The latest Market Talks covering Equities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.

1807 ET - The IBM mainframe deals that fell through during the second quarter shouldn't be taken as a sign of lower fundamental demand for the product, executives say on a call. The slipped deals number in the tens, representing mostly large CapEx deals with large clients, and about one-third have closed so far in the third quarter. This, Chief Executive Arvind Krishna says, "gives us an indication, not yet full evidence, but a good indication that this was deferral and not destruction." Krishna adds that IBM has seen no evidence of customers moving off the mainframe. IBM shares are roughly flat after hours. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)

1724 ET - Tesla's capital expenditures totaled $5.79 billion in the fiscal second quarter, more than doubling from $2.39 billion in the year-ago period, according to a shareholder deck. On a sequential basis, the metric increased by about $3.3 billion, resulting in negative free cash flow, the company says. Tesla has been ramping up spending to expand its footprint in artificial intelligence and robotics as it looks to pivot away from its primary focus on electric vehicles. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)

1718 ET - Tesla's robotaxi business is progressing, and its entrance to new markets and its miles driven are both ramping nicely, Baird analysts say in a note published after the company's latest earnings. Since Tesla began paid robotaxi rides roughly a year ago, it's logged nearly 2.5 million cumulative paid miles which the analysts expect will continue to build as the company enters new markets, they say. Additionally, Tesla's unsupervised robotaxi operations are currently ramping in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Orlando and Tampa, and preparations are also underway for operations in Phoenix and Las Vegas, the analysts say. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)

1634 ET - In the latest quarter, Tesla continued to make progress on expanding its battery pack capacity, which it says is the main factor limiting vehicle production volume increase in the near term. The electric vehicle maker says it made headway on the ramp of new battery and material factories, including vehicle pack capacity in Berlin, cathode material production and lithium refining in Texas and lithium iron phosphate cells in Nevada for its energy storage products. The company says its also increasing production of 4680 cells to support production ramps of both its Cybercab and Tesla Semi as well as increased production of the Model Y. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)

1633 ET - Tesla says its supervised full self driving $(FSD)$ offering is gaining traction, with record net new subscriptions in the latest quarter. Overall, active FSD subscriptions rose to 1.5 million in the second quarter, up 56% year over year, the company says in a shareholder presentation. Additionally, more customers are opting for the subscription right when they purchase a vehicle, with over 55% of new deliveries including a FSD subscription in North America, marking a record attach rate in the region, the company says.(kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)

1617 ET - IBM's lowered full-year guidance -- projecting constant currency revenue growth between 4% and 5% -- is meant to give investors confidence in the company's growth despite headwinds in its mainframe business, CFO Jim Kavanaugh says in an interview. "We anchor it on the low end, to give confidence to the Street on our earnings and our cash," he says. "At the high end, it obviously provides upside and we're going to maintain the investment flexibility so we continue to invest for the long term in this company." Kavanaugh adds that IBM is seeing signals that buyer behavior is changing from the difficult second-quarter, calling the demand profile "extremely strong" for the back half of the year. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)

1518 ET - Super Micro Computer's move to sharply boost its gross margin outlook isn't just a good sign for the server company, Wedbush Securities analysts say in a note. The updated guidance also offers an encouraging signal for other server players like Dell and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, the analysts say, so long as it was driven by strong AI server demand that outpaced supply. The analysts say that if Super Micro's raised forecast is in fact a result of scarce supply that allowed it to sell at higher prices, those other players should benefit from the same dynamics. Shares of Dell were recently up 9.6%, while HPE shares rise 3.5%. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)

1506 ET - Bitcoin is down 0.8% to $65,884 -- hitting resistance at $66k to $68k and potentially unwinding further, says analysts with Bitfinex in a note. That's because spot trading volume is light meaning that there's little underpinning the current rally. "The recovery appears to be driven primarily by derivatives positioning and a lack of sellers rather than an influx of fresh capital," says Bitfinex. Data from Deribit shows a spike in calls around $70k to $72k, the majority dated for July 31. Light volumes could result in extreme choppiness in reaction to some sort of event, says Bitfinex. "A market that climbs on thin participation can travel quickly in either direction, because there is little resting liquidity to absorb a shift in flow," the firm says. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1254 ET - Philip Morris International is hoping more countries will follow in the footsteps of the U.S. to make smoke-free products like Zyn more widely used, Chief Executive Jacek Olczak says on CNBC. During 2Q, the tobacco company got permission from the Food and Drug Administration to market Zyn in the U.S. as less harmful than cigarettes. He says he hopes other countries will make similar decisions so the company can sell and market Zyn more aggressively in other parts of the world. The Philip Morris smoke-free business, which includes nicotine pouches such as Zyn, has grown in recent quarters and now makes up 42% of total sales. (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)

1247 ET - When asked about the risk posed by SpaceX's Starlink, AT&T CEO John Stankey says his company is in a good spot. "There are going to be new competitors, and there are going to be folks who come in, but the reality is, they're coming to the game very late after this industry has been established," he says during an appearance on CNBC. New players will have to catch up with substantial amounts of infrastructure investment that's been going on for decades, he says. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)

1236 ET - Moncler's results might disappoint investors and push the stock to its recurring summer seasonal lull, Bernstein analysts write in a research note. The Italian high-end fashion company reported second-quarter sales of 409.3 million euros, up 5% on year on a constant currency basis. The company's namesake brand recorded a quarterly increase in sales of 3%, missing revised down sell-side expectations of a 5.1% rise, the analysts say. The company suffered from lower spending from tourists during the quarter, the brokerage says. Shares closed at 51.40 euros. (andrea.figueras@wsj.com)

1223 ET - EasyJet shares fall close to 12% on a report the European Union is preparing a review of airline ownership rules, putting the airline's proposed takeover at risk. The review will look to prevent foreign investors from gaining controlling stakes in European carriers, according to an unnamed EU official cited by Reuters. EasyJet approved a 5.7 billion pound offer from U.S. private-equity group Apollo Global Management earlier this month, after previously backing a lower bid from Apollo's American peer Castlelake. Shares in the budget airline fell as much as 15% following the publication of the Reuters story, before paring losses slightly. The stock closed at 5.85 pounds, a steep discount to Apollo's 7.15 pound a share offer. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 22, 2026 18:07 ET (22:07 GMT)

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