TLDR
- Stock futures slid Wednesday as U.S.-Iran strikes pushed oil above $100 a barrel for the first time since July
- Qualcomm rose in premarket after a deal with Amazon fueled a 3.2% gain the day before
- ServiceTitan dropped 19% despite beating Q2 earnings, hurt by a weak revenue outlook
- Chime Financial surged 11% after agreeing to buy Stride Bank for $590 million
- Lithium Americas gained 5% after JPMorgan upgraded it to Overweight with a 100% upside price target
Markets opened under pressure Wednesday as escalating military strikes between the U.S. and Iran pushed oil prices back above $100 a barrel. Brent crude held near that level as supply disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz added to concerns.
The rise in oil prices stoked inflation fears, pulling stock futures lower across the board. Still, some individual stocks managed to move higher on company-specific news.
Qualcomm added 1.4% in premarket trading, building on a 3.2% gain from Tuesday. That earlier move came after the chipmaker announced a deal with Amazon. Glassmaker Corning and memory-card maker Sandisk also rose in early trading. Chip makers Advanced Micro Devices and Intel, however, slid lower.
ServiceTitan Drops Despite Earnings Beat
ServiceTitan fell 19% on Wednesday despite reporting better-than-expected second-quarter results. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.40, beating the $0.35 consensus. Revenue rose 20.9% year over year to $292.8 million, ahead of the $285.9 million expected.
The selloff came after the company issued a soft revenue outlook. ServiceTitan guided for third-quarter revenue of $285 million to $287 million, slightly below analyst expectations of $287.9 million. Full-year guidance of $1.139 billion to $1.144 billion was broadly in line with estimates.
The company also named Rikus Pretorius as its next chief revenue officer, replacing Ross Biestman.
Casey’s General Stores fell 8% even after posting better-than-expected first-quarter earnings. Investors were disappointed given the stock had already risen 33% for the year. Braze dropped 12% after reporting solid second-quarter results. Wall Street wanted more proof that artificial intelligence can drive stronger revenue growth for the marketing software company.
Chime Financial and Lithium Americas Stand Out as Winners
Chime Financial was one of the day’s biggest gainers, rising 11%. The fintech company said it agreed to acquire Stride Bank, its longtime bank partner, for $590 million in cash. The deal is valued at about 1.5 times tangible book value.
Chime expects the deal to deliver more than $100 million in net synergies. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2027 and be immediately accretive to earnings per share. The company also raised its full-year revenue guidance to $2.76 billion to $2.77 billion.
Lithium Americas gained 5% after JPMorgan resumed coverage with an Overweight rating. Analyst Rock Hoffman cited a better long-term outlook for the lithium market. JPMorgan set a price target of $6 per share, implying roughly 100% upside. The bank noted lithium carbonate equivalent pricing has held above $20 per kilogram since mid-February, sitting near $22.30 per kilogram.
Mission Produce rose 5% after reporting a 38% year-over-year increase in avocado volumes and an adjusted earnings per share of $0.18, six cents above expectations.
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