Wednesday's Federal Reserve decision, along with expectations that the Fed could cut interest rates again before the end of the year, may put more downward pressure on mortgage rates — finally providing a little relief for would-be homebuyers.A 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage fell to 6.3% for the week ended Oct. 24, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.Although mortgage rates are now at their lowest level since September 2024, the average rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage is still significantly ...

Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg attends the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on online child sexual exploitation at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, U.S., January 31, 2024.Meta Platforms' stock dropped more than 12% Thursday as skepticism about the payoff from its aggressive artificial intelligence spending plans overshadowed strong results.The social media giant lifted its 2025 capital expenditures guidance as it races against competitors to build out advanced AI tools. Meta now expects capex to range between ...

So in 2021, he left the medical school with Dell's blessing to launch clinic startup Harbor Health. The company, based in Austin, Texas, is a "pay-vider" that offers its own insurance plans and owns and operates 43 primary care and specialty care clinics in four metro hubs in Texas.Dr. Clay Johnston, the first dean of Dell Medical School, later learned the hard part wasn't improving treatment outcomes and at a lower cost, he told CNBC. The sticking point was getting insurance providers to pay for it, he sai ...

Core Insights - Eli Lilly reported third-quarter earnings and revenue that exceeded analyst expectations, driven by strong demand for its weight loss drug Zepbound and diabetes treatment Mounjaro [1][3] - The company raised its full-year outlook, indicating confidence in continued growth in the GLP-1 drug market [1] Financial Performance - Adjusted earnings per share were $7.02, surpassing the expected $5.69 [3] - Revenue reached $17.60 billion, exceeding the anticipated $16.01 billion [3] Market Position - Eli Lilly is focused on maintaining its competitive edge over Novo Nordisk in the rapidly growing market for GLP-1 obesity and diabetes drugs [1]

Core Insights - Merck reported strong third-quarter earnings and revenue, driven by high demand for its cancer immunotherapy Keytruda, and narrowed its full-year profit outlook due to lower estimated tariff costs [1][4]. Financial Performance - Keytruda sales exceeded $8 billion for the first time in a quarter, reaching $8.14 billion, a 10% increase year-over-year, although slightly below analyst expectations of $8.24 billion [2]. - Merck's net income for the quarter was $5.79 billion, or $2.32 per share, compared to $3.16 billion, or $1.24 per share, in the same period last year [6]. - The company reported total revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, a 4% increase from the previous year, surpassing expectations of $16.96 billion [10]. Guidance and Outlook - Merck adjusted its 2025 earnings forecast to between $8.93 and $8.98 per share, up from a previous range of $8.87 to $8.97 [3]. - The company expects full-year revenue to be between $64.5 billion and $65 billion, a narrower range compared to the previous guidance of $64.3 billion to $65.3 billion [5]. Challenges - Sales of Gardasil, a vaccine for HPV, fell to $1.75 billion, down 24% year-over-year, primarily due to reduced demand in China [8]. - Merck has halted shipments of Gardasil to China and does not plan to resume until at least the end of 2025, citing high inventories and soft demand [7]. Investor Focus - Investors are likely to seek updates on Gardasil's market presence in China and potential drug pricing agreements related to Trump's "most favored nation" policy [9].

Core Insights - Restaurant Brands International reported quarterly earnings and revenue that exceeded analysts' expectations, driven by growth in its international restaurants and Tim Hortons [1] - The company's shares rose by 3% in premarket trading following the earnings report [1] Financial Performance - The company reported a third-quarter net income attributable to shareholders of $315 million, or 96 cents per share, an increase from $252 million, or 79 cents per share, a year earlier [2] - Excluding transaction costs and other items, adjusted earnings per share were $1.03, surpassing the expected $1 [6] Revenue and Sales Growth - Net sales increased by 6.9% to $2.45 billion, exceeding the expected $2.4 billion [6] - Same-store sales grew by 4%, with the international segment achieving 6.5% same-store sales growth, outperforming the consensus estimate of 4.4% [3] - Tim Hortons reported same-store sales growth of 4.2%, focusing on enhancing food offerings to boost sales and traffic [3] Segment Performance - Burger King's same-store sales rose by 3.1%, indicating the success of its turnaround strategy in the U.S. through restaurant renovations and marketing of core menu items [4] - Popeyes was the only division to report a decline in same-store sales, with a decrease of 2.4%, struggling to compete for value-minded customers [5]

Core Viewpoint - Comcast is set to provide an update on its broadband business during its third-quarter earnings report, amid challenges from alternative internet providers and a significant decline in stock value over the past year [1][2]. Group 1: Broadband Business - Comcast has been facing intense competition from alternative internet providers, such as 5G and fixed wireless, which has impacted its broadband growth [2]. - The company has reported broadband customer losses, contributing to a stock decline of approximately 30% over the last year [2]. - Initiatives have been outlined by Comcast to drive broadband growth, which is a cornerstone of its business [2]. Group 2: Mobile and Other Services - Comcast has leaned on its mobile business due to the stagnation in broadband growth, reporting 8.5 million mobile customers as of July [3]. - The company will also report results for its NBCUniversal business, which includes the NBC broadcast network and the streaming service Peacock [3]. Group 3: Media Rights and Programming - Comcast has begun airing NBA coverage as part of a media rights deal, which has brought games back to NBC and introduced them to Peacock [4]. - The company anticipates higher sports programming expenses starting in the fourth quarter [4]. Group 4: Mergers and Acquisitions - Investors are keen to hear updates regarding Comcast's potential mergers and acquisitions, particularly its interest in acquiring assets from Warner Bros. Discovery [5]. - The company is nearing the completion of spinning out its cable TV networks, including CNBC, expected to finalize by the end of the year [4]. Group 5: Financial Expectations - For the upcoming earnings report, Comcast is expected to report earnings per share of $1.10 and revenue of $30.70 billion [6].

Core Viewpoint - Comcast is facing significant regulatory challenges regarding a potential merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, with mixed opinions on the feasibility of such a deal given the current political climate and public comments from former President Trump [3][4][5]. Group 1: Comcast's Position and Regulatory Concerns - Comcast's Chairman and CEO, Brian Roberts, is attending a media conference where earnings reports may provide insights into the company's stance on regulatory attitudes towards a potential NBCUniversal-Warner Bros. Discovery merger [1]. - Analysts suggest that Comcast's chances of successfully acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery are slim due to regulatory scrutiny, particularly influenced by Trump's negative remarks about Roberts and the company [3][4]. - Some analysts predict that the Trump administration would likely block a Comcast acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, leading to potential legal battles [4]. Group 2: Market Dynamics and Competitive Landscape - Warner Bros. Discovery has officially put itself up for sale, attracting interest from multiple parties, including Comcast [2]. - Paramount is attempting to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery before its planned split, having made three unsuccessful offers [4]. - Despite the regulatory concerns, some Comcast executives believe that the fears may be exaggerated or premature, indicating a potential divergence in internal perspectives on the merger's viability [6].

Core Viewpoint - Stellantis has issued a warning regarding one-off costs for the second half of the year, despite reaffirming its financial guidance and reporting positive third-quarter results [1][2][3]. Financial Performance - Stellantis reported net revenues of 37.2 billion euros ($43.2 billion) for the third quarter, marking a 13% year-on-year increase, primarily driven by growth in North American and European markets [3]. - Analysts had anticipated third-quarter net revenues to be around 36.58 billion euros, indicating that Stellantis exceeded expectations [4]. Strategic Actions - The company is implementing strategic changes to enhance customer choice and has seen positive sequential progress and solid year-over-year performance in Q3 [4]. - Stellantis announced a significant $13 billion investment in the U.S. to align its resources and support long-term profitable growth [5]. Market Reaction - Following the announcement of the one-off charges, Milan-listed shares of Stellantis fell by as much as 6%, later stabilizing to a 4.3% decrease, with the stock down over 25% year-to-date [3].

Core Viewpoint - Shell reported a significant drop in third-quarter profit due to weaker crude prices, with adjusted earnings of $5.4 billion, surpassing analyst expectations of $5.05 billion [1][2] Group 1: Financial Performance - Shell's adjusted earnings for the third quarter were $5.4 billion, compared to $6 billion in the same period last year and $4.26 billion in the previous quarter [1][2] - The company's share price has increased by over 16% year-to-date, outperforming industry peers [2] Group 2: Industry Context - Norway's Equinor reported a steeper-than-expected drop in third-quarter profit, with adjusted operating income of $6.21 billion for the July-September period [2] - U.S. oil giants Exxon Mobil and Chevron are scheduled to report their third-quarter results soon, with BP following on Tuesday [3]