Apple Soars 5%, Propels US Stocks to Wednesday Gains—Wall Street Forgets Bearish Fears (For Now)
Tech giant single-handedly drags markets into the green—because nothing says 'healthy economy' like one company's iPhone sales offsetting systemic risks.
The Apple Effect
Nasdaq traders high-fived as AAPL's surprise rally injected $500B+ into market caps overnight. Analysts scrambled to justify the move—'AI integrations!' 'Services growth!'—while quietly sweating Q3 guidance.
Index Illusions
The S&P 500's 1.2% lift came from three megacaps. Small caps? Flat. Because Main Street's 'participation' now means watching FAANGs play ping-pong with your retirement fund.
Cynic's Corner
Funny how a 5% bump in one stock lets CNBC pretend inflation and rate hikes vanished. Spoiler: They didn't. But hey, enjoy the dopamine hit while algo-traders keep the music playing.
AMD falls after weak numbers and China worries
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) dropped more than 6% on Wednesday after it posted earnings that came in below what analysts had predicted. The chipmaker said it earned 48 cents per share on an adjusted basis.
That missed the 49-cent forecast by analysts tracked by LSEG. AMD also didn’t give any solid timeline on when it WOULD restart shipments to China, which added more pressure.
Over in Santa Clara, Super Micro Computer (SMCI) got hit even harder. The server and hardware firm saw its stock nosedive 18% after it missed both revenue and profit estimates for the fourth quarter.
Super Micro said it pulled in 41 cents per share, down from the 44 cents analysts had expected. Revenue came in at $5.76 billion, falling short of the $5.89 billion Wall Street was looking for.
CEO Charles Liang told investors that they’ve already “taken measures to reduce the impact” of tariffs introduced under President Donald Trump.
During the earnings call, David Weigand, Super Micro’s CFO, said, “With respect to the tariffs, the situation is dynamic. We’re actively monitoring the tariff environment. We know there’s news coming out next week. If we have any updates, we’ll share them with you, but we can only watch and react as every other business is.” That didn’t calm the selloff.
Snap loses 18% as ad revenue disappoints
Snapchat’s parent company, Snap, also had a rough day. The stock dropped 18% after reporting second-quarter numbers on Tuesday evening. The company said advertising revenue ROSE just 4% year-over-year to $1.17 billion, falling below the $1.22 billion that Bloomberg said Wall Street was expecting.
Snap’s leadership admitted that a technical problem hit their ad auction system, which sets prices for campaigns. During the investor call, the team said the issue caused many campaigns to be sold at “substantially reduced prices.” That glitch cost them real money. Investors weren’t patient.
Even though these tech names were crashing, other corners of the market looked stronger. McDonald’s rose nearly 3% after delivering second-quarter earnings that beat both top and bottom line estimates. The company reported that same-store sales increased at the fastest rate in almost two years. Arista Networks also had a strong day, jumping 17% after beating expectations.
Still, earnings season has been off to a good start overall, so far. Out of all the S&P 500 companies that have reported so far, 81% have beaten Wall Street’s expectations. That stat came from FactSet, and it helped explain why the broader market managed to finish higher, even with major losers in the mix.
Bank stocks also got a small boost after reports about a potential executive action from Trump. The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that the president is planning to sign an executive order this week that targets “debanking.” The rule would make it illegal for banks to drop clients because of political views, and could come with penalties for doing so.
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