PM raises dividend 8.8%, NFLX -5.3% on ad cut, SpaceX-Tesla merger bid

Wednesday delivered four simultaneous earnings prints, a post-earnings selloff, and a merger proposal that rewired the Tesla trade.

Earnings sweep

$PM posted record quarterly profit and raised its full-year guidance. Smoke-free products reached 40% of revenue; management raised the dividend 8.8%. The structural tension: cigarettes, not smoke-free products, grew faster by volume this quarter — a complication for the premium the stock carries on its smoke-free narrative.

$TMO beat Q3 consensus: revenue up 9%, EPS up 15%. Roughly half the beat traced to one-time tariff refunds. Management raised profit targets on biotech demand. The stock held near flat — already priced for a recovery.

$ABT turned in a choppy quarter and lowered its sales growth outlook. The larger development is structural: Abbott announced a spin-off of its global nutrition business as an independent public company by end of 2027, concentrating the parent on higher-margin medical devices and diagnostics. The 8-K filed today.

$NEE beat Q3 profit expectations but missed revenue. Earnings grew 9.7%. Management outlined 37 gigawatts of planned renewable builds and power contracts covering 20 gigawatts of new data centers; additional capital will be required. The Dominion merger remains active.

JNJ — update

$JNJ — covered here October 13 when Q3 revenue grew 5.9% and the company raised its 2026 outlook — disclosed Wednesday that a $5.8 billion charge drove Q3 net profit down 96%. The operating business is unchanged; the charge is the story.

NFLX drops; SpaceX-Tesla merger lifts SPCX and TSLA

$NFLX fell 5.3% after cutting its advertising revenue forecast by $300 million and reporting its slowest sales growth in three years. Q3 earnings were covered here Tuesday; Wednesday's decline is the market's follow-through. Multiple analysts cut price targets.

$SPCX gained 7.8% — the session's largest mover — as Elon Musk publicly endorsed a potential SpaceX-Tesla combination, calling it an idea with "a lot of merit." Both companies formed exploratory committees. A shareholder vote and regulatory review would be required. SpaceX's record quarterly revenue was covered here Tuesday.

$TSLA added 3.4% on the same news. The Q3 print — $787 million profit, Robotaxi launched in Austin — was secondary to the merger speculation in Wednesday's pricing.

Other movers

$PLTR +4.7% on a new federal partnership; Q3 earnings due shortly need to clear consensus or Wednesday's gain reverses. $CEG +4.6% and $WMB +3.5% moved without clean headline catalysts. $GEV +4.0% ahead of October 28 earnings where consensus projects near-triple prior-year profit. $VST +3.9% on analyst forecasts of 72% 2026 earnings growth and data center power contracts. $MS +3.7%. $COIN +3.6% after Bitcoin crossed $84,000 and an analyst raised the price target.

Filings desk

Abbott's nutrition spin-off 8-K (October 21) is covered above. Chevron's chief legal officer sold $4.1 million in $CVX shares under a pre-arranged trading plan. On $META: since this desk reported October 14 on the COO's $1.15 million share sale, the company has disclosed Q3 earnings showing a profit surge and announced new share classes designed to preserve founder voting control.

What we set aside

Three proxy and governance filings covering board mechanics did not reach the editorial threshold. Sixteen filings described events older than 36 hours at gate time.

Tomorrow the desk is watching $PLTR Q3 earnings and the $GEV October 28 print.