Microsoft Cloud Revenue Growth Misses Expectations, Nasdaq Closes Broadly Lower

The Dow Jones and S&P 500 finished littled changed, but the Nasdaq closed broadly lower, weighed on by a notable decline in Microsoft shares after it reported weaker-than-hoped-for cloud revenue growth, signaling that sentiment around AI spending and returns remains a key focus for traders.Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.1. STOCK NEWS:Microsoftreported better-than-expected Q2 earnings and revenue, though cloud revenueMeta Platformsreportedand provided an upbeat outlook for Q1 revenueTeslareportedand said it would invest $2B to buy Series E preferred shares of xAINvidiaand Microsoft are in talks for an up to $60B investment in OpenAI,Elon Musk's SpaceX and xAI are in talks to combine ahead of a blockbuster public listing slated for later this year,2. WALL STREET CALLS:BMOFirst Solaron overhang from Teslasolar plansRosenblattFortineton "compelling setup" into earningsZillow Groupto Equal Weight at BarclaysMorgan StanleyCencorato Overweight on specialty positionCraig-Hallumof StubHubwith a Hold rating and $12 price target3. AROUND THE WEB:Applehas acquired Israeli start-up Q.AI for close to $2B, one of the largest acquisitions in the company's history, FT reportsGooglehas sent a "cease and desist" letters to Kantar Media, halting Kantar and Barb's UK TV measurement tools comparing YouTube with linear TV and streamers, FT saysHugging Face declined Nvidia's$500M investment offer at a $7B valuation in late 2025, FT reportsAlibaba'sCainiao unit will be taking a stake in Zelos Technology, creating a business valued around $2B, WSJ reportsCoterra Energyand Devon Energyare in advanced talks about a combinationand could announce a deal in the coming days, Bloomberg says4. MOVERS:1-800-Flowers.comgains afterModineincreases after entering a definitive agreement toits Performance Technologies business with Genthermin a Reverse Morris Trust transactionRoyal Caribbeanrises after, providing guidance for FY26, and announcing 10 new ships for its European river cruise fleet andEchoStarslips afterthat Elon Musk's SpaceX and xAI are in talks to combineSAPlower in New York after5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:Caterpillar (CAT) reportedand provided its outlook for Q1 and FY26Lockheed Martin, with EPS and revenue beating consensusMarineMaxand backed its guidance for FY26Altria Groupand provided guidance for FY26Dover, with CEO Richard Tobin commenting, "Our fourth quarter results reflect broad-based top line strength"INDEXES:The Dow rose 55.96, or 0.11%, to 49,071.56, the Nasdaq lost 172.33, or 0.72%, to 23,685.12, and the S&P 500 declined 9.02, or 0.13%, to 6,969.01.