Midday Fly By: Disney, AMD, CVS report quarterly beats

The major averages were broadly higher at midday following a report from Axios that the U.S. and Iran are nearing an agreement to end the war. Crude has gone from the primary headwind to a tailwind almost overnight, falling back below $100. Q1 growth is tracking near 25%-30%, one of the strongest rates since 2021, and estimates for the next 12 months are still being revised higher. AI remains the center of gravity with semis and hyperscalers leading again, with AMD becoming the latest AI-linked supplier to post a strong print. 

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1. STOCK NEWS:

• Disney (DIS) reported better-than-expected Q2 results and provided its outlook for FY26 and FY27
• AMD (AMD) reported upbeat Q1 results and provided upbeat Q2 revenue guidance
• CVS Health (CVS) provided a “beat and raise” report for Q1
• Uber (UBER) reported upbeat Q1 results, with gross bookings up 25% year-over-year
• Corning (GLW) and Nvidia (NVDA) announced a partnership for AI infrastructure, with Nvidia getting a warrant to buy up to 15M Corning shares

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• AMD (AMD) upgraded to Buy or equivalent ratings at Goldman Sachs, Bernstein and Seaport after its Q1 earnings beat
• Palantir (PLTR) upgraded to Buy at Argus amid accelerating revenue growth
• Monster Beverage (MNST) upgraded to Buy at Rothschild & Co Redburn
• Reddit (RDDT) downgraded to Accumulate from Buy at Phillip Securities
• TransMedics (TMDX) downgraded to Perform at Oppenheimer

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• DeepSeek is nearing a $45B valuation amid investment talks, FT reports
• Samsung’s (SSNLF) market cap surpasses $1T, Reuters reports
• Apple (AAPL) is in a $250M settlement over its delayed “AI Siri,” FT says
• IAC’s (IAC) Barry Diller said he would “absolutely” buy CNN, WSJ reports
• PayPal (PYPL) plans to cut 20% of its staff in the next few years, WSJ says

4. MOVERS:

• Oscar Health (OSCR) rises after the company reported sharply better-than-expected earnings
• DaVita (DVA) higher after providing an upbeat outlook for FY26 earnings per share
• Live Nation (LYV) gains after multiple analysts raised price targets on the stock following Q1 results
• Freshworks (FRSH) lower after reporting quarterly results
• Cencora (COR) falls despite provided a “beat and raise” report for Q2

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• Kraft Heinz (KHC) reported upbeat Q1 results
• Johnson Controls (JCI) provided a “beat and raise” report
• Deluxe (DLX) reported better-than-expected Q1 results
• Angi (ANGI) reported upbeat Q1 earnings
• Lumentum (LITE) reported upbeat Q3 earnings and revenue

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was up 1.10%, or 544.16, to 49,842.41, the Nasdaq was up 1.47%, or 373.51, to 25,699.63, and the S&P 500 was up 1.10%, or 80.16, to 7,339.38.