Stock Markets July 29, 2026 04:33 PM

After-Hours Movers: Tech Capex Bets and Consumer Beats Drive Volatility

Earnings and guidance swings send Meta, Microsoft, Chipotle, Starbucks and several chip and security names sharply moving in after-hours trade

By Marcus Reed
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A mix of earnings beats and misses drove significant after-hours moves across tech, consumer and healthcare names. Meta's earnings miss and higher AI hardware spending guidance hit shares, while Microsoft and cybersecurity firm Fortinet outperformed. Restaurant chains Chipotle and Starbucks posted strong results that lifted their stocks, and semiconductor and telehealth firms saw divergent reactions to guidance and top-line prints.

After-Hours Movers: Tech Capex Bets and Consumer Beats Drive Volatility
META MSFT CMG SBUX
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Key Points

  • Tech capex and expense guidance moves weigh on large-cap AI spenders and influence market sentiment - impacts technology and capital spending cycles.
  • Cloud and enterprise AI monetization continue to be growth drivers, supporting software and cloud infrastructure names - impacts enterprise software and cloud sectors.
  • Consumer-facing restaurant operators showed resilient traffic and unit expansion plans, lifting restaurant and foodservice equities - impacts consumer discretionary and restaurant sector.

Stock action after the bell was dominated by a cluster of earnings reports that produced wide-ranging reactions across sectors. Investors reacted sharply to companies that updated outlooks, raised spending plans or reported surprising traffic and monetization trends.

Meta Platforms (META)

Meta shares fell about 6% after the company missed second-quarter earnings expectations. Reported EPS came in at $6.18, below the $7.17 consensus, and the quarter included a $2.4 billion legal charge. Revenue rose to $60.8 billion, yet concerns centered on management's updated capital spending and expense plans. The company narrowed its 2026 capital expenditures target upward to $130 to $145 billion and increased full-year expense guidance to $165 to $169 billion as it moves to more aggressively invest in AI hardware.

Microsoft (MSFT)

Microsoft climbed roughly 2% after delivering a strong fiscal fourth quarter. The firm posted EPS of $4.74, topping the $4.24 estimate, on revenue of $90.01 billion. Cloud growth was a notable driver, with Azure revenue up 43% year-over-year. Microsoft 365 Copilot surpassed 30 million paid seats, a metric cited as evidence of enterprise monetization of AI initiatives.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG)

Chipotle shares gained about 7% after reporting second-quarter EPS of $0.33 on revenue of $3.35 billion. Management reiterated expectations for low-single-digit comparable restaurant sales growth for the full year and confirmed plans to open 350 to 370 new restaurants in 2026. Nearly 80% of those units are slated to include the higher-margin Chipotlane drive-thru format.

Starbucks (SBUX)

Starbucks jumped 11% following a strong third-quarter performance. The company reported EPS of $0.85, well above the $0.66 forecast, on $9.3 billion of revenue. The stock reaction reflected a significant pickup in global store traffic, with same-store sales increasing 7.9%, outpacing the 5.73% consensus.

Carvana (CVNA)

Carvana tumbled about 14% despite posting second-quarter revenue of $7.38 billion, toppling the $6.86 billion estimate. Management maintained expectations for full-year 2026 Adjusted EBITDA of $2.7 to $3.0 billion. The sell-off followed a substantial year-to-date price advance and appeared tied to profit-taking and stretched valuation metrics.

Lam Research (LRCX)

Lam Research jumped about 7% after reporting a beat-and-raise fiscal fourth quarter. The company reported EPS of $1.82 versus $1.68 expected and provided fiscal first-quarter 2027 guidance that topped consensus. Management projected revenue around $8.1 billion plus or minus $400 million and EPS of $2.15 plus or minus $0.15, attributing strength to rapid fab spending for high-bandwidth memory and next-generation AI chips.

Fortinet (FTNT)

Fortinet rallied roughly 10% after beating second-quarter estimates and lifting its full-year outlook. The cybersecurity company reported EPS of $0.90 on $2.05 billion in revenue and raised its 2026 EPS target to $3.41 to $3.47 while increasing sales guidance to $8.02 to $8.18 billion, citing strong enterprise demand for its unified SASE and platform security solutions.

Qualcomm (QCOM)

Qualcomm fell about 4% after missing third-quarter earnings expectations. Reported EPS was $2.21 versus the $2.23 estimate on $9.95 billion of revenue. Sentiment was further pressured by light fourth-quarter EPS guidance of $2.05 to $2.25, with the midpoint at $2.15 compared with a $2.35 consensus, signaling near-term margin pressure in its core mobile chip business.

Teladoc Health (TDOC)

Teladoc plunged roughly 24% after reporting second-quarter revenue of $606.9 million, below the $614.99 million consensus, and cutting its forward guidance. Management issued weak third-quarter and full-year 2026 revenue outlooks that missed Wall Street targets, citing rising member acquisition costs and softer direct-to-consumer mental health demand as headwinds for the platform.


Market takeaway

The session underscored a bifurcated market where strong execution or favorable traffic trends drove gains for several consumer and cybersecurity companies, while heavier-than-expected spending plans or soft guidance sparked declines in other areas, particularly among large-cap tech and health-platform names.

Risks

  • Higher capital expenditures and elevated expense guidance at a major platform company could pressure margins and investor sentiment - affects large-cap technology and hardware suppliers.
  • Profit-taking and high valuation metrics after large year-to-date gains can prompt sharp pullbacks in growth names - affects consumer retail and online marketplaces.
  • Weak revenue and downgraded guidance at a telehealth provider linked to rising member acquisition costs and softer demand may continue to pressure healthcare technology stocks - affects digital health and telemedicine firms.

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