A strong profit report from SpaceX helps lift tech stocks and Wall
Street
[October 22, 2026] By
STAN CHOE
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market rose Wednesday following strong
profit reports from SpaceX, Capital One Financial and other big
companies.
The S&P 500 added 0.6% and pulled within 0.8% of its all-time high set
earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 360 points,
or 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.1%.
SpaceX helped lead the market and climbed 7.8% after reporting a
stronger profit for the summer than analysts expected. Elon Musk, who
runs the company that makes money from artificial-intelligence
technology, rockets and other businesses, also said that SpaceX took a
step to consider a possible merger with Tesla, his electric-vehicle
company.
Tesla rose 3.4% and was one of the strongest forces lifting the S&P 500.
Other stocks rallying on profit reports that topped analysts’
expectations included Capital One Financial, which rose 2.5%, and
Winnebago Industries, which climbed 10.7%.
Expectations are high for profit growth for all kinds of companies
during the summer, and they need to meet them to justify the big runs
their stock prices have made despite worries about high inflation,
higher interest rates and other challenges weighing on Wall Street.
Winnebago was able to report a more resilient profit than expected even
as high fuel prices and frustration among U.S. shoppers restrain
interest in recreational vehicles, for example. CEO Michael Happe said
its more expensive towable RVs are a tougher sell, but customers are
interested in its “more accessible” offerings.
On the losing side of Wall Street was Netflix, which fell 5.3% even
though the streaming service reported a stronger profit than analysts
expected. Investors focused instead on worries that Netflix’s momentum
may be slowing. The company’s forecast for revenue growth in the final
three months of the year fell short of analysts’ expectations.
AT&T fell 6.4% even though it likewise delivered a stronger profit for
the latest quarter than analysts expected. It gave a forecast for growth
this year in an underlying measure of earnings before income taxes and
some other things that fell short of some analysts’ expectations.
Among AI stocks, which have been at the center of the market’s action in
recent weeks, the movements remained unsettled.
After leading the rest of the market for years because of the frenzy
around AI, stocks in the industry have become shaky on worries that the
build out of data centers may slow because of how much more expensive
it’s become to borrow money.
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A general view shows the floor of the New York Stock Exchange,
Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
 CoreWeave, which has borrowed money
to buy AI chips that it rents out to customers over the cloud, has
been particularly volatile. Its stock bounced between an early gain
of nearly 4% and a drop of 4.5% Wednesday morning before finishing
with a dip of 0.5%. A day earlier, it careened between a gain of 5%
and a drop of more than 6%.
Other AI-linked stocks were more resilient, and Nvidia’s rise of
2.5% was the strongest force lifting the S&P 500.
Besides SpaceX’s profit report showing strength for AI spending,
another encouraging signal for the industry came from Super Micro
Computer, which sells AI servers and services. It said it expects to
report stronger revenue for the summer than it had earlier forecast
because of “increased demand for AI platforms,” and its stock
rallied 9.5%.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 44.60 points to 7,757.17. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average added 360.21 to 52,856.09, and the Nasdaq
composite climbed 278.04 to 26,702.86.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury erased an
early dip and climbed back to 5.12%, where it was late Tuesday.
It swung with oil prices, which remained unsteady. The price for a
barrel of Brent crude drifted between $108 and $111 before settling
at $108.82.
It’s been yo-yoing between $97 and $112 through October on
uncertainty about when the war with Iran will allow the global
energy industry to return to normal.
In stock markets abroad, indexes rose in Europe following a mixed
finish in Asia. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 3.3% for one of the
world’s biggest moves as AI stocks regained strength.
___
AP Business Writers Michelle Chapman and Elaine Kurtenbach
contributed to this report.
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