Meta Agrees to $18B Youth-Safety Settlement With US States

Meta agrees to $18B multistate settlement over youth mental-health claims The deal imposes teen time limits, night mode and independent auditing, though Meta admitted no wrongdoing. It is a fraction of what states sought and leaves hundreds of similar cases pending. 1

Zuckerberg's plan to replace Meta staff with AI imploded after backlash Reuters reports Meta explored cutting teams by up to 60% under Project OT, but canceled November layoffs after employee revolt and weak AI-agent productivity data. The company still cut 10% of staff in May. 2

Microsoft and Nvidia alone drove nearly all of S&P 500's summer gains Bespoke data show the two added $1.42 trillion in market cap since July 13, while the other 71 tech stocks lost $22 billion. Communication Services shed $300 billion, exposing a narrow, two-stock bull market. 3

Okta jumps 29% after earnings beat as AI agent identity becomes key Q2 non-GAAP EPS of $1.05 beat by $0.09 on $705 million revenue, up 16%, and the company raised full-year guidance. RPO rose 18% to $3.9 billion, signaling accelerating AI-driven identity demand. 4

PayPal tumbles 12% as Advent-Stripe buyout consortium walks away The reported abandonment of a roughly $50 billion takeover pursuit made PayPal the biggest S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 decliner on Friday. The stock's drop compounded a hawkish Fed-driven risk-off session. 56

Elastic, Gap and Affirm surge on earnings beats and guidance Elastic jumped 20.3% on a Q1 beat and raised guidance; Gap rose 14.3% despite Old Navy weakness; Affirm gained 10.2% on strong Q4 revenue and upbeat Q1 outlook. 6

GameStop sees Q2 sales fall but net income nearly doubles Preliminary net sales of $780-$800 million compare with $972.2 million a year ago, while net income is expected at $290-$310 million, helped by $238 million in eBay-related gains. The company also amended its convertible notes. 7

Ulta Beauty raises full-year outlook after sales rise 9% Q2 net sales grew 8.9% to $3.036 billion, operating income rose 10.1% and EPS increased 13.3% to $6.55. Management lifted sales, profit and EPS guidance and boosted buybacks to $1.8 billion. 8

Dollar Tree margin expands 890 basis points on tariff refunds Adjusted operating margin rose 890 basis points, with about 650 points from tariff refunds and 240 points of underlying improvement. Diluted EPS jumped 260% to $2.70, though refunds accounted for roughly half. 9

HealthEquity posts record 48% EBITDA margin as HSA assets hit $37.9B Q2 revenue rose 8% to $350.7 million and adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 200 basis points to a record 48%. HSA assets grew 14% to $37.9 billion, and management raised full-year guidance. 10