Gases production company and S&P 500 component Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE: APD) beat on both sales and earnings, reporting $3.39 per share in adjusted earnings, but only $0.02 per share in GAAP profit. Revenue for the quarter declined about a percentage point to $3.2 billion.
Air Products blamed charges taken for asset sales for its weak quarterly results (this was Air Products’ fourth fiscal quarter), and for its full-year loss as well, but promised to report at least pro forma profits in the fiscal 2026 currently underway.
Air Products stock is up nearly 10%.
S&P 500 component company Cummins (NYSE: CMI) reported $5.59 per share in adjusted profit for Q3 this morning, beating analyst forecasts by 82 cents. Revenue was strong at $8.3 billion — $300 million more than forecast.
CEO Jennifer Rumsey cited a “sharp decline in the North American truck market” as weighing on results, offset by “profitable growth in our Power Systems and Distribution segments,” driven by “rising demand for backup power for data centers.”
Cummins stock is up more than 6% in response — a sharp contrast to what now looks like a 1% decline for the Voo.
In other earnings news, S&P 500 component company and clothier Ralph Lauren (NYSE: RL) beat earnings by 35 cents this morning, reporting a fiscal Q2 2026 profit of $3.79 per share. Revenue also exceeded expectations at $2 billion.
Ralph Lauren stock is up nearly 2% in early trading. The Voo has turned negative, and is now down 0.2%.
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Big employment news today — or perhaps the correct term is un-employment news. One day after HR company Automatic Data Processing estimated private payrolls grew by 42,000 in October, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas has just released a report estimating job cuts in October totaled 153,074, nearly triple September’s layoffs and up 175% from October 2024.
With the federal government shut down and no official government data to confirm or deny Challenger’s data, or put it in a broader context, today’s news has the potential to shake the market.
For now, it’s… not. The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) is actually looking pretty healthy so far, up 0.2% premarket. And why is that?
Perhaps investors are thinking all these layoffs, caused by cheap AI replacing expensive workers, and allowing corporate profits to rise. Or investors could be encouraged by the way oral arguments went before the Supreme Court yesterday, with the Justices apparently doubtful of President Trump’s ability to legally and unilaterally impose tariffs on imports without Congressional assent.
That seems to foreshadow a Supreme Court repeal of the tariffs, lowering costs for corporations that import much of the goods they sell.
Whatever the reason, the stock market seems to be ticking higher today. At least for now.
In earnings news today, S&P 500 component DuPont (NYSE: DD | DD Price Prediction) missed earnings by seven cents with $1.09 per share earned in Q3. Revenue also missed, coming in $210 million below expectations at $3.1 billion. DuPont also warned full-year profit will fall far short of expectations at $1.66 per share, and sales will miss for the year as well.
DuPont stock is still up 1% premarket however.
Oil major and S&P 500 component ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) in contrast beat earnings by 16 cents this morning, with $1.61 per share in Q3 profit. Conoco also raised guidance for oil production and lowered guidance for costs.
Conoco stock is up 0.6% premarket.
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Joel South covers large-cap stocks, dividend investing, and major market trends, with a focus on earnings analysis, valuation, and turning complex data into actionable insights for investors.
He brings more than 15 years of experience as an investor and financial journalist, including 12 years at The Motley Fool, where he served as an investment analyst, Bureau Chief, and later led the Fool.com investing news desk. He has also co-hosted an investing podcast and appeared across TV and radio discussing market trends.
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