Good afternoon! More couples are cutting booze from the big day, swapping open bars for mocktails, coffee carts, and sober dance floors. While only 6% are fully dry, zero-proof options and “semi-dry” trends are gaining ground especially among Gen Z. Some guests applaud the drama-free vibe, while others are still clutching their flasks.

For many, it’s about saving money, avoiding family chaos, or just reflecting their real lives. Critics call it bad hosting, but couples argue they shouldn’t have to serve drinks to make the night memorable. If you need a cocktail to have fun, you might not be wedding-ready.

MARKETS

• Markets kicked off with momentum but lost steam fast after Fed Chair Jerome Powell dashed hopes for near-term rate cuts. His warning about inflation risks fueled in part by new tariffs sent the S&P 500 down 0.1%, while the Dow dropped 0.4%. Only tech and a few other sectors managed to stay afloat.

• Adding to the market jitters, President Trump announced a new 25% tariff on imports from India and hinted at more penalties over its ties to Russia. The move adds fresh uncertainty to global trade dynamics just as Wall Street was trying to process a wave of earnings and the Fed’s latest hold.

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STOCKS
Winners & Losers

What’s up 📈

• Wingstop soared 26.85% after delivering its most profitable quarter ever and raising its full-year global unit growth outlook. ($WING)

• LendingClub jumped 21.21% thanks to a strong Q2 driven by a 32% surge in loan originations, crushing revenue and earnings estimates. ($LC)

• Peloton gained 18.77% after UBS upgraded the stock to “buy,” citing improvements in cost structure and operational efficiency. ($PTON)

• Teradyne rose 18.88% following an earnings beat fueled by strong AI demand and growth in its semiconductor test segment. ($TER)

• Federal Signal surged 18.21% after posting a top- and bottom-line beat and raising full-year guidance. ($FSS)

• Harley-Davidson revved 13.38% higher after announcing a partnership with KKR and Pimco to offload loans and shift its financing unit to a capital-light model. ($HOG)

• Sarepta Therapeutics rose 5.81% after the resignation of a key FDA official critical of its Elevidys gene therapy, helping clear the path for its relaunch. ($SRPT)

• Humana jumped 12.70% after beating Q2 expectations and raising both earnings and revenue guidance for the year. ($HUM)

What’s down 📉

• Avis Budget Group tumbled 15.41% after posting a 71% drop in profit and earnings of just 10 cents per share. ($CAR)

• Mondelez fell 6.61% despite beating Q2 earnings and revenue estimates, as organic growth and margins missed expectations. ($MDLZ)

• Novo Nordisk dropped another 7.25% after cutting its full-year outlook and announcing a CEO transition amid Wegovy demand concerns. ($NVO)

EARNINGS
Robinhood Crushes Earnings With $989M Revenue and Surging Trading Activity

Robinhood’s Hot Streak Isn’t Just Crypto

Robinhood just served up a monster quarter. The trading app pulled in $989 million in revenue, blowing past Wall Street’s $915 million estimate. Earnings per share? $0.42 vs. the expected $0.31. Trading activity surged as investors jumped back into markets that got rocked by tariffs and then revived by AI hype and a meme stock encore.

YOLO… but Make It Smart

Retail traders didn’t just dabble, they went full throttle. Crypto transaction revenue nearly doubled to $160 million, and margin loans ballooned 90% to a record $9.5 billion. CEO Vlad Tenev credited lower margin rates and a laser focus on stealing market share. Meanwhile, Robinhood Strategies, its digital advice platform, crossed $500 million in AUM.

More Than Just Day Trading: The deposit machine was humming too. Robinhood hauled in $13.8 billion in net deposits, its third-highest quarter ever, pushing platform assets to $279 billion. Average customer balances are now over $10,000. Gold subscriptions hit 3.5 million. And yes—Robinhood is building a credit card, launching tokenized stocks in Europe, and teasing banking-lite services.

From Meme Stock to Index Watchlist: Shares are up 416% over the past year, turning heads and fueling speculation about an S&P 500 debut. CFO Jason Warnick called it “flattering.” Investors are clearly buying into Robinhood’s transformation from meme stock magnet to full-service fintech platform.

NEWS
Market Movements

• 📉 S&P Slips After Powell’s Inflation Warning: The S&P 500 dipped 0.1% as Powell flagged inflation risks tied to tariffs. Tech and comms wiped out gains, while materials, energy, and real estate lagged.

• 🧠 Figma CEO’s $1.9B Incentive Plan Mirrors Musk’s Deal: Figma CEO Dylan Field will hold ~11% of the company after its IPO this week, worth about $1.6B at the low end of the valuation. His new pay package includes 14.5M performance-based shares awarded in tranches — Field must keep the stock above $130 to unlock the full $1.9B.

• 🇺🇸 Q2 GDP Surprises to the Upside: U.S. GDP grew 3.0% in Q2, outpacing expectations of 2.5%, according to the advance reading. That’s despite concerns over trade and consumer slowdown.

• 🪙 Fed Holds Rates Steady Amid Dissent: The Fed held interest rates between 4.25%–4.50%, but two governors dissented in favor of a rate cut. Jerome Powell warned inflation risks remain, partly due to tariff pressures.

• 📈 Microsoft Crushes Q4 Earnings, Stock Pops: Microsoft ($MSFT) beat across the board with $76.4B in revenue (vs $73.86B expected) and $3.65 EPS (vs $3.37 expected), fueled by 26% cloud growth. Azure hit $75B in annual revenue, and shares jumped 7% after hours.

• ⚠️ FDA Recalls Spiked “Celsius” Cans: High Noon cans were mistakenly packaged in Celsius ($CELH) energy drink labels, prompting a recall over potential alcohol consumption risks. Celsius stock was flat.

• 🔥 Wingstop Soars 26% After Record Expansion: Wingstop ($WING) smashed Q2 expectations and opened a record 129 net new locations, sending shares flying.

• 🧠 Nvidia, Broadcom Lead Chip Rally: Nvidia ($NVDA) and Broadcom ($AVGO) rose after Morgan Stanley hiked price targets, citing AI tailwinds.

• 👟 Adidas Slides 11% On Weak Q2 and Tariff Warning: Adidas ($ADDYY) shares sank after missing sales targets and warning about U.S. tariffs hitting second-half performance.

• 🚗 Ford Takes $800M Tariff Hit, Warns of Bigger Losses: Ford ($F) said tariffs cost it $800M so far this year and raised its full-year hit to $2B. Despite better-than-expected revenue, shares fell 2% after earnings.

• 📉 Bitcoin Unmoved by 166-Page White House Crypto Report: The Biden administration released its long-awaited digital asset framework, clarifying Treasury will manage reserves, but offering few new details. Bitcoin stayed flat.

• 🤖 Meta’s AI Lab to Run Like a Startup: Zuckerberg has separated Meta’s new AI team from company bureaucracy to chase AGI. The team operates in its own space with a secret budget—think: OpenAI, but with Facebook money.

• 🪙 Strategy Buys $2.46B of Bitcoin Ahead of Earnings: Strategy ($MSTR) acquired 21,021 bitcoin for $2.46B using preferred stock proceeds. It now holds 628,791 BTC worth ~$46.8B.

EARNINGS
Meta Surges on $47.5B Revenue Beat as AI-Powered Ads Drive Growth

Meta just blew past expectations. The company posted $7.14 earnings per share on $47.5 billion in revenue, torching Wall Street’s forecast of $5.88 and $44.8 billion, respectively. Advertising was the star of the show, pulling in $46.6 billion thanks largely to AI upgrades that boosted both pricing and impressions. Zuckerberg made it clear: AI isn’t just a buzzword at Meta, it’s the engine.

Betting Big on Superintelligence

This wasn’t just about a strong quarter. Meta is making a play for dominance in artificial intelligence, not just by integrating it into ads, but by building what it calls “personal superintelligence” a machine that works as well as the sharpest human minds. To get there, Meta has already spent $31 billion on infrastructure this year and expects to ramp up even more in 2026. Zuckerberg says the company has the ingredients to win, and he's building the team to prove it.

Wall Street’s On Board

Investors are loving it. Meta stock popped over 10% in after-hours trading. While Reality Labs (Meta’s VR division) continues to burn cash, that’s not where the excitement is. AI is generating real revenue, and CFO Susan Li said the company expects “similarly significant” capital outlays next year to stay ahead. Meta’s ad business, which pays for all this experimentation, remains rock solid and that’s what keeps Wall Street smiling.

One Step Ahead of the Pack: Meta isn’t spending in a vacuum. Alphabet and Microsoft are also throwing billions at AI infrastructure, but Meta’s lead in turning that spend into real product improvements is starting to show. And unlike the metaverse pitch, this AI push has traction. Meta is playing offense and it’s working.

Calendar
On The Horizon

Tomorrow

Thursday brings one of the Fed’s favorite data drops PCE inflation and this time, it might sting a little more. Economists are bracing for signs that tariff-related price bumps are finally filtering through, with forecasts calling for headline PCE to tick up to 2.5%. Core PCE is expected to hold steady, but markets will be parsing every decimal for clues on what comes next from the Fed.

On the earnings front, it’s a star-studded lineup. Apple and Amazon headline the day, joined by Mastercard, Coinbase, Shell, Comcast, and CVS. Also reporting: a mix of pharma, fintech, and cloud players including AbbVie, MicroStrategy, S&P Global, Roblox, and Cloudflare. If you like your financial updates with a little flair, Ferrari’s pulling up to the line too.

NEWS
The Daily Rundown

• 🌐 Tariff Talks Continue Between U.S. and China: The U.S. and China agreed to extend their tariff truce talks following meetings in Stockholm. The negotiations aim to prevent a new wave of tariffs ahead of the August 12 deadline. While details remain scarce, the discussions signal a desire for stability. Final decisions now rest with President Trump

• 🕊️ UK Threatens Palestinian Recognition Without Ceasefire: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned that Britain will recognize Palestine unless Israel agrees to a Gaza ceasefire by September. Israel slammed the move as “a reward for Hamas.” The ultimatum includes demands to allow humanitarian aid and halt West Bank annexation. It puts new pressure on Israel amid growing international scrutiny.

• 💳 JPMorgan May Replace Goldman as Apple Card Partner: JPMorgan Chase is in advanced talks to take over Apple’s credit card partnership from Goldman Sachs. Goldman is reportedly looking to exit after years of losses from the deal. Apple sees JPMorgan as a more stable long-term partner. A final agreement could be reached in the coming weeks.

• 🍽️ Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau Dine in Montreal: Katy Perry and former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were spotted dining together in Montreal. The pair shared lobster and drinks at a high-end restaurant. Their meetup sparked a wave of speculation online. Neither has commented on the nature of their relationship

• 🌊 8.8-Magnitude Quake Triggers Pacific Tsunami Alerts: One of the strongest earthquakes in decades hit Russia’s Far East, prompting tsunami warnings for Japan, Hawaii, and even parts of California. Waves reached multiple coastlines, though major damage has not been reported. Hawaii’s governor said an “all clear” may come within hours. Officials warn tsunami effects could last all day in some areas.

• ⚡ AI Data Centers Blamed for Soaring Power Bills: Residents across 13 U.S. states are seeing summer energy bills jump up to 20%, largely due to surging demand from AI data centers. PJM Interconnection’s annual capacity auction saw prices spike 833%, with data centers driving most of the increase. Add climate-related grid upgrades and heat domes to the mix, and relief looks far off. Trump says he’ll halve energy costs, but experts predict the opposite.

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