Market-moving news for Friday, October 23, 2026

What happened

UBS Group cut its Netflix price target to $100 from $115 in a research note issued to investors Wednesday and reported October 23, keeping a Buy rating on the stock. TD Cowen also restated a Buy rating with a $100 target on October 21. On the other side of the tape, high-profile investors are buying the selloff: Bill Ackman has re-established a Netflix position and reportedly expects annualized returns above 20%, while Cathie Wood's Ark Invest bought 18,000 shares after the decline. The stock hit a new 52-week low earlier this week, now trading around 17x forward earnings.

What happened

Reports on Friday said SpaceX is pursuing thousands of U.S. cell sites to establish a fourth national wireless carrier. The news hammered incumbent carriers in Friday trading: AT&T and T-Mobile each sank nearly 8%, while Verizon shed 1.2%, dragging down the broader communication services sector. Conversely, U.S. cell-tower operators rallied hard on the prospect of a well-funded new tenant — Crown Castle jumped 9% and American Tower gained 4%. SpaceX shares rose about 1.9% on the session.

What happened

On Friday Oct 23, U.S. Ambassador to Türkiye Tom Barrack (also Washington's special envoy for Syria) told podcast host Mario Nawfal that a U.S. strike on Iran could come as early as this weekend — 'Could there be a strike this weekend? Absolutely.' Asked about it on landing in Florida, President Trump distanced himself: 'He's a pretty powerful man, I guess. If that's the case, I don't know anything about it.' Later, at a Florida rally, Trump himself hinted at renewed strikes: 'We may do another little Epic Fury. Or they will agree' — 'Epic Fury' being the U.S. military's name for the war on Iran. Separately, eight foreign ministers (R4: Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt; E3: UK, France, Germany; plus Italy) met in Istanbul on Friday and urged Washington not to attack Iran again. Al Jazeera reported Iran has detailed plans to strike undersea communications cables in the Gulf if war resumes — a threat to regional financial data flows — and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said President Pezeshkian will meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow next week.

What happened

OpenAI told investors this week it is close to finalizing a funding round of up to $30 billion at a $1.25 trillion pre-money valuation (~$1.28 trillion post-money), led by Coatue and investors from the United Arab Emirates, with the UAE funding possibly coupled with a deal giving OpenAI more compute capacity from the UAE, CNBC reported. Per the Financial Times, OpenAI cut the target from the $1.4 trillion it pitched earlier in October after investor pushback — sources described 'indigestion' among backers, and Morgan Stanley and Dragoneer had shown the higher $1.4 trillion figure to private-wealth clients. OpenAI wants signatures by Oct 30. Reuters reported OpenAI is rushing to lock in commitments before Anthropic's expected mid-November IPO, which is targeting a $1.5-2 trillion valuation, since both draw on the same investor pool; SoftBank and MGX are negotiating to join the round.

What happened

U.S. stocks closed sharply lower Friday as the Iran conflict escalated: the Dow finished down 653 points (-1.2%) after falling as much as 750 intraday, the S&P 500 fell 0.5% for a second straight day, and the Nasdaq shed 0.2% following Thursday's 2.6% rout — its worst since June. Brent crude jumped 2.7% to $116.24 a barrel and WTI rose to ~$103.60, both five-month highs, with Brent on track for a weekly gain above 10%. The U.S. ordered non-emergency personnel and their families to leave Saudi Arabia amid reports the U.S. and Israel are drawing up plans for fresh strikes on Iran after the November 3 midterm elections. Iran's IRGC claimed four vessels were struck and caught fire in the Gulf and three others struck mines in the Strait of Hormuz; Trump accused Iran on Truth Social of 'making up fake hits, mines, and everything else' to drive oil prices higher before the midterms. National average gasoline hit $4.29/gallon (AAA).

What happened

The TJX Companies reported third-quarter fiscal 2026 results that beat on every major metric: net sales of about $15.1 billion (+7% y/y) vs. ~$14.85B consensus, consolidated comparable sales of +5% vs. ~+3.7% expected and the company's own +2% to +3% plan, and diluted EPS of $1.28 (+12% y/y) vs. ~$1.22-$1.23 expected. Pretax margin widened 40 bps to 12.7%, ~60 bps above the high end of plan, driven by ~100 bps of gross-margin expansion to ~32.6%. Management raised full-year FY26 guidance: EPS to $4.63-$4.66 (from $4.52-$4.57) and full-year comps to ~+4% (from +3%).

What happened

American Express disclosed plans to cut roughly 5% of its workforce alongside its third-quarter report, a notable cost-reduction move for a Dow component. The company posted a 31% increase in Q3 profit and raised the lower end of its 2026 earnings guidance (now adjusted EPS of $17.60-$17.90 versus $17.30-$17.90 previously), but quarterly revenue slightly missed expectations: total network volume of $517.9 billion came in below the $519.5 billion consensus, with year-over-year growth decelerating to 8% from 9% in the prior quarter. The beat was flattered by a lower-than-expected provision for credit losses ($985 million versus a $1.31 billion estimate). Shares fell 3.7% on Friday, the steepest decline among Dow components.

What happened

President Trump signed an executive order Thursday, 'Decreasing Housing Costs for the American People,' directing the Federal Housing Finance Agency to launch a pilot program that proactively cancels borrowers' mortgage insurance premiums once equity requirements are met based on current market value. The White House billed it as an affordability measure. The order also permanently expands the FHFA's title-insurance waiver pilot for refinancings, creates a Task Force on Manufactured Housing Innovation, and directs the Agriculture and Veterans Affairs secretaries to reduce interest rates on single-family loans their departments make. Shares of private mortgage insurers — Enact, Essent, MGIC, and Radian — rose 1.5% to 4% on Friday.

What happened

The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, October 23, that the United States is expected to remove 50% tariffs on some Canadian agricultural and forestry products in a proclamation that could come as early as today, citing people familiar with the upcoming action (Reuters, 18:05 UTC). The report says the move is designed to help Maine Senator Susan Collins and other Republican candidates in the upcoming midterm elections; Collins has been pressing for tariff relief amid a competitive race. The WSJ's sources caution that the scope and timing could still change, and that the U.S. may simultaneously raise tariffs on other Canadian goods to offset the cut — meaning total affected trade could be roughly unchanged, as in last month's tariff reshuffle. The White House called the reporting speculation and said any formal decisions would be announced by the administration.

What happened

Wells Fargo, Arm and Intuit have joined a growing list of companies objecting to their shares being 'tokenized' on OKXICE, Reuters reported Friday, October 23, citing a regulatory document. The total number of companies that have now objected is 22, the document reportedly states. Corporate issuers Microsoft and Alphabet had already filed objections against having their shares tokenized under the SEC framework, according to DL News.

What happened

Dell Technologies announced that General Counsel Richard Rothberg will retire in 2027 and that Christopher Garcia will succeed him as General Counsel, according to reports published Friday, October 23. The planned transition was described as unlikely to materially affect near-term earnings, adding a management-change consideration as Dell navigates AI-server supply-chain constraints and memory-cost pressure.

What happened

Brent crude surged nearly 4% to about $117 a barrel by midday Friday, October 23 — not far from its earlier wartime peak of around $122 and the highest since March — while WTI rose 2.9% to $102.40, according to the NY Post. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell as much as 800 points before paring losses to about 700 points (1.3%) by 10:40 a.m. ET; the S&P 500 fell 0.4% and the Nasdaq traded roughly flat. President Trump wrote on Truth Social Thursday accusing Iran of 'doing everything they can to drive up the price of Oil prior to the US Midterm Election,' claiming Tehran is 'making up fake hits, mines, and everything else.' On the Iranian side, Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said the nation was preparing for fresh attacks in a post on X, and Iran's IRGC claimed four vessels were struck and caught fire in the Gulf with three more striking mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

What happened

Tesla's quarterly 10-Q filing on Thursday disclosed that the U.S. Supreme Court's February 2026 ruling invalidating certain tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) let the company recognize $786 million in tariff refunds in Q3: $526 million as a reduction to energy generation and storage cost of revenues, and $260 million as a reduction to automotive sales cost of revenues. Adjusted for all refund impacts, automotive gross profit margin excluding regulatory credits was about 17% -- in line with, not above, Wall Street expectations -- and total gross margin about 18%, also in line. GLJ Research analyst Gordon Johnson calculated that, net of a $339 million revenue reduction Tesla recorded for customer refunds owed, the tariff benefits added $447 million to gross profit -- roughly 62% of Q3 operating income. Stripped of the one-time benefit, Johnson puts gross margin at 17.8% (vs. 19.6% reported), operating margin at 1.0% (vs. 2.6% reported), GAAP EPS at $0.12 (vs. $0.22 reported, $0.20 estimated) and non-GAAP EPS at $0.38 (vs. $0.48 reported, ~$0.44 consensus) -- turning the beats into misses. Tesla shares fell 3.1% on Thursday, though that was also a broad down day for the market.

What happened

U.S. stocks opened sharply lower on Friday, October 23, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down about 547 points (1%) in early trading, the S&P 500 off 0.5% and the Nasdaq down 0.4%, according to the Associated Press. Brent crude rose 1.8% to just over $115 a barrel — its highest level since March, up from under $97 at the start of October — after a 4% jump on Thursday. Meta fell another 2.1% as pressure on technology stocks resumed, while higher fuel costs fed through to consumers: the average U.S. gallon of regular gasoline stood at $4.29 on Friday versus $3.07 a year earlier. The 10-year Treasury yield ticked back up to about 4.97% after Thursday's sharp safe-haven rally.

What happened

Apple reclaimed the title of the world's most valuable company on Friday, October 23, overtaking Nvidia. AAPL traded above $351 per share, setting a new intraday trading record, with market capitalization around $5.12 trillion. Nvidia and Google follow. The milestone came on the global launch day of the iPhone Duo, Apple's first foldable iPhone — a $1,999 (base 256GB) device described as the thinnest iPhone ever when opened flat, with a continuous internal display roughly 50% larger than the latest iPhone Pro. Apple limited purchases to two units per customer and discouraged walk-in sales amid tight supply; preorders had sold out within minutes of opening on October 16, with online delivery estimates already slipping into late January. Apple called demand for the device 'nothing short of extraordinary' on October 18.

What happened

SK Hynix, the world's second-largest memory-chip maker and a key Nvidia supplier, on Friday said it has discontinued the review of a potential U.S. public offering for its Solidigm flash-memory subsidiary (the former Intel NAND business). Solidigm had aimed to raise $10B-$15B at a valuation of up to $150B — potentially one of the largest tech IPOs ever — to fund a new U.S. production facility serving AI data-center demand. SK Hynix cited 'market conditions and share price trends' and said the decision does not reflect any change in Solidigm's growth prospects or investment needs.

What happened

American Express reported record third-quarter revenue of $20.1B (+9% YoY) and net income of $3.7B (+28%), with adjusted EPS of $4.68 beating the ~$4.50 consensus (+13% YoY) and GAAP EPS of $5.42 boosted by a gain from selling its stake in Global Business Travel Group. Total card spending (billed business) rose 8% to $454B on affluent customers' travel, dining, and shopping. The company raised its 2026 profit forecast to $18.30-$18.60 per share (from $17.30-$17.90) — with adjusted guidance narrowed to $17.60-$17.90 — and stayed on track for 10% full-year revenue growth.

What happened

SpaceX stock rose 1.5% Friday premarket after tanking 9% Thursday, following a Bloomberg report — citing people familiar with the matter — that the Musk-led company is looking 'to secure a minimum of 80,000 cell sites across the U.S., and it's in talks with at least one major cellular infrastructure company to reach that goal.' Bloomberg did not name the infrastructure company or the deal structure. The plan signals a major push into terrestrial wireless infrastructure, most plausibly an expansion of Starlink's direct-to-cell service.

What happened

Jay Goldberg of Seaport Research Partners reiterated a Sell rating on Nvidia with a $180 price target in a note Thursday (covered by Barron's Friday morning), about 15% below NVDA's $212 close Thursday. Nvidia shares were up 1.3% premarket Friday after sliding 4.4% Thursday in the broad AI selloff. Goldberg conceded the near term looks fine — 'Nvidia is heading into early 2027 in a good position,' record sales continue, and the stock could even be a safe haven as peers struggle — but argued 'competitive pressures are mounting' and that Nvidia's aggressive finance bundling is 'a reaction to competitive pressure and a strategic tension at the heart of their business.' A core pillar of his thesis: roughly 55 GW of data-center operations have been announced for next year, but 'no one thinks there are enough electricians, gas turbines and utility interconnect to get beyond 30 GW,' so a large share of the mountain of orders may never materialize.

What happened

CalPERS, the largest U.S. public pension fund with about $640 billion in assets, has cut the combined number of Magnificent Seven shares it directly holds — Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta and Tesla — by 26% in the first half of 2026, the Financial Times reported on October 23, citing its own calculations from regulatory filings. Deputy Chief Investment Officer Anton Orlich told the FT in an interview that the fund is shifting away from big U.S. tech stocks and increasing exposure to private equity and hundreds of smaller companies, effectively trading large concentrated exposure to seven names for a far more diversified equity book. Orlich said valuations in public equity markets look high and concentrated in a few stocks that could underperform, while private-company pricing is more attractive and could cushion the fund against a public-market downturn.

What happened

Western Digital reported fiscal first-quarter results ahead of estimates: earnings climbed 160% to $4.64 per share (FactSet consensus $4.11) and sales jumped 55% to $4.38 billion (consensus $4.14 billion). The company guided December-quarter revenue to $5.1 billion, well above the $4.57 billion analyst consensus. CFO Kris Sennesael cited 'robust exabyte growth and improved pricing,' with WD shipping 248 exabytes during the September quarter, up 22% year over year. Despite the beat-and-raise, WDC stock sank more than 5% after hours, extending a pullback of more than 50% from June highs.

What happened

In a CNBC interview at Nvidia's GTC Berlin on Thursday, Oct. 22, CEO Jensen Huang said neocloud demand is 'off the charts' but that a shortage of working capital — not customers — is throttling their growth: 'The demand of the capital is much greater than the availability of the capital. That's going to get solved.' He also said Nvidia is trying to establish its chips as a 'financeable asset' that lenders can treat as collateral — 'the residual value of our compute, because it's fungible, it's so productive, it's so durable, it is now becoming an asset class' — and revealed Nvidia has begun guaranteeing utilization floors for some neocloud partners such as Sharon AI. He added that power is the other binding bottleneck, especially in Europe, and that the region needs 'much more' neocloud capacity. NVDA fell about 2% in premarket trading after the comments.