S&P 500, Nasdaq Slide as Tech Stock Slump Continues; Retailers Also in Focus Amid Slew of Earnings Reports

Why Some Analysts Think Tech Sell-Off Won’t Last

31 minutes ago

Tech stocks are having a rough day, extending their recent slump amid a sector rotation away from big tech leaders. 

However, some Wall Street analysts said they don’t expect that to last long. 

“While some near-term tech volatility is not surprising given the run-up in valuations, we advise investors against becoming overly defensive,” UBS said Wednesday.

“While we think some caution may be warranted in the more cyclical parts of tech, we remain confident in the broader AI sector’s long-term growth and resilience. We recommend investors seek balanced exposure across the AI value chain (infrastructure, semis, and applications), with a preference for laggards offering a more attractive risk-reward balance,” UBS said. 

“We view tech sell-offs like yesterday as opportunities,” bullish analysts at Wedbush told clients in a note Wednesday, suggesting the slump could be short-lived, and pointed to earnings from AI chipmaker Nvidia next week as a potential positive catalyst.

 “When Nvidia reports earnings next week on August 27th the tech world and Wall Street will be listening closely,” they said, adding that they believe the “tech bull cycle will be well intact at least for another 2-3 years given the trillions being spent on AI.”

–Kara Greenberg

Estée Lauder Shares Slide on Weak Results, Outlook

1 hr 30 min ago

Estée Lauder (EL) shares fell Wednesday after the cosmetics company posted a wider-than-forecast quarterly loss and a disappointing outlook for the upcoming year.

The New York-based company, whose brands include MAC, La Mer, and Jo Malone, posted a fourth-quarter loss per share of $1.51, wider than the $0.79 loss per share it reported the same period last year. Its net sales for the three months to June 30 was $3.42 billion, down 12% year-over-year, dragged lower by declines in the sale of skin care products from its own brand and La Mer in the Asian travel market. The company said that Chinese consumer demand remained “subdued.”

Analysts polled by Visible Alpha had projected a $0.07 fourth-quarter loss per share and $3.41 billion in net sales, respectively.

The company’s guidance also fell on the short end of estimates: Estée Lauder projected a 0%-3% growth in fiscal 2026 net sales, versus estimates from Visible Alpha of $14.78 billion, translating to a 3% increase from the $14.33 billion the company posted in fiscal 2025.

Estée Lauder had struggled for years as it fell behind trends and was overly focused on Chinese consumers. The company sharpened its focus this year, boosting its stock price.

Shares of the company were down 5% in recent trading, trimming their year-to-date gain to around 14% 

–Nisha Gopalan

Lowe’s Boosts Outlook as Earnings Top Expectations

2 hr 19 min ago

Lowe’s (LOW) shares edged higher Wednesday after the home-improvement retailer beat profit estimates as both contractors and do-it-yourself (DIY) customers spent more for its products. In addition, the company boosted its guidance following the closing of its acquisition of interior finishes provider Artisan Design Group (ADG).

Lowe’s reported second-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $4.33, while analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha were looking for $4.24. Revenue rose 1.6% year-over-year to $23.96 billion, a tick short of forecasts.

Comparable store sales were up 1.1%, in line with expectations. CEO Marvin Ellison said those were driven by a “solid performance” from both its construction professional and DIY businesses. 

Lowe’s said that with the addition of ADG, it was raising its full-year outlook for sales to $84.5 billion to $85.5 billion from the earlier prediction of $83.5 billion to $84.5 billion. Yesterday, rival Home Depot (HD) affirmed its guidance as it saw demand growing.

The company also announced it moved to increase sales to construction pros by purchasing Foundation Building Materials (FBM) for $8.8 billion. Lowe’s called FBM “a leading North American distributor of interior building products” that serves “large residential and commercial professionals in both new construction and repair and remodel applications.”

Shares of Lowe’s were up 1% recently, after rising as much as 4% early in the session.

–Bill McColl

Target Stock Slides as Retailer Replaces CEO

3 hr 32 min ago

Target (TGT) shares sank in early trading Wednesday as the struggling retailer replaced its CEO with a company veteran even as its business showed signs of improvement in the second quarter.

Target announced that long-time employee Michael Fiddelke would be taking over for Brian Cornell on Feb. 1, 2026. Cornell, who has held the post for 11 years, will become executive chair of the board.

Fiddelke has been with the company for 20 years, and recently launched and began leading the Enterprise Acceleration Office, which Target explained was aimed at reshaping how the firm operates, “removing complexity, expanding technology and enabling more flexibility so the team can move faster to improve performance and drive long-term growth.”

Independent board member Christine Leahy said the board has been considering a succession plan for several years, and that it was clear “Michael is the right leader to return Target to growth, refocus and accelerate the company’s strategy, and reestablish Target’s position as a leader in the highly dynamic and fast-moving retail environment.”

Along with the CEO change, Target announced solid financial results. Sales were down 0.9% year-over-year to $25.21 billion, but that was above the estimate of analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha. Comparable store sales declined 1.9%, while the Visible Alpha forecast was for a drop of 3.06%. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.05 was in line with expectations.

Cornell said the performance “showed encouraging signs of recovery, including improved traffic and sales trends—particularly in our stores—and disciplined cost management in a challenging retail environment.”

Target reiterated its full-year guidance of adjusted EPS of $7.00 to $9.00, and sales falling by a low-single-digit percentage. 

Target shares were down 8% in recent trading, pacing S&P 500 decliners. The stock has lost nearly 30% of its value since the start of the year.

–Bill McColl

Major Index Futures Point to Slightly Lower Open

5 hr 17 min ago

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down fractionally.

S&P 500 futures slipped 0.1%.

Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.2%.