Auto giants ditch financial guidance as industry reels from Trump tariff chaos

📘 Meta beats Q1 earnings estimates, offers strong Q2 outlook despite fears of tariff-influenced ad slowdown: Social media giant Meta reported its first quarter results after the bell on Wednesday, beating on the top and bottom lines. But the company also raised its full-year capital expenditure estimates to between $64 billion to $72 billion, up from $60 billion to $65 billion. Yahoo Finance reports.

💻 Microsoft smashes Wall Street's earnings expectations — and the stock soars: Microsoft blew past Wall Street’s expectations in its fiscal third quarter, racking up $70.1 billion in revenue, up 13%, and $25.8 billion in net income, up 18%, fueled by relentless demand for cloud and AI. Yahoo Finance reports.

🍔 McDonald’s is about to report its earnings. Here’s what to expect: McDonald’s is expected to report its first-quarter earnings before the bell on Thursday. Here’s what Wall Street analysts surveyed by LSEG are expecting the company to report:

• Earnings per share: $2.66 expected
• Revenue: $6.09 billion expected

The fast-food giant, often considered a consumer bellwether, has seen rocky sales in recent quarters, particularly in its home market. CNBC reports.

💊 Eli Lilly gears up for Q1 print; Here are the recent forecast changes from Wall Street analysts: Eli Lilly and Company will release earnings results for the first quarter, before the opening bell on Thursday, May 1. Analysts expect the Indianapolis, Indiana-based company to report quarterly earnings at $3.46 per share, up from $2.58 per share in the year-ago period. Eli Lilly projects to report quarterly revenue at $12.72 billion, compared to $8.77 billion a year earlier. Benzinga reports.

👷🏻‍♂️ Jobs report preview: As tariffs take effect, which sectors are hiring and which aren't? Friday’s report will provide the first ‘hard’ data since Trump’s April 2 tariff announcements. USA Today reports.

📉 GM CEO Mary Barra says tariffs will cost the company up to $5 billion this year: The Trump administration’s tariffs on imported cars and auto parts will cost General Motors between $4 billion and $5 billion this year, as the nation’s largest automaker slashed its earnings projections. CNN reports.

💊 Moderna beats Wall Street estimates for first-quarter profit and sales: Moderna on Thursday reported first-quarter profit and sales that beat Wall Street estimates, helped by the company's cost-cutting efforts following waning post-pandemic demand for its COVID-19 vaccine. Yahoo Finance reports.

📊 S&P 500 futures rise after Microsoft, Meta post earnings beats: Stock market futures rose early Thursday after two Big Tech players posted quarterly results. S&P 500 futures jumped 1.2%, while Nasdaq 100 futures gained 1.8%. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 326 points, or 0.8%. CNBC reports.

✈️ Howmet Aerospace lifts 2025 profit forecast on robust parts demand: Howmet Aerospace on Thursday raised its 2025 profit forecast on robust demand for the U.S. supplier's fasteners and other critical aircraft parts as planemakers try to produce more jets. Yahoo Finance reports.

(All pricing and percent gains are based on Early Pre-Market from 4:00 AM to 7:00 AM Eastern Time)
Benzinga reports.

1) $NAOV: NanoVibronix

Total gain: +66.08%

2) $ETWO: E2open Parent Holdings

Total gain: +31.97%

3) $HTCO: High-Trend International

Total gain: +17.64%

4) $PRSO: Peraso

Total gain: +14.59%

5) $PODC: PodcastOne

Total gain: +13.74%

The closing price of the top three market percent gainers trading near or above $3 on April 30.

*All pricing and percent gains are based on regular market trading hours from 9:30am to 4:00pm Eastern Time

1) $RGLS: Regulus Therapeutics

Total gain: +135.9%

The company announced that it has entered into an agreement and plan of merger with Novartis AG and an indirectly wholly owned subsidiary of Novartis, pursuant to which Novartis will acquire Regulus for an initial payment of $7.00 per share in cash at closing, or $0.80 billion. Benzinga reports.

2) $IVF: INVO Fertility

Total gain: +47.82%

The company announced fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 financial results. Revenue was $1,685,966, an increase of 22% compared to $1,381,754. Benzinga reports.

3) $CEP: Cantor Equity Partners

Total gain: +28.89%

The stock appeared to be moving on no notable news.

Time (ET) / Report / Period

8:30 am - Initial jobless claims - April

9:45 am - S&P final U.S. manufacturing PMI

"Investing is the intersection of economics and psychology."

- Seth A. Klarman

Sourced in:

Sourced in: “Margin of Safety: Risk-Averse Value Investing Strategies for the Thoughtful Investor”, by Seth A. Klarman -, published in 1991