Stock Market Today: Major Indexes Tick Lower as Tech Shares Come Under Pressure, Oil Prices Rise

Cybersecurity Stocks Surge, With Crowdstrike and Palo Alto Networks Leading the Charge

FROM 11 minutes ago

Cybersecurity stocks were a bright spot in Monday’s trading at a time when broader markets declined.

CrowdStrike (CRWD) and Palo Alto Networks (PANW) shares were up about 5% recently, among the biggest gainers on the S&P 500 and on track to set closing records. Fortinet (FTNT), Cloudflare (NET) and SentinelOne (S) were also higher.

Analysts from Deutsche Bank said in a note to clients Monday that they came away from a cybersecurity industry event last week more bullish on the sector, pointing to the “pace and scale of AI innovation across the industry.” They called Palo Alto Networks their “top pick,” citing its “role in defining the market.”

In a report Friday, Citrini Research also highlighted Palo Alto Networks as a likely beneficiary of growing AI adoption and risks, along with Cloudflare and Fortinet, among others. The increase in interest in cybersecurity stocks comes as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta Platforms (META) have each said in recent weeks that their models hacked into outside companies during internal testing, raising cybersecurity concerns. 

Monday’s gains extend what’s been a strong stretch for many cybersecurity stocks. CrowdStrike shares have nearly doubled in value this year, while Palo Alto Networks and Fortinet shares have more than doubled year-to-date. SentinelOne shares are up close to 50%.

–Aaron McDade

Intel Slips After Chipmaker Announces $15 Billion Stock Sale

FROM 44 minutes ago

Intel shares fell about 3% on Monday after the chipmaker announced plans to issue $15 billion of stock to meet booming demand for AI-enabling semiconductors. 

“Customers continue to signal a strong and sustainable demand environment, driven by unprecedented investment in AI compute,” the company said in a regulatory filing announcing the sale. Intel intends to use proceeds from the sale for general corporate purposes, which may include capital expenditures to pursue growth opportunities including “physical AI, purpose-built silicon, advanced packaging and external wafers.”

Tech companies are spending hundreds of billions annually on AI infrastructure, primarily the graphics processing units (GPUs) designed by Nvidia (NVDA), but also competing offerings from the likes of Broadcom (AVGO) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). Intel last month posted its fastest revenue growth in 15 years amid booming demand for AI computing power. 

Insatiable demand for processors has boosted sales and profits at chipmakers and led them to increase their investments in manufacturing capacity. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM), the world’s largest chipmaker, last month raised its full-year capex forecast to between $60 billion and $64 billion after reporting record quarterly revenue. Intel, the only U.S.-domiciled chipmaker with a significant manufacturing footprint, also raised its capex guidance.

Intel (INTC) was one of the best-performing stocks in the S&P 500 in the first half of 2026. Shares rose as much 280% as investors saw demand for non-GPU AI chips pick up. The stock also got a boost from buzz about potential chip manufacturing deals with tech giants like Apple (AAPL) and the Trump Administration’s financial support for America’s leading chipmaker. Intel, like other chip stocks, has cooled off in the past month, but shares remain up more than 165% year-to-date.

–Colin Laidley

Profits Haven’t Grown Like This Since 2021. Wall Street Has More Than AI To Thank

FROM 1 hr 34 min ago

The broadening earnings growth that has eluded investors for years may have finally arrived.

The S&P 500 is on track to report earnings growth of more than 50% last quarter, the index’s fastest growth rate in five years, according to data from FactSet Research. Profit growth has surpassed Wall Street’s already high expectations: Nearly 90% of S&P 500 companies have reported better-than-expected earnings, also the highest rate in five years. In aggregate, the index has reported profits 29% above estimates, more than four times the five-year average and its biggest earnings beat since FactSet began tracking the metric in 2008.

Robust earnings growth has helped the stock market march to record highs. Strong results from Palantir (PLTR) and Caterpillar (CAT) last week sparked an AI rally spanning semiconductor, software, and industrial stocks. Healthcare stocks rallied after Eli Lilly’s (LLY) earnings topped expectations.

Booming demand for data center equipment is driving explosive growth for chipmakers and memory suppliers—and doing some heavy lifting in earnings reports. The technology sector, which accounted for 60% of S&P 500 earnings in 2025, is on track to report 70% growth, the fourth-highest of all sectors, and the second-highest if one accounts for the boost the communications and consumer discretionary sectors got from rapidly appreciating investments in a few AI companies.

Communications giant Alphabet (GOOG) and consumer discretionary juggernaut Amazon (AMZN) booked a cumulative $150 billion in unrealized investment gains last quarter, helping their paper profits blow past expectations and boost the index’s growth rate. Subtract those two companies and their respective sectors are growing slower than tech, and the S&P 500’s cumulative growth drops from 50% to 32%.

Still, 32% growth is nothing to sneeze at, and it’s been supported by broad-based strength. Eight of 11 sectors are on track to post double-digit growth. Only one—healthcare—is reporting a year-over-year drop in earnings, and it’s beating estimates. The median company in the Russell 3000, which accounts for about 98% of the U.S. stock market, grew earnings 15% last quarter, its fastest pace since 2021.

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–Colin Laidley

Is GameStop Giving Up on eBay?

FROM 2 hr 34 min ago

GameStop could be pulling back from its attempt to merge with eBay. 

Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, on Monday reported that video-game retailer GameStop (GME) “is considering withdrawing” its bid for online auction company eBay (EBAY). GameStop had launched a cash-and-stock bid valued at about $56 billion, which eBay declined, earlier this year. 

Neither company responded to Investopedia’s request for comment in time for publication. Shares of eBay were recently down 3%, while GameStop’s slipped about 1%. 

Bloomberg’s report also said GameStop was “considering proposing a partnership or joint venture that would enable eBay to leverage GameStop’s roughly 1,600 US retail locations.”

GameStop’s shares are off roughly 5% this year, while eBay’s are up nearly 25%.

–David Marino-Nachison

Apple Stock Falls Amid Concerns About iPhone Setback

FROM 3 hr 28 min ago

Apple could be making a major change to its plans for a future iPhone lineup, which could push back future price increases, according to one group of analysts.

Jefferies analysts on Monday downgraded their rating of Apple (AAPL) to “underperform” and trimmed their price target to $264 from $286, citing concerns that their supply checks indicate that Apple’s all-glass iPhone has been canceled. The analysts said they view the development as a “major setback to efforts to bring in higher-priced iPhones amid soaring memory costs.”

Apple shares were down 2% in recent trading to about $306, extending the iPhone maker’s recent pullback after last month’s record rally saw Apple briefly surpass Nvidia (NVDA) as the world’s most valuable company. Shares have trended lower after Apple reported earnings that topped estimates, but its revenue forecast disappointed.

Jefferies said Apple had been planning to release an all-glass iPhone for the 20th anniversary of the first iPhone next September, with an average selling price just over $2,000. They said the glass design could have been extended to future iPhone Pro and Pro Max models, boosting Apple’s sales and potentially providing more of an offset to soaring memory prices. 

Now, the analysts said Apple could be forced to rely on the foldable iPhone that is expected to be announced at next month’s annual launch event to drive price increases, while cautioning that its high price tag could limit the foldable phone to a “niche product.” Apple did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication. 

The new rating puts Jefferies analysts in line with two others tracked by Visible Alpha, while the remaining four analysts that cover Apple have called it a “buy.” Their mean price target of $330 would suggest about 8% upside to Monday’s levels.

–Aaron McDade

Berkshire Is Finally Deploying Its Cash Hoard

FROM 3 hr 54 min ago

Berkshire Hathaway is finally putting its massive cash hoard to work under new CEO Greg Abel, and investors are liking what they see so far. 

Shares of Berkshire Hathaway  (BRK.A, BRK.B) were up more than 2% in recent trading after the conglomerate released its quarterly earnings report over the weekend. The company’s cash pile dropped to $365.5 billion at the end of the second quarter from a record $397.4 billion at the end of the previous quarter, as Abel made some big moves.

Berkshire was a net buyer of stocks for the first time in 14 quarters and acquired homebuilder Taylor Morrison during Abel’s second quarter as CEO. It also kept buying back its own stock, in a bullish signal for the shares.  

Growing profits across Berkshire’s energy, railroad and manufacturing businesses helped offset shrinking profits in its insurance business. Gabelli Funds portfolio manager Macrae Sykes, who called Berkshire’s performance outside of insurance “decent,” wrote in a note Monday that Abel “continues to build shareholder net worth” in his first year as CEO. 

“Investors will be encouraged by the top line growth trends and share repurchases this quarter. Margin expansion at several key units is also commendable,” CFRA analyst Cathy Seifert wrote, though she said the results from Berkshire’s insurance arm “tempers our enthusiasm.”

Monday’s rise extends the stock’s recent winning streak, and brings it within about 1% of its highs last year, just before Warren Buffett announced he would be stepping down at the end of 2025. 

–Kara Greenberg

Nvidia-Backed Lumentum Slides Ahead of Earnings Report

FROM 4 hr 57 min ago

Lumentum (LITE) stock was among the big decliners in the S&P 500 on Monday ahead of the company’s earnings report tomorrow afternoon.

Shares of the optical and photonics products maker were down 6% recently, wiping away the previous session’s big gains. Coming into today’s session, options traders were pricing in a big move for the stock this week.

Analysts are expecting Lumentum to report revenue of $989.91 million, just over double what it reported in the same quarter a year ago. Adjusted earnings per share are estimated to have more than tripled year-over-year to $2.98, per Visible Alpha estimates.

Though off their May highs, Lumentum shares have more than doubled since the start of the year after a string of positive developments, including an investment from Nvidia (NVDA) and bullish comments from analysts and executives about AI-driven demand.

Morgan Stanley analysts recently said in a note that they view Lumentum, along with Corning (GLW) and Coherent (COHR), as the “clearest beneficiaries” of tech companies shifting to using optical connectors rather than traditional wiring to connect hardware in data centers

–Aaron McDade

SpaceX Touches IPO Price

FROM 6 hr 10 min ago

We’re back where we started. 

Shares of SpaceX (SPCX) early Monday rose above $135, the price at which the company sold shares to the public in mid-June, for the first time since July 16.

The stock got a big lift last week, jumping Friday to lock down a 23% five-day rise that came even as some investors didn’t like the tone of SpaceX’s first-ever earnings as a public company and fretted about the potential effect of IPO lock-up expirations. 

Among “Last Time Since…” price milestones, the next one to watch may be $150, at which the stock opened trading on IPO day. SpaceX hasn’t touched that level since July 10. 

“Over the short term, we expect that the shares will likely remain volatile as elements of additional liquidity … could result in more widely distributed price discovery for the shares in the coming days,” Goldman Sachs analysts wrote last week after the earnings report.

Inflation Reports Headline Busy Week of Economic Data

FROM 6 hr 36 min ago

Reports on inflation, retail sales and consumer sentiment are due this week—and they could shed light on whether improvements in June were significant enough to withstand geopolitical shocks.

The July Consumer Price Index reading will land Wednesday. The cost-of-living measure ticked down in June—before the U.S.-Iran ceasefire fell apart and fighting in the Middle East escalated. The conflict has curtailed oil shipments in the Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb Straits, sending energy prices higher and putting upward pressure on other prices.

The CPI remains high by historic standards, as does the Producer Price Index, which tracks wholesale inflation. The July PPI reading is due Thursday; The index dipped in June after surging in May. Rising wholesale costs can be a sign that consumer prices will climb as businesses pass rising expenses along. 

The inflation reports will be closely monitored by the Federal Reserve. Kevin Warsh, who took over as Fed chair in May, has stressed that fighting inflation is the central bank’s top priority, which has raised concerns among market participants that interest rate hikes are imminent. Last week’s softer-than-expected jobs report assuaged those worries, at least temporarily.

Retail and consumer sentiment data comes out Friday. Consumer spending increased slightly in June, and the public mood recently brightened a bit, according to the University of Michigan’s Survey of Consumer Sentiment. Savings rates, however, hit a four-year low, and developments including chatter about an AI bubble and new tariffs may have shifted consumers’ outlook.

–Sarina Trangle

Stock Futures Little-Changed After Big Week of Gains

FROM 7 hr 29 min ago

Futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.1% recently.

S&P 500 futures were fractionally higher.

Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.1%.