📈 Disney's Sports Empire Strikes Back

Super Micro's Earnings Miss, AMD's AI Revenue Surge, Wegovy Sales Soar 67%, Snap Stumbles on Ad Woes, OpenAI Eyes $500B Valuation

Author

Evelio Silvera
August 06, 2025

Good morning.

⚡ The Fast Five → Super Micro's Earnings Miss, AMD's AI Revenue Surge, Wegovy Sales Soar 67%, Snap Stumbles on Ad Woes, OpenAI Eyes $500B Valuation

🔎 Market Trends → Wall Street ends lower as investors consider tariff impact on earnings; US Futures Edge Higher on Earnings Momentum

And now


⏱ Your 5-minute briefing for Wednesday, August 6, 2025:

MARKET BRIEF
Before the Open

As of market close 08/05/2025.

Pre-Market

  • Axon Enterprise (AXON) with a +16.4% gain, making it the strongest performer on the S&P 500.

  • Gartner, Inc. (IT) with a −28% drop, the weakest performer on the S&P 500.

Fear & Greed

 

Markets in Review

Futures Stall, but Bullish Trend Still Intact Despite Tech Drag

The S&P 500 closed lower Tuesday, marking its fifth down day in six sessions, while the Nasdaq slid 0.7% under tech pressure. The Russell 2000 bucked the trend, rising 0.6% as small caps showed resilience.

The Big Picture:

Markets are catching their breath after a volatile stretch driven by tariffs, earnings surprises, and rate speculation. The rally isn’t dead—just pausing.

Tech stocks weighed on sentiment after AMD (AMD) and Snap (SNAP) disappointed, but the broader uptrend remains supported by strong small-cap performance and an improving earnings breadth.

Oil traded steady near $66 while gold held above $3,350, signaling investors are cautious but not panicked.

Market Movers:

  • Arista Networks (ANET) surged 14% after delivering a blowout quarter, reinforcing demand strength in networking gear despite tariff noise.

  • Snap (SNAP) plunged 15% as revenue narrowly missed expectations—proof that even small disappointments in ad-dependent firms can trigger outsized moves.

  • Skyworks (SWKS) jumped 9% after topping estimates and guiding higher, suggesting wireless demand remains robust.

What They’re Saying:

“Markets don’t move in a straight line. 
 But, overall, I still think the underlying trend is positive.”— Keith Lerner, Co-CIO, Truist Wealth

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
Events

  • There are no events scheduled for today.

Earnings Reports

  • Today: McDonald’s, Disney, Uber, Airbnb, Sony, Coca-Cola, Honda, Shopify, DoorDash, Novo Nordisk, AppLovin

  • Tomorrow: Toyota, Monster Beverage, Eli Lilly, Motorola Solutions, Block (formerly Square), Take-Two Interactive

MARKET BRIEF
Leading News

Disney's Sports Empire Strikes Back: Why the House of Mouse Is Winning the Streaming Wars

Photo Credit: Brian McGowan

Why it matters:

Disney (DIS) is transforming from theme park operator to streaming powerhouse, with ESPN's aggressive content acquisitions signaling a $2-3 billion bet on direct-to-consumer dominance.

Zoom Out:

The entertainment giant reports Q3 earnings Wednesday with Wall Street expecting $1.47 EPS on $23.73 billion revenue. But the real story isn't in theme park attendance—it's in Disney's systematic dismantling of traditional cable economics.

ESPN's recent NFL Network acquisition and $325 million annually WWE deal represent classic "patient capital" deployment. The network is essentially buying market share in the post-cable future, banking that consumers will pay $29.99 monthly for premium sports content.

Historical precedent suggests this strategy works. When cable networks consolidated premium content in the 1980s, early movers captured outsized market share that persisted for decades.

Key Insights:

  • The NFL partnership gives ESPN equity upside: The league's 10% ESPN stake could be worth billions, creating a virtuous cycle where content success directly benefits both parties—a structural advantage over pure licensing deals.

  • WWE's demographic sweet spot: 38% female viewership and 50% family attendance rates solve ESPN's "sports dad" problem, expanding beyond traditional male demographics that advertisers increasingly demand.

  • Streaming profitability milestone reached: Disney+ hit 126 million subscribers while achieving positive cash flow—the inflection point where subscriber quality trumps quantity in Wall Street's valuation models.

Market Pulse:

"ESPN seems to have no ceiling on growth and value," says sports analyst Bob Dorfman, capturing the network's transformation from cable anchor to streaming catalyst.

Bull’s Take:

Disney's methodical content aggregation creates the sports equivalent of Netflix's early "House of Cards" moment—must-have programming that justifies subscription fees. Smart money recognizes this as franchise moat-building, not desperate spending.

Headlines

  • Super Micro Computer Tanks After Missing Across The Board (link)

  • AMD Q2 Revenue Climbs 32% on Robust AI Chip Demand (link)

  • Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy weight loss drug sales soar 67% in second quarter (link)

  • Snap sinks as ad glitch, fierce competition stall growth (link)

  • OpenAI in talks with investors about share sale at $500 billion valuation (link)

CRYPTO
Fear & Greed

 

Headlines

  • Bitcoin analysis warns BTC price 'going lower' first as $113K slips (link)

  • SEC declares liquid staking is outside of securities laws in latest guidance following 'Project Crypto' initiative (link)

  • Phantom acquires Solana trading terminal Solsniper (link)

DAILY SHARE
On the Socials

*Hat-tip to wallstmemes

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