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Top Midday Stories: Home Depot Earnings Top Estimates; Blackstone, Google Form AI Data Center Joint Venture
All three major US stock indexes were down in late-morning trading Tuesday, as the 30-year Treasury yield hit its highest level in almost 19 years.The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is considering helping ships pass through the Strait of Hormuz if it doesn't get unblocked by early July, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing a senior official in the military alliance. Several NATO members support the idea, but it doesn't have the necessary unanimous support yet, the report said, citing a diplomat from a NATO country.In company news, Home Depot (HD) reported fiscal Q1 adjusted earnings Tuesday of $3.43 per diluted share, down from $3.56 a year earlier but above the FactSet consensus analyst estimate of $3.41. Fiscal Q1 net sales were $41.77 billion, up from $39.86 billion a year ago and above the FactSet consensus of $41.59 billion. For fiscal 2026, the company said it expects adjusted EPS growth of about flat to 4% from $14.69 in fiscal 2025. Analysts polled by FactSet expect $15.01. The company also said it expects full-year sales growth of 2.5% to 4.5%. Home Depot shares were up 0.5% around midday.Blackstone (BX) said late Monday it's forming a US-based joint venture with Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) Google to provide AI-focused data center capacity and cloud computing services powered by Google's Tensor processing units. Blackstone will invest $5 billion in equity initially for the JV, which plans to bring its first 500 megawatts of capacity online in 2027 and expand further over time, the private equity giant said. Google will provide TPU hardware, software and related services, Blackstone said. Blackstone shares were down 1.5%, while Alphabet's Class C and Class A shares were down 2.3% and 2.5%, respectively.Meta Platforms (META) is moving 7,000 workers into new AI-focused roles as part of a broader restructuring that also includes planned job cuts later this week, Bloomberg reported late Monday, citing an internal memo. The layoffs, which are expected to impact 10% of Meta employees, are expected to get underway on Wednesday, Reuters reported late Monday, citing an internal memo. Meta shares were down 1.1%.Blue Owl (OWL) Co-Founder Doug Ostrover is selling his stake in the NFL's Washington Commanders back to the Josh Harris-led ownership group, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Blue Owl shares were down 1.1%.Price: $301.28, Change: $+1.47, Percent Change: +0.49%
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