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Nia Warfield

Estée Lauder delivers Q4 beat, but disappointing guidance sends shares sinking

Estée Lauder shares tumbled 9% in premarket trading Wednesday after the MAC and Bobbi Brown parent company matched Q4 estimates but painted a tougher outlook for profitability over the coming year.

Adjusted earnings per share for the three months ended June 30 came in at $0.09, in line with the Street’s estimates. Revenue dropped 12% to $3.41 billion, but still managed to top the $3.39 billion analysts forecast. While sales slipped in skin care, makeup, and hair care, fragrance was a bright spot: up 2% on strong demand for luxury lines like Le Labo and Jo Malone.

Looking ahead, Estée Lauder guided for full-year fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS between $1.90 and $2.10, well below the $2.20 analysts were banking on, with organic net sales growth of 0% to 3%. The beauty behemoth also said US tariffs are expected to clip profits by about $100 million this fiscal year.

Macro headwinds aren’t helping, either: sluggish Chinese travel retail, rising competition from Amazon and TikTok Shop, and muted demand in core categories like cosmetics and skin care are all dragging on momentum. 

Prior to the earnings-induced drop, Estée Lauder shares were up 21% year to date.

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J. Edward Moreno
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Tilray rises after reporting earnings, revenue beat

Tilray’s biggest areas of revenue growth have been its alcohol business and its international market.

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Tasha Matsumoto
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The S&P 500 finishes flat but tech weighs down the Nasdaq 100

Investors were in risk-off mode ahead of tomorrow’s jobs report.

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Matt Phillips

AST SpaceMobile rises after favorable commentary from BofA

Mobile-services-from-space play — and retail investor favorite — AST SpaceMobile rose after receiving a target price upgrade from Bank of America analysts.

In a note published Thursday, BofA telecom services analysts lifted their price target for the stock to $100 from $85, while noting that the low-Earth orbit satellite industry — which supercharged stocks like Rocket Lab, Planet Labs, and AST in 2025 — is set to gain more attention this year:

“We expect the momentum to intensify in 2026 as providers like ASTS and Starlink jockey to offer full cellular service and capture subscribers. Debates will likely grow regarding Starlink’s plans to offer full cellular service and regulatory decisions on Ligado and EchoStar spectrum transactions are events to watch. Carrier partnerships could evolve and pricing and plan decisions should be clearer by year end as ASTS approaches full constellation operability.”

Still, they maintained their “neutral” rating on the stock, saying they “await progress on ASTS 1) fully producing and subsequently launching its BlueBird satellite constellation, 2) successfully operating the constellation, and 3) capturing subscribers and turning them into revenue paying subscribers before becoming more constructive on the story.”

The market has been less reticent: the money-losing company’s shares are up approximately 300% over the last year.

Luke Kawa
AIudiophile
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Morgan Stanley: Most Gen Zers and millennials in the US listen to about three hours of AI music a week

That’s enough AI music to last the run time of “Avatar.”

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Max Knoblauch

Bulls pour into Joby and Archer options as Trump’s push for record defense budget boosts eVTOL names

Options traders appear bullish on electric aircraft makers like Archer Aviation and Joby Aviation on Thursday, with large volumes boosting the stocks following President Trump’s call for a record $1.5 trillion US military budget for 2027.

Both companies, as well as newly public rival Beta Technologies, have sizable defense contracts. In July, Archer CEO Adam Goldstein told Sherwood News that he believes the company’s defense side will outpace its civil air taxi service for at least a decade.

Traders seem to believe him. As of 10:53 a.m. ET, about 31,000 Archer call options had exchanged hands, around 9,000 short of its 20-day average for a full day. Joby saw roughly 20,000 call options traded by the same time, eclipsing its 20-day average. For the most actively traded calls for Joby and Archer (C$17s expiring February 20 and C$9s expiring on Friday, respectively), volumes on the ask side are outstripping the bid or mid, indicating motivated buyers.

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