NEW YORK, April 24, 2026 —
Key Takeaways
- The S&P 500 fell 0.41% to close at 7,108.40 Thursday, pulling back after hitting a new all-time intraday high earlier in the session — a sign of a market simultaneously at record levels and deeply uncertain.
- ServiceNow collapsed nearly 18% after reporting that subscription revenue growth was directly hurt by the Middle East conflict, marking one of the sharpest single-day drops for a major software stock in years.
- Texas Instruments surged 19% on a blowout earnings forecast — its best single-day performance since October 19, 2000, when it rallied 24 percent during the dot-com era.
A Market That Hit a Record High and Still Finished in the Red
Thursday’s session was a study in contradiction. The S&P 500 notched a new all-time intraday high in morning trading, then reversed to close down 0.41 percent at 7,108.40. The Nasdaq Composite, which also touched a new record intraday, fell 0.89 percent to finish at 24,438.50. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 179.71 points, or 0.36 percent, to close at 49,310.32.
The reversals reflected a market that has largely recovered from the early shock of the Iran war but remains sensitive to any new signal that energy costs, earnings pressure, or geopolitical uncertainty could extend the disruption. Oil prices hovering above $90 a barrel — and no confirmed date for a second round of U.S.-Iran peace talks — kept investors cautious through the afternoon session.
IBM and ServiceNow: What the Earnings Said
| Company | Move Thursday | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| IBM | Down more than 8% | Beat estimates but kept full-year guidance flat — disappointing investors expecting an upgrade |
| ServiceNow | Down nearly 18% | Subscription revenue growth directly hurt by Middle East conflict |
| Texas Instruments | Up 19% | Blowout Q2 forecast well above consensus |
| American Airlines | Up more than 4% | Q1 beat estimates despite cutting full-year outlook on fuel costs |
| Meta | Down more than 2% | 8,000-employee layoff announcement sent mixed signal to markets |
IBM’s results were not bad by conventional measures — it beat on both revenue and earnings per share. But investors had priced in a guidance upgrade, and maintaining full-year forecasts in a quarter where AI-driven demand was supposed to accelerate read as a disappointment. The stock fell more than 8 percent.
ServiceNow’s situation was starker. The cloud software company directly attributed slower subscription revenue growth to the Middle East conflict, becoming one of the first major enterprise software firms to explicitly connect the Iran war to its financial results. An 18 percent single-day decline erased roughly $25 billion in market capitalization.
Texas Instruments: The Quiet Winner
While software struggled, semiconductors told a different story. Texas Instruments surged 19 percent after forecasting second-quarter earnings in the range of $1.77 to $2.05 per share — well above the $1.57 analyst consensus. Revenue guidance of $5 billion to $5.4 billion also cleared the $4.86 billion Wall Street had expected.
The stock’s move was its largest single-day gain since October 2000. It reflects growing conviction that the industrial and automotive chip cycles — which Texas Instruments serves more than the hyperscaler AI market — are recovering faster than expected, even in an environment of energy uncertainty and global supply chain stress.
What the Iran War Is Doing to Corporate Earnings Outlooks
American Airlines offered the clearest window into how the energy shock is reshaping corporate guidance. The airline beat first-quarter estimates and its shares rose more than 4 percent — but it simultaneously slashed its full-year earnings outlook, now expecting an adjusted result ranging from a loss of 40 cents per share to earnings of $1.10 per share. In January, before the Iran war began, the company had guided for earnings of $1.70 to $2.70 per share. That is a downward revision of nearly $1.60 per share at the midpoint, driven almost entirely by fuel costs.
The airline’s stock is still down more than 8 percent since the U.S.-Iran war began on February 27. Thursday’s bounce reflected relief that the damage so far has been manageable — not confidence that the worst is over.
What This Means for Your Portfolio and Borrowing Costs
| Asset / Rate | Current Level | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 | 7,108.40 | At record range, volatile |
| Nasdaq Composite | 24,438.50 | Near record, tech-sensitive |
| Brent crude | ~$90/barrel | Elevated, war-driven floor |
| Fed rate cut probability (2026) | Declining | Energy inflation narrowing window |
| 30-year mortgage rate | Elevated | Fed pause risk |
The Federal Reserve is watching every earnings report for evidence that energy-driven inflation is passing through to corporate margins and consumer prices in ways that would push the central bank to hold rates higher for longer. ServiceNow’s explicit connection between the Iran war and its revenue growth was not what the Fed — or rate-sensitive borrowers — needed to hear.
For individual investors, Thursday’s session reinforced a pattern that has defined 2026: the market is not broken, but it is not forgiving either. Companies that beat and raise get rewarded sharply — Texas Instruments is proof of that. Companies that beat and hold, or beat and cut, are being punished with the same speed.
The Iran war has not derailed the market. But it has raised the cost of being wrong.
