gross margin by roughly 90 basis points in Q3, but the full-year outlook for tariffs was lowered to about 70 bps.
- Although the rise of GLP-1 medications has modestly reduced bariatric procedure volumes, ISRG offset that softness through strong growth in other surgical categories.
Briefing.com Analyst Insight:
ISRG delivered broad-based strength across its platforms, with da Vinci 5 and ION adoption driving the upside. The company’s raised guidance underscores expanding scale efficiencies, cost discipline, and easing tariff pressure. Recurring revenue now accounts for about 85% of total sales, adding visibility and stability to results. While the GLP-1 trend presents a modest risk to bariatric growth, ISRG’s diversification across other surgical areas and its rapid platform expansion more than compensate. The company’s performance reinforces confidence in sustainable high-teens growth, though quarterly margins may fluctuate as new systems and service ramps continue.
Netflix Misses the Mark on EPS, But Ads Business and KPop Hit Provides Some Punch (NFLX)
Netflix is streaming sharply lower following its Q3 report, which delivered a rare EPS miss despite in-line revenue and modestly better-than-expected Q4 guidance.
- Revenue rose 17.2% yr/yr to $11.51 bln, marking the strongest top-line growth since 2Q21. Growth was driven by membership additions, pricing changes, and rising ad revenue.
- EPS came in below expectations, but was impacted by a Brazilian gross tax on outbound payments. Excluding this one-time item, Netflix would have exceeded its Q3 operating income and margin forecast. The company does not expect this tax to materially affect results going forward.
- The advertising segment was a bright spot. NFLX reaffirmed expectations for ad revenue to double in 2025. Its Ads Suite is now fully deployed across all ad markets.
- Netflix teased further ad business enhancements in 2026, with a pivot to data-focused investments in 2027.
- Engagement was a concern last quarter and we are not sure Netflix eased those concerns. Netflix said Q3 view hours grew slightly faster then 1H25 and marked its highest quarterly view share in the US and UK, though no specific Q3 hours data was provided.
- On the content side, KPop Demon Hunters was a breakout hit and is now Netflix's most popular original animated film ever. The company signed toy licensing deals with Mattel and Hasbro to capitalize on demand. The return of Wednesday also contributed to strong viewership. Q4 will feature a major slate of new films and the much-anticipated final season of Stranger Things.
- Netflix also announced last week it expanded into podcasting through a new deal with Spotify, offering curated top video podcasts to broaden its entertainment ecosystem.
Briefing.com Analyst Insight:
Netflix's Q3 report is a bit of a mixed bag. Revenue growth was robust, and the ads business continues to gain momentum, highlighted by plans to double revenue in 2025. The Spotify and toy licensing deals are strategically sound and support brand expansion. However, the rare EPS miss (even if tax-related) caught investors off guard, and engagement metrics underwhelmed. View hours increased modestly from 1H25, but we would have preferred more data. Overall, while NFLX still leads in streaming scale and ad innovation, questions about viewer engagement and valuation still linger for us.
GE Aerospace tops Q3 estimates, lifts outlook on commercial orders and aftermarket growth (GE)
GE Aerospace (GE) comfortably exceeded expectations for Q3, delivering a robust 44% yr/yr increase in adjusted EPS to $1.66, driven by a 41% surge in engine deliveries. The company benefited from strong global demand for new aircraft engines as commercial air travel continued its sharp post-pandemic rebound.
- FY25 EPS guidance was raised to $6.00–$6.20 from $5.60–$5.80; revenue growth is now expected in the high teens. CFO Rahul Ghai noted the business environment “feels better than Q2.”
- Supply chain constraints limited engine production, delaying shipments and boosting maintenance and service revenue for airlines.
- Commercial Engines & Services: internal shop visits +33%, spare parts +25%, driving 35% profit growth.
- Strong commercial demand highlighted by Korean Air’s 103-aircraft order and Cathay Pacific’s 28-engine agreement.
- Defense & Propulsion: revenue +26% from higher volumes, favorable mix, pricing, and strong demand for military propulsion and next-gen engines.
Briefing.com Analyst Insight:
GE continues to showcase its leadership in both commercial and defense aviation with another stellar quarter that outpaced expectations across nearly every metric. The dual tailwinds of surging aircraft demand and expanded aftermarket revenue are driving operating leverage and margin expansion, even amid supply chain friction. Management’s upbeat tone and raised guidance reinforce confidence that GE is capitalizing on a multi-year upcycle in aviation demand. The defense business, while smaller, is increasingly becoming a steady contributor thanks to modernization initiatives and advanced propulsion contracts. Supply chain normalization and execution on delivery ramp-ups will be key to sustaining momentum, but GE’s trajectory clearly points toward accelerating growth and improving profitability through 2026.
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