Track the evolution of major financial and economic events
Bitmine Immersion Technologies expanded its Ethereum holdings by purchasing an additional 9,946 tokens on July 27. The company's total treasury has now reached 5,787,414 tokens, representing approximately 4.8% of the total supply. This acquisition coincided with increased share buyback activity aimed at boosting shareholder returns.
Bank of Hawai‘i reported a net income of $63.8 million for Q2 2026, an 11.1% increase from the linked quarter, with diluted earnings per share of $1.47. The bank's performance beat estimates driven by strong net interest income and loan growth, while return on average common equity rose to 15.47%. Despite these positive results, share prices fell 4.7% following reports of declining fee income and deposit balances.
AstraZeneca announced on July 27 that its drug Ultomiris failed to meet the primary goal in a late-stage clinical trial for patients with blood vessel complications. On August 2, the Financial Times reported that the company had recently held merger discussions with Bristol Myers Squibb. These events outline a period of clinical setbacks and strategic exploration for the pharmaceutical giant.
AstraZeneca exceeded second-quarter profit expectations on July 27, driven by strong demand for cancer and heart disease therapies. The company reaffirmed its 2026 financial outlook to ease investor concerns following a recent clinical trial failure. However, shares declined on August 3 amid reports of potential merger discussions with Bristol Myers Squibb. This decline could mark the stock's largest one-day percentage drop since the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
Sberbank, Russia's largest lender, plans to establish a cryptocurrency trading infrastructure and a digital depository by December 2026 to support foreign trade operations. This move comes amid increased legal scrutiny, as Russian authorities recently detained BitRiver's founder on fraud charges related to a $12.5 million deal. Furthermore, Russia has implemented a mining ban in Moscow and other regions through 2032 to address power supply concerns.
Shein reported an unexpected quarterly loss as it prepares for its initial public offering in Hong Kong, leading the company to consider a valuation reset for late-stage investors. Growth and profitability have been negatively impacted by new U.S. tariffs and the removal of the de minimis exemption. Furthermore, the company anticipates further sales declines in Europe, its largest market, due to similar upcoming regulatory changes.
Intel reported quarterly earnings featuring its best revenue growth in 15 years, initially boosting investor confidence and signaling a dramatic comeback from previous lows. Despite beating profit estimates and impressing analysts, the stock price subsequently dropped 3% to $97.50 in morning trading. This decline occurred as the market brushed off the positive results following an initial surge, highlighting a volatile reaction to the company's significant financial recovery.
The European Union included the cryptocurrency exchange HTX in its latest round of Russia-related sanctions on July 24. On July 25, HTX and several other crypto platforms were officially added to the sanctions list. Consequently, all transactions with these listed platforms will be prohibited starting August 23, 2026.
Lamb Weston reported fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year results that exceeded the high end of its guidance, driven by volume growth in North America despite input cost inflation and Middle East disruptions. The company's stock rallied 6.8% following the announcement of these results. Furthermore, Lamb Weston issued an optimistic profit outlook for fiscal 2027, with adjusted earnings per share expected to be slightly above consensus estimates.
NextEra Energy exceeded Wall Street estimates for second-quarter adjusted profit, driven by strength in its renewables unit and increased power demand. The company's renewables backlog reached 35.1 GW, fueled by massive demand from AI data centers. NextEra reported a 9.5% year-over-year increase in adjusted EPS and reaffirmed its 2026 guidance, targeting the top end of the $3.92–$4.02 range.
Verizon raised its annual forecast for adjusted profit and free cash flow after beating wireless subscriber estimates in the June quarter. Despite this growth, the company reported Q2 earnings of $1.30 per share, missing analyst estimates. Revenue reached $34.253 billion, which also fell short of financial expectations for the quarter.
SLB reported mixed Q2 2026 financial results, with revenue growing 5% year-on-year to $8.97 billion, driven by international and North American markets. Despite a 21% drop in pre-tax income to $1.018 billion, the company posted earnings per share of $0.55, surpassing analyst estimates. Following its fourth consecutive quarter of beating expectations, SLB's stock surged 11%. Net income attributable to the company on a GAAP basis stood at $786 million for the period.
A federal judge has extended the pause on the Paramount-Skydance acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery until August 17, 2026, moving the previous deadline from July 22. The court-ordered extension comes amid ongoing legal challenges surrounding the merger. Consequently, Paramount has agreed to delay the potential completion of the acquisition to as late as June 2027.
On July 23, Mapfre S.A. agreed to acquire Safety Insurance Group in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $1.54 billion, or $105 per share. Following this, stockholders of Corebridge Financial and Equitable Holdings officially approved a merger between the two entities on July 30. Finally, on August 3, American Family Mutual Insurance Company announced a $1.2 billion all-cash deal to acquire Bowhead Specialty.
Between July 23 and July 30, several U.S. energy and service firms reported mixed second-quarter results for 2026. Comfort Systems USA and Hilltop Holdings saw significant profit growth, with the latter increasing its quarterly dividend by 10%. While Ovintiv and EMCOR raised their future production and financial guidance, other companies faced challenges. Specifically, First Majestic and Comstock Resources failed to meet profit and revenue expectations, respectively.
Edwards Lifesciences reported a 13.6% increase in Q2 2026 sales to $1.74 billion, with adjusted EPS reaching $0.78. The growth was driven by robust demand in TAVR sales, which rose 11.3% to $1.26 billion, and a significant 47.3% surge in Transcatheter Mitral and Tricuspid Therapies (TMTT) revenue. Following these strong results, the company has raised its full-year sales guidance.
Options traders anticipated significant volatility for mega-cap tech firms like Apple, Meta, and Microsoft ahead of their earnings reports. By July 30, market participants expected major price movements for Apple and Amazon, with Apple potentially nearing record highs. Consequently, the S&P 500 surged 6.48% during the week ending August 5, driven by equity options trading. This upward momentum was further accelerated by a gamma squeeze phenomenon as options positions were hedged.
Intel's stock experienced a significant surge following the release of its quarterly earnings results on July 23. The official financial report triggered a strong rally, causing the stock price to soar. This performance marked a shift in market sentiment, moving from negative technical anticipation to a robust upward trend based on the financial data.
Banco Santander reported a record underlying profit of €7.3 billion for the first half of 2026, a 15% increase driven by digital transformation and AI initiatives that raised RoTE to 15.6%. Following these results, Morgan Stanley raised its price target for the bank to €13.80. Additionally, State Street signed an agreement to acquire the Santander CACEIS Latam Securities Services joint venture to expand its presence in Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia. The transaction, expected to close in 2027, will add approximately $470 billion in assets under custody and $225 billion in assets under administration.
The Trump administration prepared a new strategy as the global tariff deadline approached. On July 23, the administration began developing replacements for the 10 percent global tariffs set to expire at midnight. By July 25, President Trump had replaced the expiring tariffs with a series of new ones following the global deadline.
On July 23, a group of regional banks and US corporations, including Reliance and Infosys, released their Q2 2026 financial results. Additionally, Infosys Limited released its Q1 2027 fiscal results in accordance with its specific reporting schedule. These disclosures provide key financial performance data for the respective reporting periods.
American Electric Power (AEP) released its Q2 2026 financial results following market anticipation of growth and technical skepticism from analysts regarding a potential earnings beat. The company reported operating earnings of $742 million, or $1.36 per share, for the quarter. Following these results, AEP raised its full-year 2026 operating earnings guidance to a range of $6.25–$6.55 per share.
Q2 results showed mixed performance across several companies on July 23. Nasdaq, Dover Corporation, and Civista Bancshares all beat earnings estimates, with Nasdaq reporting $1.07 per share. Conversely, Visteon missed expectations, reporting earnings of $1.91 per share against a forecasted $2.23.
Freeport-McMoRan released its Q2 2026 financial results, reporting an adjusted EPS of $0.74, which exceeded the expected $0.62. Revenue reached $7.03 billion, beating market estimates due to high copper and gold prices, prompting RBC Capital to raise its price target to $73. The company hosted a conference call on July 23 to discuss these results with securities analysts.
