META down 11% on Q3 guide cut as chip sector sells off

The Federal Reserve held rates steady Wednesday in a divided decision. The 10-year Treasury yield closed at 4.61%, the VIX sat at 18.2, and WTI crude — last settled at $84.25 — added cost-of-goods pressure to a session already weighted by competing earnings results.

Earnings: split verdict

$MSFT delivered fiscal Q4 revenue of $90 billion, beating Wall Street estimates. The cloud unit grew at its fastest pace since 2022, driven by AI infrastructure and computing services. D.A. Davidson called the print "narrative changing." Microsoft was the day's cleanest positive.

$META reported after the bell and fell as much as 11% after hours. Q3 revenue guidance came in at $61–$64 billion — midpoint $62.5 billion — below analyst consensus. AI investment costs are outpacing revenue growth, and the soft guidance delivered the after-hours verdict. Separately, the FTC filed suit against Hims & Hers for allegedly sharing user health data with Meta.

$QCOM beat revenue estimates but missed earnings per share, guided Q4 profit below Wall Street's forecast, and said Apple-related revenue would decline faster than expected. Smartphone chip revenue fell 20% in Q3. Shares dropped 4.4% on the session.

$PG reported Q4 results with solid e-commerce growth and continued shareholder returns, though margins remained under pressure. Incoming Chairman Shailesh Jejurikar replaces Jon Moeller effective August 1. The print produced no meaningful market reaction.

Chip sector under pressure

QCOM's guidance set the tone for the broader semiconductor group. $AMAT fell 8.4% — the session's steepest sector drop — without a clean company-specific catalyst; the move prices in weaker equipment demand conditions. $AMD dropped 5.5% despite announcing a $14 billion, 15-year AI data-center partnership with Core Scientific — the deal did not offset the sector read. $INTC fell 5.1% and $NVDA lost 3.6%, both moves consistent with sector pressure rather than company-specific news.

Other notable movers

$ADBE rose 5.7% after the FTC granted early antitrust clearance for its Topaz Labs acquisition. $JPM fell 3.5% alongside the market's negative response to the Fed's divided hold. $CRM gained 3.8%, a rate-hold beneficiary. $COIN fell 4.7% ahead of Thursday earnings — Robinhood beat on the same session, sharpening the comparison. $SPCX dropped 3.3% to a new low ahead of SpaceX Q2 earnings.

What we set aside

One ticker — $BRK-B — was examined and produced no substantive filings or news within the reporting window.

Filings desk

Google Ventures entities sold approximately $1.6 million in Ethos Technologies stock on July 29. The transaction clears the materiality threshold but reflects a portfolio trim, not a governance event.

The desk is watching $COIN earnings Thursday after the close.