S&P 500, Nasdaq Slide as Big Tech Stocks Slump; Dow Touches All-Time High as Home Depot Rises After Earnings

Best Buy Launches U.S. Digital Marketplace

29 minutes ago

You can now go to Best Buy’s website for everything from a statue of Ganesh playing the flute to a set of champagne flutes.

Best Buy (BBY) doubled the number of products available through its website and app while launching a U.S. marketplace Tuesday that’s open to hundreds of brands not carried in its stores, such as Martha Stewart, Crock-Pot, and World Wide Stereo. The marketplace offers more technology and taps into new categories, including sports team merch, seasonal decorations, and musical instruments, as well as toys and puzzles, Best Buy said in a press release and Q&A.

“Our customers have always looked to us to bring excitement and inspiration in ways only technology can,” Frank Bedo, chief marketplace and eCommerce officer at Best Buy, said in a statement. Through the marketplace, “we can truly offer the full experience they need,” the statement said.

The electronics giant, which already has a third-party platform in Canada, is the latest retailer to launch an online marketplace—a move that allows companies to expand their product portfolio without investing in inventory or storage space. Walmart (WMT), Target (TGT), Lowe’s (LOW), Nordstrom, and Ulta (ULTA) have launched or shared plans to launch a marketplace, according to company announcements. Digital marketplaces are estimated to facilitate hundreds of billions of dollars in annual sales.

Shoppers can’t currently have marketplace purchases shipped to a store for pickup, but Best Buy locations will facilitate returns, a spokesman said.

Best Buy shares were up about 4% in recent trading but are down more than 12% for the year. In late May, the company reported mixed first-quarter results and lowered its full-year outlook because of tariffs.

–Sarina Trangle

Palo Alto Networks Shares Surge on Strong Earnings, Outlook

1 hr 39 min ago

Shares of Palo Alto Networks (PANW) jumped Tuesday, a day after the cybersecurity firm posted better-than-expected results and guidance as customers demanded increasingly powerful tools to fight hackers.

The company reported fiscal 2025 fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $0.95, with revenue up 16% year-over-year to $2.54 billion. Both exceeded estimates of analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha.

CEO Nikesh Arora said the performance “reflects a fundamental market shift in which customers understand that a fragmented defense is no defense at all against modern threats. They are partnering with us because our platforms are designed to work in concert, creating powerful operational synergies that deliver superior, near real-time outcomes and the efficiency our customers need.” 

Palo Alto Networks sees fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS of $3.75 to $3.85, and revenue of $10.475 billion to $10.525 billion. Visible Alpha forecasts were for $3.67 and $10.431 billion, respectively. Its current-quarter profit and revenue projections also topped estimates.

Along with the results, the company also announced that its founder, Nir Zuk, was retiring as Chief Technical Officer and stepping down as a member of the board. Zuk is being replaced by Chief Product Officer Lee Klarich in both positions.

Palo Alto shares were up 4.5% in recent trading, pushing the stock into positive territory for the year.

–Bill McColl

Home Depot Stock Jumps as Company Affirms Outlook

2 hr 20 min ago

Home Depot (HD) shares rose in early trading Tuesday after the biggest home-improvement retailer affirmed its guidance as do-it-yourself and large project demand increased.

The company reiterated its full-year outlook for sales rising about 2.8%, and comparable store sales growth of approximately 1.0%.

CEO Ted Decker said that the “momentum that began in the back half of last year continued throughout the first half as customers engaged more broadly in smaller home improvement projects.” In an interview, CFO Richard McPhail noted that the company saw comparable sales increase every month in the quarter.

The comments came as Home Depot reported mixed second-quarter results. Sales gained 4.9% year-over-year to $45.28 billion, a tad higher than estimates of analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha. Adjusted earnings per share of $4.68 narrowly missed forecasts.

Comparable store sales were 1.0% higher, and while that was a tick below expectations, it was well above last year’s decline of 3.3%. Comparable average tickets advanced 1.4%, compared to a drop of 1.3% in 2024. 

Home Depot shares were up about 4% in recent trading.

–Bill McColl

Intel Jumps as SoftBank to Invest $2 Billion

2 hr 49 min ago

Intel (INTC) shares surged in early trading Tuesday on news that Japan’s SoftBank Group is making a $2 billion investment in the struggling U.S. chipmaker.

SoftBank will pay $23 for each Intel share, a slight discount to Monday’s closing price of $23.66, the companies announced.

“This strategic investment reflects our belief that advanced semiconductor manufacturing and supply will further expand in the United States, with Intel playing a critical role,” said SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, who last December announced plans for the firm to invest around $100 billion in the U.S. with President-elect Donald Trump.

Last week, Bloomberg reported that the Trump administration was in talks to take a stake in the chipmaker, and yesterday reported the U.S. would buy around 10% of Intel by converting some or all of the company’s CHIPS and Science Act grants into equity. Such a stake would make the U.S. the embattled chipmaker’s biggest shareholder, the report said. The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Last month, Intel’s second-quarter sales topped analysts’ estimates but the company unexpectedly swung to an adjusted loss and CEO Lip-Bu Tan announced layoffs in a memo to employees.

Intel shares were up more than 10% at around $26 in recent trading.

–Nisha Gopalan

Major Index Futures Little Changed

4 hr 21 min ago

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.1%.

S&P 500 futures slipped 0.1%.

Nasdaq 100 futures were also down 0.1%.