Tesla Craters 14%, Alphabet Slides 7% on AI Capex Fears as Oil Tops $100 and Wall Street Logs Its Worst Day in a Month

Big Tech Earnings Trigger the Worst Session in a Month

Tesla Plunges 14% and Alphabet Slides 7% as AI Spending Anxiety Grips Wall Street

• Tesla shares crashed ▼ 14.4% to close at $319.69 — one of its sharpest single-day declines — after Q2 results showed vehicle deliveries rose 25% year-over-year to 480,126, but profit fell and free cash flow turned negative as spending on AI and robotics initiatives accelerated. Analysts cut price targets, citing margin pressure and cautious guidance on autonomous driving.
• Alphabet (GOOGL) fell ▼ 6.9% after raising its 2026 capital-expenditure guidance to $195–$205 billion — a $15 billion increase — even as Google Cloud revenue jumped 82% year-over-year to $24.8 billion and total revenue climbed 24% to $119.8 billion. Adjusted EPS of $2.85 missed the $2.89 analysts expected, and free cash flow swung to -$5.9 billion from +$5.3 billion a year earlier.
• The selloff spread across megacap tech: Amazon dropped ▼ 4.5% and Meta fell ▼ 3.2%, while EV rivals Rivian ▼ 4.2% and Lucid ▼ 4.9% slid in sympathy with Tesla.
• The Nasdaq Composite bore the brunt, sinking ▼ 2.15% to 25,137.69 in its worst single session in a month, while the S&P 500 fell ▼ 1.21% and the Dow lost ▼ 0.97% as investors grew more skeptical that massive AI infrastructure outlays will pay off on a clear timeline.

Defense and Chips Buck the Selloff as RTX and Intel Beat Estimates

• RTX surged ▲ 8.2% after posting stronger-than-expected quarterly results, making it one of the session's few S&P 500 winners as investors rotated into defense and industrial names.
• Intel jumped in after-hours trading following a Q2 beat on both revenue (up 25% year-over-year) and adjusted EPS, which came in roughly double estimates; the chipmaker also issued an upbeat Q3 outlook, extending a stock that's already up sharply so far in 2026.
• T-Mobile fell ▼ 5.7% despite beating EPS estimates and posting 8% revenue growth, as investors focused on slowing postpaid subscriber additions.
• Energy stocks rallied on the oil spike, with Chevron ▲ 1.7% and ExxonMobil ▲ 1.6% gaining, and refiners including Valero and Marathon Petroleum climbing more than 2% as Brent crude touched $100 a barrel for the first time since late May.

United Rentals and RTX Led a Short List of Gainers

• United Rentals (URI) topped the S&P 500, rising ▲ 10.1% to $1,139.71.
• RTX climbed ▲ 8.2% on an earnings beat, one of the day's strongest large-cap performers.
• Merck (MRK) added ▲ 2.4% to $130.48, one of the few healthcare names to post a solid gain as the broader market sold off.
• Chevron rose ▲ 1.7% and ExxonMobil gained ▲ 1.6% as energy stocks benefited from the oil-price spike.

Oil Tops $100 and Yields Hit a 52-Week High as Tech Sells Off

• Brent crude jumped as much as ▲ 6.3% to touch $100 a barrel for the first time since May 26, and WTI climbed toward $92, after Houthi forces attacked Saudi oil tankers and U.S. forces carried out an eleventh consecutive night of strikes on Iranian targets, with tanker transits through the Strait of Hormuz continuing to fall.
• The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.67%, a 52-week high, as rising energy prices revived inflation concerns even as the European Central Bank held its deposit rate at 2.25%, as expected, citing the need to gauge risks from the Iran conflict.
• Gold slipped ▼ 2.36% to $4,048.76 an ounce, pulling back even as geopolitical tension stayed elevated.
• The Nasdaq's ▼ 2.15% decline to 25,137.69 marked its worst single session in a month, while the S&P 500 fell ▼ 1.21% to 7,408.30 and the Dow slipped ▼ 0.97% to 51,711.65; the Russell 2000 held up relatively better, down ▼ 0.67% to 2,940.16.

What to Watch Into the Weekend and Next Week

• American Express reports Friday, July 24, with Wall Street expecting EPS of about $4.40, alongside flash U.S. manufacturing and services PMI readings that will show how the oil spike and tech selloff are filtering into the broader economy.
• The Federal Reserve's FOMC meets Tuesday and Wednesday, July 28–29, with a rate decision due that Wednesday — the next major catalyst after Big Tech's mixed earnings this week.
• Microsoft and Apple are among the megacap names expected to report earnings next week, giving investors another read on AI spending trends after Tesla and Alphabet rattled markets Thursday.
• The Strait of Hormuz remains the key swing factor for oil. Tanker transits have fallen for two straight days, and any further escalation in the U.S.-Iran conflict — now in its eleventh consecutive night of strikes — could push crude higher still.
• Watch for follow-through selling in megacap tech after Thursday's rout in Tesla, Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta — a real test of whether investor patience with AI capital spending is wearing thin.