Verizon inks $1B+ Google fiber pact as oil-fueled tariffs sink tech; AmEx, NextEra beat, Intel capex shock

Verizon signed a dark fiber agreement with Alphabet's Google worth more than $1 billion, positioning $VZ as a connectivity provider for AI data center buildouts, per Reuters. CEO commentary flagged additional agreements expected by year-end that could generate multiple billions of dollars in revenue over the next several years. The deal lands the same day $VZ posted Q2 adjusted EPS of $1.30, up 6.6% and ahead of the $1.27 consensus, though revenue of $34.3 billion missed the $35.16 billion estimate; annual adjusted profit guidance was raised to $4.99–$5.04 from $4.95–$4.99. Shares slipped 0.37% after hours as GAAP EPS of $0.92 was distorted by $1.8B of pre-tax special items. The pact reframes carrier fiber as core AI infrastructure supply and hands hyperscalers a second-source alternative to build-your-own routes.

Sources: Reuters · Stocktitan · Yahoo Finance

$INTC plans to spend more than $20 billion in capex in 2026, up from about $18 billion, to meet high demand, per Yahoo Finance — the disclosure landing post-close July 23 drove today's 7.89% drop to $92.32. Intel's foundry reported $5.8 billion in sales, up 31% year-on-year, but the company again declined to name a major foundry customer, per CNBC. Volume ran to 179.1M shares, 1.4× the 3-month average, making $INTC the most-active US listing. Short interest sat at 127.8M shares, or 2.5% of float and 0.97 days-to-cover, as of the 2026-06-30 FINRA settlement. The capex ramp without an anchor foundry win intensifies the cash-burn debate underpinning the AI-and-foundry pivot thesis.

Sources: Yahoo Finance · CNBC · FINRA

$AXP reported adjusted Q2 EPS of $4.53, an 11% increase from $4.08 a year earlier and ahead of the $4.40 consensus from 24 analysts, per the SEC 8-K. Full-year revenue growth guidance was raised to 10%. Separately, American Express is planning to invest in its proposed acquisition of TheFork, a European online restaurant-booking platform with 50,000 restaurants across 11 countries, to complement Resy and Tock, per MarketBeat. Shares eased 0.06% after hours. The combination of an accelerating billings backdrop and a lifestyle-booking bolt-on extends the premium-cardholder engagement flywheel that has driven the stock's re-rating.

Sources: SEC 8-K · Alphastreet · MarketBeat

UBS raised its $AMD price target to $730 from $700, implying 35% upside from Thursday's close, citing a new view that C2028 EPS could approach $30 following AMD's CPU roadmap commentary, per CNBC. Jefferies lifted its target to $640 from $515, flagging AMD's leadership in server technology and an expanding AI customer base that could position it ahead of Nvidia, per Investing.com. KeyBanc reiterated Overweight with a $725 target on strong server CPU and AI demand. Shares nevertheless fell 3.29% in a tech-heavy tape as $NVDA slipped 0.92% to $206.84. The trio of hikes reframes AMD as a credible second AI-compute franchise rather than a share-gain story alone.

Sources: CNBC · Investing.com

Dozens of US trading partners from Europe to China to India now face new tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on goods shipped to the United States, per the office of the US Trade Representative cited by CNN; the tariffs went into effect Friday morning. Goods from the 60 affected trading partners make up 99.4% of US imports, imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. Exemptions include fertilizers and some fuels — both surging on the Iran war — along with some foods, autos, metals and pharmaceuticals, per NBC News. The House separately voted 214-208 on July 23 to pass a war powers resolution directing the president to remove armed forces from hostilities with Iran. Materials rallied 1.93% and Real Estate 2.22% on the session while Technology dropped 1.44%, a rotation consistent with tariff-insulated domestic cyclicals absorbing flows out of import-exposed hardware.

Sources: CNN · NBC News · USTR

Brent crude futures fell nearly 4% to close at $96.78 a barrel on a Pakistan-brokered US-Iran talks report, while WTI lost 3% to settle at $89.31, per CNBC. Even after the pullback, US crude gained about 8% this week and Brent advanced nearly 10%; oil prices remain roughly 31% above their pre-conflict levels seen earlier this month. Pakistan's effort to renew talks was backed by China, which is unhappy that Iran's attacks on other Gulf states and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz are hitting its interests, per Reuters. Paul Krugman argued the conflict has created the equivalent of $140 oil and warned of uglier fallout if it escalates. Energy finished only +0.40% as the intraday reversal capped gains, while $SLB rode its own earnings tailwind up 11.01%.

Sources: CNBC · Reuters · Stocktwits

$SLB revenue rose 5% year-over-year to $8.97 billion, driven primarily by a nearly 36% increase in North America revenue, per the company release cited by GuruFocus. Adjusted EPS excluding charges and credits of $0.55 increased 6% sequentially and decreased 26% year-on-year, ahead of the $0.51–$0.52 consensus. Shares rose 11.01% on the print, extending oilfield services beneficiaries of the Brent move. The result reframes SLB's North America franchise, previously the drag on the story, as the current growth engine even as Middle East activity faces execution friction.

Sources: SLB release · GuruFocus

$NEE reported adjusted Q2 EPS of $1.15 with adjusted net earnings of $2,407 million, up 9.5% year-on-year and ahead of the $1.11 Seeking Alpha consensus, per Investing.com. The company maintained its 2026 adjusted EPS outlook of $3.92 to $4.02 and said it is targeting the high end, while reaffirming long-term adjusted EPS growth of at least 8% annually through 2032. A $1.50 GAAP EPS print reflected a one-time gain and should not be confused with the $1.15 adjusted figure. Shares dipped 0.50% after hours. The reiterated multi-year growth cadence remains the utility sector's benchmark for AI-power capex leverage.

Sources: Investing.com · Yahoo Finance · Seeking Alpha

$CHTR reported EPS of $10.66, beating the $9.96 Zacks Consensus Estimate and up from $9.18 a year ago, per Zacks. Revenue of $13.6 billion declined 1.7% year-over-year and adjusted EBITDA fell 4.3% (3.2% ex-transition costs), pressured by Cox transaction transition expenses. HCA Healthcare separately reported sales up 8.7% year-on-year to $20.23 billion with GAAP EPS of $7.62, 2.2% above consensus and including $0.03 per diluted share of anticipated facility-sale gains, per StockStory. Together the two prints reinforced steady free-cash-flow generation from cable-plus-services and hospital operators against a jittery tape.

Sources: Zacks · StockStory · BigGo

$INTC led the tape at 179.1M shares (1.4× its 3-month average), down 7.89% at $92.32, followed by $NOK at 112.5M (1.0×, -6.47% at $9.10) and $NVDA at 110.8M shares (0.7×, -0.92% at $206.84). $T ran 80.6M shares (1.4×) and gained 5.10% to $24.13, while $CLF traded 69.9M shares at 3.5× its 3-month average — the day's most stretched turnover multiple — surging 8.85% to $11.93 as Materials led sectors +1.93%. $AAL added 6.79% to $14.475 on 72.9M shares, and $SOFI (92.5M) and $NU (90.9M) slipped fractionally. $NVDA short interest stood at 310.1M shares (1.3% of float, 1.9 days-to-cover) as of the 2026-06-30 FINRA settlement, while $NOK carried 59.7M shares short (1.1% of float). The mix — bid domestic steel and telcos, hit hardware bellwethers — mirrored the tariff-driven sector rotation.

Sources: FINRA · Nasdaq

Seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims fell to 187,000 for the week ended July 18, a decrease of 22,000 from the prior week's revised 209,000 and the lowest level since September 1969, per the DOL; the Reuters forecast was 212,000 and the 4-week moving average stood at 207,500. US new home sales rose 1.6% in June to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 628,000 units, topping the Reuters estimate of 610,000, though sales fell 5.6% year-over-year and the median new house price of $398,300 was 2.7% lower than a year earlier, per the Census Bureau. The 10-year Treasury yield eased more than 2 basis points to 4.681% after topping 4.7% Thursday — the highest since Jan. 15, 2025; the 2-year sat at 4.333% and the 30-year at 5.164%. Gold slipped to $4,044.06/oz as surging oil strengthened the case for tighter Fed policy. The labor-market print undercuts the case for near-term cuts even as tariff-driven inflation risk builds.

Sources: US DOL · Reuters · Census Bureau · Trading Economics

$RNG surged 25.09% after crushing Q2 estimates and lifting its dividend 67%, per Insider Monkey. $THC added 17.17% after Q2 beat expectations with hospital and ambulatory surgery center segments outperforming, per UBS via MT Newswires. $FRMI jumped 17.09% as Project Matador development accelerated, per Insider Monkey. $IP rose 11.21% and $SW gained 11.10% — the latter after RBC raised its price target to $56 from $53 last week and reiterated Outperform. The packaging and healthcare mid-cap breakouts reinforced the day's Materials-led sector rotation away from mega-cap tech.

Sources: Insider Monkey · MT Newswires · Simply Wall St.

$NVDA, $MSFT and other tech giants have reportedly urged policymakers against premature open-weight AI restrictions, per MT Newswires. The advocacy comes as $NVDA slipped 0.92% to $206.84 on volume of 110.8M shares (0.7× average) and $AVGO fell 2.69%, with Technology the day's worst-performing sector at -1.44%. Regulatory posture on open-source model weights directly shapes the addressable market for hyperscaler AI compute buildouts that Verizon's new $1B+ fiber deal is designed to serve. The lobbying push arrives just as tariff headlines squeeze hardware valuations.

Sources: MT Newswires