markets

Luke Kawa8/6/25

AppLovin sinks as tepid top-line beat fails to impress

AppLovin, the company that reminds everyone of a character from “Superbad,” reported results that investors seemed to think were super bad at first blush. Shares initially tumbled in after-hours trading as the company’s top-line results only modestly exceeded expectations, as did management’s outlook for Q3, before reversing much of those losses.

Here are the numbers:

Revenues of $1.26 billion (compared to the consensus estimate of $1.25 billion and guidance for $1.195 billion to $1.215 billion).
Adjusted EBITDA of $1.02 billion (estimated $997.6 million, guidance for $970 million to $990 million).
Adjusted earnings per share of $2.39 (estimated $2.02).

For Q3, management called for revenues of $1.33 billion (plus or minus $10 million), with the Street looking for $1.3 billion. Adjusted EBITDA guidance for $1.08 billion (with the same range around it) was also above the consensus estimate of $1.05 billion.

Sometimes small beats can look disappointing in the eyes of investors in a world where everything related to AI seems to be crushing expectations. But no doubt about it: this puts a dent in what’s been a strong year so far for AppLovin. The company shook off short sellers’ reports that helped sink the stock with great earnings in Q1, and shares were up about 20% year to date heading into this release.

Bulls have praised the company’s heavy integration of AI, with UBS saying it uses LLMs to deploy code more than Meta or Alphabet. Earlier this year, Wedbush Securities also highlighted AppLovin as a key beneficiary of a court order banning Apple from collecting commissions on off-app purchases made in mobile games, saying that this will prompt more spending on ads to promote those very games.

More Markets

See all Markets

BEAR NECESSITIES

The insanity over the Starbucks “Bearista” cups tells you everything you need to know about the US economy and markets

Upper-income consumers and megacap tech companies are both a) doing well and b) supply constrained.

Bear Roar

markets

Retail traders are “skipping the dip” this time

Here’s one noteworthy feature of the recent market downturn that has the S&P 500 poised for its worst week since reciprocal tariffs were announced in early April: retail traders seemingly aren’t eager to buy the weakness in single stocks the way they used to be.

JPMorgan strategist Arun Jain has flagged that retail traders instead appear to be “skipping the dip.”

“In contrast to the behavior observed during the post-Liberation Day selloff, retail investors did not seize the opportunity to buy-the-dip on Tuesday, with a few exceptions such as META,” he wrote of the day where the benchmark US stock index fell 1.2%. “In fact, they scaled back their ETF purchases and turned net sellers in single stocks.”

Then on Thursday, when the S&P 500 fell 1.1%, Jain projected that retail traders sold $261 million in single stocks. Through noon ET on Friday, his daily outflow estimate stands at $851 million.

With that intel, it’s little wonder why the carnage this week has been particularly intense in more speculative single stocks that had been favored by the retail community, including IREN, IonQ, Rigetti, Cipher Mining, Bloom Energy, and Oklo.

Prediction Markets Draftkings

DraftKings rebounds after Wall Street hears its prediction market plans

The company plans to launch its own predictions product in the coming months.

Matt Phillips4h

markets

Max Knoblauch5h

Archer Aviation plunges on $650 million share sale following its third-quarter results

Air taxi maker Archer Aviation is deep in the red on Friday morning after reporting its third-quarter results after the bell Thursday. The stock is down more than 12%.

Investors don’t appear to be thrilled about the company’s $650 million direct stock offering, announced alongside its results.

The move marks at least the third major equity raise, and dilution, for Archer this year. The company raised $300 million from a new stock sale in February, and sold $850 million worth of shares in June.

On Archer’s earnings call Thursday, interim CFO Priya Gupta said the company came to the decision after “substantial inbound interest.” According to Gupta, the company has heard from government and commercial partners that liquidity is a “key driver to their decisions of who to partner with.” With its latest share sale, Archer said its total liquidity is more than $2 billion.

Archer Aviation sinks after reporting better-than-expected Q3 loss, announces it will acquire LA’s Hawthorne Airport

Archer Aviation sinks after reporting better-than-expected Q3 loss, announces it will acquire LA’s Hawthorne Airport

The move marks at least the third major equity raise, and dilution, for Archer this year. The company raised $300 million from a new stock sale in February, and sold $850 million worth of shares in June.

On Archer’s earnings call Thursday, interim CFO Priya Gupta said the company came to the decision after “substantial inbound interest.” According to Gupta, the company has heard from government and commercial partners that liquidity is a “key driver to their decisions of who to partner with.” With its latest share sale, Archer said its total liquidity is more than $2 billion.

Top AI energy trade Constellation Energy slips on earnings

The largest nuclear power provider in the US has soared on the prospect of relentless demand from data centers.

Constellation Energy reports earnings

Latest Stories

Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate, including Robinhood Markets, Inc., Robinhood Financial LLC, Robinhood Securities, LLC, Robinhood Crypto, LLC, or Robinhood Money, LLC.

©2025 Sherwood Media, LLC