Bright Signs for the Economy Ahead of Vital Day

Good morning, and get set for a slate of broadly consumer-focused earnings reports that should give the economy a health check.

First up was Royal Caribbean, which just sailed in with an earnings beat —a good sign, given the spiraling hike in fuel costs. My colleague George Glover has more details on that and its strong bookings for next year.

We also have United Parcel Service , another bellwether that gives a strong sense of consumer activity. It lifted its full-year outlook, and there is positivity around its restructuring strategy. Coca-Cola was also upbeat as strong global demand helped offset sluggish sales volumes in North America.

In the premarket, stock futures were rising after a cautious start ahead of tomorrow’s “super-catalyst day.” Keep an eye out for gold, which was threatening to fall below the $4,000 level.

Some of the big stock movers today include electronics manufacturer Celestica , which had strong earnings last night, and Nvidia, which was up a touch after announcing a $3 billion investment in Meta ’s recently announced share offer.

So, nothing too dramatic so far ahead of the main event tomorrow with the Fed rate decision and big tech earnings.

Have a great day.

P.S. Feel free to get in touch with any thoughts and comments.

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📈 Here’s what’s happening in markets today:

Stock futures are rising as earnings reports keep rolling in.
Coca-Cola, Boeing, Celestica, Whirlpool, and more stocks that explain today’s market.
Coca-Cola earnings beat estimates. There is a weak spot, though.
UPS stock rises on third-quarter earnings beat.
Nvidia is taking a $3 billion chunk of Meta’s equity.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk just gave telecoms some great news.
PayPal beats earnings estimates. Does it now have a shorter path to recovery?
SoFi Technologies posts another beat-and-raise quarter. Earnings may quiet the skeptics.
Want to test Tesla’s Full Self-Driving? You can now rent it on Turo.
Royal Caribbean earnings are good news for cruise fuel fears.
Corning earnings might be just what optical networking stocks need right now.

Created with Highcharts 9.0.1Source: FactSetNote: futures contractsAs of Oct. 27, 9 a.m. ET

Created with Highcharts 9.0.1Nasdaq S&P 500Dow industrialsOct. 26Oct. 27-0.6-0.4-0.200.20.40.60.8%

🤖 Anthropic lays out huge growth, catastrophic risks

Anthropic ’s official IPO paperwork lays bare the company’s explosive growth, massive spending obligations, and beliefs about the superhuman power of artificial intelligence. The prospectus makes the case that a bet on Anthropic is a bet on AI itself. Anthropic claims its “self-reinforcing loops” will create durable competitive advantages. Read about it here.

💰 Alphabet and Amazon backed Anthropic early. Here’s how.

The Anthropic IPO filing contains more details on its agreements with Google’s parent Alphabet and Amazon. Alphabet this year agreed to invest up to $30 billion in it, of which $10 billion has already been invested, with the rest contingent on revenue targets. Amazon pledged $20 billion, with $5 billion already directly invested. Read more here.

💉 Moderna CEO says cancer vaccine not a disappointment

Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel has a message to Wall Street: Ignore the noise, watch the science. It got Bancel’s goat last Thursday when Moderna’s stock tanked following a data leak for the drug maker’s cancer vaccine candidate, intismeran autogene, in development with Merck. He talked to Barron’s about it here.

✈️ JetBlue loss widens despite rising revenue. Blame jet fuel.

JetBlue unexpectedly released its third-quarter earnings a day early following a sharp selloff in its shares amid mounting concerns about the airline’s financial health. The carrier posted a wider-than-expected loss as soaring fuel prices continued to weigh on its profit. Read more here.

🎛️ At Whirlpool, the pace of recovery is slower than expected

Household appliance maker Whirlpool continues to battle declining sales and shrinking margins, slashing its full-year guidance as it reported a slower than expected recovery. CEO Marc Bitzer said they were taking out structural costs and raising prices, which will set a clear path for further improvements in 2027. Read about their earnings here.

🍿 Why Wall Street is worried about Netflix’s momentum

Netflix stock came under pressure after a report suggested subscribers are spending less time on the streaming platform, deepening concerns that the company’s growth might be losing momentum, particularly as competition from YouTube and other streaming services intensifies.

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🍕 Walmart’s food delivery option could shake up the industry

This year Walmart teamed up with Subway, Dunkin’, and Papa John’s to offer fast food delivery, which can arrive with a Walmart order. Beyond convenience, Walmart’s latest fast food partnerships could also do much more to reshape and revive the industry. Read about it here.

💬 Quote of the day:

As AI systems become more capable, the potential severity of harm from misaligned or misused models increases correspondingly. — Anthropic, the AI lab that filed its paperwork for an initial public offering

Other headlines moving markets:

Coveted roles in Anthropic’s IPO boost Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley.
Anthropic’s 7 founders will use new share class to take control.
This week could help decide whether the Fed raises rates in December.
Anthropic has risks beyond AI safety. What to watch for.
An Instacart sale could make sense. Here’s why.
Dollar General’s stock is falling again. It isn’t just the pricing lawsuit.
Casey’s wants a bigger slice of the pizza market. Why fast-food is worried.
The SEC means business when it comes to conflicts of interest.
You are inheriting a portfolio of unwanted investments. How to fix it.
SpaceX isn’t even Anthropic’s biggest partner. Here’s the list.
Canada has ‘woken up’ thanks to Trump. How trade war could hurt the U.S.
Microsoft aims for 60,000 layoffs for the AI buildout.
How this U.S. agency works to beat China at building energy and mineral supply chains.
Robinhood is moving beyond crypto. Earnings will show if it’s working.

— Edited by Liz Moyer, Stacy Ozol, and Patrick O’Donnell

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