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Luke Kawa

Earnings calls are already referencing “recession” more than the last two reporting periods combined

Earnings season is still in its infancy, but recession worries are in full bloom.

During the first three months of 2025 (the fourth-quarter reporting period), there were just 29 mentions of “recession” on S&P 500 companies’ earnings calls with analysts. That number has already ballooned to above 100 in the second quarter, with the overwhelming majority of members of the benchmark US stock index still yet to report.

To try to get more of an apples-to-apples comparison, let’s zero in on US banks. Over 75% of firms listed in the KBW Bank Index have already had their quarterly calls this season. The 63 mentions of “recession” from this cohort so far extrapolates to about 80, which would be the highest since Q3 2022 (123), when gasoline prices were mooning following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Federal Reserve was aggressively raising interest rates in a bid to tamp down inflation.

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

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