Top News Today: Stocks Rally as SpaceX Earnings Quell AI Fears

MARKET WRAPS

STOCKS: Stocks rose as strong earnings from SpaceX quelled fears about the profitability of the artificial-intelligence business.

TREASURYS: Treasury yields rose as risk appetite recovered, draining safe-haven demand.

FOREX: The U.S. dollar rose slightly as traders recalibrated interest-rate bets.

COMMODITIES: U.S. oil futures fell slightly as traders weighed reports about the recovery of flows through the Strait of Hormuz.

HEADLINES

Tesla Reports Flat Revenue, Increased Cash Flow as SpaceX Merger Talk

Looms

Tesla reported flat revenue in the third quarter but a surprise

positive free cash flow despite its heavy investments on AI and robotics,

all while talk of a merger with SpaceX raises questions about the future

of the electric carmaker.

Tesla generated free cash flow of $1.5 billion in the quarter, while

analysts expected the company's cash burn to expand to $4.3 billion,

according to estimates compiled by FactSet.

Wall Street expected capital expenditures to accelerate from last

quarter's $5.8 billion, but they declined to $4.7 billion-still more than

twice the company's spend a year earlier.

Meta Will Create New Stock Class to Fund AI Spending

Meta Platforms is getting creative to fund its massive investments in

artificial intelligence.

The company reported record revenue for the third quarter and said it

would create a new class of nonvoting stock to raise the capital it needs

for developing and serving AI models. The new stock will have an

effective date in January 2027 and won't affect Chief Executive Mark

Zuckerberg's voting control.

The company said it brought in $64.2 billion in sales, a 26%

year-over-year increase, and net income of $9.8 billion. The revenue

figure exceeded the expectations of analysts surveyed by FactSet. The net

income total was considerably below analysts' forecast of $17.2 billion,

dragged down by a $9.9 billion legal charge related to the company's

settlement of social-media harm lawsuits.

IBM Reports Higher Profit as Some Delayed Deals Come Through

International Business Machines reported a higher third-quarter profit

and growing revenue across its software and infrastructure segments, as

the company looks to prove to investors that its disappointing

second-quarter showing was just a blip.

IBM's second-quarter profit was hit by mainframe deals that fell

through, weighing on the company's software and infrastructure segments.

Around two-thirds of those deals have since closed during the third

quarter, and IBM is optimistic about most of the rest, Chief Financial

Officer Jim Kavanaugh said.

"We feel pretty good," he said in an interview. "With the exception of

maybe one or two, they're all still in play."

Texas Instruments Posts Higher Profit, Revenue

Texas Instruments logged higher profit and revenue in its latest

quarter on broad based growth led by industry, automotive and data

center.

The Dallas-based semiconductor company on Wednesday posted a profit of

$2.43 billion, or $2.62 a share, compared with a profit of $1.36 billion,

or $1.48 share, a year earlier. Analysts expected $2.44 a share,

according to FactSet.

Revenue rose 28% over the year to $6.06 billion, topping the $5.94

billion forecast by analysts.

CSX Logs Higher Profit, Revenue on Rising Freight Volumes

CSX reported a higher profit and revenue in the third quarter, driven

by fuel surcharges and higher freight volumes.

The railroad operator on Wednesday reported a profit of $1.05 billion,

or 57 cents a share. That compares with a profit of $694 million, or 37

cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by FactSet were

expecting a profit of 53 cents a share.

Revenue was up 12% to $4.02 billion. Analysts were expecting $3.96

billion in revenue.

Abbott to Carve Out Nutrition Business Into Independent Company

Abbott Laboratories plans to separate its nutrition business into an

independent company by the end of next year, distancing itself from an

embattled unit that has dragged down earnings and been the subject of

years of litigation.

The newly created company, set to house brands including Pedialyte

electrolyte beverages and Similac infant formula, is expected to generate

about $8.5 billion in annual sales.

Chief Executive Robert Ford said the separation will allow both

companies to sharpen focus and direct resources more effectively. Abbott

will dial in on its core portfolio, which includes higher-growth

categories such as medical devices and diagnostics, while the nutrition

company will aim to capitalize on growing demand in the global nutrition

market.

AT&T Lifts Profit Outlook on Continued Postpaid Phone, Internet Growth

AT&T boosted its full-year profit outlook and posted continued revenue

growth in the third quarter, but shares fell as some on Wall Street were

disappointed by its core wireless-subscriber numbers and rising expenses.

AT&T's stock was down as much as 6% in morning trading before

rebounding slightly.

For the full year, AT&T now expects adjusted earnings per share of

about $2.40, compared with a prior forecast of $2.25 to $2.35. Analysts

polled by FactSet project $2.34.

EBay to Cut 9% of Workforce in Latest Round of Layoffs

EBay plans to cut about 9% of its workforce, marking the second round

of layoffs at the e-commerce platform this year.

The company said the move aims to help it focus its resources on its

top priorities, and that it would continue to hire in certain areas

aligned with its strategy.

"This step was taken to ensure we continue to operate from a position

of strength," a company spokesperson said.

Philip Morris Doubles Down on Zyn, Despite Mounting Cost Pressures

Philip Morris International isn't slowing down efforts to grow its Zyn

nicotine-pouch brand, even as geopolitical tensions disrupt operations

and pressure its earnings outlook.

The tobacco company said Wednesday it will continue to step up

investments to support its Zyn brand, aiming to meet rising demand. In

the recent quarter, U.S. shipments of the nicotine pouches climbed 4.2%

to 3.2 billion pouches.

Beyond launching new products and variants, Philip Morris plans to

transition most of Zyn's portfolio to 20-pouch cans from the current

15-pouch format, a move executives called a significant investment in

consumer value. The company is also expanding its marketing efforts,

preparing to launch a national Zyn brand campaign in the current quarter.

TALKING POINT Want to Short the AI Boom? She Wants to Give You a Way to Bet on 'Compute' Prices

Carmen Li knows more about the price of AI computing power than pretty much anyone else on Wall Street. Soon, she hopes to make it an asset class like oil or gas that investors can bet on-or against.

Li is the 40-year-old founder of Silicon Data, a startup that compiles indexes tracking the rental prices of Nvidia chips. As early as next month, Silicon Data is joining with CME Group to launch futures contracts based on the indexes.

The idea is to bring pricing transparency to what's quickly becoming the most coveted and costly resource powering the AI boom: computing power, or compute, as it is known in the industry. Anthropic, OpenAI and Google are among the AI giants scrambling to secure it, with the country's data-center build-out expected to take years. Li says the futures contracts will give companies a way to hedge a huge business cost and traders a way to speculate on the AI boom.

"The goal of Silicon Data is to become a referee," Li said in an interview.

The contracts are poised to debut as investors worry that AI won't be able to deliver on the hundreds of billions of dollars being poured into it, with prices of stocks and bonds of AI companies recently stumbling as traders try to anticipate where a shakeout might happen.

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October 21, 2026 16:51 ET (20:51 GMT)