CNBC

Lead Story

Despite high-level C-suite instability marked by the sudden exits of key revenue and operating executives this week, OpenAI finance chief Sarah Friar reassured shareholders that the company’s annualized revenue run-rate has hit $40 billion, driven by a massive acceleration in the high-margin enterprise segment which now represents the majority of its business.

Markets & Economics

Markets closed the week on mixed footing following Thursday’s record-setting close of 7,798.99 for the S&P 500. In economic data, investors digested a major miss on July retail sales, which unexpectedly plunged 0.6% against the 0.1% monthly expansion projected by economists, discussed on-air in Retail sales unexpectedly fell in July. While the weak print raises valid concerns about a broader consumer slowdown following last week’s soft payrolls report, Goldman Sachs analyst Lizzie Dove pointed out in High-income tourism is ‘off the charts,’ says Goldman Sachs’ Lizzie Dove that travel-spending momentum remains exceptionally resilient among wealthier cohorts. Further macro perspective was offered in WSJ’s Greg Ip: The euphoria around U.S. economic prospects isn’t translating to job creation, which highlighted the stark disconnect between buoyant corporate sentiment and sluggish domestic hiring. Geopolitical risks also pressured bonds, sending the 10-year Treasury yield up to 4.661% after Washington threatened Iran with “never-before-seen” economic isolation and a continuous naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.

Business & Earnings

In corporate coverage, Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro sat down with Julia Boorstin from the D23 Expo, expressing solid confidence in the company’s trajectory and the strength of its parks division last quarter, even as the entertainment giant continues to manage industry-wide margin pressures, ongoing cost-cutting, and broadcast license scrutiny from the FCC. Meanwhile, Brinker International CEO Kevin Hochman detailed how Chili’s aggressive $10.99 value campaign has been a critical engine for driving higher diner volumes and anchoring the restaurant chain’s impressive rebound story. In fintech, Corgi Invest CEO Nico Laqua joined ETF Edge to discuss how the venture-backed startup has deployed AI to accelerate written regulatory filings, allowing it to launch an unprecedented 197 niche ETFs in record time to challenge industry giant BlackRock. Finally, semiconductor equipment heavyweight Applied Materials slid 5% in midday trading after its Q2 print ($3.50 adjusted EPS on $9.12 billion in revenue) failed to satisfy lofty near-term buy-side expectations despite a robust 25% year-over-year surge in sales.

Investing & Commentary

The high-flying memory sector remains highly strategic, with SanDisk upgraded to overweight at JPMorgan with a $2,250 price target on the strength of its margin-boosting, long-term customer agreements. This structural shift away from traditional memory cycles is also expected to benefit Micron, which is projected to generate a scorching $50 billion in free cash flow for fiscal year 2026. In major institutional moves, Q2 regulatory filings revealed Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway boosted its Alphabet position by 83% to $37.9 billion, while David Tepper’s Appaloosa Management trimmed select memory names during the quarter to double down on megacap tech giants like Amazon and Meta.

Also Worth Watching

• New super car bubble?: Massive market rotation in classic cars is leaving ‘boomer cars’ in the dust (CNBC): Robert Frank reports on how younger buyers are fueling demand for modern supercars, leaving traditional collector cars behind.
• Data centers in space could be a new frontier for insurers — if they can price the risk (CNBC): Insurers are scrambling to draft a new underwriting playbook as SpaceX and Blue Origin lay plans for solar-powered orbital computing infrastructure.
• China’s industrial overcapacity: Michael Froman on whether it could trigger the next economic crisis (CNBC): Council on Foreign Relations Chairman Michael Froman discusses whether Beijing’s surging industrial overcapacity in clean tech and software could trigger a protectionist crisis.
• Tutor Perini CEO on state of U.S. infrastructure: Demand exceeds anything the industry’s ever seen (CNBC): Ronald Tutor highlights how unprecedented demand for civil and infrastructure engineering projects is outstripping industry capacity.
• Prediction market pushback grows (CNBC): The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has launched a probe into “mention markets” on prediction platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket, resulting in bans in four states.

📊 I could plot a comparison of the free cash flows and margin projections for SanDisk and Micron to visualize how this structural shift is fundamentally reshaping the memory sector.