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Top Midday Stories: US Imposes New Set of Tariffs on 60 Countries; Intel Posts Strongest Revenue Growth in 15 Years
All three major US stock indexes were up in late-morning trading Friday as the US imposed a new set of tariffs on 60 trade partners.In a Thursday statement, the Office of the US Trade Representative announced new tariffs on 60 countries over alleged "failure to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor." The duties took effect at 12:01 a.m. ET Friday, replacing President Donald Trump's 10% global tariffs, which expired on the same day, MS Now reported. Countries that have committed to prohibit forced labor were hit with a 10% tariff, while those that have not committed received a rate of 12.5%.In company news, Intel (INTC) posted fiscal Q2 adjusted earnings late Thursday of $0.42 per share, swinging from a loss of $0.10 a year earlier, and surpassing the FactSet consensus analyst estimate of $0.22. Fiscal Q2 revenue was $16.13 billion, up from $12.86 billion a year ago and above the FactSet consensus of $14.44 billion. For fiscal Q3, the company expects an adjusted EPS of $0.38 on revenue of $15.8 billion to $16.8 billion. Analysts expect $0.27 and $15.08 billion, respectively. "Our (second-quarter) results represent our strongest revenue growth in more than fifteen years, enabled by greater speed, accountability, and customer focus," Chief Executive Lip-Bu Tan said. Sales for the data center and AI segment surged 59% to $6.26 billion in the second quarter, while client computing and physical AI group increased 13% to $8.88 billion. Revenue for the foundry business rose 31% to $5.77 billion. "AI-driven compute continues to strengthen, and to support expected growth this year and next across products and foundry, we are meaningfully increasing our investments in equipment, clean room space, and substrates," Chief Financial Officer Dave Zinsner said. Intel shares were down 3.5% around midday.Oracle (ORCL) has secured a 10-year enterprise software contract worth about $7 billion with the US Department of Defense, the company said late Thursday. The agreement has a base value of $3.31 billion for the first five years and an overall value of $6.99 billion if all options are exercised. The contract will allow the Department of Defense organizations and contractors to procure Oracle's commercial offerings, including on-premises software and software-as-a-service applications, according to the company. The deal enables "a more standardized and efficient path" for the agency to obtain Oracle's cloud and artificial intelligence technology to support its mission-critical objectives, the company's executive vice president of government, defense and intelligence, Kim Lynch, said. Oracle shares were down 1.3%.SpaceX (SPCX) has begun limiting future commercial bookings for its Falcon 9 rocket beyond 2028 as it shifts its long-term launch strategy toward the Starship vehicle, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. The company is no longer accepting future Falcon 9 launch reservations, including bookings for its rideshare program, and has stopped making certain non-reusable Falcon components. SpaceX could still use Falcon rockets for Department of Defense and NASA missions, while noting its plans could change if Starship development faces further setbacks, according to the report. SpaceX shares were down 4.5%.American Express (AXP) reported Q2 earnings Friday of $4.53 per diluted share, up from $4.08 a year earlier and above the FactSet consensus analyst estimate of $4.40. Q2 net revenue was $19.64 billion, up from $17.86 billion a year ago and below the FactSet consensus of $19.7 billion. The company maintained its full-year EPS guidance at a range of $17.30 to $17.90, and raised its revenue growth outlook to 10%. Analysts expect EPS of $17.72. Card member spending gains of 9%, increased net interest income and card fee growth boosted the top line in the second quarter. "Based on our better-than-expected performance in the first half of the year, we are raising our full-year revenue growth guidance," Chief Executive Stephen Squeri said, adding that the firm plans to invest in growth initiatives as it sees "significant" opportunities ahead. American Express shares were down 5%.Verizon Communications (VZ) reported Q2 adjusted earnings Friday of $1.30 per share, up from $1.22 a year earlier, and above the FactSet consensus estimate of $1.28. Q2 operating revenue was $34.25 billion, down from $34.50 billion a year ago and below the FactSet consensus of $35.16 billion. The company said it expects full-year adjusted EPS of $4.99 to $5.04, compared with prior outlook of $4.95 to $4.99. Analysts expect $4.98. Verizon shares were up 3.5%.Amkor Technology (AMKR) said late Thursday it has entered into a multi-year strategic partnership with Nvidia (NVDA) to develop advanced semiconductor packaging and test technologies for next-generation AI and accelerated computing platforms. According to the agreement, Nvidia will offer a prepayment to support the expansion of Amkor's US advanced packaging capacity. Amkor shares were up 0.3%, while Nvidia shares were up 0.2%.Price: $97.10, Change: $-3.13, Percent Change: -3.12%
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