Finance Evening: Nvidia's $13B Hugging Face Deal, Dow Jumps 624 Points

📊 Today's North American Markets

---

Nvidia confirms $13 billion acquisition of AI platform Hugging Face

Source: Yahoo Finance

Nvidia on Thursday confirmed plans to acquire the open-weight AI platform Hugging Face for roughly $13 billion, sending its shares up about 2%. Per a press release, Nvidia will pay $12.93 billion for the platform.

Nvidia said more than 18 million developers, researchers and creators use Hugging Face to share more than 3 million models, and more than 200,000 companies use it to discover and deploy AI. Nvidia said Hugging Face will remain "an open platform for the entire AI ecosystem."

The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2027, pending regulatory approval. CEO Jensen Huang posted on X that open models "strengthen safety and cybersecurity, accelerate innovation and diffusion." Analysts said the move positions Nvidia as more of an AI platform than a chip supplier.

Source

---

Microsoft restructures reporting, discloses Azure revenue quarterly for first time

Source: The Verge

Microsoft is changing how it reports its finances by splitting its business into two segments and disclosing quarterly revenue for its Azure cloud business for the first time, reflecting the ongoing impact of AI.

Microsoft previously reported three segments (Productivity and Business Processes, Intelligent Cloud, and More Personal Computing); it now simplifies to "Agents and Infra" and "Devices and Consumer." The latter includes LinkedIn and search advertising, Xbox, and Windows OEM and devices.

The biggest change is the quarterly disclosure of Azure. CEO Satya Nadella said Azure "becomes more purely our consumption-based platform and infrastructure business." The new structure starts with Microsoft's fiscal Q1 2027 earnings in late October.

Source

---

Tesla launches Cybercab robotaxi in Austin

Source: Austin American-Statesman

Tesla launched its self-driving Cybercab robotaxi Thursday evening at ACL Live in downtown Austin, with the event set to begin at 4:45 p.m. The gold-colored two-seater has gull-wing doors and no steering wheel or pedals.

Tesla has registered 45 Cybercabs in Texas, plus about 375 Robotaxi-branded Model Ys, for a fleet of 420 vehicles—versus industry leader Waymo's 988, Avride's 344 and Zoox's 44.

Tesla kicked off Cybercab production in April at Gigafactory Texas. Tesla AI head Ashok Elluswamy called it "a big day for the future of transportation," while Elon Musk forecast a "storm of Cybercabs." A copyright lawsuit tied to the 2024 unveiling still hangs over Tesla, with a motion to dismiss denied and a possible trial in March.

Source

---

Lululemon plunges 15%, cuts full-year outlook

Source: CNBC

Lululemon shares plunged 15% Thursday after another quarter of disappointing results and a cut to its full-year outlook. Second-quarter revenue fell 4% and comparable sales dropped 9%.

Interim CEO Meghan Frank said "negative commentary" on social media hurt second-quarter performance, with a "greater-than-expected" slowdown in core categories including leggings. Third-quarter revenue is expected at $2.29 billion to $2.32 billion, down roughly 10% to 11% year over year.

For the full year, Lululemon expects net revenue of $10.35 billion to $10.5 billion, down 5% to 7% from prior guidance of $11 billion to $11.15 billion. Second-quarter net income was $329.2 million, or $2.92 per share, down from $370.9 million a year earlier. New CEO Heidi O'Neill takes over next week.

Source

---

ChargePoint soars over 70%; CEO calls it 'the beginning of the momentum'

Source: CNBC

ChargePoint shares soared more than 70% Thursday after the EV charging company beat second-quarter expectations and guided toward continued improvement. CEO Rick Wilmer told CNBC the surge is "the beginning of the momentum."

Second-quarter revenue was $116.1 million with a loss of 35 cents per share, versus expectations of $105.2 million and an 85-cent loss. Results were helped by a roughly $4.2 million one-time tariff refund, but normalized gross margin still set a record.

Wilmer said the company has posted four straight quarters of year-over-year growth. Third-quarter guidance calls for revenue of $105 million to $115 million, a mid-point increase of about 4% year over year.

Source

---

Dow jumps 624 points, best day in a month as yields fall

Source: CNBC

Stocks rose Thursday while Treasury yields pulled back, as investors grew hopeful the Fed may hold rates steady this month. The S&P 500 rose 1.06% to 7,747.71, the Nasdaq 1.4% to 26,584.06, and the Dow 624.16 points (1.18%) to 53,686.11—its best day since Aug. 4.

The 10-year Treasury yield was last at 4.77%, falling after Fed Governor Christopher Waller said he'd be "inclined to support" holding rates steady. Futures bets on a rate hike this month fell to 50.4% from 63.2%.

Snowflake popped more than 16% on strong results, while Broadcom fell nearly 3% on a disappointing forecast. Bitcoin briefly topped $81,000, its highest level in nearly four months.

Source

---

U.S. trade deficit in July hits highest level since before 'Liberation Day'

Source: Yahoo Finance

The U.S. goods-and-services trade deficit ballooned in July as imports rose and exports fell, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Thursday. The total gap was $88.6 billion, up 24.4% from $71.2 billion in June.

That is the highest since March 2025, when importers stocked up ahead of Trump's "Liberation Day" on April 2. Imports rose 2.8% while exports fell 2.1%, with $310.7 billion in exports versus $399.3 billion in imports.

Capital Economics said "sharp rebounds in AI-related goods imports" were a key driver. Computer imports surged 25% month over month, accessories 33%, and semiconductors 10%. Crude oil exports fell $4.5 billion. The trade deficit with China was $15.2 billion.

Source

---

August jobs report due Friday; payrolls expected to rise just 53,000

Source: CNBC

The August jobs report due Friday is expected to cap a relatively jobless summer. The Dow Jones consensus sees nonfarm payrolls up just 53,000, enough to keep unemployment at 4.1%. June and July together showed a net loss of 3,000 jobs.

Allianz Trade North America senior economist Dan North called the jobs picture "stable but unexciting." Companies have avoided widespread layoffs, and 2026's layoff pace is the slowest in four years.

Citi economist Andrew Hollenhorst expects just 20,000 new jobs and a possible rise in unemployment to 4.2%, but says the Fed will likely view it as "stable." Analysts broadly say the labor market is no longer the Fed's top concern—inflation is.

Source

---

Dutch central bank moved 86 tons of gold out of the U.S.

Source: Fortune

The Dutch central bank (DNB) confirmed it quietly shifted 86 tons of gold from New York and Ottawa to London over six months between March and August, to be "better prepared for serious crises" amid "increasing geopolitical unrest" and to improve its gold's tradability.

DNB wrote that gold held in London at the Bank of England "is considered the most easily tradable gold in the world," making it "the fastest way for DNB to deploy in a crisis." DNB holds 612 tons total, with 18.5% still in New York and Ottawa.

UBS economist Paul Donovan called improving gold liquidity "not normal behavior," signaling something "quite dramatic" about trust and the international reputation of the United States. In March, France's central bank also said it sold 129 tons (5% of holdings) in New York.

Source

---

10-year Treasury yield tops 4.8% as inflation anxiety hits midterms

Source: Fortune

With midterms just two months away, rising Treasury yields threaten to flare up an affordability crisis. The 10-year yield climbed above 4.8% this week, its highest since October 2023; the five-year sits just below 4.6%, up from below 4% in March.

Brookings senior fellow Robin Brooks noted rates are in a "melt-up" in essentially every Western economy except Switzerland and Sweden. Higher long-term rates quickly hit household balance sheets, making home purchases untenable.

A Reuters poll found 71% of Americans disapprove of Trump's handling of the cost of living, versus 22% who approve; nearly half of voters named it their top issue. Treasury Secretary Bessent has announced buybacks to stem the climb.

Source