Market Beats | UPS Surges After Profit Tops Estimates; U.S. Home Prices See Smallest Gain in Over Two Years; Microsoft Secures 27% Stake in OpenAI; Apple Hits $4 Trillion Market Value; Nvidia Launches NVQLink to Connect Quantum Computers With AI Chips; US Consumer Confidence Falls for Third Month in October; Uber to Deploy 100,000 Nvidia-Powered Autonomous Vehicles

—— UPS Surges After Profit Tops Estimates; U.S. Home Prices See Smallest Gain in Over Two Years; Microsoft Secures 27% Stake in OpenAI; Apple Hits $4 Trillion Market Value; Nvidia Launches NVQLink to Connect Quantum Computers With AI Chips; US Consumer Confidence Falls for Third Month in October; Uber to Deploy 100,000 Nvidia-Powered Autonomous Vehicles

1. UPS Surges After Profit Tops Estimates

United Parcel Service Inc. shares soared after the delivery giant beat Wall Street profit forecasts by aggressively cutting costs and eliminating 34,000 jobs this year.

The reductions — which include drivers and package handlers — represent a 70% increase from UPS’s previous target. As part of the sweeping cost-saving campaign, the company shut down daily operations at 93 leased and owned facilities in 2025, it said Tuesday.

The results indicate that Chief Executive Officer Carol Tomé’s turnaround strategy is gaining traction after the company struggled with sluggish demand, high costs, and uncertainty stemming from tariff policies. Adjusted earnings for the latest quarter were $1.74 per share, easily topping the Bloomberg consensus estimate of $1.32. Revenue also exceeded expectations.

“This is exactly what UPS needed,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak. “After several years of poor performance, signs of a turnaround could finally reverse the stock’s momentum.”

UPS shares jumped 12% in premarket trading in New York as of 8:05 a.m., their biggest gain since February 2022. Rival FedEx Corp. also advanced. UPS had fallen 29% this year through Monday.

Both UPS and FedEx have been hit by a sharp slowdown in their most profitable shipping corridor — between China and the U.S. — amid trade disruptions under President Donald Trump’s policies. FedEx said in September it expects a $1 billion headwind from the turmoil this year.

UPS on Tuesday forecast fourth-quarter revenue of about $24 billion, slightly above analysts’ projections.

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2. U.S. Home Prices See Smallest Gain in Over Two Years

U.S. home prices rose at the slowest pace in more than two years, extending a seven-month streak of deceleration as inventory grew and buyers regained leverage in negotiations.

A national measure of prices increased 1.5% from a year earlier in August, according to the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller index — the smallest gain since mid-2023, following a 1.6% rise in July.

The easing price growth offers relief to buyers after years of affordability pressures caused by soaring prices and elevated mortgage rates. The index covers a three-month period ending in August, when mortgage rates began to retreat from nearly 7% and listings expanded.

Among the 20 major cities tracked, New York led for the second consecutive month with a 6.1% annual increase, followed by Chicago and Cleveland with 5.9% and 4.7% gains, respectively.

“The housing market appears to be finding a new equilibrium after the pandemic boom,” said Nicholas Godec, head of fixed income tradables and commodities at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “With price growth running at half the rate of inflation and several major markets in decline, the rapid appreciation of recent years has clearly ended.”

Tampa saw the sharpest decline, with prices falling 3.3%, while Miami dropped 1.7%.

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3. Microsoft Secures 27% Stake in OpenAI

Microsoft Corp. and OpenAI have finalized a long-negotiated agreement that reshapes their high-profile artificial intelligence partnership.

Under the new pact, Microsoft will acquire a 27% ownership stake in OpenAI valued at roughly $135 billion, according to a joint statement released Tuesday.

The world’s largest software company will also retain access to OpenAI’s technology — including models that have reached the benchmark of artificial general intelligence — through 2032.

As part of the revised arrangement, Microsoft will no longer hold a right of first refusal on OpenAI’s computing resources. In return, OpenAI has committed an additional $250 billion to purchase Azure cloud services from Microsoft.

Microsoft shares surged nearly 4% in early New York trading following the announcement.

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4. Apple Hits $4 Trillion Market Value

Apple Inc. shares rose as much as 0.4% Tuesday, pushing the iPhone maker’s market value to $4 trillion — making it only the third publicly traded company in history to reach that mark.

The Cupertino, California-based firm’s shares have surged more than 56% since their April low, adding about $1.4 trillion in value amid optimism around its refreshed iPhone lineup and easing tariff pressures. Earlier this month, Apple closed at its first record high of the year, surpassing a level last seen in December.

The rally reflects stronger-than-expected demand for the latest iPhone 17 series, which outsold the iPhone 16 lineup by 14% in the first 10 days after launch in the U.S. and China, according to Counterpoint Research. Analysts said the surge may signal that a long-awaited upgrade cycle is now underway.

Apple’s rise to a $4 trillion valuation follows Nvidia Corp., which became the first company ever to achieve that milestone earlier this year.

Fellow “Magnificent Seven” member Microsoft Corp. briefly crossed the threshold in July after strong earnings, and jumped back above it on Tuesday following its new partnership announcement with OpenAI.

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5. Nvidia Launches NVQLink to Connect Quantum Computers With AI Chips

Nvidia Corp. unveiled a new system designed to connect quantum computers with its artificial intelligence chips — a move that could accelerate breakthroughs in medicine and materials science.

For quantum computing to become commercially viable, it must integrate seamlessly with classical hardware. Nvidia’s new combination of software and hardware will bridge the interface between emerging quantum techniques and its existing AI technology.

The new system, called NVQLink, is intended to pave the way for a new generation of supercomputers and reduce the error rate of qubits, the basic units of quantum information. “It doesn’t just do error correction for today’s number of qubits, it does error correction for tomorrow,” Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang said Tuesday during his keynote address at Nvidia’s GTC conference in Washington. “We’re going to scale these quantum computers from hundreds of qubits today to tens or hundreds of thousands in the future.”

Huang said Nvidia has partnered with 17 quantum computing firms capable of supporting NVQLink, though he didn’t identify them.

As the tech industry intensifies its focus on quantum computing’s potential to outperform conventional machines, Nvidia — once a skeptic — is positioning itself to ensure its technology remains integral if decades of quantum research finally deliver on their promise.

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6. US Consumer Confidence Falls for Third Month in October

US consumer confidence declined for a third consecutive month in October amid growing pessimism about the economy and labor market outlook.

The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index fell by one point to 94.6, the lowest reading since April, according to data released Tuesday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected a reading of 93.4.

An index measuring expectations for the next six months dropped to 71.5, the weakest since June, while the gauge of current conditions improved slightly. Confidence remains below last year’s levels as consumers worry about the labor market and the cost of living. Job growth has slowed sharply, inflation remains above the Federal Reserve’s target, and President Donald Trump’s tariff policies continue to heighten uncertainty.

The share of consumers who said jobs were “hard to get” rose to 18.4%, while those saying jobs were “plentiful” also increased to 27.8%, widening the gap between the two — a key indicator closely watched by economists to assess labor market strength.

Still, expectations for the job market weakened further. More consumers foresee fewer available jobs in the next six months, and optimism about income prospects also faded.

While fewer respondents expect a recession in the coming year, a growing number believe that one has already begun.

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7. Uber to Deploy 100,000 Nvidia-Powered Autonomous Vehicles

Uber Technologies Inc. said it will begin rolling out a fleet of 100,000 autonomous vehicles powered by Nvidia Corp. technology in 2027, an ambitious effort aimed at reducing the cost of robotaxi services for consumers.

The plan builds on a partnership established in January, when Uber agreed to share portions of its driving data to help Nvidia improve its artificial intelligence models and automotive chip technology used in developing self-driving cars.

On Tuesday, Nvidia unveiled its new Drive AGX Hyperion 10 platform, which enables automakers to equip vehicles with hardware and sensors compatible with autonomous-driving software.

As part of the collaboration, Stellantis NV will be among the first automakers to deliver at least 5,000 Nvidia-powered robotaxis for Uber’s US and international operations. Uber will oversee end-to-end fleet operations, including remote assistance, charging, cleaning, maintenance, and customer support.

Stellantis said in a separate statement that it will partner with Foxconn on hardware and systems integration, with mass production targeted for 2028 and initial operations beginning in the US. Pilot testing and limited programs will ramp up in the years ahead.

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