Investing
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ADP employment data showed a surprising loss of jobs among private employers in June.
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A separate report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will come out tomorrow to confirm or deny the ADP data.
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In happier news, Jefferies upgraded S&P 500 component Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) stock last night, removing its underperform rating and raising the tech stock to hold (with a price target of $188.32). The banker sees market share improving in China and rising demand for iPhones that “would drive Jun Q rev/EPS growth of ~8%/~10%,” which is better growth than most analysts are expecting. Farther out, though, Jefferies worries that iPhone sales in H2 will be flat year over year.
Apple stock is up 2.2% regardless.
This article will be updated throughout the day, so check back often for more daily updates.
Surprisingly bad employment numbers for June cost stock market investors Wednesday, with the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) opening down 0.05% this morning.
HR specialist Automatic Data Processing (Nasdaq: ADP) reports that private sector employment declined by 33,000 jobs last month, the first such net decline seen since March 2023. Economists had forecast that jobs would grow by 100,000, so the ADP data comes as an unpleasant surprise suggesting the economy is weakening. A Bureau of Labor Statistics employment report is due out tomorrow with a similar estimate — 110,000 jobs added.
Now we just wait and see if the government data confirms or refutes what ADP just told us.
Earnings
In earnings news, wine and liquor specialist and S&P 500 component company Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ) reported an earnings miss last night, $3.22 per share, or $0.07 worse than expected. Revenues for the first fiscal quarter of 2026 also came in light. Constellation did, however, give stronger than expected guidance, predicting it will earn between $12.60 and $12.90 per share this coming year.
Analyst Calls
Redburn-Atlantic downgraded shares of tech giant and S&P 500 component Adobe (Nasdaq: ADBE) to sell with a $280 price target this morning. “Adobe’s moat is being eroded by genAI, and low-end disruption is likely to intensify,” warned the analyst.
Wolfe Research cut car giant Stellantis (NYSE: STLA) to underperform, citing “weak fundamentals” and observing that rival (and S&P 500 component) General Motors (NYSE: GM) has better free cash flow.
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