Earnings Season Shines, Inflation Cools, and Big Tech Awaits

Last week was the corporate equivalent of a Rocky montage — sweat, grit, and one heck of a comeback soundtrack. Earnings season went full throttle, delivering upside surprises across sectors. Despite tariff drama, shutdown whispers, and geopolitical “are we fighting or flirting?” tension, Corporate America showed it’s still benching big numbers.

Now we roll into next week, where the spotlight swings to mega-cap tech earnings and a potentially pivotal Fed decision. Picture the Avengers assembling, but instead of saving the planet, they’re saving price-to-earnings ratios. It’s the markets’ big crossover event — Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta all lining up to prove that infinite growth is, in fact, a business model. Grab your popcorn and your Bloomberg terminal.

Consumer Price Index Cools to 3.1% - Friday’s Consumer Price Index showed inflation rising 3.1% year-over-year and 0.4% month-over-month—right on the money [Verified: CNBC + Bloomberg, 8:30 AM ET]. Core inflation also hit 3.1%. After the government’s data blackout, investors exhaled like they’d just checked their cholesterol post–bacon binge. Stocks ripped to record highs, bond yields eased, and traders started pricing in a Fed rate cut. It’s basically the market’s version of finding out the pop quiz was open-book.

Earnings Season Crushes Expectations - Third-quarter results were the corporate equivalent of a victory lap. S&P 500 companies posted sales growth of 8.3% and earnings growth of 13.2%, surprising analysts by 6.1% [Verified: Yahoo Finance + Evercore ISI]. From GM to Hasbro to T-Mobile, everyone brought receipts. Consumers keep spending through tariffs like it’s 1999, and cost controls are working. Bulls call it rocket fuel; bears call it hibernation season.

GM Smashes Estimates, Hikes Guidance - GM earnings blew past forecasts, with CFO Paul Jacobson crediting resilient consumers and stable auto-loan trends. Big trucks and Cadillacs led the charge, proving Americans will downsize anything except their vehicles. Full-year guidance went up, and the stock followed suit—apparently, torque still trumps tariffs.

Netflix Misses Slightly but Keeps Its Mojo - Solid sales growth, a one-time expense hiccup, and analysts are quick to defend. Netflix teased a 2026 content lineup stacked with live sports and new ad formats. The stock dipped, then rebounded faster than a canceled show revived by fan petitions. If they made chess thrilling, they’ll survive this quarter.

Intel Beats Big, Rides AI Wave - Adjusted earnings of $0.23 vs. $0.01 expected shocked Wall Street. The CEO cited accelerating AI demand and Intel’s renewed role alongside Nvidia chips. Shares popped after hours while broader AI names stayed flat. Call it a solo redemption arc—finally, the nerdy kid from the ’90s found its glow-up montage.

Hasbro & Mattel See Toy Boom - Hasbro’s CEO said sales jumped over seven weeks on figurine demand, and Mattel echoed the strength. Both lifted forecasts and forecast a merry holiday season. Even tariffs can’t stop parents from buying overpriced plastic joy. The toy aisle might be the only place left where optimism is fully priced in.

T-Mobile Adds Subscribers, Raises Outlook - Incoming CEO Srini Gopalan reported higher-than-expected new customers, driven by iPhone upgrades. The company bumped profit guidance and prepped for his Nov 1 debut. Stocks rallied as investors realized people will cut cable but never their data plans. Connectivity = comfort food.

Trump & Xi Set Trade Meeting - Confirmed for next week (date TBD), the summit will cover trade, tech exports, and market access. Treasury Secretary Bessent said tensions had “de-escalated,” sending the S&P back above 6,700. Soybeans, rare earths, and fentanyl headline the agenda. It’s détente with a side of drama—basically The Apprentice: Geopolitics Edition.

Oil Jumps 5% After U.S. Sanctions - Fresh sanctions on Russian energy firms added a new risk premium to crude. Energy stocks rallied while traders recalibrated inflation and Fed odds. Gasoline could follow—because every good global crisis eventually shows up at your local pump.

Quantum Computing Stocks Whipsaw - IonQ, Rigetti, and friends surged on rumors of U.S. equity stakes, then cratered after refutations. It was a perfect meme-stock mood swing: quantum in name, chaotic in nature. Until there’s revenue, they’re still the Schrödinger’s cat of Wall Street—alive and dead at the same time.

Ford Beats, Warns on Plant Fire - Better-than-expected earnings but a costly plant fire kept sentiment mixed. Management stressed resilience amid tariffs and production snags. Investors liked the profits but not the smoke. Moral: even great quarters can go up in literal flames.

Trump Pardons Binance Founder CZ - The presidential pardon sent crypto markets rallying. Bitcoin rose 2.5% to $111,000, and crypto stocks followed [Verified: Yahoo Finance + Investing.com]. It’s the administration’s most bullish signal yet for digital assets—and possibly the weirdest headline since Dogecoin sponsored Nascar.

Cleveland-Cliffs Goes Rare Earths - The Ohio steelmaker announced plans to explore two rare-earth mining sites, sending shares up 20%. It’s a patriotic pivot that aligns with U.S. material independence: less blockchain-pivot cringe, more strategic metals swagger. Uncle Sam approves.

Existing Home Sales Jump - Sales rose in September as mortgage rates eased and inventory improved. Builders and REITs cheered, though affordability still bites. It’s a baby step toward normalcy—think “Friends reunion,” not full-season reboot.

Apple Hits Record on iPhone 17 Sales - Sales up 14% vs. iPhone 16 in the first 10 days, pushing Apple’s market cap toward $4 trillion. Tim Cook hasn’t even played the AI/Siri card yet. Everyone else is playing checkers; Apple’s coding chess.

Gold kept sliding through the week, flirting with correction territory as the dollar firmed and real yields ticked higher. Investors rotated back into equities like it’s 2013 all over again—because who needs shiny metal when your tech stocks print tendies? The rally in risk assets, powered by strong earnings and cooling inflation, left gold sitting alone at the hedger’s table, checking its reflection in the spot-price chart.

Oil, on the other hand, strutted back into the spotlight, spiking 5% after new Russian sanctions added a dose of geopolitical adrenaline. Broader commodities stayed range-bound [Verified: Yahoo Finance + Bloomberg, Oct 24]. In the future, gold’s fate hangs in the balance on the Fed’s next move and whether geopolitics throws another curveball. For now, the once-mighty safe haven is taking a back seat to the S&P’s victory lap—kind of like a one-hit wonder watching Taylor Swift sell out another stadium.

Housing finally showed a pulse in September: existing home sales ticked higher as mortgage rates eased and listings nudged up. The 30-year rate hovering in the mid-6% range still feels expensive compared with the pre-pandemic 3% era, but after last year’s 7% spike, buyers are treating it like a clearance sale.

Real-estate funds mirrored rate jitters—volatile but directionally hopeful. Affordability remains the villain of this saga, though a Fed rate cut could play hero. Until then, expect more Zillow scrolling than moving trucks. Think of it as the “talking stage” between buyers and brokers—lots of interest, little commitment.

The takeaway: Wednesday could be Powell-palooza, and anything from his tone to his tie color could move the market.

Mega-cap week = Wall Street’s Super Bowl. Expect fireworks, caffeine, and maybe a few nervous hedges.

Social chatter hit full meme velocity: Reddit lit up over the Trump–Xi meeting, traders on X argued whether AI is in a bubble or just “pre-parabolic,” and StockTwits overflowed with diamond-handed crypto bulls celebrating CZ’s pardon. Sentiment tilted bullish, especially for tech and Bitcoin. Translation: retail is feeling itself, but everyone’s secretly refreshing the Fed calendar like it’s Ticketmaster on Taylor drop day.

This week calls for a bold Napa Cabernet—because if mega-cap earnings crush it, you’ll need something worthy of the toast. And if they don’t? Well, Cabernet also pairs nicely with shattered dreams and red-chart candles. Either way, decant early.

Last week reminded us why earnings season is Wall Street’s favorite reality show: high stakes, surprise twists, and record highs. Inflation cooled, corporations flexed, and indexes hit fresh peaks.

Next week’s episode features the Magnificent Five tech titans and the Fed’s much-teased rate-cut reveal. If they deliver, this rally gets an encore. If not, cue the profit-taking montage set to Smells Like Teen Spirit.

Stay nimble, stay caffeinated, and remember—time in the market beats timing the market… unless you actually can time it, in which case call us.