Post-Bell | U.S. Stocks Close Lower; Novo Nordisk Plunges 22%; UnitedHealth Sinks 8%; SoFi Jumps 7%

U.S. stocks closed lower on Tuesday as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq retreated from record highs after some disappointing corporate earnings, while investors awaited a Federal Reserve policy statement.

Market Snapshot

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 204.57 points, or 0.46%, to 44,632.99, the S&P 500 lost 18.91 points, or 0.30%, to 6,370.86 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 80.29 points, or 0.38%, to 21,098.29.

Market Movers

Novo Nordisk - Novo Nordisk sank 21.8% in U.S. trading after the Danish weight-loss drugmaker unexpectedly cut itsfull-year guidance, citing lower sales expectations for its blockbuster drugs Wegovy and Ozempic in the U.S. market.

SoFi Technologies - SoFi Technologies rose 6.6% on Tuesday. The fintech reported better-than-expected adjusted earnings and posted revenue of $858 million, marking 44% growth andthe company’s highest growth rate in over two years. Management boostedSoFi’sfull-year outlook “given the strong first half of the year,” raising estimates for adjusted net revenue to $3.375 billion, compared with a prior range of $3.235 billion to $3.31 billion.

UnitedHealth - UnitedHealth Group reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $4.08 a share, missing analysts’ estimates of $4.48. Revenue of $111.6 billion beat expectations of $111.5 billion.UnitedHealthsaid it expects adjusted earnings in 2025 of “at least” $16 a share and revenue in the range of $445.5 billion and $448 billion. The stock declined 7.5%.

Spotify Technology - Spotify Technology fell 11.6% after reporting a surprise second-quarter loss and as revenue missed analysts’ estimates.

Sarepta Therapeutics - Sarepta Therapeutics stock surged 14.2% after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said the company could lift its voluntary pause on shipments of its gene therapy for ambulatory patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.Sarepta said it imminently would resume shipping Elevidysfor treatment of patients who can walk with DMD. Shipments of the medicine were paused by request of the FDA following safety concerns.

Boeing - Shares of Boeing were down 4.4% after the aerospace giant posted a second-quarter adjusted loss of $1.24 a share, narrower than analysts’ calls for a loss of $1.40. The commercial jet maker reported revenue of $22.7 billion, topping forecasts of $21.7 billion.

PayPal - PayPal Holdings logged its sixth consecutive quarter of profitable growth and reported second-quarter earnings that topped expectations. Transaction margin dollars, a key measure of profitability, grew 7% from the prior year to $3.8 billion. Shares fell 8.7%.

United Parcel Service Inc - United Parcel Service declined 10.6% after reporting second-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.55 a share, below consensus of $1.57. UPS said it wouldn’t provide revenue or operating profit guidance for fiscal 2025 since economic visibility was still too poor to provide projections.

Merck - Merck declined 1.7%. The pharmaceutical giant posted second-quarter revenue that missed Wall Street forecasts and said it would be laying off workers as part of an extensive cost-savings plan. Sales of Gardasil, Merck’s human papillomavirus vaccine, fell 55% to $1.1 billion in the second quarter.

Corning - Corning jumped 11.9%. The maker of specialty glass and ceramics posted second-quarter earnings of 54 cents a share, up from 12 cents a year earlier. Adjusted earnings in the period of 60 cents a share beat analysts’ estimates of 57 cents.

Whirlpool - Whirlpool tumbled 13.4% after the appliance maker reduced its full-year adjusted earnings guidance to between $6 and $8 a share, down from previous expectations of $10. Second-quarter earnings and revenue missed analysts’ estimates as the period “continued to be impacted by competitors stockpiling Asian imports into the U.S.,” Whirlpool said. The company said it was recommending to its board an annual dividend of $3.60 a share, down from $7.

Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific - Norfolk Southern was down 3% at $277.70 after agreeing to be acquired by Union Pacific in a deal that establishes the first transcontinental railroad. Under the terms of the deal, which values Norfolk at $320 a share, each Norfolk share will be swapped for one share of Union Pacific and $88.82 in cash. Union Pacific fell 2.4%.

VeriSign - VeriSign fell 9.3% after the domain-name-registry provider launched a secondary offering by affiliates of Berkshire Hathaway for 4.3 million VeriSign common shares. The sale will bring Berkshire Hathaway’s stake in VeriSign to below 10%. Berkshire will own about nine million shares following the deal, which will be underwritten by J.P. Morgan.

Cadence Design - Cadence Design Systems reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.65 a share, topping analysts’ consensus of $1.56, and raised expectations for fiscal-year adjusted profit to $6.85 to $6.95 a share, which also was better than current estimates. The maker of electronic systems and software also said it would pay $140.6 million under a plea agreement with the U.S. government to settle claims it illegally exported products to China between 2015 and 2021. Shares climbed 9.7%.

Amkor Technology - Amkor Technology soared 18.1%. The semiconductor packaging and test services company posted better-than-anticipated second-quarter earnings and revenue, and issued third-quarter revenue guidance that beat consensus estimates.

Nucor - Nucor fell 2.7% after second-quarter earnings and revenue missed analysts’ estimates. Nucor, which is the largest steel maker in the U.S., said it expects third-quarter earnings to be “nominally lower” than the second quarter. The company cited “decreased earnings in the steel mills segment and similar earnings in the steel products and raw materials segments.”

Market News

US, China Agree to Continue Talks on Tariff Truce Extension

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the US and China will continue talks over maintaining a tariff truce before it expires in two weeks, and that President Donald Trump will make the final call on any extension.

Bessent, who led the US delegation with Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, said in Stockholm that he’ll brief Trump on Wednesday on the remaining issues.

“There’s still a couple of technical details to work out,” Bessent told reporters Tuesday, after two days of meetings with officials from Beijing led by Vice Premier He Lifeng.

After news emerged that China’s delegation had indicated a 90-day extension of the two economies’ trade-war truce was agreed, Bessent said, “I think our Chinese counterparts have jumped the gun a little.” Asked on CNBC whether he’d recommend that Trump extend the pause, he said he would give Trump the facts, “then he’ll decide.”

Trump Gets Tariffs; Americans Get Price Hikes

U.S. President Donald Trump is getting his tariffs. Companies are making it clear how they intend to deal with it - passing them on to American consumers.

Throughout the spring, big retailers and consumer product makers warned that levies on imported goods would squeeze their operations, forcing them to choose between lower earnings and passing on higher costs to customers.

On Tuesday, the packaging giant, which makes household basics spanning from Bounty paper towel to Tide detergent, issued a sour outlook for 2025 and sent a message to big retailers like Walmart that it would have to raise prices on some U.S. goods from next week.

This challenge facing companies in coming quarters will likely feed through to everyday consumers. P&G said it would raise prices on about a quarter of its products in the U.S. to help offset the cost of new tariffs.

While U.S. stock indexes have soared to record highs this year, built on massive investment in technology shares, many consumer bellwethers have struggled.