All three major US stock indexes were down in late-morning trading Tuesday after a federal appeals court ruled that most of President Donald Trump's tariffs are illegal.
In company news, Kraft Heinz (KHC) said Tuesday its board has approved a plan to split itself into two independent, publicly traded companies through a tax-free spin-off. Global Taste Elevation will hold several brands, namely, Heinz, Philadelphia and Kraft Mac & Cheese. North American Grocery will hold Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles and Lunchables, among other brands. Current Kraft Heinz Chief Executive Carlos Abrams-Rivera will become CEO of North American Grocery, while the board is working with an executive search firm to identify potential CEO candidates for Global Taste Elevation. Current Chair Miguel Patricio will become executive chair, the company said. Kraft Heinz shares were down about 7% around midday.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's (TSM) waiver to freely ship essential inputs to its main Chinese chipmaking facility has been pulled by the US government, effective Dec. 31, the company confirmed in an email to MT Newswires. TSMC shares were down 1.6%.
PepsiCo (PEP) is facing a major activist campaign by Elliott Investment Management, which has built a $4 billion stake in the company, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. In an open letter accompanying a presentation to Pepsi's board, Elliott said the company should possibly re-franchise its North American bottling business and review its brand portfolio. Pepsi shares were up 2.2%.
Air Lease (AL) said Tuesday it has agreed to be acquired by a holding company whose shares are held by Sumitomo, SMBC Aviation Capital and investment vehicles affiliated with Apollo Global Management (APO) and Brookfield (BN) for $7.4 billion in cash, or $28.2 billion including debt obligations. Air Lease shares were up 6.5%, while those of Apollo and Brookfield were down 1.6% and fractionally higher, respectively.
Constellation Brands (STZ) said Tuesday it is lowering its fiscal 2026 comparable earnings outlook to a range of $11.30 to $11.60 per share from $12.60 to $12.90. CEO Bill Newlands cited dampened demand and more volatile consumer purchasing behavior amid a challenging macroeconomic environment. Constellation shares were down nearly 7%.
The European Union paused its plan to fine Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) Google on Sept. 1 for allegedly abusing its dominant position in advertising technology due to fears that Trump will retaliate by derailing the bloc's trade deal with the US, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Alphabet shares were down 2.8%.
United Therapeutics (UTHR) said Tuesday a study evaluating its nebulized Tyvaso inhalation solution for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis has met its primary efficacy endpoint. The treatment showed superiority over a placebo in terms of absolute forced vital capacity by 95.6 mL from baseline to week 52 in patients with IPF, the company said. United Therapeutics shares were up about 37%.
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