Market Trends & Catalysts - US stock rally continues as investors await big tech earnings from five of the magnificent seven companies, offering insights into the AI trade [1] - The Federal Reserve's FOMC meeting is underway, with a rate decision expected, and focus on Chair Pal's commentary on monetary policy [2] - Top 10 stocks in the S&P 500 are approaching dot-com era levels of dominance, indicating market concentration [21][41] Corporate Actions & Restructuring - Amazon plans to cut its corporate workforce by approximately 14,000 jobs across various departments [2][7] - UPS plans to reduce its workforce by approximately 34,000 positions as part of a transformation strategy [11] - OpenAI has completed its recapitalization, simplifying its corporate structure, with Microsoft gaining a 27% stake in the nonprofit entity valued at approximately $135 billion [32][34] AI & Technology - PayPal is partnering with OpenAI to embed its digital wallet into Chat GPT, enabling in-app purchases [4][16] - OpenAI commits to buying $250 billion worth of Azure services from Microsoft as part of their agreement [33] - Toyota is reportedly investing $10 billion in the US, though confirmation is pending [27] Financial Performance & Guidance - PayPal raised its full-year earnings guidance and announced its first-ever quarterly dividend of 14 cents a share [4][18] - United Health beat expectations for third-quarter earnings and raised its outlook for the year [4] - JetBlue reported a smaller than expected loss in the third quarter, with optimism for continued demand improvement through 2025 [39][40]
Microsoft's $135B stake in OpenAI, why Microsoft and Google are well-positioned for earnings