Key takeout
- The S&P 500 rose by 0.3% on August 28, 2025, reaching a new record following Nvidia’s earnings announcement and a positive revision of US GDP growth.
- Shares of Datadog, a provider of business monitoring software, showed strong performance amidst growing interest in AI technology.
- Hormel Foods experienced a significant drop in stock value after missing quarterly profit forecasts.
US stock markets climbed as investors processed earnings reports from Nvidia, one of the world’s top companies, along with a GDP growth revision for the second quarter.
The S&P 500 closed 0.3% higher on Thursday, marking its second consecutive record high and reaching 6500 for the first time. The Dow inched up by 0.2%, joining the S&P in record-closing territory, while the NASDAQ rose by 0.5%, ending just shy of its own record. Nvidia inched less than 1% higher during that time.
Datadog’s shares jumped by 7%, marking a standout performance in the S&P 500. This increase added to gains from the previous day, spurred by a robust revenue report from MongoDB, a competitor in database software. Datadog has recently introduced several AI-driven products aimed at improving database monitoring and driving sales growth.
Fair Isaac, known for consumer credit analysis, saw its shares increase by 6.1%. After being pressured by criticisms surrounding its pricing structure, analysts have started to view the stock more favorably, citing other strengths despite initial concerns.
Agilent Technologies surpassed expectations for third-quarter sales and profits, resulting in a 5.3% increase in its shares. The company noted strong demand across its pharmaceutical and chemicals segments, providing an optimistic sales forecast going forward.
In contrast, Hormel Foods faced a steep decline of 13%, the largest drop among S&P 500 stocks. The company, famous for products like Spam, reported weak third-quarter growth attributed to rising production costs. Hormel anticipates this trend will persist and is planning to adjust pricing to counteract inflation.
Cooper Company lowered its revenue outlook for 2025 due to weakening demand for its contact lenses, leading to a nearly 13% drop in its shares. Although adjusted profits for the third quarter slightly exceeded expectations, revenue fell short of forecasts. Citi analysts downgraded Cooper’s stock rating from “buy” to “neutral.”
Shares of Brown Forman dropped by 4.9% after reporting lower-than-expected earnings per share for the first quarter. While the company behind Jack Daniel’s slightly beat top-line estimates, it acknowledged consumer uncertainty amid challenging macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions, and noted difficulties in the Canadian market impacting its international business.
