The Short Version
- SpaceX turned profitable for the first time since going public, with AI and Starlink doing the lifting.
- Netflix topped estimates for the quarter but guided the next one lower, and its shares slid after hours.
- Wall Street reversed sharply higher into the close as crude pulled back from a $110 spike, and Salesforce capped the day with a $5.66 billion Braze acquisition.
LOS ANGELES — The morning was about what was coming: a SpaceX and Netflix earnings doubleheader, an oil spike, and opening day in the NBA. The afternoon delivered the answers. SpaceX turned its first profit as a public company, Netflix paired a beat with a warning, and Wall Street whipsawed on unverified reports of movement in U.S.-Iran talks. Here is what moved since this morning.
1. SpaceX posts its first profitable quarter as a public company
SpaceX reported third-quarter net income of $4.4 billion on revenue of $14.6 billion, up 161% from a year earlier, in results released after the close — its first profitable quarter since listing in June, after a $1.1 billion loss in the same quarter last year. Diluted earnings of $0.35 a share beat expectations, and the growth was supercharged by its AI segment, which brought in $7.6 billion, while Starlink revenue rose 69% to $5.2 billion on 13.6 million subscribers.
The quarter also included the company's first revenue-generating Starship mission, Flight 14, which delivered 26 Starlink V3 satellites. SpaceX gave no numeric guidance in the release and takes questions on its live webcast this afternoon — the numbers behind this morning's earnings preview, settled.
2. Netflix beats the quarter, then warns on the next one
Netflix reported third-quarter earnings of 87 cents a share, ahead of the 82 cents analysts expected, but revenue growth of 11.8% was the slowest in nearly three years — and the forecast did the damage. The company guided fourth-quarter earnings to 67 cents a share against an average forecast of 73 cents, and cut its 2026 advertising revenue forecast to about $2.7 billion from roughly $3 billion.
Shares fell nearly 7% in after-hours trading. The report lands days after Netflix laid off about 1,000 people — 6% of its workforce — and replaced top programming executives, and it sharpens the question hanging over the stock all year: where the next leg of growth comes from as YouTube and TikTok take more viewing time.
3. The Dow reverses 500 points as oil gives back its spike
Stocks spent the morning under pressure, with oil at its highest since spring — this morning's story — and then turned. The Dow closed up more than 500 points, about 1%, to just under 52,500, a five-week high, while the S&P 500 rose 0.3% and the Nasdaq finished fractionally lower. West Texas Intermediate crude, which had traded above $110 a barrel earlier in the session, fell about 2.5% to around $101.
The turn followed a report — unverified by The Wall Street Journal — that mediators had presented a proposal to revive talks between the U.S. and Iran, and the rally wobbled when a diplomat in the talks called reports of a close deal wrong. Health care led the day, with 3M and UnitedHealth pacing the Dow.
4. Salesforce agrees to buy Braze for $5.66 billion
Salesforce announced Tuesday that it will acquire customer-engagement platform Braze for about $5.66 billion including debt, paying $47.50 a share in cash — a roughly 58% premium to Braze's closing price on Monday. Braze, which helps marketers react to customer behavior in real time across apps, email and text, counts about 2,770 customers, including Canva, Instacart, Venmo, Equinox and Dairy Queen.
Braze shares jumped about 51% on the news while Salesforce fell about 2%, a chilly first verdict from investors. The deal is Salesforce's largest of a busy acquisition year and is expected to close in its fiscal 2028, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval; the company left its fiscal 2027 outlook unchanged.
5. 3M lifts its outlook as earnings day rolls on
3M reported third-quarter profit of $1.37 billion, or $2.63 a share, up from $834 million, or $1.55 a share, a year earlier, on revenue up 4.2% to $6.58 billion — and raised its full-year profit forecast to $9.10 to $9.15 a share. The shares rose nearly 6%, among the Dow's biggest contributors on the day.
It was one of the cleaner beats in a crowded earnings morning that also saw defense names raise guidance on record backlogs. Next up in the queue: United Airlines and Intuitive Surgical after the close, then Meta and Tesla on Wednesday.
6. The NBA season tips off — and Paul George opens with a Celtics record
The 2026-27 NBA season opened with a matinee in Detroit, and Boston's new era started loudly: Paul George, brought in as part of the Jaylen Brown trade, scored 31 points in his first 20 minutes — a franchise record for a Celtics debut — as Boston built a double-digit fourth-quarter lead over the Pistons. Jayson Tatum flirted with a triple-double by halftime, while Jalen Duren led Detroit.
Opening day is a tripleheader on NBC and Peacock. Still ahead tonight: Philadelphia at the defending champion Knicks, with New York's ring ceremony before tip, and Oklahoma City at San Antonio in a Western Conference Finals rematch. Previously's season preview has the full picture.
7. Game Pass Wave 2 lands: Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade headlines
Microsoft used Xbox Wire on Tuesday to announce the second wave of October Game Pass additions: nine games arriving between October 21 and November 3, headlined by Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade on October 29 for Xbox Series X|S, PC and cloud. The psychological horror title Mouthwashing arrives the same day.
PlayStation's October lineup is moving today, too — the PS Plus Extra and Premium additions rolling out include Mafia: The Old Country, Horizon Forbidden West and Mycopunk. Between the two services, it is a heavy two weeks for subscription backlogs.
8. Florida execution set for 6 p.m. after the Supreme Court denies a stay
Florida is set to execute William Reaves Jr., 77, by lethal injection at 6 p.m. ET at Florida State Prison in Raiford, for the 1986 murder of Indian River County Sheriff's Deputy Richard Raczkoski — the first deputy in the county killed in the line of duty. The U.S. Supreme Court denied Reaves's appeal for a stay this afternoon; the Florida Supreme Court had rejected one on October 14.
Reaves had a last meal of crackers and juice, received four visitors and met with a spiritual advisor, according to the Department of Corrections. A refurbished patrol car dedicated to Raczkoski was brought to the prison this afternoon. Reaves would be the 18th inmate executed in Florida in 2026.
Still developing this afternoon
Still developing: Ring night at the Garden
The Knicks raise their championship banner and hand out rings at about 6:30 p.m. ET, then host Philadelphia at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT) — with LeBron James and Jaylen Brown making their 76ers debuts against Jalen Brunson and the defending champions. The nightcap follows at 9:30 p.m. ET (6:30 p.m. PT): Oklahoma City at San Antonio, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander against Victor Wembanyama in a rematch of last season's Western Conference Finals.
Still developing: Earnings after the bell, and a World Series on deck
United Airlines and Intuitive Surgical report after the close, and SpaceX fields questions on its afternoon webcast; Meta and Tesla headline Wednesday's earnings slate. And the baseball calendar is set: the World Series opens Friday, October 23 in Milwaukee, with the Brewers hosting the Rays in a matchup of two clubs chasing a first-ever title.
Still developing: The U.S.-Iran talk reports
Markets moved on a mediator-proposal report that The Wall Street Journal has not verified, and a diplomat in the talks has already pushed back on suggestions that a deal is close. Any confirmation — or denial — out of Washington or the region tonight will set up oil and futures before Wednesday's open.
