Markets NASDAQ25,437-2.86% S&P 5007,580.07-1.82% DOW51,770.31-1.09% 10-YEAR4.929%-6.0 bps BITCOIN$76,724.36-2.74% SANDISK$1,150.89-13.47%
Markets

Nothing Scarier Than a Big Tech Sell-Off: Nasdaq Posts Worst Day Since June

The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.86% Thursday, its worst single-day performance since June, as investors soured on massive AI spending after several Big Tech earnings reports came in soft. Morning Brew

With tech stocks selling off, the Nasdaq 100 shed as much as 4.5% yesterday, falling into its third correction this year. The conclusion investors and analysts kept landing on: a lot of money is going into AI, and not enough is coming out.

Google parent Alphabet had its worst day ever Thursday — about $475 billion in market value vanished after it reported slower-than-expected search revenue growth and a swing to a roughly $9 billion free-cash-flow loss. Amazon fell 1.41% after disclosing it spent even more than expected on AI last quarter while online shopping growth slowed. No one had it worse than Intel, though: its stock cratered 28.58%, its worst day in 50 years, on weak PC demand amid heavy AI spending. The US government's 10% stake in Intel lost about $12 billion in a single session.

Big picture: AI spending is reshaping the economy, and tech companies see it as the key to dominating the future — but investors are growing nervous about whether it will actually pay off.

Crypto

Record $6.3B Heist Hits Binance in Roughly 20 Minutes

Hackers stole the biggest crypto haul in history from the world's largest exchange — four times the prior record. Binance and partners have frozen $3B of the stolen assets; $3.3B is still missing. The FBI is investigating, with blockchain analysts pointing to the same North Korean group tied to last year's Bybit hack. Morning Brew

Energy

Chevron, Exxon Post Windfall Profits as War-Driven Prices Climb

Both oil giants reported record-touching stock highs on Q3 profits driven up by wars in Iran and Ukraine — Chevron's profit grew almost 200% to $9.9B, while Exxon's doubled to $15.4B. President Trump said in August both companies were making "too much money." Morning Brew

Justice

Christa Pike Speaks Out After Surviving Botched Execution

Pike, who survived two doses of a lethal-injection drug meant to kill her last month in Tennessee, issued her first public statement, saying she's "searching for meaning" in what happened. Her lawyers are asking Tennessee's governor to commute her sentence to life in prison. Morning Brew

Tech

Reddit Plans to Go Mostly Logged-In Only

Reddit said this week it's testing a mostly logged-in-only experience, closing off one of the last free-flowing corners of the open internet. Morning Brew

The move comes after Google's AI Overviews tanked Reddit's search referrals last quarter. Combined with a weak Q4 sales forecast, the news helped spur a 29% drop in Reddit's stock yesterday — its worst day since going public in 2024.

News

What Else Is Brewing

ICYMI

Economy
Halloween Costs Are Up

Electricity bills are up 5% over last year; candy costs 8% more than in 2025.

Sports
Marathon Runners Give Up at Mile 18

Data shows that's the most common place to rip off the bib ahead of tomorrow's NYC Marathon.

Culture
Jalen Brunson Joins Law & Order: SVU

The Knicks star will appear this week as a police detective, with a tip from OG Anunoby.

Culture
The Vatican's Popemobile Exhibit

The Vatican Museum opened an exhibition of every popemobile used over the last century.

Sports
Dan Orlovsky Didn't Know What "Percent" Meant

The ESPN analyst admitted as much this week — before admitting he also didn't know "keeping it 100."

Community

Crowd Work: Commuting Routes

"The orange line to Foggy Bottom — the name says it all when you've got a case of the Mondays." —Hessel, Washington, DC

 

"I rode my bike down the Point Loma peninsula to the sub base — nothing beats sunshine and eucalyptus after emerging from underwater." —Warner, Seattle, WA

This Week's Question

What's the most surprising biographical fact you've learned about a relative? Submit a response.

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