• Stocks: A major tech selloff this week continued to drag the Nasdaq lower, while the less-tech-reliant Dow enjoyed a win. The S&P 500 split the difference to end the day nearly flat.
• Commodities: Oil prices popped this morning on reports that President Trump is considering an attack that promises to be “bigger than ever” against Iran. But oil gave back some gains this afternoon as neutral parties pushed for the US and Iran to restart negotiations.
• Trade: Trump capped off a big day of new tariff announcements (more on those later) by launching a trade probe against the EU in retaliation for the bloc “‘ROBBING’ American companies” like Alphabet, which was just hit with a $1 billion fine.

Earnings

Morning Brew Inc.

Everywhere you look, the economy is under pressure. Oil surged 8.28% this week amid escalating conflict in the Middle East, inflation continues to keep prices elevated, and companies from Albertsons to PepsiCo are warning that consumers are pulling back.

Yet spending has stayed resilient overall. So who’s keeping the economy afloat?

The answer lies in two seemingly unrelated corners of the market: auction houses and premium credit card companies. Both are posting record results, fueled by affluent consumers.

Black cards & dinosaur bones

Sotheby’s just reported its best first half ever, with $4.4 billion in sales, up 58% from a year ago. Rival auction house Christie’s also posted a record six-months, with sales jumping 71%.

Buyers are opening their wallets for ultra-expensive collectibles. Eight lots sold for over $50 million in the first half of 2026, none of which had sold in the past two years. One buyer spent $181 million on Jackson Pollock’s “Number 7A,” 1948. Another paid more than $50 million for “Gus,” a 67-million-year-old T. rex skeleton. Even Jensen Huang’s signature leather jacket recently fetched nearly $1 million at auction.

Premium credit cards are telling a similar story: the wealthy aren’t afraid of a little spending spree.

American Express’ second-quarter revenue rose 10% year over year, while spending on its cards increased 9%—the fastest growth in that metric in three years. On top of that, retail spending climbed 13% and restaurant spending rose 10%, with demand for AmEx Platinum cards remaining especially strong.

The kids are loaded

Taken together, the results point to the same conclusion: Wealthy consumers are still spending and still propping up the US economy. There’s another trend emerging, too: Those big spenders are getting younger.

47% of Christie’s new buyers in the first half of the year were millennials or younger, while roughly three-quarters of new American Express Platinum and Gold cardholders are millennials or Gen Z. One reason for the shift may be where wealth is being created today. Years of strong stock market returns combined with easier access to investing through apps have helped create a new generation of affluent consumers.

That said, it’ll probably take a few more bull markets before they start shopping for dinosaur skeletons.—SY

      

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Stocks

🟢 What’s up

• Booz Allen Hamilton gained 10.11% after first-quarter earnings topped expectations, driven by strength in its national security business.
• Digital Realty Trust climbed 10.87% on earnings and revenue beats and a higher full-year outlook, fueled by strong demand for datacenters.
• Verizon rose 5.81% after adding more wireless subscribers than expected last quarter and posting an earnings beat.
• German software company SAP advanced 9.54% after beating second-quarter earnings expectations, easing concerns about AI’s impact on its business.
• Tenet Healthcare jumped 17.17% after raising its full-year earnings and revenue guidance.
• SLB gained 11.01% thanks to strong earnings, helped by resilient offshore drilling activity and growing datacenter revenue.

🔴 What’s down

• Tesla fell 2.08%, extending its losing streak as investors continued to weigh heavy AI spending plans and negative cash flow.
• C.H. Robinson Worldwide tumbled 9.25% after a Texas jury awarded $604 million in damages tied to a trucking accident.
• Management consulting company Robert Half dropped 6.84% on underwhelming second-quarter results.
• Electronic hardware maker MaxLinear tumbled 21.54% despite beating earnings expectations and issuing stronger-than-expected guidance.
• Oracle slipped 4.21% even though it won a Pentagon software contract worth up to $7 billion over 10 years.
• SpaceX declined 2.68% following another Starship test delay and a new Hold rating from HSBC.

Stat of the day

Here we go again

Morning Brew Inc.

Wake up babe, new tariffs just dropped.

After President Trump’s original tariffs were largely struck down by the Supreme Court in February, the President imposed a broad 10% global tariff as a temporary stopgap. That second round of levies expired at 12:01 am this morning, but the White House was ready with a replacement: tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on 60 US trading partners (59 countries and the European Union).

These new levies are based on Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which says the US can apply tariffs against countries that fail to “impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor.” Countries with measures to prohibit forced labor were given 10% tariffs, while those without any such rules on the books were hit with a 12.5% tariff.

So, what does this mean for investors? For now, nothing: The new tariffs apply roughly the same rate as the now-replaced 10% temporary tariffs, so it shouldn’t cause too much economic upheaval in the near-term. Plus, a chunk of goods are excluded from the new rules, such as agricultural imports and fertilizer, as well as items vital to national security, like steel and aluminum, so several industries will get a free pass.

In fact, we might finally have some trade stability: Experts say this round of tariffs is more legally sound than previous versions, which means they could be here to stay. And as anyone who’s watched their portfolio pop and drop since Liberation Day will tell you, a little bit of stability would be a nice change of pace.—MR

Earnings

Morning Brew Inc.

Intel has some intel for its investors: This old dog can indeed learn new tricks.

The company just reported its Q2 results yesterday, and the quarter was so successful that it’s hard to pick which milestone to spotlight first:

• Revenue rose to $16.1 billion, a 25% jump and the company’s fastest revenue growth rate for any quarter since 2011.
• Intel’s pro-forma, or non-GAAP, gross margins came in at 40% for the first time in two years—a great sign for profitability.
• But the company’s spending more, too: Intel raised its 2026 capex guidance to over $20 billion, compared to its previous forecast of $18 billion.

Zoom out: The quarter caps off what’s been a huge come-up for Intel. The old tech stock suffered a brutal 60% decline in 2024 and had to suspend its dividend to raise cash. But over the past year, Intel has transformed from a washed-up relic of the past to a new AI darling, with shares climbing 307.95% in the last 12 months.

Intelling the future

Yet despite reporting green flag after green flag, shares of Intel still declined 7.89% today. Part of it is likely profit-taking—after all, the stock has risen 150.19% in 2026.

That isn’t the only factor, however: Investors are also laser-focused on that capex number. While AI companies are spinning a narrative about how greater hardware spending will lead to higher returns in the long run, shareholders aren’t so sure. Yesterday, traders punished Tesla and Alphabet for their own growing capex bills, and their fear is understandable: If growth for the companies that have propped up the entire market stops accelerating, it could spell disaster for everyone.

There’s also a lingering question about Intel’s business: Who are its customers? Intel’s miraculous AI transformation has hinged on the company becoming a foundry, which means that it makes its chips for other companies. But even while Intel’s business in Q2 was booming, it still hasn’t shown investors that it’s lined up any major clients worth writing home about.

“Since 2014 we have believed that success in foundry will require a cultural shift that we still have not seen,” explained Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore in a note today, reiterating the firm’s equal-weight rating and raising his price target from $75 to $84.

Intel is learning the hard way that the only thing more difficult than winning the AI race is keeping its lead.—LB

      

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News

• SpaceX has rescheduled its Starship launch for tonight—here’s why investors are desperate for it to succeed.
• This is exactly how 10 billion pounds of lettuce travel from farm to table every year—occasionally kicking off a chaotic cyclospora outbreak.
• Famed investor Cathie Wood is still bullish on Tesla, even after the stock has sunk 30% this year so far.
• Anthropic just unveiled a cheaper and more efficient new model for workplace tasks.
• Fed Chairman Warsh is already facing a tough test as bond yields skyrocket.
• BlackRock is selling $12.3 billion of bonds to fund Meta’s datacenter buildout.

Calendar

Monday: AstraZeneca, Applied Digital, Nucor, and more kick off the biggest week of earnings this season, with 34% of the S&P 500 reporting their second-quarter numbers this week.

Tuesday: Coca-Cola, Boeing, Visa, PayPal, UPS, Corning, Ford, Seagate, S&P Global, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Hilton Worldwide, Sherwin-Williams, Bloom Energy, Teradyne, Mondelez International, and The Cheesecake Factory are a few of the heavy hitters delivering their data. Speaking of data, there’s also the advance economic indicators report, plus a look at wholesale and retail inventories.

Wednesday: The next batch of Mag 7 earnings arrives with Meta Platforms and Microsoft. We’ll also hear from Arm Holdings, Qualcomm, SoFi Technologies, Procter & Gamble, Starbucks, Chipotle, Carvana, and many more. But the real focus will be on the next FOMC decision due today, with economists banking that rates will remain where they are for yet another month.

Thursday: Amazon and Apple will steal the spotlight with their earnings reports, but don’t forget about Coinbase, Strategy, Reddit, Rivian, Roblox, Mastercard, Shell, Altria, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Ferrari. Oh, and one other thing to watch: the June PCE reading will prove to be a market mover.

Friday: The week winds down with reports from Exxon Mobil, Chevron, AbbVie, Medtronic, Moderna, and Colgate-Palmolive, among others. Plus, we’ve got the final reading of the July University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey.

recs

It’s Friday, so let’s get you the most-clicked links of the last two weeks to fill your weekend with the best reading material possible.

💸 Here’s how much money you should have in your 20s, 30s, 40s, and later if you want to get ahead.

🏆 This company just increased its dividend a whopping 33%, yet trades 21% below fair value. Good dividend + big discount = a stock worth buying.

💰 Here are the three moments in life when your net worth matters.

👎 Avoid at all costs: Meet the 15 US mutual funds and ETFs that have lost investors the most money over the past 10 years.

🖥️ For anyone who’s ever dreamed of making millions from the internet, meet the 50 highest-paid content creators in the world this year.

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