Top Midday Stories: Meta to Pay Up to $16.68 Billion to Settle Teen Harm Case With States; Victory Capital to Buy First Eagle for $7 Billion
All three major US stock indexes were down slightly in late-morning trading Wednesday, as market participants took in the latest inflation data and prepared for Nvidia (NVDA) to release its earnings results after markets close.The personal consumption expenditures index, a measure of inflation, rose by 0.2% in July, faster than the 0.1% gain expected in a survey conducted by Bloomberg as of 6:10 am ET and following a 0.1% drop in June. The July figure keeps the year-over-year rate at 3.7%. The core PCE index, which excludes food and energy prices, increased by 0.2%, as expected and following a 0.1% gain in June. The year-over-year rate remained at 3.3% in the month.Separately, US gross domestic product rose by 1.5% in Q2, unrevised from the advance estimate released last month and matching the consensus estimate from a Bloomberg survey as of 6:10 am ET.In company news, Meta Platforms (META) has agreed to pay a maximum of $16.68 billion to resolve claims brought by several US states that the tech giant used its platforms to "ensnare" youth and teens, according to a Wednesday filing in federal court. The consent agreement's injunctive relief also requires Meta to take several steps to regulate children's usage of its social media platforms, including daily limits and nighttime blocks. In a separate release, Meta said the agreement includes a payment of about $18 billion to be distributed in annual installments over a 10-year period. Plaintiff states will receive about $12.7 billion over the decade, while the remaining roughly 30%, or $5.3 billion, will be released if Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) YouTube and TikTok "implement a one-hour Daily Limit, Night Mode, and Age assurance measures," and they each pay an amount equal to the 30% figure. Meta shares were up 2.1% around midday. Alphabet's Class C and Class A shares were down 1.1% and 1.2%, respectively.Victory Capital (VCTR) signed a definitive agreement to acquire First Eagle Investments from Genstar Capital and First Eagle employees for about $7 billion, Victory said Wednesday. Victory will pay about $4.4 billion in cash, $2 billion in newly issued shares and will assume $575 million of First Eagle's existing 7.25% senior secured notes due 2032, the company said. The deal is expected to close in Q1 2027, at which point Genstar will own a 14.6% stake in Victory, the company said. Victory Capital shares were up 6.3%.Intuit (INTU) reported fiscal Q4 adjusted earnings late Tuesday of $4.03 per diluted share, up from $2.75 a year earlier and above the FactSet consensus of $3.58. Fiscal Q4 revenue was $4.35 billion, up from $3.83 billion a year ago and above the FactSet consensus of $4.27 billion. For fiscal Q1, the company expects adjusted EPS of $2.44 to $2.48 on revenue of $4.29 billion to $4.31 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet expect $4.04 and $4.35 billion, respectively. For fiscal 2027, Intuit expects adjusted EPS of $22.88 to $23.12 on revenue of $23.28 billion to $23.51 billion. Analysts expect $27.34 and $23.70 billion, respectively. The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.38 per share from $1.20, payable on Oct. 16. Intuit shares were down 4.5%.Boston Scientific (BSX) identified a cybersecurity incident that affected some of its IT systems and led to global disruptions in operations, the company said Wednesday in a regulatory filing. Boston Scientific shares were down 4.7%.Amazon (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT) and Alphabet's Google are in talks with Chinese AI startup Moonshot AI over revenue-sharing deals for hosting Moonshot's Kimi K3 model, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the matter. Separately, Amazon plans to expand fulfillment capacity, same-day delivery and its logistics network in Canada despite escalating trade tensions between the US and Canada, Business Insider reported Wednesday, citing internal company documents. Lastly, Amazon's AWS unit is acquiring DuckLabs, the Amsterdam-based company behind the open-source analytical database DuckDB, for an undisclosed sum, Amazon said. The deal is expected to close shortly, Amazon said. Shares of Amazon were down 0.6%, and Microsoft was up 0.7%.Price: $582.24, Change: $+12.19, Percent Change: +2.14%
