Stocks fall as disappointing results from Tesla and Alphabet drag tech lower: Live updates

September copper futures were trading at a low of $4.133 per pound Wednesday morning, marking their lowest level since April 3, 2024, when they traded at $4.069 per pound.

Copper futures are now on track for their eighth consecutive negative session. That would mark their longest losing streak since February 2020, when the metal fell for 13 straight days.

—Nick Wells, Lisa Kailai Han

Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings fell 18% in pre-market trading after the French fry maker reported that its revenue and net profit fell year-on-year.

Lamb Weston said it earned 78 cents per share on revenue of $1.61 billion in its fiscal fourth quarter. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected earnings of $1.26 per share on revenue of $1.70 billion.

The company’s profit forecast for the next financial year also fell short of expectations.

“The operating environment has changed rapidly over the past twelve months as global restaurant traffic and demand for frozen potatoes have declined due to menu price inflation which continues to negatively impact global restaurant traffic,” Tom Werner, Lamb Weston’s president and CEO, said in a press release.

Check out some of the companies making headlines in pre-market trading.

• Alphabet — Shares of Google’s parent company fell nearly 4% in premarket trading. Advertising revenue from Alphabet’s YouTube segment fell short of expectations in the second quarter and eclipsed results that beat analysts’ estimates for both revenue and net income.
• Tesla — Shares of the electric-vehicle maker fell about 9% after second-quarter results missed expectations. Tesla’s revenue of $25.5 billion beat Wall Street estimates of $24.77 billion.
• Texas Instruments — Shares of the chipmaker rose about 2% on better-than-expected second-quarter earnings. Texas Instruments reported earnings of $1.22 per share, while analysts polled by LSEG had expected $1.17.

Read the full list here.

—Brian Evans

Goldman Sachs tactical specialist Scott Rubner highlighted Wednesday how high expectations are for this earnings season.

“The earnings bar for the largest companies on the planet is set too high. Earnings and forecasts must be good, and by good I mean excellent,” Rubner wrote.

Investors have indeed punished Tesla after the company reported weaker-than-expected results, sending its stock down more than 7%. Google parent Alphabet beat expectations for profit and revenue, but its YouTube ad sales fell short of expectations, sending its stock down 4%.

Shares of Seagate Technology were up nearly 5% in premarket trading Wednesday after the data storage company reported better-than-expected results for its latest quarterly earnings.

Seagate reported earnings of $1.05 per share on revenue of $1.89 billion, while analysts polled by LSEG had expected earnings of just 75 cents on revenue of $1.887 billion.

—Lisa Kailai Han

Shares of Texas Instruments rose 1.8% in premarket trading, following its better-than-expected financial report released after the market closed Tuesday.

The chipmaker reported earnings of $1.22 per share, beating analysts’ consensus estimate of $1.17 per share, according to LSEG. Revenue of $3.82 billion was in line with expectations. The company also issued a consistent forecast, reassuring investors that orders could start to pick up as excess inventory dwindles.

— Pia Singh

AT&T shares rose more than 3% in premarket trading Wednesday as new subscriber numbers overshadowed profits.

The telecom giant reported second-quarter revenue of $29.8 billion, below the $29.92 billion estimated by analysts polled by LSEG. Earnings per share were in line with Wall Street expectations of 57 cents.

But the company’s unlimited plans, which are generally cheaper than those of its competitors, appear to have won and retained customers at a time of increasingly tight budgets. AT&T said it added 419,000 mobile subscribers paying monthly bills, well above the forecasts of analysts surveyed by FactSet. Churn was also considered historically low.

—Alex Harring, Reuters

Tesla reported earnings that missed expectations on Tuesday, marking the electric vehicle maker’s fourth consecutive profit shortfall — a first for the company.

Profits fell 17% short of consensus in the second quarter, the biggest miss since January 2021.

Tesla’s gross margins fell to 14.6% in the latest quarter, down by half from 30% in the first quarter of 2022.

Check out the companies making headlines during extended trading:

Alphabet — The tech giant fell 1% despite beating expectations for its second-quarter results. Alphabet reported earnings of $1.89 per share on revenue of $84.74 billion. Consensus estimates had called for earnings of $1.84 per share on revenue of $84.19 billion. However, revenue from its YouTube advertising segment fell short of expectations.

Tesla — Shares of the electric vehicle maker fell 4.7% after second-quarter results missed consensus expectations. Tesla reported adjusted earnings of 52 cents per share, while analysts polled by LSEG had expected 62 cents per share. On the other hand, the company posted quarterly revenue of $25.5 billion, slightly above Wall Street’s estimate of $24.77 billion.

Visa — Shares fell more than 2% after the company reported lower-than-expected revenue for its fiscal third quarter. Visa reported revenue of $8.9 billion, slightly below the $8.92 billion expected by analysts surveyed by LSEG. At the same time, payment volume rose 7% in the quarter.

Seagate — Shares rose more than 6% after Seagate reported fiscal fourth-quarter results that beat its rival. Seagate earned $1.05 per share, excluding special items, on revenue of $1.89 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG had estimated earnings of 75 cents per share on revenue of $1.87 billion. The company cited an improved cloud environment for its better performance.

The full list can be found here.

—Hakyung Kim

U.S. stock futures were broadly lower Tuesday evening.

S&P 500 futures fell 0.3%. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 and Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4% and 0.2%, respectively.

—Hakyung Kim