Schwab Network

EPS and sales both made a slight miss in earnings for Darden Restaurants (DRI), though as Diane King Hall points out, the company still sees strength in Olive Garden and Longhorn Steakhouse. MGM Resorts (MGM) sold off sharply after Diller's withdrew its takeover bid, while Everpure (P) hit a new all-time high after it issued positive guidance.

David Waddell addresses the Fed and heightening interest rate hike probabilities as crude oil prices stay elevated and Treasury yields continue to rise to historic levels. That said, he believes earnings won't take as big of a hit as other analysts fear. David also makes a bullish case in software companies.

"Be careful at these levels" across Treasury yields, says Kevin Hincks, with the 10-year crossing 5% once again and the 30-year crossing 5.25%. The latter is at its highest level since 2004. Kevin explains how Fed speakers giving their updates on the state of the U.S. economy and supply shocks from crude oil will raise questions for long-term growth. He says the labor market "remain...

Costco (COST) shares have fallen behind performance from wholesale store peers like Target (TGT) and Walmart (WMT). Rick Ducat turns to his technical analysis in the stock as the company readies to report earnings after Thursday's close. He turns to an example options trade for the retail giant.

Jeffrey Cole, director at the Center for the Digital Future, doesn't see some Mag 7 companies leading the future of tech. "Most companies really aren't ready to understand disruption," says Jeffrey, explaining how historic disruptors like Alphabet (GOOGL) are now being disrupted by new tech like OpenAI's ChatGPT. He points to Big Tech giants like Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT...

The interest rate hike from the Fed is a big deal for small caps, says Erin Gibbs. She explains how mega cap firms stomach the pains of rising rates while the small cap peers pay the real price. However, Erin still sees opportunity in select names like GitLab (GTLB), Match Group (MTCH), and Dropbox (DBX) even if volatility grips these stocks for now. She turns to the Mag 7 by discussing Meta Platf...

BNP Paribas upgraded Nebius (NBIS) to buy from neutral and set a price target of $399, which is close to a Street high. Brett Crowther of Charles Schwab highlights the short-term consolidation and the run higher he sees for shares. The question lies in long-term price action as there's a key line in the sand for resistance.

Markets pricing in a ceasefire or general cooldown in U.S.-Iran tensions are "too optimistic," according to Rachel Ziemba. She points out that Iran has no need to expedite the timeline for peace as the Trump administration faces pressure to do so with midterm elections lingering. As for the summit between President Trump and China President Xi Jinping, Rachel says she doesn't have hi...

There was more volume on Wednesday trading session than the Fed's interest rate decision last week, according to Kevin Green. It's a point of concern for bulls as stocks ended down on the day. KG notes that 10-year Treasury yields hitting 2004 highs, paired with volatility from the Japanese yen, pile onto the concerns. It all comes as the summit between President Trump and China President...

Cybersecurity stocks like CrowdStrike (CRWD) and Palo Alto Networks (PANW) closed as the top performers in the S&P 500 (SPX). Meta Platforms (META) continued to inch toward all-time highs as Muse AI reaches 500,000 users. McDonald's (MCD) investor day didn't raise optimism among shareholders as the stock plunged to four-year lows. Sam Vadas takes investors through the top stories movin...

China is leading global headlines in the AI trade today, according to Sam Vadas. She takes investors through her top takeaways through China's investigations into DeepSeek and Moonshot AI. Sam adds that Broadcom (AVGO) faces scrutiny in the country as well. ======== Schwab Network ======== Empowering every investor and trader, every market day. Subscribe to the Market Minute newsletter - https...

Dave Gilbert sees small businesses under pressure from inflation and rising costs, turning to AI for marketing, budgeting, and expense management. He notes adoption is higher in professional services and health sciences while real estate trades lag behind, and says smaller firms spend a fraction of what giants like Uber Technologies (UBER) invest. Gilbert also points to solopreneurs building compa...

AMD Inc. (AMD) became the fourth U.S. chipmaker to reach $1 trillion in market cap. Stephen Sopko believes the strong rally in shares to reach that milestone shows a recognition that AMD is much more than a traditional chipmaker. Meta Platforms (META), a major customer for AMD, developing its Muse AI agent is what Stephen considers a strong case for the need for CPUs long-term. He then turns to Nv...

The Nasdaq-100 (NDX) hitting an all-time high, paired with the release of Muse AI from Meta Platforms (META), shows that the AI trade is back, according to Ben McMillan. For Muse in particular, he believes the AI agent is a strong product because it allows Meta to hit its audience directly. The launch faces sentiment headwinds as opinions on AI data centers hit an all-time low. Ben doesn't see...

Charles Schwab's Kevin Horner sees the S&P 500 (SPX) pulling back from resistance with key support at 7,685 to 7,700, the 50 day moving average at 7,630, and last week's FOMC low near 7,500. He highlights Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) breaking out of a bull flag with a target near 415 while the broader tech sector struggles. Horner also flags ConocoPhillips (COP) pulling back to its 50 day...

David Aspell sees investors struggling to find real diversification as the top ten S&P 500 (SPX) names now make up 38% of the index and fixed income no longer offsets stocks the way it used to. He favors the KMLM ETF, a systematic trend-following strategy trading commodities, currencies, and bonds both long and short, which is up around 20% this year with a low negative correlation to equities...

Kip Compton, CEO of Fastly (FSLY), highlights how the company attained 20% year-over-year growth as AI adoption accelerates, with over half of network traffic now machine driven. He outlines new AI firewall and bot protection products that help customers manage threats at the edge. Compton explains how edge computing delivers lower latency and higher bandwidth than centralized clouds like Amazon (...

Cisco (CSCO) remains in the heart of the AI trade due to its networking capabilities, says Kim Forrest. The data center buildout and the need for data access are two sides of the same coin Kim believes Cisco can cash in on. The networking giant still faces one key question: how effectively can the legacy tech firm capitalize on AI's rapid evolution? ======== Schwab Network ======== Empowering...

Seth Schachner calls the regulatory settlement clearing the Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and Paramount Skydance (PSKY) merger a "nothing burger," with no assets sold and headquarters kept in California. He says the focus now shifts to managing $79 billion in debt and $6 billion in cost cuts while combining two massive studios without disrupting the creative side. Schachner sees the merge...

LikeFolio's Landon Swan sees his firm's consumer sentiment data pointing to a solid Darden Restaurants (DRI) earnings report. He says a 22% increase in year-over-year demand is driven by Olive Garden holding the line on pricing and Longhorn Steakhouse outperforming on strong beef and protein trends. He explains casual dining is in a sweet spot as consumers trade up from fast food like McDo...

Mischa Fisher sees mortgage rates climbing into the low sevens and expects existing home sales to turn negative in the fourth quarter. He argues the Fed's hike could eventually help by restoring confidence that inflation is under control. Jeff Ostrowski says affordability remains the biggest obstacle for first time buyers, but Americans still view homeownership as the American dream deferred r...

Ben Topor, who recently published "Decoding the Software Landscape," discusses ways AI is disrupting the digital industries. He says it's hard for larger companies like Salesforce (CRM) to adjust in the evolving landscape due to the volume of customers they have. As Ben explains, there's also the consideration of how much revenue is at stake for companies adjusting to AI. =======...

TheoTrade's Don Kaufman has his eye on the macro front Wednesday as crude oil moves and President Trump and China President Xi Jinping prepare to meet. He highlights a bearish opportunity he sees in FedEx (FDX) after the stock made a double top pattern, along with bullish opportunities in Home Depot (HD) is it trades near year-lows, and Qualcomm (QCOM) due to its steady climb in price action....

Ed Siddell sees the energy price spike as a short term refinement problem rather than a production shortage, with the national gas average needing to hit $7 before recession risk becomes real. He expects a 90 to 120 day lag before pump prices moderate, and believes the Fed's rate hike was a hedge against temporary inflation pressure. Siddell still expects markets to finish the year strong, bol...

Ted Thatcher sees On Holding's (ONON) Investor Day as a strong turnaround signal, highlighted by a billion dollar buyback and margin expansion from 12% to over 22% projected by 2029. He likes the premium brand's direct consumer relationships and athlete partnerships with Mbappe and Federer, though he flags consumer discretionary headwinds. Tom White then demonstrates an example trade. ====...