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Meta unveiled Muse Charm, a pocket-watch-sized device offering direct access to its Muse AI agent, at Wednesday’s Meta Connect conference. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Meta had shifted its focus from the metaverse to devices for “personal superintelligence,” with Muse also coming soon to its smart glasses. Muse has attracted millions of downloads since its September 8 launch. Meta shares rose more than 3% Thursday after gaining nearly 24% since the launch. Analysts said Charm could appeal to younger consumers, but Smart Analytics Global founder Linda Sui cautioned that mainstream adoption would require functions not easily replaced by existing devices.
📣 "We are well aware that there is a price-to-value disconnect with certain customers in TurboTax."
—Sandeep Aujla, CFO of Intuit, in an interview with the Journal. The company is considering offering a free version of its tax-preparation software in a bid to win over new customers. The plans contributed to a decision to cut guidance.
US stock futures were subdued Wednesday as investors assessed the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure and awaited Nvidia’s earnings. S&P 500 contracts were flat at 8:47 a.m. in New York, while Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.4%. Core personal consumption expenditures prices rose 0.2%, matching expectations, and inflation-adjusted consumer spending was unchanged after strong May and June gains, giving the Fed more room to hold rates. Nvidia shares were about 5.4% below their August high, with investors focused on earnings, net income and revenue projections. Intuit plunged after issuing weaker-than-expected guidance, while Kohl’s declined following its results.
UBS downgraded SAP to neutral, citing slow agentic-AI deployment and likely cloud-backlog deceleration, while HSBC said Chinese AI stocks remain expensive after July’s correction. SMBC Nikko raised Recruit Holdings’ target on AI-driven growth prospects. TSMC aims to increase renewable energy from 20.1% of electricity use in 2025 to 60% by 2030. Morningstar said PDD’s upside depends on Temu’s turnaround. SemiAnalysis said Anthropic became profitable in the second quarter and OpenAI could follow in the third. TrendForce forecast memory will consume 68% of cloud providers’ 2027 AI infrastructure spending. Analysts highlighted WiseTech’s cost control, while Intuit acknowledged TurboTax customer losses to cheaper rivals.
Intuit lowered its fiscal 2027 revenue-growth guidance to 9%–10%, from 14% growth in fiscal 2026. The expected slowdown partly reflects efforts to attract new TurboTax customers, potentially through a free offering, and continued declines in its desktop and Mailchimp businesses. The company’s shares have fallen amid investor concerns about AI, while Intuit has announced layoffs affecting 17% of its workforce as it prioritizes major initiatives, including AI. CFO Sandeep Aujla said management sought to balance overly optimistic and overly cautious forecasting while making changes intended to support sustainable long-term growth.
Ahead of Nvidia’s earnings, strong chip demand and continued high AI spending by tech giants are expected to support robust margins and backlog. However, venture capitalist David Cahn estimates the gap between AI investment and required revenue has grown from $200 billion three years ago to $1.5 trillion this year. Analysts expect Nvidia’s annual sales to rise from nearly $400 billion to about $700 billion within two years. Using Cahn’s assumptions about data-center costs and provider margins, that would require roughly $2.1 trillion in end demand. Although OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Amazon and Microsoft generate AI revenue, the article says it remains insufficient to resolve the long-term investment-revenue gap.
🔎 Meta Platforms (META): The tech giant reached an $18 billion settlement to end a federal trial over social media’s harm to teenagers. Shares closed with a 1% gain.
↗️ J.M. Smucker (SJM): The owner of Jif peanut butter and Folgers coffee beat expectations in the first quarter and offered an improved outlook for the net-sales decline it penciled in for fiscal 2027. Shares climbed 4.3%.
↘️ Kohl's (KSS): The department-store retailer recorded lower profit and sales in the second quarter, though it got a boost from tariff refunds. Shares gained 1.5%.
↘️ Intuit (INTU): The company, known for its tax-preparation and accounting software, forecast slower sales growth in the year ahead as it navigates declines in its desktop business. Shares slid more than 3%.
🔎 Nvidia (NVDA): The artificial-intelligence bellwether reported earnings after the closing bell. Its shares slid around 1% in aftermarket trading.
↘️ Zoom Communications (ZM): The videoconferencing company’s second-quarter revenue rose as its enterprise business recorded its strongest growth in years. Still, shares fell 7% after its guidance for the current quarter fell short of Wall Street expectations.
🔎 Salesforce (CRM) cleared second-quarter expectations with an earnings beat driven by the company's agentic AI tools. Investors were reaffirmed in the software giant's staying power through the year as the company reported deepening ties with Anthropic. Shares jumped more than 12% aftermarket.
🔎 CrowdStrike (CRWD) also reported an earnings beat after the bell, sending aftermarket trades up 11%. The security software firm forecasted revenue figures higher than analyst estimates. Demand for cybersecurity services has grown with new AI threats.
Intuit forecast fiscal 2027 revenue growth of 9% to 10%, down from 14% this year and below Wall Street’s roughly 11% projection. Shares fell about 14% after hours. The company expects declines in its desktop business and plans to accept a short-term hit in TurboTax’s do-it-yourself segment, potentially offering free filing to attract customers earning around $50,000 and later sell them other services. Intuit also cited Mailchimp’s performance while investing in its artificial intelligence-focused initiatives. Fourth-quarter profit fell to $363 million from $381 million, while revenue rose 14% to $4.35 billion. Adjusted earnings of $4.03 a share exceeded analysts’ $3.58 estimate.
Intuit stock is falling about 7% in late trading. Investors are souring on the software company after it guided for growth to slow this fiscal year, forecasting revenue up 9% to 10%, compared with 14% growth in the latest year.
Intuit's projection also missed Wall Street's estimate for a roughly 11% increase. The guidance factors in potential changes in the company's TurboTax business, including a possible free offering aimed at attracting customers with adjusted gross incomes around $50,000, in the hopes of eventually selling them other services, CFO Sandeep Aujla says in an interview. Read more here.
↘️ Nvidia (NVDA): The chip giant reported record sales and income that beat analyst expectations, driven by demand for data-center computing and the rise of AI agents. Shares flitted between small gains and losses and closed down 1.8%.
↗️ Spotify Technology (SPOT): The music streaming company's shares climbed 13% after it said it plans to roll out an AI tool allowing users to make covers and remixes of songs from Universal Music Group artists.
↗️ Stellantis (STLA): The carmaker outlined a $70 billion turnaround plan that includes more affortable cars; its U.S.-listed were down much of the day and were up 0.4% at the close.
↗️ Advanced Micro Devices (AMD): The chipmaker is gearing up to invest more than $10 billion across Taiwan's semiconductor sector to meet growing demand for artificial-intelligence infrastructure. Shares edged up 0.45%.
↘️ Intuit (INTU): The maker of TurboTax and QuickBooks plans to lay off 17% of its workforce as it remakes itself into an AI-first platform. Shares fell 20%.
↘️ Walmart (WMT): The retail giant said sales grew in its most recent quarter as shoppers looked for value and bought more online. Still, shares fell 7.3% after the company left its financial expectations for the full year unchanged.
↗️ Samsung Electronics (KR:005930), LG Electronics (KR:066570), SK Hynix (KR:000660): South Korean semiconductor and electronics manufacturers' stocks rallied, following strong results from Nvidia and comments from its CEO Jensen Huang on opportunities in “physical AI.” Samsung also benefited from an 11th-hour labor-dispute resolution that averted a crippling strike.
Intuit said it will cut 17% of its workforce, about 3,100 jobs, to improve efficiency and fund “big bets” as it emphasizes artificial intelligence. CFO Sandeep Aujla said the layoffs target coordination roles, business operations teams and some managerial positions, and are not directly tied to Intuit’s own AI use. The restructuring is expected to cost $300 million to $340 million, mostly this quarter. Intuit reported tax-season revenue up 10% to $8.56 billion and profit of $3.06 billion, while raising some full-year expectations. Shares fell 11% after hours to $342 after dropping 4% in regular trading.
Intuit Inc. is cutting about 17% of its staff, or about 3,000 workers, Reuters reported, citing an internal company memo.
The software company’s job cuts are intended to reduce complexity and simplify the structure, Reuters said, citing an internal note from Chief Executive Officer Sasan Goodarzi. A representative for Intuit did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Intuit is scheduled to report earnings Wednesday after the close. The shares fell as much as 5.9% to $376 after trading got underway in New York.
Intuit is the latest in a growing string of tech companies that have slashed their workforces this year. Bloomberg reported earlier that Meta Platforms Inc. has begun alerting thousands of employees that they’re being laid off, part of a previously announced restructuring aimed at reducing costs while the company invests heavily in artificial intelligence.
Intuit in July 2024 cut 1,800 employees, or about 10% of its workforce, saying at the time that the move was not meant to cut costs but that it expected to re-hire the same number of employees in other areas.
Intuit Credit Karma is opening its site to Americans who have no credit history, allowing them to take the first steps to building credit.
“Credit invisible” individuals are now able to create Credit Karma accounts, the company said in a statement on Thursday. This will give them free access to Credit Karma’s tools, including two that use alternative data to help consumers build credit.
“The economic reality for millions of Americans today is rooted in high costs, rising debt and financial instability,” said Courtney Alev, a consumer financial advocate at Credit Karma. A generation is entering adulthood with no credit history, creating “urgency right now to build something to serve those consumers who are starting from zero,” she said in an interview.
Credit Karma’s Credit Spark service uses alternative spending data including rent, utilities and phone bills to establish a credit history. The company’s Credit Builder allows customers to build credit while making consistent payments to a locked savings account. It’s the only free credit-building tool that will report on-time payments to TransUnion.
About 17 million Americans are considered credit invisible, according to Credit Karma. Having little to no credit history can prevent consumers from reaching first-time milestones like renting an apartment or buying a car. The issue is especially acute for Gen Z, as almost half of 18- to 24-year-olds say they feel at a financial disadvantage because they lack a credit history, the company said.
“What we’re trying to do here first is really just make sure that people can get access to a good credit score,” Alev said.