Dick’s to acquire Foot Locker, Walmart reports Q1 beat: Morning Buzz

The major averages were mostly higher, with the Nasdaq the lone index in the red near noon, as investors continue to digest recent economic data and geopolitical developments following a three-day rally fueled by easing trade tensions and strong corporate earnings.​ Investor sentiment has been tempered by concerns over a potential economic slowdown and the impact of recent tariff policies. President Trump’s announcement of a “no tariffs” offer from India has added a new dimension to the ongoing trade discussions, influencing market dynamics. ​

Looking to commodities, gold was up, surpassing the $3,200 threshold following several days of sharp losses. Oil prices were sharply lower, down nearly 3%, after a recent rebound.

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.

1. STOCK NEWS:

• Dick’s Sporting (DKS) agreed to acquire Foot Locker (FL) for $2.4B
• Walmart (WMT) reported upbeat Q1 results and reiterated its FY26 guidance
• Cisco (CSCO) provided a “beat and raise” report for Q3 and announced the retirement of CFO Scott Herren
• Alibaba (BABA) reported downbeat Q4 earnings and revenue
• Deere (DE) reported better-than-expected Q2 results and provided its outlook for FY25

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• Wells upgraded Cisco (CSCO) to Overweight on AI order momentum
• DA Davidson downgraded CoreWeave (CRWV) to Underperform, says “not a business worth scaling”
• Wolfe upgraded Pinterest (PINS) to Outperform on a “reasonable” valuation
• TD downgraded Dick’s (DKS), calls Foot Locker (FL) deal “strategic mistake”
• CrowdStrike (CRWD) downgraded at Mizuho, here’s why

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• Azul (AZUL) and its creditors are exploring options for the company, including a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, Bloomberg reports
• Arista (ANET) plans to acquire Broadcom’s (AVGO) VeloCloud, which provides SD-WAN tech to telecoms, for less than $1B, The Information says
• President Donald Trump is asking Apple (AAPL) CEO Tim Cook to stop building plants in India to make devices for the U.S., and is pushing for the iPhone maker to add domestic production, Bloomberg reports
• Ford Motors (F) CEO Jim Farley told New York Post’s Lydia Moynihan that despite the tariffs, he has never been more optimistic about the company’s future.
• A group that opposed Microsoft-backed (MSFT) OpenAI’s restructuring wrote the startup’s new organizational plan does not go far enough to safeguard the company from generating dangerous AI technology, Reuters says

4. MOVERS:

• NV5 Global (NVEE) gains after announcing a merger agreement with Acuren
• DLocal (DLO) and NetEase (NTES) higher reporting quarterly results
• Nextracker (NXT) increases after reporting Q4 results and announcing it will acquire Bentek in a $78M all-cash transaction
• Xponential Fitness (XPOF) falls after announcing CEO King will retire
• New Fortress (NFE) lower after reporting quarterly results and announcing it completed the sale of its Jamaica assets

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• CoreWeave (CRWV) reported Q1 results, with EPS lower year-over-year
• Boot Barn (BOOT) reported Q4 results, provided guidance for Q1 and FY26, and announced a $200M buyback program
• Jack in the Box (JACK) reported Q2 results, with CEO Lance Tucker saying he’s “encouraged by our marketing plans in the back half of 2025”
• Gambling.com (GAMB) reported Q1 results, with EPS and revenue beating consensus
• Advanced Drainage (WMS) reported Q4 results and provided guidance for FY26

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was up 0.33%, or 138.62, to 42,189.68, the Nasdaq was down 0.07%, or 14.07, to 19,132.74, and the S&P 500 was up 0.25%, or 14.78, to 5,907.36.