Market Update: Mixed Open, Tech Spending, and Key Company Earnings

The Club's top 10 things to watch Friday, July 24 — Today's newsletter was written by Jeff Marks, the Club's director of portfolio analysis.

1. Stocks are headed for a muted open following yesterday's sell-off on rising oil prices and bond yields, and on concerns about hyperscalers' aggressive AI spending. That potent mix of crosscurrents held us back from buying the dip.

2. Intel shares are only modestly higher after the Club chipmaker reported a blowout quarter last night. Supply of data center CPUs can't keep up with demand as agentic workloads increase the number of CPUs needed relative to AI accelerators (like Nvidia's GPUs and Google's in-house TPUs). Intel's third-party foundry business is making progress, but no new customer announcements. Capex to increase significantly to meet demand.

3. Club name Nvidia and Amkor announced a $1.5 billion multiyear strategic partnership to develop advanced semiconductor packaging and testing technologies for next-generation AI and accelerated computing. Shares of Amkor are up over 11% this morning. UBS upgraded Amkor to buy from hold. Price target went to $90 from $80.

4. American Express reported a better-than-expected quarter. But like we heard with Club stock Capital One earlier this week, AXP is reinvesting its profits to fund growth opportunities. Shares fell after the company left its outlook for full-year earnings per share unchanged.

5. SLB shares moved higher after the oilfield services company beat analyst estimates on both revenue and adjusted EPS. Offshore activity in Latin America, Asia, Europe and Africa more than offset disruptions in the Middle East. The company's data center solutions business is on track to exceed $1 billion annualized revenue run rate by the end of the year.

6. Deckers Outdoor shares are lower after reporting in-line sales, a penny beat on EPS, and a small bump to the company's full-year outlook. CEO Stefano Carot said that despite pressure on consumers, he believes Hoka and Uggs will continue taking market share thanks to a "compelling product pipeline."

7. GE Healthcare said CFO Jay Saccaro is stepping down to pursue a role outside the med-tech space. The maker of MRI machines also reported preliminary second-quarter revenue slightly above analyst estimates. The General Electric breakup has created tremendous shareholder value, but GEHC is the laggard of the three entities. GE Aerospace and Club name GE Vernova have been the real winners.

8. Citi placed an "upside 90-day catalyst watch" on Dell, citing great conviction in earnings momentum. Earlier this week, fellow AI server maker Super Micro issued strong preliminary numbers. Jim Cramer said in response that if Super Micro is doing well, then Dell must be doing amazing.

9. Verizon reported a mixed quarter, with a miss on revenue but a small EPS beat. The company raised its full-year adjusted earnings outlook slightly. Postpaid phone net additions of 184,000 was ahead of the 111,000 consensus, per FactSet. Shares aren't doing much premarket. Rival AT&T delivered a strong print Wednesday morning, gaining 3.5% that day.

10. Oracle was awarded a 10-year, $7 billion software contract with the Department of Defense. The stock is up almost 2% this morning. If the gains hold, it would only be Oracle's 10th positive session since June 1. Shares are down over 50% in that stretch.