The 2 O'Clock: Tesla and Meta Beat the Bell, a Critical Web Flaw Sets Off a White House Scramble, and Arsenal Survive in Munich

LAS VEGAS

Wednesday afternoon brought the earnings doubleheader the morning was waiting on, a cybersecurity scramble out of Washington, and a Champions League draw in Munich. Here is what moved since this morning.

1. Tesla and Meta report: revenue beats, messy profit lines, shares up after hours

The earnings-eve setup resolved just after the closing bell, according to Investopedia and CoinDesk, which both tracked the reports live. Tesla posted third-quarter revenue of about $28.1 billion, roughly in line with expectations, with earnings per share beating forecasts and free cash flow far ahead of estimates; the company still holds 11,509 bitcoin, and its shares rose about 1.5 percent after hours. Meta reported revenue of $64.6 billion, up 26 percent year over year and ahead of forecasts, but earnings per share of $3.83 came in well short of estimates as legal charges weighed on the line.

Meta also lifted the low end of its full-year capital-spending outlook to $135–145 billion, guided fourth-quarter revenue to $73–76 billion, and confirmed a new non-voting share class that lets it raise AI capital without diluting Mark Zuckerberg's control — its shares gained about 3.2 percent after hours. Tesla's earnings call follows at 2:30 PM PT, where the SpaceX merger-committee question that moved the stock this morning is sure to come up.

2. Critical PHP flaw puts most websites at risk; White House races the fix

A critical vulnerability in PHP — the open-source software behind roughly 70 percent of websites worldwide — has triggered an NSA warning and a federal scramble. The White House said Wednesday the administration is working with federal agencies and AI companies to expedite the release of a fix and protect American networks and critical infrastructure.

The administration was notified of the flaw on Friday, October 16, and says it was AI technology that discovered the vulnerability in the first place — a detail the White House is using to argue for American leadership in what the president calls super intelligence. Site operators should expect patch guidance to move fast; until it lands, a very large share of the public web is exposed.

3. Trump's approval hits record lows in two new polls

President Trump's approval rating fell to record lows in two separate polls released Wednesday, weeks before the midterms. The New York Times/Siena poll put him at 34 percent — the lowest for any president heading into a midterm since Harry Truman in 1946 — while CNN/SSRS measured 32 percent, down a point from his previous low in late September.

Both surveys show Democrats widening their generic-ballot lead, by 11 points in the Times poll and 10 in CNN's, the largest CNN margin for Democrats since just before the 2020 election. The White House responded that Trump remains the Republican Party's best messenger and is committed to holding its congressional majorities — a case he takes to South Carolina tonight.

4. Bayern 2-2 Arsenal: Saka limps off, his replacement scores, Rice rescues a point

The Champions League game of the night delivered — and cost Arsenal. Bukayo Saka limped off with a suspected muscle injury about 10 minutes in at the Allianz Arena, but his replacement, Eberechi Eze, opened the scoring on 25 minutes after a VAR review ruled him onside. Alphonso Davies equalized for Bayern, and Harry Kane fired the hosts in front.

Arsenal kept pushing and got their reward in the 82nd minute, Declan Rice finishing a flowing move to make it 2-2 and keep the Gunners unbeaten in the league phase. The result is secondary to the Saka news: Arsenal now wait on scans for their most important attacker, with the Premier League schedule about to thicken.

5. Toledo chemical release: crews let the tank vent out as orders stay in place

The Toledo hazardous-materials emergency entered a holding pattern Wednesday afternoon. Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said crews are letting the compromised 5,500-gallon tank of glycidyl methacrylate vent out rather than trying to actively stop the leak, with the tank's temperature falling and the release slowing significantly — though the reaction could still take another six to 16 hours to complete.

The evacuation order for roughly 983 people within a mile of the MC Tank Terminal site and the shelter-in-place order within three miles both remain in effect. Local hospitals have treated about 30 people, health officials described the chemical as mostly an irritant at this point, and the only injury reported earlier was a sheriff's deputy who drove himself to a hospital.

6. Anthropic's IPO filing numbers spread: $16.3 billion in revenue, an $80.7 billion paper loss

Details from Anthropic's draft IPO prospectus, reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, moved through markets Wednesday. The AI lab booked $16.3 billion in revenue in the first half of 2026 — up from $1.1 billion a year earlier — against a net loss of $80.7 billion, about $72 billion of it a non-cash accounting charge tied to the rising value of its convertible financing.

The operating picture is the spending: nearly $9 billion on compute in six months and roughly $450 billion in mostly non-cancellable cloud commitments over the next seven to 10 years. Anthropic told prospective investors third-quarter revenue reached $16.8 billion and that it was profitable on an adjusted basis, and a public filing could come as soon as Friday.

7. Tornado watch for northern Arizona as severe storms build this afternoon

Northern Arizona is under a tornado watch until 6 PM MST Wednesday, covering Coconino, Yavapai, Mohave and Navajo counties, with a few tornadoes, hail up to two and a half inches and damaging winds of 60 to 70 mph all possible. A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for the Strawberry and Payson areas, where radar showed two-inch hail moving northeast at 45 mph along State Routes 87 and 260.

Forecasters warn roads and driveways may wash out in the heaviest rain, and anyone caught in flood water should climb to safety rather than drive through it. The storm day is a sharp turn for the region — and a wet setup heading into the evening commute across the high country.

8. Ron Howard's 'Avedon' trailer lands ahead of its November 11 Netflix debut

Netflix dropped the trailer Wednesday for Avedon, Ron Howard's documentary on legendary fashion and portrait photographer Richard Avedon. The film draws on Avedon's personal archives and behind-the-lens footage, with interviews including his son John Avedon, Calvin Klein, Isabella Rossellini, Twiggy and Lauren Hutton.

Beyond the fashion work, the trailer traces Avedon's documentation of the Civil Rights Movement and anti-Vietnam War protests, and his portraits of figures from Martin Luther King Jr. to Malcolm X. The documentary begins streaming worldwide on November 11, with early Oscar-season buzz already attached.

Still developing this afternoon

Still developing: a full NBA night, headlined by debuts in Miami and Los Angeles

Eleven games fill the season's first full Wednesday slate. The ESPN doubleheader opens at 4:30 PM PT with the Timberwolves at the Heat — Anthony Edwards and the newly arrived LaMelo Ball against Giannis Antetokounmpo in his Miami debut — and closes at 7 PM PT with the Lakers hosting the Warriors, Luka Doncic against Stephen Curry at Crypto.com Arena.

Still developing: Trump rallies in South Carolina tonight; Tesla takes questions at 2:30 PM PT

Supporters filled the T. Ed Garrison Arena in Pendleton this afternoon ahead of President Trump's 7 PM ET rally for Sen. Darline Graham, with boxing great Evander Holyfield traveling in with the president. Closer to home, Tesla's 2:30 PM PT earnings call is the next test of the afternoon's after-hours gains — expect the possible SpaceX tie-up and the AI spending race to dominate the questions.

Still developing: Toledo's clock, Arizona's storms, and Dolly on ABC

Toledo officials say the chemical reaction venting from the tank could run six to 16 more hours, so evacuation and shelter-in-place orders may stretch into Thursday. Arizona's tornado watch expires at 6 PM MST, but flood risk lingers after the storms pass. And tonight on ABC, country music's Dolly Parton tribute airs live — a lighter close to a heavy news day.