Some big (red) numbers ahead… It's not 'all bad'… Believe in some stocks… The Fed's next meeting… A public health note...
If last week was any indication – and we think it was...
Don't be surprised if you check the financial news and/or your portfolio later this week and see some big numbers... potentially in the red.
The market-cap-weighted headline indexes are going to move as Microsoft (MSFT), Meta Platforms (META), Apple (AAPL), and Amazon (AMZN) – which carry about a combined $12 trillion in market cap – all report quarterly earnings within a 48-hour period.
Microsoft and Meta release reports on Wednesday after the market close, and Apple and Amazon will do the same on Thursday. Need we remind you of what happened last week when the first two Magnificent Seven companies published earnings?
As our colleague Whitney Tilson pointed out on Friday in his daily e-letter, the Mag Seven as a whole lost nearly $800 billion in combined market value a day after Alphabet (GOOGL) and Tesla (TSLA) reported earnings following last Wednesday's close.
Both giants reported negative free cash flow ("FCF") for the second quarter, as ballooning capital expenditures ("capex") for AI infrastructure and projects haven't yet seen a payoff. Both stocks plummeted as a result, dragging down the tech-heavy indexes with them.
While Tesla's FCF news didn't surprise me (Corey McLaughlin), it was Alphabet's first negative FCF quarter ever as a publicly traded company.
The thing is, these companies have basically been following the same path of throwing big money at the AI wall and seeing what sticks. With the amount of capex they've been putting toward AI, investors have high expectations.
Despite Alphabet's reported 24% year-over-year revenue growth for the quarter, the negative cash flow reveal drove the company's stock down 7% on Thursday (though the stock is up about 3% since).
So, it's likely we could see similar trends and volatility from the other Mag Seven companies later this week. Don't say we didn't tell you.
It's not 'all bad' though...
Frankly, a pullback in Big Tech stocks and the AI boom has been due. A round of selling and "rotation" out of tech, as we've noted, may be setting the market up for another move higher into the end of the year.
After a remarkable spring rally, semiconductors are down more than 20%, measured by the iShares Semiconductor Fund (SOXX). The Mag Seven – on an equally weighted basis, measured by the Roundhill Magnificent Seven Fund (MAGS) – is down around 10% since a May high.
There could be more pain ahead this week for these previously hot slices of the market. But from a technical view, these corrections could be closer to their end than the beginning, as Ten Stock Trader editor Greg Diamond wrote today in his Weekly Market Outlook...
High-flying semiconductor and tech stocks are experiencing a correction, but the overall market is chugging along. It's currently working off some of that euphoria (aka "overbought" conditions) and building up energy.
And soon, the stock market could move higher.
Stansberry Alliance members and Greg's Ten Stock Trader subscribers can read his full analysis here.
Fundamentally, there are reasons to believe in (some) stocks...
As Whitney wrote in his free daily on Friday, Alphabet's valuation after its recent drop is now around 22 times earnings, which presents an opportunity. He wrote...
That's roughly the same as the S&P 500 Index's current forward multiple... for a far above average business.
My view today is still the same as it has been for more than seven years: Alphabet is a great stock for conservative, long-term-oriented investors.
Whitney, conversely, is not bullish on Tesla. You can read his full thoughts on both businesses here.
The Federal Reserve (and the latest from Iran) will also play a role this week...
The central bank will begin its latest two-day policy meeting tomorrow. On Wednesday, it will wrap things up with an announcement and press conference from new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh.
As we've been writing, the subject of inflation – and what the central bank may or may not do about it – is a big factor for the market to consider right now.
The war in Iran has escalated over the past two weeks, with the Strait of Hormuz essentially closed again. Red Sea transit and Saudi Arabia's energy supply are also now in the crossfire.
However, on Friday, the White House didn't go ahead with previously discussed plans to attack more Iranian targets.
Oil futures have dropped around 10% in the past 24 hours, with West Texas Intermediate September contracts around $82. Brent crude, the international benchmark, is trading around $87, with markets no longer expecting the "worst."
Here's what could happen with the Fed meeting...
Right now, federal-funds futures traders have put a 62% chance on the Fed holding rates steady at this meeting. They're betting on a 38% likelihood of a rate hike, given recent inflation mostly tied to higher energy prices.
In the Jerome Powell era, when there was a lot more talk from Fed officials between meetings, these traders would have a nearly 100% lean on a decision one way or another two days before a policy announcement. The policy decision was more of a formality.
But the Warsh Fed is operating differently. He's not a fan of "forward guidance." So there's room for "Fed day" movement, perhaps more because of what the central bank does rather than what Warsh says.
On Wednesday, if the Fed holds rates steady – which the market is leaning toward, but isn't entirely convinced about – there's room for that decision to be a near-term bullish tailwind.
What Warsh has to say (or not) in the post-meeting press conference about oil prices and what they mean (or don't) for inflation and Fed policy will be another thing for the market to react to. Again, it could possibly be bullish.
Federal-funds futures traders have put a roughly 80% likelihood of a rate hike by the Fed's next meeting in September. I'm not so sure about that. Behind the scenes, changes are afoot as to how the central bank measures inflation, which could show lower readings than there are now.
Any hints suggesting the status quo on interest rates, or maybe even an inclination to lower them later this year, could keep the recent market rotation we've seen going.
Conversely, a perception of tighter policy to come could send things lower across the board.
Finally, a public health note about that parasite...
As our Dr. David "Doc" Eifrig wrote in his free Health & Wealth Bulletin last week...
More than 1,600 people across 34 states have gotten sick with confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis, the intestinal illness caused by a parasite known as Cyclospora cayetanensis. At least 141 folks have been hospitalized – but, thankfully, there have been no deaths reported so far.
Health officials have been scrambling to identify the source...
You've likely noticed people having awkward stare-downs with lettuce and other leafy greens at the grocery store over the past few weeks... and then walking away empty-handed, choosing other foods instead.
Heck, I've even avoided Taco Bell – which I consider a delicacy – because of reports that some of the lettuce the company uses was the source of the parasite, though that was later deemed a "false alarm" by health officials. As Doc wrote...
At first, they pointed the finger at iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms de Mexico. The leafy greens are typically found on supermarket shelves and at certain Taco Bell restaurants.
Until recently, that is. The company quickly pulled the suspected goods from the U.S. market.
Sounds like an open-and-shut case, right? Nope... Turns out, the lettuce sample that officials claimed was positive for Cyclospora was a false alarm.
That's a pretty big miss – and it's a reminder that you shouldn't blindly trust the system to always get it right.
Doc says you can take things into your own hands (or stomach, as it were) with a few precautions to keep you and your family safe from this parasite, which can cause "explosive, watery diarrhea."
His first recommendation is "be choosy with lettuce" and stick to whole heads as opposed to the precut or bagged stuff.
His second tip is "reduce your risk with other produce."
Finally, "heat is the kiss of death" (in a good way).
Sauteing, steaming, boiling, you name it... Cooking foods to at least 158 degrees Fahrenheit will kill the bug.
You can read Doc's tips – for free – in detail here. And if you don't get Doc's free Health & Wealth Bulletin already, sign up for it here to receive more great financial and health recommendations from Doc and his team.
Bitcoin Has Crashed 50%: Is This a Trap or a Generational Buying Opportunity?
Bitcoin (BTC) is down about 50% from its all-time high around $125,000 in October 2025... and many people think the bull market in the world's largest cryptocurrency is done for good. But what if this is exactly what every bitcoin cycle is supposed to look like?
According to Crypto Capital editor Eric Wade, what we're seeing from bitcoin now – trading around $64,000 (that's up from below $60,000 last month) may be just that – the beginning of the next accumulation phase that will lead to new highs once again.
While bitcoin exchange-traded fund ("ETF") investors have been selling, some of the world's largest bitcoin whales have been buying hundreds of thousands of coins. And if history repeats itself, today's fear will mark a long-term buying opportunity.
In the latest episode of Top Stocks, our Director of Research Matt Weinschenk brings on Eric to the show. They discuss:
- Why bitcoin's famous four-year cycle may still be intact...
- Why "whale" accumulation is telling a very different story than ETF outflows...
- How blockchain adoption continues accelerating even while crypto sentiment collapses...
- And why Eric believes bitcoin's long-term fundamentals may be stronger than ever.
Click here to watch this episode – for free – right now on our YouTube page, or here on the members section of StansberryResearch.com under "Media."
You'll find time stamps at the link as well, so you can click around the video. They talk about bitcoin and the blockchain, break down what bitcoin treasury companies really are, and discuss how inflation and macroeconomics fit into all of this.
New 52-week highs (as of 7/24/26): Arch Capital (ACGL), Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box Fund (BOXX), Omega Healthcare Investors (OHI), Pembina Pipeline (PBA), Packaging Corporation of America (PKG), Travelers (TRV), Union Pacific (UNP), and Invesco DB U.S. Dollar Index Bullish Fund (UUP).
In today's mailbag, feedback on Dan Ferris' Friday essay. If you missed it, check it out here... And, as always, send your comments and questions to feedback@stansberryresearch.com.
"I think Dan Ferris 'The Embarrassing Truth About Making Things' is probably the best Stansberry Digest since ever." – Subscriber S.J.I.
"Dan, I have no problem with taking down Iran. I'm well aware of the history of Persia over the last 2,500 years! But I absolutely agree with you about our utter stupidity in losing our onshore capability to produce these materials..." – Subscriber Edward S.
"I was a refinery operator here at the HFC [HollyFrontier Corporation] plant for 16 years. I worked on a crew of four people that worked on the wax unit. We processed feed from the lube unit and my unit produced wax free oil, soft wax (toilet rings) and product wax (candle wax). I hired on in 2006 when it was still owned by Sunoco. During 2008/09 they [Sunoco] decided they didn't want it anymore and brought in Lynn Elsenhans (she made close to $30 million) to give it away to Holly Corp. for $60 million. The following year, Holly made an enormous profit on that investment. A couple of mergers later, it's now HFC.
"I'm biased, but that is probably one of the very few places a person with no college can hire on and within a couple years make $50 an hour working 12-hour shifts. I was one out of 16 people hired out of just less than 1,000 applicants that year.
"The refinery manager used to tell us that being inside the refinery was the safest place we could be at that moment. Our culture was built around safety first, then environment and never profits. If people truly knew the safety culture of a refinery and all the high-paying jobs and supporting jobs that a refinery creates for non-college degree people then they would welcome another dozen refineries! That is, unless they don't want to take home $3,500 after tax every two weeks, have 6% 401k match, up to five weeks paid vacation, tons of sick leave plus quarterly bonuses, holiday pay, overtime, etc.
"A refinery is an incredible asset to have." – Subscriber Ryan E.
All the best,
Corey McLaughlin
Baltimore, Maryland
July 27, 2026
