Stock Market Live July 22: S&P 500 (VOO) Inches Higher Despite Mixed Earnings News
Key Points
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Bloomberg reports that Google is recruiting news agencies to join a new AI project.
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Defense companies are reporting mixed earnings this morning, with RTX and Northrop beating earnings, but Lockheed Martin missing — badly.
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Tuesday Wrap-up
The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF closed Tuesday at 577.99, up a bare 0.01%.
China Back at the Negotiation Table
In further tariffs news, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says U.S. and Chinese representatives will meet in Stockholm, Sweden, next week. Discussions will cover a possible extension of the 90-day freeze on new tariffs against China, due to expire August 12, “sanctioned Russian and Iranian oil that [China has been buying], and what they’re doing to aid Russia and a Ukraine war,” and also the “glut of manufacturing” goods that China is exporting — and how to reduce that glut.
The Tariffs Strike Back
And… they’re back. The tariffs news, that is. Posting on Truth Social just now, President Donald Trump states: “President Ferdinand Marcos, of the Philippines, is just leaving the White House … It was a beautiful visit, and we concluded our Trade Deal, whereby The Philippines is going OPEN MARKET with the United States, and ZERO Tariffs. The Philippines will pay a 19% Tariff. In addition, we will work together Militarily.”
Investors seem cautiously optimistic about the news, as the Voo eases off its morning losses in the afternoon. At last report, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF is down just a fraction of 0.1%.
D.R. Horton Riding High
A second homebuilder reporting banner results today is D.R. Horton (NYSE: DHI | DHI Price Prediction). Horton stock is up more than 14% after announcing fiscal Q3 earnings of $3.36 per share, which was $0.46 better than expected. Revenue also came in gangbusters at $9.2 billion versus the consensus estimate of $8.8 billion. Guidance for the rest of this year was a little light, however, with management saying revenue will range from $33.7 billion to $34.2 billion, short at the midpoint of the $34 billion consensus.
Despite this good news from yet another S&P component stock, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF is now down 0.2%.
Pulte Builds Up
Earnings news is still rolling in this morning, and some of it is good. Homebuilder PulteGroup (NYSE: PHM) for example just reported a $3.03 per share profit in its Q2, $0.08 better than the analyst forecast of $2.95. Revenue for the quarter was $4.4 billion, edging out the analyst consensus forecast of $4.38 billion.
Pulte stock is up 7.8% in the first few minutes of trading. The Voo, however, has turned negative, down a bit less than 0.1%.
This article will be updated throughout the day, so check back often for more daily updates.
The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) is inching higher premarket, up about 0.1%.
There’s one notable non-earnings item on newsfeeds today, with Bloomberg reporting that Alphabet (Nasdaq: GOOG) (Nasdaq: GOOGL) is making a bigger push in artificial intelligence today. According to the news agency, Alphabet’s Google unit is seeking to recruit up to 20 national news outlets to join it in a new AI project, licensing data from the agencies’ news stories to feed into its AI. Alphabet stock is up 0.7% premarket on the news.
In the absence of much big economics news, though, earnings continue to dominate the news today. So let’s dive right into those reports, with a focus on big S&P 500 companies:
Earnings
Truckmaker Paccar (Nasdaq: PCAR) reported $1.37 per share in its Q2 report this morning, better than expected, and with $7.5 billion in revenue that likewise exceeded expectations.
Lockheed Martin‘s (NYSE: LMT) report is more of a disappointment. The defense giant reported a profit of $1.46 per share for the quarter, much less than the $6.54 per share that analysts had forecast. Revenue of $18.2 billion was less of a disappointment, but still short of Wall Street’s $18.6 billion prediction.
Two other S&P 500 component defense companies also reported earnings this morning: Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) and RTX (NYSE: RTX). Both of these defense contractors beat on both top and bottom lines, with RTX reporting $1.56 per share and $21.6 billion in revenue, and Northrop reporting $8.15 per share and $10.4 billion.
Finally, paint company Sherwin-Williams (NYSE: SHW) disappointed investors this morning, reporting $3.38 per share in Q2 profit, versus analysts’ forecast for $3.80. Revenue was slightly better than the $6.3 billion forecast, however the company dimmed even that small bright note of hope by warning that full-year 2025 earnings will be less than hoped: $10.11 to $10.41 per share, and not $11.89 as Wall Street had forecast.
Joel South covers large-cap stocks, dividend investing, and major market trends, with a focus on earnings analysis, valuation, and turning complex data into actionable insights for investors.
He brings more than 15 years of experience as an investor and financial journalist, including 12 years at The Motley Fool, where he served as an investment analyst, Bureau Chief, and later led the Fool.com investing news desk. He has also co-hosted an investing podcast and appeared across TV and radio discussing market trends.
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