Stock Market Live October 28: Earnings Keep Driving S&P 500 (VOO) Higher
Key Points
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Powerful earnings reports from giant S&P 500 companies are pulling the S&P 500 ETF higher.
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Many of the country’s biggest tech and AI companies will report over the next two days.
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Live Updates
Sysco Beats, Sysco Stock Falls
Commercial food supplier and S&P 500 component company Sysco Corp. (NYSE: SYY) beat earnings by three cents this morning, reporting fiscal Q1 earnings of $1.15 per share. Revenue also edged out expectations at $21.1 billion.
Sysco forecast that full-year fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings will range from only $4.50 to $4.60 per share, however, which at the midpoint misses the consensus forecast by about one cent.
Consequently, Sysco stock is down 1.3% this afternoon, while the Voo as a whole is now up 0.3%.
Survey Says: Expect More Interest Rate Cuts
A CNBC survey of economists predicts that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates by 0.25% at its meeting this week, and furthermore cut two times after that — in December and then again in January 2026. 92% of economists surveyed expect the first cut to happen this week.
Weaker than expected inflation in September, combined with multiple reports of layoffs at a range of large American companies threaten to slow the economy, and make it easier for the Fed to justify stimulative reductions in interest rates to head off a slowdown.
The Voo remains in positive territory after this report, up 0.1%.
OpenAI Restructures
OpenAI announced this morning it has successfully restructured itself into a nonprofit to be called the OpenAI Foundation, owning in turn a for-profit public benefit corporation, OpenAI Group PBC.
The foundation’s 26% stake in OpenAI Group PBC is said to be worth $130 billion, similar to the $135 billion, 27% stake owned by Microsoft, and employees and other investors own the remaining 47%.
Add it all up, and the OpenAI Group PBC appears to be worth about $500 billion currently, and is now in a position where it could potentially IPO.
This article will be updated throughout the day, so check back often for more daily updates.
Earnings season is in full swing, and so far, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) investors largely seem to like what they’re hearing, and the Voo is up a modest 0.2% so far.
Cruise company Royal Caribbean (NYSE: RCL | RCL Price Prediction) beat earnings by six cents last night, reporting a huge $5.75 per share profit despite sales coming in just a bit light at $5.1 billion.
It’s a bit concerning that Royal Caribbean said earnings for the full year will fall short of expectations, however, with a forecast between $15.58 and $15.63 per share, and this forecast is costing the stock 8% in early trading.
S&P 500 component company and health insurance giant UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) did substantially better, beating earnings by 11 cents this morning, and reporting $2.92 per share in Q3 profit on $113.2 billion in revenue, which was also ahead of estimates.
UnitedHealth stock is up about 1% in response.
Another S&P 500 component company, UPS (NYSE: UPS) did even better, beating by 44 cents with a profit of $1.74 per share in Q3. Revenue was $560 million more than expected at $21.4 billion, and UPS forecast even better revenue in Q4 — $24 billion — sending the stock up more than 11%.
Rounding out the alphabet, tech company Zebra Technologies (Nasdaq: ZBRA) — also an S&P 500 component — said it beat earnings by 15 cents, earning $3.88. Revenue only scraped by the forecast at $1.3 billion, but Zebra also said its Q4 earnings will be better than Wall Street is calling for, landing somewhere between $4.20 and $4.40 per share.
Zebra stock is nonetheless down more than 7% already today.
Earnings to come
Magnificent Seven companies Alphabet (Nasdaq: GOOG), Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN), Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), Meta (Nasdaq: META), and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) are all expected to report over the next couple of days.
Whether the market can keep powering higher will depend largely on how those names fare.
Joel South has been an avid investor and financial writer for over 15 years, publishing thousands of articles analyzing stocks, markets, and investment strategies across multiple leading financial media platforms. He spent 12 years at The Motley Fool, where he worked as an investment analyst and Bureau Chief before ascending to direct the Fool.com investing news desk, overseeing editorial operations and content strategy. During his tenure, Joel co-hosted an investing podcast and became a recognized voice in financial media through numerous TV and radio appearances discussing stock market trends and investment opportunities.
Currently serving as General Manager and Managing Editor at 24/7 Wall Street, Joel has published hundreds of in-depth analyses focusing on large-cap stocks, dividend-paying equities, and market-moving developments. His comprehensive coverage spans earnings previews, price predictions, and investment forecasts for major companies across all sectors—from technology giants and semiconductor manufacturers to consumer brands and financial institutions. Joel's expertise encompasses t fundamental analysis, options market interpretation, institutional investor behavior, and translating complex market dynamics into clear, actionable insights for individual investors.
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