U.S. stock futures split on Nov. 3 as investors weighed Apple’s lower December-quarter margin outlook and awaited midterm results that would determine control of Congress.
Apple reported $114.5 billion in revenue for the fiscal quarter ended Sept. 26, a 12% increase from a year earlier, with a 47.9% gross margin. On its earnings call, the company projected a 45% to 46% margin for the December quarter, citing higher memory costs and expenses tied to the Siri AI ramp. The forecast is below the September-quarter result. EconoTimes previously covered Apple’s December-quarter margin forecast.
Reuters reported Apple shares down 4.5% in a 5:49 a.m. ET premarket snapshot and down 3.9% in a 7:34 a.m. ET update. The Associated Press later put the shares 2% lower in regular trading at 12:21 p.m. ET. These were readings at different times during the session.
In Reuters’ 5:06 a.m. ET snapshot, Dow futures fell 219 points, or 0.42%, while S&P 500 futures gained 1.5 points, or 0.02%, and Nasdaq-100 futures added 130.5 points, or 0.46%. By 7:07 a.m. ET, Reuters had the Dow down 489 points (0.94%) and the S&P 500 lower by 14.75 points (0.19%); Nasdaq-100 futures were 36.25 points higher (0.13%). Reuters also reported premarket gains of 1.6% for Nvidia and 2.8% for AMD.
Reuters said the Nasdaq-100 finished Monday more than 10% below its record closing level as investors questioned the returns from large technology companies’ AI spending. The AP linked higher memory-chip prices to demand from companies building AI data centers, a cost pressure relevant to Apple’s margin forecast.
Voters were choosing every House seat and roughly one in three Senate seats; the resulting majorities will determine control of each chamber, according to USAGov. The AP cited Edward Jones analyst Brock Weimer’s comparison that the S&P 500 had recorded a positive return in the six months after every midterm election since 1970. AMD was scheduled to report quarterly results after the market close on Nov. 3, Reuters reported.
