Good Afternoon. On this day in 1914, Cleveland switched on the first electric traffic signal in the United States at Euclid Avenue and East 105th Street.

Today’s market got its own stop-and-go display: companies with visible earnings power saw green, ambitious spending met red, and services prices stayed stubbornly yellow.

—Rosie, Wyatt, Evan & Conor

🔥 What’s Hot: 🔥

🥶 What’s Not: 🥶

🔢 Big number: 50% — That’s the profit growth Wall Street expects from the S&P 500 once this earnings season is complete. It’s a powerful support for record-level stocks, but it also raises the cost of any future disappointment.

SpaceX delivered the kind of growth that usually clears the launchpad, but investors didn’t ignore the fuel bill. Its first public-company quarter turned artificial intelligence from an exciting side project into the main test of whether management can spend at scale without losing financial discipline.

The news: Quarterly revenue climbed 92% to $7.81 billion, led by $4.29 billion from connectivity and $2.56 billion from AI, while the net loss narrowed to $541 million. Shares were down close to 13.2% late in the session as investors focused on the cash required for AI infrastructure and SpaceX’s decision to build it exclusively with Nvidia chips.

Bottom line: Revenue growth can’t settle a capital-allocation debate by itself. SpaceX still has roughly $100 billion of cash and marketable securities and a $47.5 billion order backlog, but investors will want the backlog to become cash before spending absorbs too much of that cushion. The next reports need to connect construction outlays with utilization, margins, and durable customer commitments.

Source: Axios

The Walt Disney Company isn’t relying on a single hit or business line to carry the quarter. A popular movie, stronger domestic parks, cruises, streaming, and merchandise all reinforced one another, showing why intellectual property becomes more valuable when the same audience relationship can travel across formats.

The news: Revenue rose 7% to $25.2 billion, total segment operating income increased 21% to $5.6 billion, and free cash flow jumped 63% to $3.1 billion. Experiences operating income grew 20%, while “Toy Story 5” passed $1 billion at the global box office. Management’s now targeting at least $9 billion of share repurchases this fiscal year.

Big picture: Disney’s strongest result isn’t just the movie ticket; it’s the spending that follows through parks, products, cruises, and streaming. That flywheel gives the company more ways to recover the cost of creating a franchise, but it won’t protect every division. Sports operating income fell 17%, and softness at Asian parks means management still has to protect margins outside its brightest spots.

Source: The Walt Disney Company

America’s service economy kept expanding in July, but the details didn’t offer a clean green light. Activity and new orders improved while employment contracted and price pressure accelerated, leaving businesses with more work to do but less confidence that every new sale will carry an easier margin.

The news: The Institute for Supply Management’s Services PMI edged up to 54.1, its 25th straight month of expansion. Business activity rose to 59.1 and new orders reached 57.2, yet employment fell to 47.4. The prices index climbed to 70.3, its fourth reading above 70 in five months and its twentieth consecutive month above 60.

What’s next: Demand isn’t the immediate problem; converting it into profitable growth is. Companies may need to keep pricing, staffing, and supplier plans flexible if fuel, software, and technical labor stay expensive. The Federal Reserve will be watching whether service inflation spreads further, while workers should watch whether the employment index’s contraction turns into broader hiring caution.

Source: Institute for Supply Management

Booking Holdings found that households haven’t abandoned travel despite geopolitical and economic uncertainty. The company turned durable trip demand into higher revenue and operating earnings, suggesting people are still protecting experiences even when other parts of the budget require more careful choices.

The news: Revenue increased 8% to $7.35 billion, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization rose 9% to $2.65 billion, and adjusted profit grew 8%. Management’s also lifted the savings target for its transformation program to $650 million, though it expects third-quarter revenue, gross bookings, and adjusted earnings growth to moderate to 4%–6%.

Bottom line: Strong summer demand doesn’t make travel immune to war, airfares, or consumer fatigue. Booking’s wider savings plan can support margins if growth slows, but cutting costs can’t replace healthy room-night demand indefinitely. Watch booking trends later in the quarter, marketing efficiency, and any fresh disruption from the Middle East before treating today’s resilience as a permanent cruising speed.

Source: Cinco Días

Uber is moving beyond the argument that growth will eventually produce cash. More customers are using the platform more often, and the company’s earnings are rising faster than bookings, giving it room to fund autonomous-vehicle plans without asking investors to ignore the economics of today’s business.

The news: Gross bookings rose 24% to $58.0 billion, trips increased 18% to 3.9 billion, and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization grew 33% to $2.8 billion. Trailing twelve-month free cash flow topped $10 billion for the first time. It’s expecting third-quarter constant-currency booking growth of 18%–22%.

Big picture: A larger platform can’t coast on size alone; it has to keep customers, drivers, couriers, and merchants seeing value at the same time. Uber’s cash generation gives it options, but autonomous-vehicle investment could consume those gains before the business model is settled. Watch trip frequency, insurance costs, and free cash flow as management balances today’s network with tomorrow’s technology.

Source: Uber

China’s services sector stayed in expansion, but it moved much closer to the stop line. Softer domestic demand slowed new business, and confidence sank even as export orders improved, creating a split between the help arriving from abroad and the caution still visible at home.

The news: The RatingDog China General Services PMI fell to 50.4 in July from 54.1, below the 53.7 market forecast and the slowest expansion since September 2024. New business growth eased to a four-month low, while export orders rose for a third consecutive month. It’s also the weakest business sentiment since February 2020.

What’s next: Foreign demand can’t carry China’s vast service economy on its own. Consumer-facing businesses will want evidence that domestic orders, hiring, and confidence are stabilizing before expanding aggressively. Policymakers may face more pressure to support household demand, but companies shouldn’t build plans around stimulus alone; the useful signal will be a sustained rebound in new business and willingness to spend.

Source: Trading Economics

Japan’s service businesses are still growing, but demand is losing speed while costs remain difficult to absorb. That’s an uncomfortable combination for companies trying to protect margins without pushing customers away, and it keeps the inflation debate alive even as the economy’s momentum softens.

The news: The services index was revised down to 51.2 for July from 52.2 in June. New business growth slowed to a 25-month low, foreign demand declined for a fourth month, and hiring increased more slowly. Input-cost inflation accelerated to near June’s four-year record, while selling-price increases were the second-fastest on record.

Bottom line: Slower demand won’t automatically produce lower prices when energy, labor, and imported inputs remain expensive. Japanese households may keep trading down, while businesses exposed to the yen or fuel costs will want more room in their budgets. Watch wages, currency moves, and the Bank of Japan’s response to see whether the squeeze becomes temporary or entrenched.

Source: Trading Economics

Ahold Delhaize isn’t chasing growth by asking shoppers to absorb every cost increase. The Dutch grocery group is leaning on private-label products, lower prices, loyalty data, and online convenience to protect traffic while customers remain selective across both Europe and the United States.

The news: Quarterly sales reached €23.2 billion, up 1.9% at constant exchange rates, with comparable sales excluding gasoline rising 0.8% in the United States and 1.7% in Europe. Online sales grew 8.6%, including 14.5% U.S. growth, while underlying operating margin eased to 3.9%. It’s now getting more than 40% of food sales from private-label products.

Big picture: Value-conscious shopping doesn’t mean grocery demand disappears; it changes which products and channels win. Ahold’s own brands and online growth can deepen loyalty, but price investments, energy costs, and lower U.S. nutrition benefits can still compress margins. Watch volume and market share alongside profitability to see whether affordability efforts create durable customers instead of a temporary sales lift.

Source: Ahold Delhaize

Q: Why’d the earnings report wait at the traffic light?

A: It didn’t want to move before guidance turned green.

A measure of how efficiently a company turns the money invested in its business into after-tax operating profit.

In a sentence: SpaceX’s spending makes return on invested capital the next test, because fast revenue growth won’t settle whether its AI buildout earns enough.

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