Schwab Network

Commentary from Fed chair Jerome Powell sent most stocks into the red after the FOMC voted 9-2 to keep interest rates unchanged in its July meeting. If the session wasn't busy enough, Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta Platforms (META) reported earnings after hours. Both stocks surged with A.I. being credited for soaring revenue and guidance. Outside the Mag 7, Qualcomm (QCOM) posted a beat but traded...

Carvana (CVNA) cruised on earnings while Arm Holdings (ARM) took a leg down after hours. ARM guidance fell between the midpoint of expected guidance range, weighing on shares. Meanwhile, Carvana sees sequential gains in unit sales next quarter. Marley Kayden and George Tsilis takes a closer look at the reports to analyze what's driving the trading action. ======== Schwab Network ======== Empow...

Selling action ignited markets during Fed chair Jerome Powell's press conference after the FOMC announced it will keep interest rates unchanged. Charles Schwab's Mike Townsend attributes it to "disappointed" investors seeking for more clarity on a potential September rate cut. On the latest ecodata, Mike believes there's hesitancy from businesses to hire and spend until there...

David McAlvany looks at the commodity market’s reactions to new tariff pressures and the FOMC decision. Copper is giving back a lot of gains because of the “list of exclusions” on the metal’s tariffs, David explains. He also sees a short-term “period of weakness” for gold, citing a stronger U.S. dollar. For silver, he notes a price breakout a few weeks ago and says he would expect consolidation. =...

Qualcomm (QCOM) trades a discount against peers like Nvidia (NVDA) and AMD Inc. (AMD) when it comes to valuation. However, Rick Ducat points out Wednesday's bearish engulfing candle, "not what you want to see" heading into the company's earnings. Looking at the technical trends, Rick labels Qualcomm as the "problem child" as it underperforms compared to the broader tech...

Jillian DelSignore breaks down the Nasdaq’s 2025 Retail Investor Survey. She’s seeing a savvier retail investor and a “plummeting” of social media driven trading in favor of infographics and webcasts. “A lot of shifts we saw were multigenerational,” she adds. Jillian says another foundational shift is that more portfolios are holding crypto, which she partially attributes to the launch of spot ETF...

Brian Glenn describes the accelerating “Who Blinks First?” tension between the White House and the Fed as he reacts to the FOMC decision. He works with business owners and discusses the strategies and considerations they’re using in this rate environment. He likes aerospace, citing heavy backlogs in Boeing (BA) and Airbus, as well as auto dealing companies like CarMax (KMX). Brian also likes AI, c...

As expected, the Fed did not change interest rates in its July meeting. However, one interesting result came from two Fed officials dissenting the decision, arguing that there should be a cut in July. It's the first time there were two dissenting votes in decades. Kevin Hincks talks about Fed chair Jerome Powell's path ahead to address the interest rate outlook, which includes the possibil...

The Fed keeping interest rates the same was the "easy way out," says Michael Green. There's many economic puzzle pieces at play that he believes cloud the Fed's view on where to take rates next. For one, Michael points to a contracting labor market keeping job availability restricted. On the other hand, inflation is also complicating the "soft landing" picture. Michael...

John Lonski gives his takeaways from the FOMC decision, which leaves rates unchanged in a 9-2 vote. The FOMC statement highlights inflation worries and risks to both sides of its dual mandate. John argues that underlying inflation is still moving lower and thinks “stronger than expected jobs growth” is a bigger risk to re-inflation than tariffs. “The Fed maybe put too much of an emphasis on tariff...

Ethereum is celebrating its 10th birthday. Austin King calls it one of the big three of cryptocurrencies (the others are Bitcoin and Ripple) and says it “made its place in the space by sponsoring innovation.” He talks about how decentralization is coming back into focus for the crypto industry. Austin cautions inexperienced crypto investors to stick to the big players instead of chasing smaller ne...

Nearly half of the world's population is on Facebook and/or Instagram, and LikeFolio's Landon Swan believes the company has a stellar advantage to capitalize on that audience. He's waiting to see how it will adjust its CapEx for A.I., though he argues there isn't much downside risk on increasing spending. Landon's bull thesis rests on how it can blend the evolving tech with adv...

"The decline has begun" for Netflix (NFLX), says TheoTrade's Don Kaufman, offering his bearish perspective on the streaming giant after its more than 10% fall off all-time highs. He sees "no place to go" but down for Citigroup (C) as it rallies over 70% off April lows, while offering a bullish take on Nike (NKE). Don offers example options trades for all three names while R...

A lot of focus for Meta Platforms' (META) earnings will be on its CapEx spending. David Volpe expects the Mag 7 company to boost spending and follow Alphabet's (GOOGL) footsteps, though as long it's toward A.I. growth, he thinks it will be seen as favorable. Francisco Bido adds that the company can create a "feedback loop" through A.I. that will boost user engagement exponent...

“This is the blockbuster week," Robert Schein says. “It’s going to tell us everything we need to know.” He notes that right now, 2026 earnings are expected to be better than in 2025. As to the Fed, “we believe in September, we will see a cut,” he says, and maybe another in December. His stock picks right now include Apple (AAPL), which he says just needs a product refresh and D.R. Horton (DHI...

Todd Rosenbluth is waiting to see if the Fed sets the stage for rate cuts in the fall with this FOMC decision. He looks at the issue through the lens of ETF investors, noting another record pace in ETF flows for this year. U.S.-listed fixed income ETFs have seen $206B in net inflows year-to-date, with SGOV the most popular. He also points to other “creative ways” investors are finding to use their...

Charles Schwab’s Omar Aguilar reacts to the first read of 2Q GDP and analyzes the American economy. Looking at earnings, he expects profit margins to squeeze because of trade deals, driving volatility. Inflation expectations could drive bonds up, he warns as well. He previews the FOMC meeting and Fed Chair Powell’s comments, saying economic data and a “stable” labor market mean no cut this month....

Melissa Di Donato sees caution and volatility tightening liquidity, pressuring executives on how they use company cash for acquisitions, paying down debt, or other business activities. Short-term liquidity for U.S. corporates with revenues of $1B+ was $3.2T at the end of 1Q, a $500 billion drop from last year. Long-term debt rose as well, while available undrawn credit fell. Melissa addresses the...

Carvana (CVNA) reports earnings after the close on Wednesday. Bullish interest has accelerated, as Marley Kayden notes, though there's one wild card she sees ahead: tariffs. Marley explains why they can be either bullish or bearish for the company, which this report is expected to show. Scott Bauer with Prosper Trading Academy offers an example options trade for investors heading into earnings...

There's a lot of metrics to watch between Meta Platforms (META) and Microsoft (MSFT) in their earnings Wednesday. Dan Morgan will focus on data centers, CapEx, and Llama for Meta, believing future success lies in how the company utilizes its A.I. spend. As for Microsoft, Dan says it's all about Azure cloud and proving A.I. monetization will accelerate growth. Tom White offers example optio...

Wednesday morning saw big moves across various sectors. Sam Vadas starts with Palo Alto Networks (PANW) and its $25 billion acquisition of CyberArk Software (CYBR). She talks about the "consolidation story" it shows in the cybersecurity space. Sam also notes SoFi Technologies' (SOFI) $1.5 billion public offering after it tapped 4-year highs following earnings. She later discusses ear...

There will be "no time to catch our breath" with Wednesday's FOMC interest rate decision and earnings from Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta Platforms (META), says Alex Coffey. The SPX, however, looks a little more sleepy. Alex shows how the index steadily hits "all-time high after all-time high" despite realized volatility being at "extremely low" levels. ======== Schwab...

Crypto is "impacting every aspect of finance right now" says Les Borsai. He says that is reason enough for investors to pay attention to the latest developments happening in the cryptocurrency space. Les talks about ways the GENIUS Act and Trump administration will continue to shape the industry. He adds that Circle (CRCL) shows the interest for crypto is there, and will benefit places l...

Today's jam-packed Wednesday started with a very strong GDP print. Kevin Hincks largely attributes the bounce back to imports. As for the big stories today, Kevin talks about his expectations for the FOMC interest rate decision. He also mentions Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta Platforms (META) earnings after the bell, pointing to capex as the number all investors will watch. ======== Schwab Network...

Starbucks (SBUX) rallied despite posting a sixth straight quarter of same store sales being down. As Jenny Horne points out, commentary on the company's turnaround story is boosting optimism. Visa (V) couldn't carry a rally after its earnings despite a beat and net revenue growth into the low double digits. ======== Schwab Network ======== Empowering every investor and trader, every market...