CLOSING BELL | | Good afternoon, and happy Wednesday. The market closed red, pulling back from all time highs after oil and yields put pressure back on the tape. Iranian strikes hit Kuwait today, decimating an airport and ceasefire hopes. | Crude rose about +2.5% as fresh U.S.-Iran tensions threatened the ceasefire, while the Trump administration’s new Section 301 tariff plan added another inflation headline for investors already staring down sticky yields. | Stocks traders were locked on the AI earnings pile. $AVGO became the cleanest post-close test, while $CRWD, $NOW, and $AI showed the broader software read: bulls still love the theme, but the market is making multiples show ID at the door. | Today's Briefing: | After the Bell: Broadcom beat, guided big, and still slipped as software revenue missed CrowdStrike, ServiceNow, and C3.ai turned AI/software into the earnings battleground Macy’s raised guidance, but the turnaround crowd still has trust issues Macro News: Trump’s tariff rebuild and the Fed’s Beige Book put inflation back in the chat Pops and Drops & More
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| | | | AFTER THE BELL
Broadcom's AI Tries to Pass the Bar | Broadcom, the custom AI chip and infrastructure software giant, beat earnings Wednesday night, but the stock slipped after software revenue missed and investors decided the AI print still needed a cleaner sweep. The numbers were strong. The reaction was pickier. | The RIP: $AVGO ( ▼ 0.49% ) fell about -5% after hours. Adjusted EPS was $2.44 vs. $2.40 expected, revenue was $22.19B vs. $22.27B expected, AI revenue hit $10.8B, software revenue was $7.18Bvs. $7.32B, and Q3 revenue guidance was $29.4B. | The awkward part is that Broadcom gave AI bulls plenty to work with. AI revenue more than doubled, CEO Hock Tan expects it to triple to $16B next quarter, and semiconductor revenue beat estimates. But after a roughly 40% year-to-date run and a ninefold move since late 2022, “great except software” was enough to hit the sell button. | The community is extremely bullish, message volume is high across ~67k watchers. | | Tell the $AVGO room: dip or distribution → | Software Takes a Hit | Broadcom was not the only AI-adjacent name getting graded like perfection was the baseline. CrowdStrike, ServiceNow, and C3.ai turned Wednesday night into an earnings battleground for the AI/software trade, where bullish communities met a tape suddenly allergic to rich multiples. | The RIP: $CRWD ( ▼ 2.78% ) fell -10% after earnings and announcing a 4-for-1 split. $NOW ( ▼ 7.64% ) dropped -10% as software sold off. $AI slipped -0.1% after C3.ai’s results, leadership changes, and restructuring chatter kept short-squeeze bulls engaged. | The read-through is simple: investors still want AI exposure, but they are no longer paying any price for the wrapper. CrowdStrike bulls are defending cybersecurity demand, ServiceNow holders are arguing dip versus reset, and C3.ai remains the purest “prove it” name in the group. | Bring it to $CRWD: reset or reload → STOCKS
Macy’s Still Has a Pulse | Macy’s, the department store chain trying to make its turnaround stick, gave retail bulls something rare Wednesday: actual comp growth and a raised outlook. The stock barely moved, because this is still Macy’s, and nobody gets a parade for surviving department-store winter. | The RIP: $M rose +0.6% after Q1 comparable sales climbed +3%, Macy’s stores rose +1.6%, and Bloomingdale’s jumped +10.2%. Stocks was mixed, with 46% bullish / 54% bearish sentiment, high message volume, and roughly 29k watchersdebating whether the turnaround is real. | Tell the $M room: turnaround or trap → |
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| | | | | MACRO NEWS
Tariffs Reloaded | | The Trump administration is rebuilding its tariff wall under a new legal roof, proposing fresh duties on 60 trading partners after the Supreme Court struck down its 2025 version in February. Allies, rivals, retailers, autos, apparel, and import-heavy supply chains are all back in the headline-risk blender. The proposal cites ‘forced labor’ for reasoning. Last year, it was fentanyl. | The RIP: USTR proposed 10% tariffs on Canada, Mexico, the EU, Britain, Taiwan, and others, plus 12.5% tariffs on China, India, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, and Switzerland. The forced-labor probe covered 60 economies, with written comments dueJuly 6 and hearings beginning July 7. The White House imposed 10% tariffs in February under section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, but those duties expire in July. | "Tariffs begin again," Henrietta Treyz of Veda Partners wrote Tuesday. | That may be cleaner legally, but it hurts allies while exempting politically sensitive goods like energy, rare earths, beef, coffee, aircraft parts, and USMCA-compliant trade. Watch import-heavy retailers and brands like $WMT, $TGT, $NKE, $LULU, plus global auto exposure through $TM and $HMC. At least it’s not world record tariffs on every single country this time. | Beige Book Squeeze | The Fed’s May Beige Book dropped Wednesday. Reps from across the country reported in: growth is still alive, hiring is frozen, and prices are heating back up. Translation: not weak enough for easy cuts, not cool enough for a victory lap. | The RIP: Economic activity rose at a slight to moderate pace in 10 of 12 Fed Districts. Employment showed little to no change in 11districts. Manufacturing activity increased in 9districts. Prices rose at a moderate to strong pace, with most districts reporting higher inflation than the prior report. | "Consumer spending remained mixed across Districts," the report said Wednesday. "Employment showed little to no change… Prices increased at a moderate to strong pace overall… Middle-income households were described as 'squeezing more life out of every dollar.’” |
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| | | | | TRENDING ON STOCKS
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