Midday Fly By: Apple names new CEO, Amazon ups investment in Anthropic

The major averages are marginally lower near noon as investors continue to track Middle East tensions ahead of a ceasefire deadline. Sentiment has been supported by hopes around potential Iran-related talks despite uncertainty over the conflict’s next phase. Meanwhile, oil was higher once again, though the price remains below $100 per barrel.

Claim 55% Off TipRanks

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.

1. STOCK NEWS:

• Apple (AAPL) said that John Ternus will become the next CEO of the company, with Tim Cook transitioning to executive chairman
• Amazon (AMZN) announced an additional $5B investment in Anthropic
• UnitedHealth (UNH) provided a “beat and raise” report for Q1
• GE Aerospace (GE) reported better-than-expected Q1 results and reiterated its FY26 guidance
• 3M (MMM) reported upbeat Q1 earnings and reiterated its FY26 outlook

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• HSBC (INTC) to Buy on server CPU shipment growth
• KeyBanc (CRWD) to Overweight on AI tailwinds
• Exxon Mobil (XOM) downgraded to Peer Perform at Wolfe Research
• Graphic Packaging (GPK) downgraded to Underperform at Raymond James
• Northcoast (CAVA) at Sell on “lofty’ valuation

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• Magnum Ice Cream’s (MICC) short interest in Europe has increased to 19% of shares available for trading, Bloomberg reports
• Match Group (MTCH) CEO Spencer Rascoff’s “primary focus” is winning over women, hoping this will arrest years of falling numbers and turn around Tinder’s trajectory, FT says
• A U.S. jury has found Uber (UBER) liable for a sexual assault by a driver in 2019, handing Uber a second consecutive defeat in its first trials of more than 3,000 pending lawsuits, NY Times says
• Salesforce (CRM) CEO Marc Benioff dismissed the idea of vibe coded CRM replacing SaaS companies, saying data security and compliance make Salesforce indispensable, WSJ reports
• Dozens of allegations of customer financial fraud by former employees of Gibraltar Life Insurance, a Prudential Group (PRU) subsidiary, have surfaced, Nikkei Asia reports

4. MOVERS:

• Velo3D (VELO) higher after announcing it will partner with Andretti Performance as an official sponsor and additive manufacturing technology provider for two 2026 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge events
• Vaalco Energy (EGY) increases after providing an operational update from its Gabon drilling program and well results from its Etame 14H well
• Lucid (LCID) gains after Uber (UBER) disclosed a 11.52% stake in the company
• Hycroft Mining (HYMC) falls after engaging with an engineering firm to assess underground mining options
• AXT Inc. (AXTI) lower after announcing an 8.56M share offering

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• Genuine Parts (GPC) reported Q1 results and reaffirmed its guidance for FY26
• RTX (RTX) reported Q1 results, with CEO Chris Calio commenting, “RTX delivered a very strong start to 2026”
• Quest Diagnostics (DGX) reported Q1 results and raised its guidance for FY26
• D.R. Horton (DHI) reported Q2 results and narrowed its guidance for FY26, with CEO David Auld commenting, “The D.R. Horton team delivered a solid second quarter”
• Synchrony (SYF) reported Q1 results, with EPS beating consensus

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was down 0.18%, or 86.83, to 49,355.73, the Nasdaq was down 0.18%, or 42.93, to 24,361.47, and the S&P 500 was down 0.27%, or 18.95, to 7,090.19.