Track the evolution of major financial and economic events
BlackBerry reported Q1 fiscal 2027 revenue of $153 million, exceeding analyst estimates. The company's shares rose 8% in premarket trading after raising its annual revenue forecast. BlackBerry achieved a 144% year-over-year growth in adjusted EBITDA and a GAAP operating income of about $15 million. On June 26, BlackBerry reported revenue of $157.33 million, up 26% year-over-year, prompting RBC Capital to raise its price target to $9.00. On July 1, BlackBerry reported better-than-expected Q1 results, driving a 22% surge in its stock.
On June 25, Apple announced price increases of $100 to $300 on MacBooks and iPads due to higher memory and storage costs driven by AI demand. On June 26, Apple confirmed price hikes on iPad, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, HomePod, and Apple TV, citing rising memory and storage chip costs due to AI industry demand. On June 29, Apple announced it would release software updates earlier than usual in response to AI-driven security concerns.
On June 25, Volkswagen shares rose 2.4% after announcing the sale of a majority stake in its engine unit Everllence for €7.4 billion ($8.41 billion). On June 26, Volkswagen announced plans to cut 100,000 jobs and end production at four German plants over the coming years, marking the most radical overhaul in the company's 89-year history. On June 28, Bild newspaper reported that Volkswagen plans to end its automated driving partnership with Bosch as part of cost-cutting and competitiveness efforts.
On June 24, Anthropic accused Chinese tech giant Alibaba of carrying out the largest known distillation attack on its AI models to date. Anthropic sent a letter to U.S. officials claiming Alibaba attempted to illicitly extract capabilities from its Claude AI model. On July 1, the United States lifted export restrictions on Anthropic's Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models.
On June 24, Micron reported a significant beat on EPS, revenue, margins, and guidance. Following this, MU shares rallied after hours as AI memory demand showed no signs of slowing down.
Truist Financial raised its price target for American Express from $360 to $375 while maintaining a Buy rating. On July 1, Piper Sandler initiated coverage of the payments and consumer finance sector, positioning American Express as a key holding. A Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model suggests AXP's fair value could be $403.04, indicating it is 16% undervalued. On July 7, TD Cowen raised its price target for American Express from $330 to $338 while maintaining a hold rating.
The Apple-Intel chip manufacturing deal is facing timeline challenges, with analysts expecting production to take two to three years. On June 25, Apple raised prices on Macs by 15-20% and iPads by 15-25% due to soaring memory and storage costs. On the same day, Apple stock fell nearly 4.89% following the price hike. Apple stated that unprecedented demand for memory from AI data centers caused the increase. On July 2, American Express expanded its partnership with Apple to allow cardholders to redeem rewards points at checkout via Apple Pay.
US futures for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 rose by 0.3% and 0.5% respectively as semiconductor stocks began to recover. Markets are closely watching Micron's third-quarter earnings to assess the sustainability of the AI-driven trade. Additionally, Alphabet shares increased by 0.5% following the news that it will replace Verizon in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
On June 24, Tesla, Sunrun, and Renew Home announced an agreement to deliver over 16 gigawatts of flexible energy capacity to hyperscalers and utilities. On June 25, Tesla announced plans to increase production at its Berlin plant by 20% to 7,500 vehicles per week starting in October, requiring the recruitment of an additional 1,000 employees.
KB Home reported Q2 revenue of $1.11 billion, a decrease from $1.53 billion a year earlier due to pressures in the U.S. housing market. Following these results, the company narrowed its full-year financial outlook. Despite the drop in revenue, shares of the company rose following the announcement of the financial results in June 2023.
FedEx reported its fiscal 2026 fourth-quarter financial results after the market close on June 23. FedEx shares declined as the company's earnings guidance for fiscal year 2027 came in below expectations. The fourth quarter was the last to include the freight business before its spin-off into a separate company on June 1. On July 1, the Financial Times reported that CMA CGM is nearing a $1.4 billion deal to acquire FedEx's logistics unit.
Carnival shares fell nearly 6% after issuing a third-quarter profit outlook that missed analyst expectations. Although the company reported adjusted earnings of $0.41 per share for the quarter ended May 31, beating the $0.33 estimate, the weak outlook overshadowed this achievement. JPMorgan maintained an Overweight rating on Carnival following a Q2 earnings beat. The company's cost-saving measures helped offset yield pressure and weakness in the European market. However, Carnival faces risks from debt, fuel, currency, and costs.
On June 23, Microsoft signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Chevron to supply 2.67 GW of electricity to its West Texas data centers. The power will be generated from a West Texas natural gas facility known as Project Kilby, with generation expected to start in 2028. On June 24, Microsoft purchased seven gas turbines from GE Vernova to power its new Texas data center project, which is being developed in collaboration with Chevron as part of a $7 billion project. On July 1, Business Insider reported that Microsoft plans to lay off less than 2.5% of its workforce in its latest round of job cuts.
On June 22, IBM announced a partnership with OpenAI to integrate frontier AI capabilities into enterprise cybersecurity workflows. On June 25, IBM unveiled the world's first sub-1 nanometer chip technology, featuring a 0.7 nm node and a 3D nanostack transistor architecture, packing nearly 100 billion transistors on a fingernail-sized die. On June 26, IBM introduced a sub-1 nanometer chip design incorporating approximately 100 billion transistors, about twice the density of its current 2nm technology.
On June 22, Ondas announced securing over $40 million in new orders for autonomous defense systems and loitering munition systems. The company's total order activity for the second quarter of 2026 has exceeded $150 million. On June 23, Ondas acquired Cyberhawk for $125 million in cash to enhance its AI-driven asset data and analytics capabilities. On June 26, Ondas partnered with Lockheed Martin to integrate Sentrycs' Cyber-over-RF technology into its Sanctum counter-drone system.
News Corp reported total share repurchases of approximately $317.1 million to date under its $1 billion program. On June 23, the company stated that it has executed approximately $320.5 million in share repurchases. On June 25, News Corp provided an update on its $1 billion stock repurchase program, with over $326 million in shares bought back as of June 24, 2026. Repurchases are conducted on the open market with Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC as broker to enhance shareholder value.
On June 22, Chevron and Microsoft signed a 20-year agreement to power a $7 billion data center project in Texas. On June 25, Chevron CFO Eimear Bonner told CNBC she expects U.S. gasoline prices to fall. Bonner's comments came after President Trump accused Big Oil of "gouging" consumers for not lowering gasoline prices despite lower oil prices.
Oracle implemented a large-scale restructuring, laying off approximately 21,000 employees, or 13% of its workforce, during fiscal year 2026. The move aims to redirect resources toward heavy investment in artificial intelligence technology. Following the disclosure, Oracle shares fell about 5% to trade around $175.07.
S&P 500 bullish opening odds on Polymarket slumped to 28% following Trump's threats of tolls on the Strait of Hormuz and stalled peace talks in Switzerland. Traders turned overwhelmingly bearish for Tuesday's opening after a significant technology-led market selloff. Despite ongoing semiconductor weakness, Polymarket participants now expect an S&P 500 rebound on Wednesday.
On June 21, three AI-related tech companies achieved revenue growth that exceeded investor expectations. Micron is benefiting from a severe memory shortage driven by AI demand. On June 25, Micron stock surged after earnings results indicated the memory-chip boom could last longer than anticipated. On July 2, an AI sector stock is showing technical strength by finding support near a key entry point.
HSBC Holdings PLC bolstered its US equity exposure by significantly increasing stakes in United Rentals, Motorola Solutions, Genuine Parts Company, and Sysco Corporation. The bank also raised its investment in Edison International while reducing its positions in PPG Industries and Textron Inc. Despite the reduction in Textron, HSBC maintains a $51.79 million holding in the company, which recently reported Q1 earnings that exceeded analyst estimates.
AEGON Asset Management UK Plc significantly reduced its holdings by selling 60.3% of its stake in Expedia Group and 33.9% of its position in Lam Research. While Virtu Financial also cut its Expedia position by 69.7%, Corient Private Wealth increased its stakes in both Expedia and Autodesk during the same period. These transactions highlight a period of active portfolio adjustments by major institutional investors across the technology and travel sectors.
Tesla is facing increased regulatory scrutiny as European regulators question its Full Self-Driving (FSD) features, while US senators have requested an audit of the company's safety claims. Despite improving fundamentals in vehicle sales and battery storage, Tesla's stock is trading above analyst price targets. Concurrently, a rival humanoid robotics startup backed by Nvidia and Amazon is planning to go public through a SPAC merger.
Cerebras Systems is set to report its Q1 results on June 23, 2026, with performance expected to be driven by rising AI infrastructure demand and its collaboration with AWS. Ahead of the report, Wedbush reiterated an Outperform rating and a $270 price target for the company. However, options pricing indicates trader skepticism regarding a stock recovery, as shares face pressure from a broader sell-off across the semiconductor sector.
