Wall Street's main indexes ended slightly lower on Tuesday, having given up meager intraday gains in the final minutes of trading, as investors switched their focus to the latest earnings from Alphabet and Tesla.
Market Snapshot
The S&P 500 lost 8.67 points, or 0.16%, to 5,555.74 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 10.22 points, or 0.06%, to 17,997.35. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 57.35 points, or 0.14%, to 40,358.09.
Market Movers
United Parcel Service Inc fell 12% after the shipping company reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.79 a share, missing analysts’ estimates of $1.99. Revenue fell 1.1% to $21.8 billion, short of the consensus forecast of $22.17 billion.
Weaker demand for package delivery and heightened costs related to a labor agreement with the Teamsters union both dragged on profit. UPS also reduced its fiscal-year revenue guidance.
Spotify Technology S.A. surged 12%. The music-streaming company reported higher second-quarter earnings than expected, while revenue jumped 20%. Spotify also posted record profit margins after increasing what it charges premium subscribers.
General Motors was down 6.4%, although the stock traded higher in the premarket session. The auto maker raised its outlook for the year after pretax adjusted earnings in the second quarter of $3.06 a share topped analysts’ estimates of $2.70. GM said it expects to generate $13 billion to $15 billion in 2024 operating profit compared with a prior guidance range of $12.5 billion to 14.5 billion. Cautious commentary about the company’s operations in China was one reason for the stock decline, analysts said.
GE Aerospace rose 5.7%. Its second-quarter earnings and revenue beat analysts’ forecasts, while profit margins were much better than expected. The company also boosted its full-year outlook.
Shares of NXP Semiconductors NV were down 7.6% after the company reported lower second-quarter adjusted earnings than Wall Street expected.
Lockheed Martin rose 5.6%. The aerospace company’s earnings were better than expected, while management increased its full-year financial guidance.
Comcast was down 2.6% after its earnings topped Wall Street estimates but revenue missed forecasts. The company said studio revenue fell 27% from a year earlier, while revenue at its theme parks dropped 11%.
Coca-Cola rose 0.3%. The beverage company raised its full-year financial guidance after reporting stronger quarterly earnings and revenue than expected.
U.S.-listed shares of SAP SE jumped 7.1%. The German business-software company posted second-quarter revenue that topped analysts’ estimates, getting a lift from a 25% increase in cloud revenue.
Danaher gained 5.3% after the medical company reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings and revenue.
Market News
Tesla Profit Margins Worst in Five Years as Price Cuts, Incentives Weigh
Tesla on Tuesday reported its lowest profit margin in more than five years and missed Wall Street earnings targets in the second quarter, as the electric vehicle maker cut prices to revive demand while it increased spending on AI projects.
The company said it was on track to produce new vehicles, including more affordable models, in the first half of 2025, although the models will result in achieving less cost reduction than previously expected. Shares fell 8% in after-hours trade.
Alphabet’s Revenue Boosted by Cloud Computing, Search Ads
Google parent Alphabet Inc. reported second-quarter revenue that exceeded analysts’ expectations, boosted by demand for cloud-computing services and advertising on its search engine.
Sales, excluding partner payouts, were $71.36 billion in the second quarter, the company said Tuesday in a statement. Analysts had projected $70.7 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Net income was $1.89 per share, compared with Wall Street’s $1.84 per-share estimate.