The Fed held rates, with three officials dissenting in favor of a hike. Parsons Corporation reported one of the worst quarters of the year for a defense company.

Today’s edition covers the Fed drama, the big earnings movers, and everything before Meta and Microsoft report tonight.

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The Fed held its benchmark rate at 3.5-3.75%, but the three dissenting votes in favor of a quarter-point hike were the story — Warsh acknowledged a “good family fight” inside the FOMC and then pared back rate-hike urgency in his press conference, noting that “rates are higher today than they were 42 days ago” from Treasury yields alone.

The market took Warsh’s tone as dovish-adjacent and briefly staged one of the biggest Fed-day reversals since 2003, before ultimately closing lower. Iran launched a surprise attack on U.S. forces in Jordan, escalating the war and sending gold higher as investors sought safe-haven assets.

The PHLX Semiconductor Index fell another 4.29%, extending a three-day chip selloff that has now erased a substantial chunk of the sector’s year-to-date gains.

Meta and Microsoft both report after the close tonight — the two most-watched earnings events of the week and the next test for the AI spending narrative that has been rattling markets.

Teledyne FLIR Defense received a new order from AeroVironment to supply Argus XL counter-drone platforms for the U.S. Air Force, supporting a wider three-year program valued at up to $500 million.

The systems combine radar, thermal imaging, cameras, and command software to help protect military installations and critical infrastructure, giving Teledyne a fresh role inside a major domestic defense program focused on detecting and tracking small aerial threats.

Stanley Black & Decker reported stronger margins and renewed organic growth, with second-quarter sales reaching $4 billion and adjusted earnings beating expectations as power tools and engineered fastening products gained momentum.

The company also used proceeds from its aerospace manufacturing sale to reduce debt by $1.7 billion and repurchase $250 million of shares, leaving the business with a cleaner balance sheet and more room to fund product development and brand investment.

SoFi reported record second-quarter growth across its platform, adding 1.1 million members and 2.2 million products as adjusted net revenue climbed 40% to $1.2 billion.

The digital finance company raised its full-year revenue outlook while keeping its adjusted earnings target near $1.6 billion, choosing to continue investing in new products and deeper relationships with its growing customer base.

OneMain Financial reported a 10% increase in consumer loan originations, reaching $4.3 billion as managed receivables grew to $26.9 billion and its customer base passed four million accounts.

The lender also expanded its BrightWay credit-card business to 1.325 million accounts and grew auto-finance receivables to $3 billion, giving customers with lower credit scores more options beyond traditional personal loans.

DoorDash launched its in-house DoorDash Air program after securing FAA certification for commercial drone deliveries, moving the company beyond outside partnerships and deeper into autonomous logistics.

The platform will eventually connect with the DoorDash app and operate alongside human couriers, sidewalk robots, and existing drone partners, giving the company another way to expand delivery capacity and reduce its reliance on traditional drivers.

Ferrari has already reached its 2026 sales target for the Luce, its first fully electric vehicle, after strong demand filled the planned allocation of nearly 500 cars within two months.

The early response gives Ferrari a strong opening in premium EVs despite criticism of the vehicle’s unconventional design, while showing that wealthy customers remain willing to pay more than $600,000 for the brand’s first electric model.

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Qualcomm signed a long-term supply agreement with BMW to provide Snapdragon technology for future digital cockpits and driver-assistance systems, extending the companies’ automotive partnership through the next decade.

The package includes cockpit processors, automated-driving chips, and AI accelerators, giving Qualcomm a wider role in BMW’s software-defined vehicles as chipmakers compete to control the computing systems behind connected and increasingly autonomous cars.

Eliyan secured a $145 million funding round at a $1 billion valuation, with Cisco and Lumentum backing technology designed to move data more efficiently between AI chips inside data centers.

The Santa Clara startup plans to begin shipping chiplets this year, giving custom processor makers another option for reducing data bottlenecks that leave expensive GPUs underused during demanding AI workloads.

GE HealthCare shares jumped after the imaging giant reported a record quarterly backlog of $23.9 billion, with organic orders climbing 11.1% — its strongest quarterly growth on record — as demand accelerated across every business segment.

CEO Peter Arduini pointed to broad commercial execution and new products including its photon-counting CT platform, while the company reaffirmed its full-year outlook and said it is reviewing strategic options for its underperforming Patient Care Solutions unit.

Boston Scientific trimmed its full-year profit outlook even after beating quarterly estimates, as softer-than-expected demand for its Watchman heart implant offset broad strength across its cardiovascular and MedSurg franchises.

The device maker now guides full-year adjusted earnings slightly below Wall Street expectations, a cautious signal that pulled shares lower and underscored how a single slowing product line can weigh on an otherwise solid quarter.

T3 Defense [DFNS] $50.22 (+109.25%)

T3 Defense is now at $44.15, a level it couldn’t find three weeks ago when it was trading under $5.

The 1-for-125 reverse split collapsed the float, Project35 keeps adding defense-adjacent acquisition news, and Iran’s attack on Jordan today is the latest reminder that defense electronics demand is not theoretical. Strong Buy rated at $44.61 million market cap.

SciSparc [SPRC] $9.09 (+70.54%)

SciSparc is a health technology company at a $5.57 million market cap running at 169x its average daily volume — one of the highest relative-volume readings of the session.

The stock went from under $6 to above $9 today as thin-float momentum caught a speculative bid in a session where small-cap healthcare names found some shelter from the broader selloff. Today’s numbers: $9.71, +82%, 7.29 million shares traded.

Huron Consulting [HURN] $170.37 (+40.37%)

Huron Consulting provides professional services to healthcare organizations, universities, and commercial clients.

A 40% gain for a $2.77 billion company signals something material — Huron’s quarterly results landed well above estimates, with the company demonstrating the kind of margin improvement and demand durability that the market rewards aggressively when the backdrop is uncertain. Strong Buy rated.

Parsons Corporation [PSN] $40.32 (-34.97%)

Parsons posted a GAAP loss of $0.06 per share against a $0.76 consensus estimate — a miss of $0.82 — as operating income collapsed by $77.5 million in charges on contracts held for sale and a joint venture program hit by historic rainfall.

Adjusted EBITDA fell 72% to $42 million. Full-year revenue guidance was cut by $300 million at the midpoint. This is one of the worst defense services earnings quarters of the year. Buy rated at $4.23 billion.

Apimeds Pharmaceuticals [APUS] $5.75 (-27.67%)

Apimeds was a winner on July 28 and is now among the biggest losers on July 29, falling more than 36% to $5.08. The health technology company at $7.67 million market cap, operates with extreme thin-float volatility that makes single-session moves of this magnitude entirely normal in both directions.

Today the direction is sharply negative, with 8x average volume confirming active position unwinding.

Bandwidth [BAND] $36.95 (-29.28%)

Bandwidth reported Q2 earnings that disappointed investors on revenue growth and forward guidance, sending shares down nearly 30% in a session already priced for disappointment in cloud communications names.

At a $1.18 billion market cap and Strong Buy rated, the street remains constructive on the long-term thesis. The short-term read was punishing.

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That's it for today! Please, write us back, and let us know what you think of the Closing Bell Roundup. We're always eager to hear feedback!

Thanks for reading. I'll see you at the next open! 

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— Adam G.
Elite Trade Club

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