🤖 Tesla Robot Falls Behind

+ Newmont Stock Jumps on Strong Q2 Earnings and Soaring Gold Prices

July 25, 2025

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Good afternoon! YouTube raked in $9.8 billion in ad revenue last quarter, beating expectations and flexing its growing dominance on living room TVs. It now commands 12.8% of total TV usage more than Netflix with no other streamer even cracking 5%.

Shorts is pulling its weight, ad-wise, and YouTube’s first free global NFL livestream is set for September. With Alphabet pouring $85 billion into AI this year, don’t be surprised if your next video rec feels eerily on point.

MARKETS

*Stock data as of market close*

  • The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 both closed at all-time highs Friday, wrapping up a week packed with strong earnings and trade optimism. The S&P locked in its 14th record close of the year, while the Nasdaq hit its 15th.

  • Materials led the charge, thanks to Newmont’s 6.8% surge after posting standout results. But not everyone joined the climb—communications and energy sectors slipped, and trade talks with Brazil hit pause.

STOCKS
Winners & Losers

What’s up 📈

  • Deckers Outdoor soared 11.35% after smashing earnings expectations, driven by strong international sales of its UGG boots and Hoka athletic shoes. ($DECK)

  • Newmont climbed 6.89% following a gold-fueled earnings beat, with record quarterly free cash flow and a bullish 2025 outlook. ($NEM)

  • Boston Beer rose 6.54% after the company reported strong tariff management and solid cost control efforts. ($SAM)

  • Centene added 6.09% despite Medicaid and Medicare membership declines, as investors cheered management’s plan to get earnings back on track. ($CNC)

  • Tesla gained 3.52% after reports that its robotaxi service will debut in San Francisco as early as this weekend. ($TSLA)

  • Palantir rose 2.54%, lifting it into the ranks of the 20 most valuable U.S. companies by market cap. ($PLTR)

What’s down 📉

  • Charter Communications plunged 18.49%, logging its worst trading day ever after losing 117,000 broadband subscribers in Q2. The drop dragged down Comcast (-4.78%) and Altice (-9.46%) in sympathy. ($CHTR, $CMCSA, $ATUS)

  • Puma plummeted 14.84% after warning investors about rising tariff-related costs. ($PUMSY)

  • Intel dropped 8.53% after announcing 15% job cuts and a pullback on chip foundry plans, despite a Q2 revenue beat. ($INTC)

ROBOTICS
Tesla Delays Optimus Robot as Production Falls Behind 2025 Goal

Elon Musk says the Optimus robot will be Tesla’s biggest product ever. But according to The Information, the company is nowhere near its 2025 goal of building 5,000 units. Just a few hundred have been made so far, and many don’t even have arms. Engineering challenges are piling up, and production is falling behind schedule.

Investors Don’t Seem to Care

Despite the delay, Tesla shares jumped nearly 5 percent. Traders are still betting on the long-term vision, even if the timeline keeps slipping. Musk believes every home and business will eventually own a $20,000 Optimus, and he expects Tesla to produce 100,000 per month within five years.

Robotaxis Are the Real Priority

While Optimus stumbles, Tesla is rolling out its robotaxi pilot in the Bay Area. A select group of Tesla owners will get rides across San Francisco and surrounding cities. The catch is that there will still be a human behind the wheel. This follows a smaller pilot in Austin and could be Tesla’s stepping stone toward broader rollout.
On the latest earnings call, Musk warned that the next few quarters might be rough. EV sales are down. Revenue slipped 12 percent. But he insists things will flip once autonomy kicks in. Production of the latest Optimus version won’t begin until early 2026, and full-scale robotaxi service is still waiting on regulatory approval.

Regulators Aren’t Onboard Yet: California officials say Tesla hasn’t applied for the permits needed to offer fully autonomous rides. Even as Musk talks up approvals in states like Nevada and Florida, the hurdles remain high. Tesla’s future is banking on robots and autonomy. But for now, it’s still very much a work in progress.

NEWS
Market Movements

GOLD
Newmont Stock Jumps on Strong Q2 Earnings and Soaring Gold Prices

Newmont stock surged nearly 7% Friday after the world’s largest publicly traded gold miner smashed Wall Street’s expectations. The company reported Q2 adjusted earnings of $1.43 per share (vs. $1.16 expected) and revenue of $5.3 billion (vs. $4.84 billion forecast), powered largely by booming gold prices. Gold revenue alone jumped 26% to $4.58 billion more than offsetting dips in other metals like copper and silver.

Golden Guidance and Buybacks

Newmont isn’t just stacking bullion, it’s also returning value to shareholders. The company announced a new $3 billion stock repurchase program, having already bought back more shares this year than all of 2024. It reaffirmed full-year guidance, with plans to produce 5.9 million ounces of gold and spend $3.1 billion on sustaining and development capital across its Tier 1 mines.

Price of Gold Is Gleaming

With gold trading near $3,320 per ounce up nearly $1,000 from a year ago investors are leaning hard into the yellow metal amid inflation jitters, geopolitical tension, and market swings. Newmont’s gold-driven revenue boost reflects that shift: $1.86 billion of its $1.9 billion year-over-year sales growth came from gold alone.

Rescue in the Rocks: Outside the earnings glow, Newmont pulled off a dramatic rescue at its Red Chris mine in British Columbia, where three workers were trapped underground for over 60 hours. The miners, caught behind fallen debris in a non-producing zone, took shelter in a refuge area while Newmont deployed a remote-controlled scoop to clear a path. All were safely brought to the surface late Thursday night, with the company promising a full investigation.

Calendar
On The Horizon

Next Week

Next week is shaping up to be a firehose of economic data, with the labor market front and center. It all kicks off Tuesday with fresh reads on home prices, consumer confidence, and job openings. But that’s just the appetizer Wednesday drops the ADP jobs report, Q2 GDP, and pending home sales, before Thursday brings a key inflation check via the PCE Index.

The main event? Wednesday’s Fed decision. The FOMC wraps its meeting and Jerome Powell steps up to the mic, just as President Trump likely warms up his thumbs for a Truth Social reaction. Toss in Friday’s nonfarm payrolls and a flood of earnings reports, and next week might be anything but quiet on Wall Street.

Earnings:

  • Monday: Waste Management, Western Union, Nucor, Welltower, and Cadence Design Systems ease us into the week.

  • Tuesday: Things ramp up fast with UPS, PayPal, Visa, Starbucks, Procter & Gamble, UnitedHealth, Spotify, SoFi, Boeing, Merck, Royal Caribbean, JetBlue, AstraZeneca, Corning, Stanley Black & Decker, Marathon Digital, EA, Mondelez, Ecolab, CBRE, and Cheesecake Factory all on deck.

  • Wednesday: Big Tech takes the spotlight as Microsoft, Meta, and Qualcomm report alongside HSBC, ARM, ADP, UBS, Rio Tinto, Robinhood, Altria, Ford, eBay, Carvana, Old Dominion, Kraft Heinz, Dexcom, Humana, and Hershey.

  • Thursday: Brace yourself: Apple, Amazon, Mastercard, Coinbase, MicroStrategy, AbbVie, Shell, S&P Global, Stryker, Unilever, Anheuser-Busch, Comcast, Sanofi, British American Tobacco, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Cigna, Roblox, CVS, Cloudflare, and Ferrari all hit the tape.

  • Friday: Closing the week: Exxon, Chevron, Linde, Colgate-Palmolive, Dominion Energy, Regeneron, Kimberly-Clark, Moderna, Franklin Resources, Ingredion, Liberty Global, and AMC.

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NEWS
The Daily Rundown

  • 💥 Thailand Launches Airstrikes in Cambodian Border Clash: Thailand reportedly launched airstrikes on Cambodian military targets as border violence flared over long-standing territorial disputes. The escalation has resulted in at least 11 deaths—including civilians—and forced over 100,000 refugees to flee. Fighting around ancient temple sites involved rockets, artillery fire, and ground assaults. ASEAN and UN officials are urging both sides to de-escalate before the conflict spirals further.

  • 🚖 Lyft Adds Driver Block and Favorite Features: Lyft introduced new options for riders to either block specific drivers or mark favorites to increase chances of being paired again. Favorite drivers get prioritized access to scheduled rides, enhancing trust and ride consistency. The update also includes a new in-app Safety Hub for managing preferences like trip PINs and anonymous reviews. Rollout is underway across the U.S. and Canada, with full nationwide availability expected soon.

  • 📉 U.S. Fertility Rate Drops to Historic Low: Federal data show that the U.S. fertility rate fell to an all-time low of approximately 1.6 children per woman in 2024. That figure lies well below the 2.1 level needed to replace the population and marks a significant downward trend. Economists and demographers cite delayed marriages, career prioritization, and economic pressures as major factors. With immigration contributing modestly to population stability, lawmakers are exploring incentives like IVF expansion and “baby savings” programs.

  • 📡 NBCUniversal May Launch Sports Cable Network: Media reports indicate NBCUniversal is considering launching a dedicated sports cable channel to mirror its Peacock streaming offerings. The channel would carry content like NBA games and other live sports events currently on Peacock and NBC Sports. It’s expected to be part of specialty TV packages and could debut by fall 2025. Observers see the move as a counterbalance to streaming-only models and a bet on live sports driving subscriptions.

  • ☕ McDonald’s Will Test Flavored Coffees and Dirty Sodas: McDonald’s plans to roll out a new drink menu this September featuring flavored cold brews and “dirty sodas,” spiked with syrups and fruit flavors. The beverages will be tested in over 500 U.S. restaurants across Wisconsin and Colorado before a potential national launch. The lineup, inspired by the company’s short-lived CosMc’s brand, aims to tap into Gen Z’s thirst for colorful, unconventional drinks. McDonald’s hopes the strategy will boost off-beverage sales in afternoon and limited-time moments.

  • ✈️ Russian Plane Crash Kills 48: A passenger plane crashed in Russia’s Far East, killing all 48 people onboard, including children. The aircraft, believed to be a Soviet-era Antonov, lost contact shortly before landing near Tynda. Emergency responders recovered the black box as authorities investigate the cause. Preliminary reports suggest poor visibility may have played a role.

  • 🤖 OpenAI to Release GPT‑5 in August: OpenAI is preparing to launch GPT‑5 next month, with major upgrades in reasoning and performance. The update may include an improved version of its video generator, Sora. CEO Sam Altman hinted it could be a defining moment for AI capabilities. A separate open-weight model is also expected by late July.

  • 🦠 Scientists Find New Way to Block Ebola: Researchers used a CRISPR-based screen to discover nearly 1,000 human genes that help Ebola infect cells. By turning off specific genes, they reduced the virus’s ability to spread. The breakthrough could lead to new treatments that target host factors instead of the virus itself. Experts say it’s a major step for pandemic preparedness.

  • 🌋 Grand Canyon Yields Rare Fossils: Paleontologists found soft-bodied Cambrian fossils in the Grand Canyon, including strange worm-like creatures and filter feeders. The fossils date back over 500 million years and are among the best preserved ever found in North America. Scientists say the site bridges a critical gap in the fossil record. The discovery sheds new light on early animal evolution.

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