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Market Data Table

Breakfast News: AMZN Has Proof, Apple Has Problems

July 31, 2026

Thursday's Markets
S&P 500 7,438 (+1.66%)
Nasdaq 25,122 (+2.78%)
Dow 52,208 (+1.19%)
Bitcoin $64,718 (+1.91%)

Good news! Starting tomorrow, your weekday Breakfast News gets a weekend companion: "Breakfast News: The Week in Review," a Saturday roundup of the market's biggest stories. Make sure you're subscribed!

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1) One of the Biggest Myths in Retirement Planning

Robert Brokamp, Team Hidden Gems

Knowing how much income you'll need in retirement is a key variable in determining how much you need to have saved before you stop working. But retirement isn't just one financial goal; it's a series of annual goals -- the amount you need in the first year of retirement, then how much you need in the second year, and then the third, and so on.

The default assumption is that retirees need their income to go up every year along with inflation. We see this assumption in most retirement calculators, from most financial planners, and in most retirement research -- including the research underpinning ye olde 4% rule.

However, the truth is that spending of the average retiree does not go up along with inflation. As we get older, we do less and we spend less.

This has been documented by many studies, including in a recent report by David Blanchett, head of retirement research at Prudential Financial. The upshot: When assuming real-life retirement spending trajectories in retirement plan calculations, we may not need to save as much before retiring, and we may be able to withdraw more once we've retired. That's good news.

To learn more, listen to my recent interview with Blanchett on the Motley Fool Hidden Gems Investing podcast.

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Chart comparing Apple's and Amazon's quarterly revenue growth over the past decade, with Amazon up 513% and Apple up 134%.

2) Amazon Cloud Growth Trumps Apple Margin Hit

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) rose over 10% in pre-market trading, while Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) fell around 7%. Why? Well, overnight results saw Amazon report revenue growth of 20% year over year, as Amazon Web Services (AWS) revenue delivered the cloud unit's fastest growth in 18 quarters. For Apple, revenue expectations for the coming quarter missed consensus, and a forecasted hit to margins showed supply-chain headaches.

Apple CEO Tim Cook warns the impact from "less flexibility in the supply chain" would "increase significantly": Higher memory chip prices are starting to be felt, as Cook warned it "could drive an increasing impact on our business" through to the end of the year. He also flagged the difficulty in relying on just three major suppliers for memory. As for Amazon, Fool analyst Sanmeet Deo said the results show "a rare combination of scale and acceleration." Despite net sales passing the $200 billion mark, the artificial intelligence (AI) and custom chip businesses each cleared a $25 billion run rate, both growing triple digits.
"Foolish investors watch conversion, not headlines": From here, Sanmeet said, "See the pattern? Mr. Market is no longer applauding spending. It is applauding proof. The stocks rising are the ones showing accelerating revenue clearly attached to money already spent. Amazon has that proof this quarter."

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3) Musk Denies WSJ Report on Tesla-SpaceX

Elon Musk has denied a WSJ report on Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) that said executives are in talks with advisers, reportedly weighing a spinoff, sale, or closure options for the China unit. The report said such a move was being discussed as part of a potential merger between Tesla and SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX), adding to recent market speculation.

"Obviously we can't talk about, you know, combining companies and that kind of thing on earnings calls": Musk is quoted as saying an "appropriate process" needs to be followed when it comes to any merger. Yet on social media, he denied it, saying, "This has never come up in a discussion ever" and that it was "absurdly fake news." Any separation of China operations would address potential conflicts of interest associated with SpaceX having U.S. government contracts.
Recent market speculation put to bed for now: Musk stepping forward to deny the claims helps to clarify the position of Tesla and SpaceX. However, investors should watch for confirmation or contradiction from Tesla's actual filings, China unit financials, or follow-up reporting -- not just Elon's tweets. Tesla stock jumped over 4% ahead of the opening bell on the merger speculation, then gave back those gains once Musk denied the sale reports.

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4) After-Hours Fireworks From Team Rule Breakers Recs

Roblox (NYSE:RBLX) fell over 14% ahead of the opening bell after results showed bookings grew just 8% to $1.6 billion, a dramatic slowdown from the 70% growth rate in Q3 2025. This could be interpreted as a monetization and retention problem, and it directly challenges the belief that engagement compounds into pricing power. From here, it could just be a one-quarter blip for the business, as other metrics showed growth, such as daily active users (DAUs) rising 10% to 123 million and hours engaged rising 5% to 29 billion.
GoDaddy (NYSE:GDDY) moved around 8% lower in pre-market trading. Even though revenue and earnings provided a slight beat against consensus, the growth rate going forward was unexciting. Further, investors weighed the shift toward its new AI platform, Airo, and the cautious outlook for the rest of the year. Looking ahead, today's drop shouldn't be seen as a verdict on the AI transition, as more time is needed to clearly see results.
Reddit (NYSE:RDDT) dropped around 10% before the market opened despite results beating expectations for earnings. Revenue of $805 million was up more than 60% year over year for an eighth straight quarter. CEO Steve Huffman said "search referrals were choppy," which underscored investor worries about Reddit's dependence on search engines to bring in new users. This matters, as it impacts the bull case that the company has durable, low-cost user acquisition that's independent. As a result, user-growth rates will be closely watched going forward.

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5) Four to Watch on Friday AM: CVX, MRNA, TROW, CBOE

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) rose around 3% ahead of the opening bell after reporting record U.S. production volumes, up 20% from last year. Geopolitical tensions were addressed, with CEO Mike Wirth explaining how the company had to remain focused despite these challenges and related market volatility. Another business highlight was the signing of an agreement to develop a power facility in West Texas, providing capacity to Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT). This all builds on the Foundational Dividend Investor rec's performance from the previous quarter.
Cboe Global Markets (NYSE:CBOE) is forecasted to deliver double-digit percentage growth on both revenue and earnings this quarter, as the Stock Advisor rec by Team Rule Breakers continues to benefit from higher trading volumes. Investors will watch whether management raises full-year guidance again -- as they did last quarter -- or for signals that the growth rate is normalizing.
T. Rowe Price (NASDAQ:TROW) results are expected to benefit from higher investment advisory fees and rising assets under management (AUM), aided by a strong equity market. There will also be a focus on structural questions for the Dividend Investor rec, such as whether it can offset the outflows from last quarter, as well as how it deals with ongoing fee pressure and rising expenses.
Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) is recommended by both Team Rule Breakers and Team Hidden Gems. Earnings today will aim to build on the strong performance in the previous quarter, aided by high international vaccine sales. The real long-term question isn't whether Moderna beats a heavily discounted, declining COVID-19 revenue base; it's whether the non-COVID respiratory pipeline (RSV, flu) is building into a durable, diversified franchise.

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6) Today's Take: Stocks That Beat the Bear

When the initial COVID-19 crash happened in March 2020, there was one stock in my portfolio that was in the green -- data center real estate owner Digital Realty Trust (NYSE:DLR). There was a good reason. As millions of workers unexpectedly became remote, it quickly became clear that the internet traffic flowing around the world wasn't going to slow down. The company proved to be more resilient than my initial thesis gave it credit for. I initially viewed it as more of a technology play that would perform well in a bull market where technology investment remained strong. In the years since, Digital Realty has become even more resilient in the AI age as demand for data center infrastructure has grown exponentially. Thankfully, when I got a chance to add shares at a discount in the 2022 bear market, the resilience it showed during the pandemic was a big reason why I jumped at the chance to buy. -- Matt Frankel, Team Hidden Gems

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7) Your Take

Whether you're still saving or already retired, how did you settle on your "retirement number?"

Discuss with friends and family, or become a member to hear what your fellow Fools are saying!

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