By Francesca Fontana

The Score is a weekly review of the biggest stock moves and the news that drove them.

Meta Platforms

Several "Magnificent Seven" tech giants posted earnings -- which lived up to the hype?

Facebook parent Meta Platforms and Microsoft on Wednesday posted better-than-expected results that reassured investors and boosted markets.

Meta said growth would remain steady, assuaging concerns that tariffs would hurt the social-media company's digital-ads business. Microsoft indicated that big corporate clients aren't slashing their technology budgets just yet.

Meta shares gained 4.2% Thursday, while Microsoft shares jumped 7.6%.

The tech optimism faded after Apple and Amazon.com's quarterly reports Thursday.

The iPhone maker's sales rose, but it said current tariff plans would add $900 million to costs this quarter. Amazon predicted a solid quarter, but the lower ends of its forecasts missed analysts expectations.

On Friday, Amazon shares edged 0.1% lower, and Apple shares fell 3.7%.

Nvidia

The U.S.-China chipmaking rivalry is heating up.

Huawei Technologies is gearing up to test the Ascend 910D, its newest and most powerful artificial-intelligence processor, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The Chinese company hopes the latest iteration of its Ascend AI chips will be more powerful than Nvidia's H100, a popular chip used for AI training that was released in 2022.

Washington has attempted to block Beijing, including cutting off access to some Western chip-making equipment. Huawei, which has emerged as China's champion in the field, has been on a U.S. trade blacklist for nearly six years.

Nvidia shares fell 2.1% Monday.

United Parcel Service

UPS is slashing costs and shrinking its workforce.

The package giant said it would cut 20,000 operational jobs this year, and it expects to close 73 leased and owned buildings this year.

The moves come after UPS in January decided to reduce the amount of packages it delivers for Amazon.com, its biggest customer.

Chief Executive Carol Tomé said the cost-cutting was timely, given uncertainty around tariffs.

Last year, UPS -- which has nearly 490,000 employees -- closed 11 buildings and cut 12,000 jobs. About 330,000 of its workers are represented by the Teamsters.

After edging 0.4% lower Tuesday, UPS shares declined 1.5% Wednesday.

Kohl's

Kohl's fired its chief executive for cause over deals he made with his lover, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The c-suite shake-up came after the retailer discovered CEO Ashley Buchanan had instructed the company to enter into a "highly unusual" business deal involving Chandra Holt, according to people familiar with the situation. The pair currently live together in an upscale golf community in the suburbs of Dallas.

Kohl's said Buchanan didn't disclose the relationship as required by its code of ethics. Buchanan will forfeit all equity awards from Kohl's and be required to reimburse the company on a prorated basis a signing bonus worth $2.5 million.

Kohl's shares gained 7.6% Thursday.

McDonald's

The "Golden Arches" lost some luster as Americans cut back on spending.

McDonald's posted a bigger-than-expected drop in quarterly revenue, driven in part by fewer guests visiting the fast-food chain's U.S. locations.

Low-income consumers particularly reduced their budgets, but so did middle-income households, McDonald's Chief Executive Chris Kempczinski told investors on a Thursday conference call. Higher-income consumers maintained their visits, illustrating the "divided U.S. economy," he said

As consumer spending slows, a number of restaurants have reported falling sales, including Chipotle Mexican Grill, Domino's Pizza, and Starbucks.

McDonald's shares fell 1.9% Thursday.

Block

Fintech company Block cut its annual guidance, flagging a "pronounced shift" in consumer spending.

Block -- the parent of platforms Cash App and Square -- missed quarterly profit forecasts and said users of its Cash App Card had cut back on nonessentials like travel and media. Chief Executive Jack Dorsey said the consumer behavior changes drove the majority of the miss.

The company is now anticipating 12% growth in gross profit year over year -- down from 15% -- and expects 9.5% growth in gross profit to $2.45 billion for the second quarter.

Dorsey believes Cash App's gross profit growth, and Block overall, will accelerate starting in the third quarter.

Block shares plummeted 20% Friday.

Our weekly markets news roundup is now part of the WSJ's What's News podcast. Host Francesca Fontana discusses the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them. Check out What's News in Markets at wsj.com/podcasts or wherever you listen.

Write to Francesca Fontana at francesca.fontana@wsj.com.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 02, 2025 17:13 ET (21:13 GMT)

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