Peak Earnings Day Meets a Visa Shake-Up

Heavy Earnings Slate

Today is one of the most active reporting days of the season. UPS delivered results this morning and revealed it cut 2 million lower-margin Amazon parcels per day from its network. That's a deliberate quality-over-volume pivot. KO, BA, PYPL, and RCL all report today. Boeing's cash burn and Royal Caribbean's guidance are the two most watched numbers this afternoon.

Visa Cuts 7% of Staff

V is the biggest single-stock headline of the day. Bloomberg reported this morning that Visa will cut 7% of its workforce. The CEO is restructuring the payments giant. It is a rare large-scale headcount reduction for one of Wall Street's most stable franchise businesses.

Chips Under Pressure

Bearish options flow is heaviest in semiconductors. NVDA sits at RSI 42 after a modest 5.4% year-to-date gain. TSLA carries the weakest RSI among mega-caps at 27.3 — down 31% year-to-date. The stock also signed a power purchase agreement today with Zelestra for a 140 MW Texas solar farm, a positive operational note. MU leads the negative-bets league table despite a 215% YTD run.

Shorts Flee Crinetics

CRNX short interest collapsed 51% in one week to just 6.1% of free float. The move follows the announced Vertex deal. Bears are covering fast. FHN (First Horizon) also saw short interest drop 24% in a week — hitting its lowest level in months.

Retail Sales Solid

The Redbook index showed US retail sales up 8.1% year-on-year for July 2026. Consumer spending remains resilient heading into the Fed's next decision window.