Stock Indexes Sink After US Government Shutdown Ends; Dow Pulls Back Following Record Close; Tech Shares Pace Declines

Turkey Prices Are Higher This Thanksgiving—But Here’s How You Can Save Big

6 minutes ago

This Thanksgiving, you might have to splurge a bit more on the turkey, but you can still buy the rest of your meal on a budget.

A recent analysis from the American Farm Bureau Federation, an agricultural industry group, found that wholesale turkey prices have increased about 40% from last year due to “broader economic challenges impacting the agricultural economy” and a resurgence in highly pathogenic avian influenza and avian metapneumovirus.

Although wholesale turkey prices are broadly expected to rise, analysts at Purdue University note that there’s a wide variation in turkey prices at the store, as retailers typically offer significant discounts on turkeys to get Thanksgiving shoppers in the door.

For example, shoppers at Walmart can purchase a Thanksgiving dinner bundle that serves 10 people for less than $40. Among the foods and ingredients included are dinner rolls, potatoes, fresh cranberries, and a Butterball Turkey, costing just $0.97 a pound. Kroger’s “Freshgiving Bundle” provides dinner for 10 people at less than $4.75 per person.

Read the full article here.

–Trina Paul

This Tech Stock Expert Just Got More Bullish About Nvidia Ahead of Earnings. Here’s Why

42 minutes ago

One Nvidia bull just got more bullish.

Analysts at Oppenheimer boosted their target for the chipmaker’s stock to $265 from $225, telling clients yesterday they believe Nvidia “remains best positioned to win in AI” after CEO Jensen Huang highlighted strong demand for its AI chips at an event last month.

Shares of Nvidia (NVDA) were down 4% at around $186 in recent trading, as the tech sector was leading losses on the major U.S. indexes on Thursday. (Read our daily markets coverage here.) Coming into today’s session, the stock had gained 44% since the start of the year, though the stock is down from the record high of $212 set late last month.

Tech sector stocks have pulled back recently amid worries about an AI bubble, with a muted reaction to strong earnings from rival Advanced Micro Devices(AMD) last week and a drop in shares of AI software darling Palantir (PLTR) following its better-than-expected results suggesting investors may have become harder to impress, with weaker rewards and greater punishments in response to quarterly results.

Read the full article here.

–Kara Greenberg

These Student Loan Borrowers Are Still Blocked From Getting Tax-Free Forgiveness

1 hr 32 min ago

Some student loan borrowers are being blocked from switching to a federal repayment plan that would help them get tax-free loan forgiveness before the end of the year.

Many borrowers are seeking to transition into the Income-Based Repayment plan, in which they may be eligible for student loan forgiveness before the end of the year. Those who become eligible for loan discharge in 2025, typically after making 20 or 25 years of qualifying payments, do not have to pay taxes on their loan forgiveness.

The problem is that the Department of Education and loan servicers are holding the IBR transfer applications for some borrowers rather than processing them, making it impossible for many to become eligible for forgiveness this year. Forgiveness for those who reach eligibility after 2025 will be treated as taxable income.

Millions of borrowers on the Saving for a Valuable Education repayment plan remain in forbearance, which prevents them from making payments that would qualify them for loan forgiveness.

Some of these borrowers have already met the payment requirement for forgiveness or are one to two payments away from doing so. However, borrowers on SAVE are ineligible for forgiveness, so they must transfer to IBR, Pay as You Earn, or Income-Contingent Repayment to finish their payments.

Read the full article here.

–Elizabeth Guevara

Verizon Plans to Cut About 15,000 Jobs, Report Says

1 hr 41 min ago

Last month, new Verizon Communications (VZ) CEO Daniel Schulman said the wireless giant had a “a tremendous amount of opportunity to be more efficient to be scrappier.” According to a report, the company intends to take a dramatic step to cut costs.

Citing people familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Verizon plans to eliminate about 15,000 jobs, mostly through layoffs. It would represent the largest cuts in the company’s history, the newspaper added, noting the firm “also plans to transition about 200 stores into franchised operations, which will shift employees off its payroll.”

According to a 10-K filing back in February, Verizon had “approximately 99,600 employees on a full-time equivalent basis as of December 31, 2024, 88% of whom are based in the U.S.”

Verizon shares were up about 1% in recent trading. They have gained roughly 3% in 2025, trailing the benchmark S&P 500’s 15% advance.

Online Comics Platform WEBTOON Entertainment Stock Dives on Weak Revenue Projection

3 hr 16 min ago

WEBTOON Entertainment (WBTN) announced a partnership with Warner Bros. Animation after markets closed yesterday. Shareholders couldn’t get past their other news.

Shares of the online comics platform sank 25% Thursday morning, a day after the company projected declining fourth-quarter revenue.

The Los Angeles-based firm guided for current-quarter revenue of $330 million to $340 million on a constant-currency basis, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 2.3% to 5.1%. Analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha were looking for $397.8 million.

WEBTOON also projected an adjusted EBITDA loss of $6.5 million to $1.5 million, while analysts were expecting the metric to be of plus-$12.9 million.

Separately, the firm said it “plans to develop a slate of animated projects with Warner Bros. Animation,” including co-producing “10 fan-favorite WEBTOON series for global distribution.”

With today’s sharp declines, WEBTOON Entertainment shares fell into negative territory this year.

Firefly Aerospace Stock Pops on Q3 Results, Rosy Full-Year Revenue Forecast

5 hr 20 min ago

Firefly Aerospace (FLY)’s third-quarter results and full-year revenue projection are sending its shares to the moon.

Firefly’s stock skyrocketed 25% before the bell Thursday, a day after The Cedar Park, Texas-based firm reported better-than-expected results and issued a rosy revenue projection.

The company registered Q3 revenue of $30.8 million, above the consensus Visible Alpha estimate of $29.8 million. Its adjusted loss of $51.5 million was smaller than the expected loss of $53.7 million.

In addition, Firefly guided for full-year revenue of between $150 million and $158 million, well above analysts’ expected $138.3 million.

“Our strong third-quarter revenue growth reflects steady execution of our spacecraft teams on multiple contracts as well as progress made by our launch teams,” CEO Jason Kim said.

However, Firefly Aerospace shares entered the day down about 70% since their IPO in early August.

Sealed Air Stock Soars on Report Bubble Wrap Maker in Talks to Be Taken Private

5 hr 54 min ago

Investors in the company that makes Bubble Wrap are hoping today’s premarket gains don’t pop when the opening bell rings.

Shares of Sealed Air (SEE) soared 22% before the bell following a report that the maker of packaging products was in talks with private-equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice to be taken private.

Citing people familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal reported that a deal for the Charlotte, N.C.-based firm “could come together soon, though it remains possible talks could fall apart or another buyer could emerge.”

Shares of Sealed Air, which has a market cap of $5.35 billion, entered Thursday up roughly 7.5% this year, below the 16.5% advance of the benchmark S&P 500.

Disney Tops Profit Estimates But Revenue Falls Short as Linear TV Struggles Continue

6 hr 12 min ago

The Walt Disney Co. (DIS) on Thursday reported better profit for the final quarter of its fiscal year than analysts had forecast, but revenue fell short and shares slipped in premarket trading.

Disney reported fourth-quarter revenue of $22.46 billion, down slightly year-over-year and below the Visible Alpha consensus of $22.75 billion. Adjusted earnings of $1.11 per share fell 3% but topped analysts’ estimates.

Direct-to-consumer segment revenue, which includes Disney’s streaming services like Hulu, ESPN, and Disney+, grew 8% to $6.25 billion but was below expectation. Disney said it had 132 million Disney+ subscribers at quarter end and 196 million combined Disney+ and Hulu subscribers, both better than expected.

Things were gloomier in Disney’s linear TV business, where domestic networks revenue and operating income dropped 16% and 21%, respectively, as the yearslong trend of falling viewership of traditional TV continues. Disney said the operating income decline was “due to lower advertising driven by decreases in viewership and political advertising.”

Read the full article here.

–Aaron McDade

Stock Futures Tick Lower After US Government Shutdown Ends

7 hr 3 min ago

Futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked 0.1% lower.

S&P 500 futures were down 0.2%.

Nasdaq 100 contracts declined 0.3%.