Inflation cools, Morgan Stanley earnings, IBM's bad day and more in Morning Squawk
Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day.
Happy Wednesday. If you start seeing drones in the sky, they might be part of Zipline's delivery fleet.
Stock futures are higher this morning after a positive day on Wall Street.
Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:
Government data released yesterday showed that energy prices cooled in June, helping curb overall inflation . Still, prices are up from a year ago and could feel more upward pressure as the U.S. and Iran continue to fight over the Strait of Hormuz.
While the broader market rose, IBM was the big loser of the day. The stock plunged 25% for its worst day on record after issuing weak preliminary results for the second quarter.
IBM reported $2.93 in adjusted earnings per share on $17.2 billion in revenue, while analysts polled by FactSet had forecasted $3.01 per share and $17.86 billion, respectively. CEO Arvind Krishna said the weakness was driven by clients' shift in spending to memory chips and other hardware, rather than software and infrastructure.
On the other hand, cybersecurity stocks rallied yesterday after Krishna told CNBC's Sara Eisen that cyber fears are a top priority for customers. CrowdStrike , Okta and Netskope all posted double-digit percentage gains in Tuesday's session.
Morgan Stanley continued big banks' strong earnings run this morning, reporting record quarterly revenue and profit as revenue from its equities trading business jumped nearly 70%. The bank reported $3.46 in earnings per share on $21.35 billion in revenue, easily topping Wall Street's expectations of $2.94 per share and $19.64 billion, respectively.
As CNBC's Hugh Son notes, the artificial intelligence boom is helping fuel trading and dealmaking activity for big banks such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase . Goldman CEO David Solomon told analysts yesterday that "we are in the middle of an AI capex super cycle."
CNBC's Morning Squawk recaps the biggest stories investors should know before the stock market opens, every weekday morning.
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett is ramping up his donations of Berkshire Hathaway shares, announcing yesterday that he will give four family-linked foundations a total of nearly $6 billion. The Oracle of Omaha said his goal is now to give away all of his shares "within about eight years."
Notably, Buffett excluded the Gates Foundation from his annual donations. The foundation created by Bill Gates and his then-wife, Melinda French Gates, was for years the largest recipient of Buffett's annual Berkshire donations.
In an interview with CNBC's Becky Quick , Buffett called the Microsoft co-founder's ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein "distasteful," but added that people make mistakes. He said he and Gates recently spent time together in Omaha.
Have you ever wished the middle seat next to you was empty? United Airlines is betting travelers will pay more to make that dream a reality.
As CNBC's Leslie Josephs writes, the air carrier announced yesterday that one row on its A321XLRs will have an empty middle seat with a tray table. It's not yet clear how much the seats, which also come with extra leg room, will cost.
United said it could add this type of row to additional aircrafts down the road. It's the latest sign of airlines racing to build out premium add-ons in a bid to increase profits and lure high-income travelers.
The Supreme Court is asking Congress to expand its budget for the fiscal 2027 year by almost 10% as it looks to ramp up security-related measures in the face of increasing threats. Here's what Justice Elena Kagan told a House subcommittee yesterday:
