Business News Today

BUSINESS NEWS TODAY – FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2026

Stock futures down on Friday morning, with the S&P 500 dropping 0.77%, the Dow down 0.54%, and the Nasdaq down 1.64%.

Benchmark crude oils once again trading above $80 a barrel.

Biggest gainers from Thursday’s trading are CareDx, Inc. (+25.6%) and AtaiBeckley, Inc. (+33.4%). Biggest losses are AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (-17.4%) and MaxLinear, Inc. (-16.25%).

 On Thursday, July 16:

• The S&P 500 fell 38.63 points to 7,533.77
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 105.67 points to 52,552.97
• The Nasdaq composite fell 387.28 points to 25,881.95

For The Week:

• The S&P 500 is down 41.62 points (0.5%)
• The Dow is down 84.04 points (0.2%)
• The Nasdaq is down 399.66 points (1.5%)

For The Year

• The S&P 500 is up 688.27 points (10.1%)
• The Dow is up 4,489.68 points (9.3%)
• The Nasdaq is up 2,639.96 points (11.4%)

Netflix Reports Strong Earnings, Weaker Forecast

Q2 revenue of $12.6B was in-line with forecast and grew 13% year over year (+12% on a foreign exchange (F/X) neutral basis), driven primarily by membership growth, pricing and increased ad revenue.

We delivered double digit revenue growth in all regions, surpassing the quarterly revenue mark of $4.0B in EMEA and $1.5B in both LATAM and APAC. In UCAN, Q2 revenue growth of 10% reflects only a partial quarter impact from our recent price change, which has gone well and as expected.

Operating income in Q2 was $4.2B, up 11% year over year, and operating margin was 33.4% versus 34.1% in Q2’25. Q2 operating income and margin were slightly ahead of forecast due to the timing of expenses. As we noted in previous letters, operating income in Q2 grew slower than revenue because our content amortization growth is higher in the first half of the year; we continue to expect content amortization to grow slower in the second half of the year and to increase ~10% for 2026. Diluted EPS for the quarter amounted to $0.80 vs. $0.72 in Q2’25 (+11% year over year), slightly above our forecast.

As a reminder, the guidance we provide is our actual internal forecast at the time we report and we strive for accuracy. Our primary financial metrics are revenue for growth and operating margin for profitability. Our goal is to sustain healthy revenue growth, expand operating profit and margin, and deliver growing free cash flow.

For Q3, we expect revenue growth of 12% (or 11% F/X neutral) driven by growth in memberships, pricing, and ad revenue. We project an operating margin of 33.2% compared with 28.2% in the year ago quarter.

Our 2026 outlook is consistent with our prior forecast: we are narrowing our revenue forecast to $51.0-$51.4B, which represents 13%-14% growth (~12% F/X neutral), driven by growth in memberships and pricing, and a projected rough doubling of our ads revenue to approximately $3 billion. We continue to anticipate an operating margin of 31.5% for 2026 both on a reported basis and based on F/X rates as of January 1, 2026 vs. 29.5% in 2025. Our forecast implies annual operating income growth of 20%+ for 2026.

Verizon To Close Stores, Cut 500 Corporate Jobs

Verizon announced on Thursday that it plans to sell 274 company-owned stores and cut nearly 500 corporate positions as it continues its restructuring plan. The decisions will impact nearly 3,000 employees in total.

Verizon will still own more than 1,000 stores after the sale. The wireless provider has announced job cuts last November and May as part of the restructuring.

Verizon said last month it was ​aiming to attract customers by ​offering simpler plans, dropping activation and upgrade fees and ‌unveiling a new loyalty program offering ​discounts and perks. Verizon, ​AT&T and T-Mobile agreed in May to form a joint venture to address coverage gaps, especially in rural areas, with satellite-based technologies.

Analysts ​suggest the joint ‌venture could be defensive as some have raised concerns SpaceX’s Starlink ​could eventually compete more directly with the U.S. wireless carriers.

Honda Exits U.S. Electric Vehicle Market

Honda has announced it is getting out of the Electric Vehicle market in the U.S. by ending sales of the Honda Prologue at the end of the 2026 model year. The company announced the new model in 2021 and started selling it in the U.S. in 2024.

“Honda will conclude sales of Prologue later this year following completion of the 2026 model year,” the company said in a statement. “Prologue customers will continue to receive full support through our dealer network, including service, parts, and warranty coverage.”

The Prologue wasn’t as popular as other electric vehicles, but was ranked by some publications as the sixth-best-selling EV in the US. It was produced in collaboration with General Motors, with Honda using GM’s battery platform.