Apple on Thursday reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue and earnings amid strong iPhone sales, driven in part by people pulling forward purchases to avoid tariffs.
Why it matters: Apple is seen as a bellwether for the tech industry, and its results are closely tied to the fortunes of a host of other companies, including component suppliers and wireless carriers.
President Trump suggested early Thursday that he won't make a trade deal with Canada after Prime Minister Mark Carney said he intends to recognize the State of Palestine, subject to certain commitments.
Why it matters: The threat comes one day before Trump's Aug. 1 deadline for countries to make a trade deal with the U.S. or face tariffs — in Canada's case, a 35% levy on goods imported from the North American neighbor and significant trading partner.
Best Buy and Ikea are working together to open 10 small "shop-in-shop" locations in Florida and Texas later this year, the two companies said Thursday.
Why it matters: This move marks the first time Ikea products will be sold inside another U.S. retailer, which is a shift from the Swedish brand's model.
Initial coin offerings are poised to make a big return, as new SEC chair Paul Atkins declared Thursday that the agency is all in on President Trump's push to make America the "crypto capital of the world."
Why it matters: The country's top financial markets regulator is moving fast to enact the policy recommendations made Wednesday by the White House's working group on crypto assets.
Microsoft has entered into the $4 trillion club alongside Nvidia. Apple, Amazon, Alphabet and Meta could be next.
Why it matters: With all but one member of the Magnificent 7 racing toward this record-high valuation, investors are growing uneasy about just how far Big Tech can run — and at what cost.
President Trump said on Thursday that Mexico will get at least an additional 90 days to come to an agreement with the White House on tariffs.
Why it matters: Mexico would have been subject to 35% tariffs as of Aug. 1 without a trade deal. Now the nation will continue to face 25% on certain goods until it notches a deal with Trump.
Design collaboration giant Figma raised $1.2 billion in its IPO, pricing at $33 per share, and will begin trading today on the NYSE under ticker symbol "FIG."
Why it matters: That gives it a $19.3 billion fully diluted market value, which is just shy of the $20 billion that Adobe planned to pay for Figma in late 2022 before U.S. antitrust regulators objected.
All Figma needs is a 4% pop to beat the Adobe figure, having priced above both its original ($25-$28) and revised ($30-$32) IPO price ranges.
Behind the scenes: Figma began planning for the IPO almost immediately after the Adobe deal collapsed at the end of 2023, Axios has learned. But it was in no rush, thanks to a $1 billion merger termination fee.
The primary timing consideration was the company's annual Config conference, which one source calls a "Woodstock for developers."
Figma spent much of 2024 developing new, AI-powered products — including a prototyping tool that was put into closed beta at the beginning of this year and unveiled at Config in early May.
In short, the company wanted to be able to tell analysts and prospective investors about actual products, rather than proposed ones. At that point it would be all IPO systems go.
Yes, but: One timing caveat would have been macroeconomic turbulence, but equity markets have been surging — discounting global growth concerns over a vacillatingU.S. tariff regime set to take effect tomorrow.
It's also worth noting that tariffs don't directly impact Figma's sales.
The big picture: Figma is only the fifth company to raise at least $1 billion in an IPO thus far in 2025, with most unicorns and private equity portfolio companies still sitting on the sidelines.
VC backers all are deep in the black at $33 per share. As is a nonprofit called the Marin Community Foundation, which is Figma's largest outside shareholder thanks to a stock gift from company co-founder and former CTO Evan Wallace.
The bottom line: Figma appears to have lucked out when the Adobe deal died, and also may have created a new PR paradigm: If you dare to IPO in the summer heat, you'll soak up all the sun.
Dotdash Meredith, one of the largest publishers in America, is rebranding to People Inc., its CEO Neil Vogel told Axios.
Why it matters: People is Dotdash Meredith's most popular and recognizable title. The rebrand capitalizes on that brand equity in a way that its current name does not.
Trade could be an impetusbehind President Trump's threat to impose some kind of penalty on India over its imports of Russian energy.
Why it matters: It would mark the first tangible carry-through from Trump's threats to hit Russian buyers to create leverage for a cease-fire in Ukraine.
President Trump on Thursday unleashed a fiery reaction after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady, blasting Fed chair Jerome Powell with a stream of insults and suggesting corruption in the renovation of the central bank's headquarters.
Why it matters: Trump's rage at the Fed's resistance to cut rates has twice taken him to the verge of trying to fire Powell, both times scaring markets and raising concerns about the central bank's independence.
Sensitive corporate data appeared in more than 4% of generative AI prompts and over 20% of uploaded files in the second quarter of this year, according to new research from Harmonic Security released Thursday.
The big picture: The problem isn't new, but as workplace genAI use increases, many employers still lack or don't enforce AI policies, causing employees to use bots in secret or without proper training.
Why it matters: More litigation means there is more need for policy and litigation communications, because it's about winning in the court of public opinion as well as in court.
Despite blowout earnings results from Meta and Microsoft, the Magnificent 7 — the seven megacap tech stocks once seen as the best way to ride the boom in artificial intelligence — are underperforming the S&P 500 year-to-date, raising fresh questions about how investors should trade the AI rally.
Why it matters: As performance within individual members of the Mag 7 varies, investors may need to look elsewhere to achieve the outsize returns associated with the AI boom.
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The major sports leagues are confronting a potentially costly reality in sports gambling: If you embrace it, problems will come.
Why it matters: Recent investigations of pro baseball and basketball stars have raised fears about the integrity of sports, and whether certain plays, or even whole games, are being manipulated.
The big picture: The nation has dodged the worst-case scenarios predicted by Wall Street economists just months ago, an easy bragging point for the administration.
Dozens of journalists are taking buyouts and calling it quits at the Washington Post, fueling speculation about how the storied paper can survive while bleeding so much talent.
Why it matters: The buyouts are designed to make it easier for staffers questioning the strategy of the Post's leadership to exit.
A Delta Air Lines flight from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam was diverted to Minneapolis Wednesday night after it "encountered significant turbulence" that resulted in 25 people being taken to local hospitals, the airline said.
The big picture: The plane was carrying 275 passengers and 13 crew when it was forced to make the emergency landing at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, a Delta spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
President Trump said Wednesday the U.S. has struck a trade deal with South Korea, matching the structure of pacts with Japan and the EU.
Why it matters: The deal brings clarity to the U.S. relationship with a major trading partner, and will be a relief to automakers and other heavily exposed industries.
