Stock Market Summary – July 18, 2025

Stock market on Friday closed slightly lower with the Dow down by 0.42%, S&P 500 down by 0.54%, and Nasdaq down by 0.71%.

Texas Roadhouse’s stock fell roughly 8% due to increasing beef inflation. Despite this, Bank of America raised its price target on the steakhouse to $219 from $203, expecting long-term growth.

Sarepta Therapeutics shares plunged by over 30% as FDA flagged safety concerns regarding its gene therapy, Elevidys. Sarepta’s stock has fallen over 87% this year.

Talen Energy’s share price surged 23% after the company announced its acquisition of two power plants for $3.5 billion. Invesco shares also jumped by 12% due to structural changes in its popular trust. Conversely, Netflix shares dipped by 4% after a warning regarding lower margins for the second half of the year due to higher content and marketing costs.

Abbott Laboratories shares went up after an upgrade from Jefferies, considering that Thursday’s 8.5% sell-off was “too punitive” and the outlook headwind as temporary.

In the crypto market, Ether climbed higher by 4% to $3,578.67 as President Trump signed the GENIUS Act stablecoin legislation, while bitcoin price slipped by 1%.

In other news, lawmakers also passed a second, broader crypto market structure bill, the CLARITY Act, which will now go to the Senate.

Amprius Technologies, a firm that manufactures lithium-ion batteries for drones and high-altitude pseudo satellites, has seen its stocks surge by over 187% in 2025. William Blair has upgraded Amprius’ stock to outperform due to an increased focus on drones in the Trump administration’s defense strategy, with the increased demand potentially leading to large purchase orders.

In other news, the S & P 500 climbed to a new all-time high on Friday due to a flurry of strong earnings reports. Netflix experienced a slight drop in shares (over 2%) following its Q2 revenue and EPS beat, while 3M’s revenues and adjusted EPS of $2.16 exceeded market expectations, triggering a 2% rise in its stock. American Express also reported robust revenue and adjusted EPS, leading to a 1% uptick in its shares.

Looking at pre-market trading, Netflix, American Express, Chevron, Sarepta Therapeutics, Interactive Brokers, Schlumberger, and Charles Schwab are making headlines. Netflix’s shares fell 2% following a warning about lower future operating margin, while Chevron’s shares soared 3% after winning a dispute over Hess’s offshore oil assets. Interactive Brokers saw its shares advance 5% after reporting Q2 results that beat top and bottom-line estimates.

In analyst calls, Nvidia, Microsoft, and Tesla were reiterated as buy, Apple as outperform, Chipotle was upgraded to outperform and Barclays was downgraded to neutral.

Finally, Chevron has completed its $53 billion acquisition of Hess, after winning a legal dispute with Exxon Mobil over offshore oil assets in Guyana. The acquisition victory led to a 2% rise in Chevron’s shares during pre-market trading.