eBay and some former executives have agreed to pay a couple $56m (£42m) after a campaign of harassment in retaliation for their online criticism of the firm.

In a statement on Tuesday, David and Ina Steiner, said they and eBay had reached a settlement stemming from the 2019 harassment they faced at the hands of several of the company’s executives, including eBay’s then chief executive.

The Steiners ran a website and newsletter EcommerceBytes that was at times critical of eBay.

A group of now former company executives ultimately pleaded guilty to sending the couple a costume mask covered in pigs blood, a book on surviving the death of a spouse, among other threatening actions.

Other actions, external perpetrated against the Steiners included eBay executives sending them a funeral wreath and harassing messages on Twitter (the social media platform now known as X). Some even paid visits to the couple’s Massachusetts home in a bid to install a tracking device on their car.

Seven former eBay executives pleaded guilty, external to the criminal charges between 2022 and 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

An FBI agent involved in the investigation said in 2024 that the former executives’ actions were an “unprecedented, relentless, and over-the-top harassment campaign”.

eBay was also criminally charged and entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the DOJ and agreed to pay a fine of $3m.

While eBay is paying the couple the bulk of the settlement, including $6m to “various non-profit organizations”, Wenig is personally paying $1m toward the settlement.

Wenig left eBay in 2019. The same year, he had sent another eBay executive a text message regarding Ina Steiner which said: “Take her down.”

His contribution is set to go to an unnamed charity that is “dedicated to protecting First Amendment rights” and will be gifted in the name of Ina Steiner, according to the couple’s lawyers.

The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects the right to freedom of speech.

Christopher Murphy of Scalli Murphy Law PC, which represented the Steiners in the case, said on Tuesday: “We believe this resolution sends a clear message that corporations and their executives cannot engage in this type of misconduct without facing significant consequences.”

eBay said: “What the Steiners were subjected to by former eBay employees in 2019 was wrong, reprehensible and should never have happened.”

The company condemned the former employees who ended up pleading guilty to criminal charges that led to the civil lawsuit, and admitted to an “unprofessional tone in internal communications”.

“This agreement is consistent with our commitment to fairly compensate the Steiners and fulfills our efforts to make things right,” eBay said on Tuesday.

Kelly Ripa’s painful dental surgery has sidelined the daytime TV staple, forcing the famously chatty host into an unusual recovery that has left her unable to speak, according to husband and co-host Mark Consuelos.

During Monday’s episode of “Live with Kelly and Mark,” Consuelos revealed that Ripa had undergone gum graft surgery, explaining the procedure to guest Nick Jonas while filling in for his wife on air.

Consuelos Breaks the News on Air

Consuelos delivered the update directly to viewers and their guest during the broadcast, making clear the procedure was more significant than it might sound. “Kelly sends her love,” Consuelos told Jonas. “Kelly had a little bit — well, it’s not a little — she had a gum graft surgery.”

Gum graft surgery typically helps correct thinning or receding gums, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Consuelos indicated the procedure wasn’t a sudden decision, revealing that Ripa’s dentist had actually recommended it years earlier.

According to Consuelos, Ripa had been advised to undergo the surgery long before she finally went through with it, and had even joked about the timeline when the recommendation was first made. “Her dentist said five years ago, ‘You can do it in about five years,’” Consuelos recalled. “And she joked, ‘I didn’t think I’d still be on the air in five years!’”

An Unusual Recovery for the Chatty Host

Perhaps the most notable detail Consuelos shared was that Ripa’s recovery process requires her to avoid talking altogether, a significant challenge for someone whose career centers on conversation. Jonas found the situation amusing given Ripa’s on-air persona. “Wow. That’s got to be the hardest thing she’s ever done,” Jonas joked.

Consuelos, describing his wife as “such a great conversationalist,” suggested he was having some difficulty ensuring she actually follows her doctor’s instructions during the recovery period. “I’m trying to keep her to follow the rules, follow the directions,” he said.

Keeping an Eye on the Healing Process

Beyond simply staying quiet, Consuelos also described the challenge of managing Ripa’s curiosity about her own healing progress at home, saying the hardest part of her recovery wasn’t the physical pain but keeping her from constantly checking on the surgical site. “Last night she was like, ‘Can you look?’ I’m like, ‘I’m not pulling your lip down,’” Consuelos said, describing how Ripa instead positioned herself so he could check without touching her lip directly. “So I’m down there like, ‘It looks great!’”

A Surgery Notable for How Much It Hurt

What made this particular procedure stand out, according to Consuelos, was how unusual it was for Ripa to acknowledge being in real pain, given her typical tolerance for discomfort at the dentist. “Yeah, it’s painful,” he told Jonas. “But she famously doesn’t feel pain. When she goes into the dentist, she doesn’t use the novocaine. But this one hurts, so I know it’s bad.”

A Tangent on Pain Tolerance

Ripa’s reputation for shrugging off pain led to a broader conversation between Consuelos and Jonas about pain tolerance more generally, with Jonas noting his own wife, singer and actress Danielle Jonas, shares a similar tendency to downplay discomfort. “I’ll be like, ‘Are you in pain?’ She’s like, ‘I’m fine!’ Come to find out her foot’s, like, falling off,” Jonas joked. Consuelos offered his own theory for the pattern, pointing to childbirth as a broader example. “Well, they do have kids. They deliver kids,” Consuelos added. “We’re not built for that.”

Ripa’s absence from the show is expected to extend beyond just a day or two as she completes her recovery. Ripa is not expected to return to “Live” for the next week, a representative for the show confirmed to People.

A Long-Running Partnership on Daytime TV

Ripa and Consuelos have co-hosted “Live with Kelly and Mark” together since 2023, continuing a franchise that has been a fixture of daytime television for decades under various co-host pairings. The married couple, who have been together for more than two decades, have built much of their on-air chemistry around exactly the kind of candid, personal banter that characterized Monday’s discussion of Ripa’s surgery and recovery.

Not the First Health Detail Ripa Has Shared Publicly

This isn’t the first time Ripa’s health and personal medical decisions have become a topic of public discussion on the show or in interviews. Ripa has previously spoken openly about other health and cosmetic choices in interviews, part of a broader pattern of candor that has become a hallmark of her on-air persona and contributed to her reputation as an unusually open daytime television personality.

With Ripa expected to remain off the air for roughly a week while she completes her recovery from the gum graft procedure, Consuelos is likely to continue hosting alongside guest co-hosts or additional appearances from friends of the show during her absence. Fans of the program can expect Ripa to return to her usual on-air banter once her doctor clears her to resume talking freely, with Monday’s segment offering a lighthearted, if unusually personal, glimpse into the couple’s home life during her recovery.

Shares of Sanmina Corporation tumbled Tuesday morning, falling 20.50% to $166.15, wiping out $42.75 in value even after the electronics manufacturing company reported earnings that significantly beat Wall Street’s expectations for its fiscal third quarter.

The steep selloff highlights how sharply investor sentiment can turn on forward guidance, even when a company delivers a clear earnings beat on both the top and bottom lines.

A Clear Earnings Beat

Sanmina posted quarterly earnings results for its fiscal third quarter of 2026 on Monday, July 27, reporting earnings of $3.31 per share, beating estimates of $2.83 by 48 cents. Other analyst trackers put the size of the beat even larger, with the company topping consensus estimates of $2.77 by 54 cents per share, according to FiscalAI.

The company’s revenue performance was similarly strong relative to expectations. Sanmina reported revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared with analyst expectations of roughly $3.40 billion, representing year-on-year revenue growth of 69.7% and beating Wall Street’s estimates by 1.8%.

Impressive Underlying Growth Trends

Beyond simply beating estimates, Sanmina’s underlying earnings trajectory showed accelerating momentum heading into the report. In the quarter, Sanmina reported adjusted earnings per share of $3.31, up sharply from $1.53 in the same quarter a year earlier, with the company’s two-year annual earnings-per-share growth of 41.3% coming in higher than its five-year trend. Analysts noted that Sanmina’s optimistic earnings guidance for the next quarter also blew past expectations, and its adjusted operating income outperformed Wall Street’s estimates by a wide margin.

Where the Disappointment Came From

Despite those clear positives, one specific piece of forward-looking guidance appears to have driven Tuesday’s steep selloff. On the other hand, the company’s revenue guidance for the next quarter missed expectations, even as company management guided for a 64.6% year-on-year increase in sales for the coming quarter. Overall, analysts characterized the quarter as solid with some key areas of upside, but noted the market seemed to be hoping for even more, with the stock trading down 5.5% to $197.44 immediately after Monday’s report before extending losses further into Tuesday’s session.

Updated Full-Year Guidance

Alongside its third-quarter results, Sanmina also provided updated guidance for the current quarter and the full fiscal year. The company updated its fourth-quarter 2026 guidance to a range of $3.05 to $3.35 in earnings per share, and raised its full fiscal-year 2026 guidance to a range of $11.90 to $12.20 in earnings per share. Wall Street separately projected that Sanmina’s full-year earnings per share would grow 17.2%, from $10.52 to $12.33, over the next 12 months.

A Volatile Trading Session

Sanmina’s stock initially moved higher on Monday following the earnings release before reversing course as investors digested the guidance details more fully. SANM stock traded up 47 cents during midday trading on Monday, reaching $208.90, with a trading volume of roughly 1.2 million shares compared with its average volume of about 943,000 shares. That initial positive reaction gave way to the sharp decline that carried into Tuesday’s session, as investors focused increasingly on the revenue guidance shortfall rather than the substantial earnings beat.

A Pullback That Preceded the Earnings Report

Tuesday’s decline adds to a difficult recent stretch for Sanmina shares, which had already been retreating in the weeks leading up to the earnings report. Sanmina’s share price had pulled back over the past month, with a 30-day share price return down 16.4% heading into the report, even as the stock’s momentum over longer time horizons remained strong, highlighted by a year-to-date share price return of 26.7% and a five-year total shareholder return of more than four times the original investment.

Company Fundamentals and Valuation

Beyond the immediate earnings reaction, several other financial metrics offer context for how Sanmina’s business and valuation currently stand. The company reported a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 2.29% for the quarter, along with a market capitalization of approximately $11.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.16, and a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80. The stock’s 52-week range spans from a low of $97.76 to a high of $288.68, reflecting substantial volatility even before Tuesday’s sharp move.

Insider Selling Activity

In the weeks leading up to the earnings report, several company insiders had also reduced their holdings in Sanmina stock, activity that some investors monitor closely for signals about management’s own confidence. Chief Financial Officer Jonathan P. Faust sold 10,076 shares of Sanmina stock on May 29, at an average price of $265.80, for a total transaction value of roughly $2.68 million, a sale that was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan and represented an 11.57% decrease in his overall ownership stake. Separately, Director David V. Hedley III sold 500 shares of the company’s stock on May 1 at an average price of $219.52.

Institutional Investor Activity

Ownership data also shows a broadly active institutional investor base around Sanmina’s stock heading into the earnings report, with positions moving in both directions across different funds. Roughly 245 institutional investors added shares of Sanmina stock to their portfolios in the most recent quarter tracked, while 208 institutional investors decreased their positions over the same period, reflecting a mixed but active level of engagement from large investors even before Tuesday’s sharp selloff.

With Sanmina’s updated full-year guidance now pointing toward continued earnings growth despite the revenue guidance shortfall that triggered Tuesday’s decline, investors will be watching closely in the coming quarters to see whether the company’s next-quarter sales materialize closer to its own more optimistic earnings outlook or continue to disappoint relative to Wall Street’s revenue expectations. Given how sharply the stock has moved on both the initial earnings beat and the subsequent guidance-driven selloff, Sanmina’s next several trading sessions are likely to remain closely watched as investors work to reconcile the company’s strong profitability trends with its more measured outlook for near-term sales growth.

This article was written by

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Boeing shares climbed Tuesday, rising 3.75% to $219.44, after the aerospace giant reported second-quarter revenue that beat Wall Street expectations and delivered positive free cash flow, a milestone investors have been closely watching as a key signal of the company’s ongoing financial recovery.

The stock added $7.94 in trading following Boeing’s earnings release before the market opened, with the gains driven primarily by the company’s own results rather than a broader market tailwind.

Revenue Beat, But Losses Widened on Air Force One Charges

Boeing posted second-quarter 2026 revenue of $24.6 billion, surpassing analyst expectations of roughly $23.95 billion, with sales up 8% year over year. Despite that revenue strength, the company’s bottom-line results missed expectations, driven largely by costs tied to a long-troubled government program. The core loss per share of $0.76 missed consensus estimates, weighed down by a $280 million charge tied to higher engineering costs on the Air Force One replacement program, though the loss was still significantly narrower than the $1.24 per share the company recorded during the same quarter a year earlier.

Cash Flow Turns Positive, a Milestone for the Turnaround

Perhaps the most closely watched figure in Tuesday’s report was Boeing’s cash generation, an area that has weighed heavily on the stock throughout its multiyear recovery effort. The company generated positive free cash flow of $0.6 billion and operating cash flow of $1.4 billion during the quarter, a milestone investors had been closely watching as a key indicator of financial recovery.

CEO Emphasizes Stability and Trust

Boeing President and Chief Executive Officer Kelly Ortberg framed the quarter’s results as evidence of the company’s ongoing operational turnaround. “Our operations are more stable and key certification programs remain on plan,” Ortberg said. “Our focus has been on restoring trust and we are now building on that through a sustained focus on safety, quality, and on-time performance.”

Ortberg also addressed the Air Force One program specifically in a note to staff, acknowledging the continued challenges even as the company increases its investment in the effort. “While we’re making progress on our development programs, you’re never done until you’re done,” Ortberg said, adding in a separate interview with CNBC that the Air Force One program has moved through its design phase, with the company still targeting first delivery in 2028.

Delivery Growth and an FAA Milestone

Boeing’s operational performance showed clear improvement during the quarter, with commercial aircraft deliveries climbing meaningfully compared with the prior year. Boeing delivered 171 commercial aircraft during the quarter, up from 150 in the second quarter of 2025, while the 737 program began transitioning its production rate toward 47 aircraft per month and completed certification flight testing on both the 737-7 and 737-10 variants.

A significant regulatory milestone also cleared just before the earnings release, removing what had been a persistent operational bottleneck for the company. Effective July 20, 2026, the Federal Aviation Administration restored Boeing’s authority to issue final airworthiness certificates for all newly built 737 MAX and 787 jets, a change that is expected to accelerate delivery velocity and cash conversion going forward.

A Regulatory Headwind Capped Further Gains

Not all of Tuesday’s news was favorable for Boeing, with a separate regulatory issue emerging just before the earnings report that likely tempered the stock’s upside. The FAA had proposed an airworthiness directive the day before covering 453 Boeing 737 MAX jets over improperly installed seats, a development that likely capped the stock’s upside reaction to the otherwise constructive earnings release.

A Backlog That Dwarfs the Company’s Market Value

Boeing’s order backlog remains one of the most closely watched aspects of its long-term investment case, and it continued to grow heading into the earnings report. Commercial commitments, including massive orders from SMBC Aviation Capital for 100 jets, along with orders from Riyadh Air, Philippine Airlines and AerCap, have expanded Boeing’s total backlog to roughly $695 billion, a figure that dwarfs the company’s current market capitalization and significantly exceeds the backlogs of defense rivals Lockheed Martin and RTX Corporation, at $230 billion and $289 billion, respectively.

Strength Extends Into Boeing’s Defense Business

Beyond its commercial aircraft segment, Boeing’s defense and space operations also showed notable improvement during the period, benefiting from a broader increase in U.S. military spending. Defense, Space and Security revenue jumped 21% to $7.599 billion, with operating earnings up 50% to $233 million, supported in part by rising defense budgets that included a jump in Patriot missile seeker production to 850 units in 2026, up from 650 the year before.

Full-Year Cash Flow Guidance

Looking ahead, Boeing offered updated projections for its cash generation over the remainder of the year, giving investors a clearer sense of the pace of the company’s expected recovery. Boeing said it expects 2026 operating cash flow of about $5 billion to $7 billion and free cash flow of about $1 billion to $3 billion.

Wall Street Remains Bullish

Heading into and following Tuesday’s report, analyst sentiment on Boeing stock has remained overwhelmingly positive, with the vast majority of coverage recommending purchase. Wall Street maintains a Strong Buy consensus rating on the stock, based on 21 of 28 analysts recommending purchase against just a handful of hold or sell ratings, with a consensus price target of $270 implying roughly 29% upside from recent trading levels, even though the stock remains well below its 52-week high of $254.35.

With Boeing executives holding a call with analysts at 10:30 a.m. Eastern time Tuesday, investors are expected to press management further on the certification timeline for the 737 MAX 10 and the 777X, Boeing’s new wide-body aircraft, along with additional detail on how the newly restored FAA certification authority will affect delivery pace in the coming quarters. Given the scale of Boeing’s backlog and the positive cash flow milestone reached this quarter, the coming months are likely to serve as an important test of whether the company’s broader operational turnaround can continue to gain momentum even as it works through the lingering costs and delays tied to programs like Air Force One.

SAN FRANCISCO — Shares of Yelp Inc. rose 4.2% in morning trading Tuesday, extending recent gains as the local reviews company highlighted progress with its artificial intelligence tools for restaurants and continued momentum from a content licensing deal with OpenAI.

Yelp stock advanced $1.11 to $27.51 as of 10:42 a.m. EDT, building on a 5.2% gain the prior session. The move comes as investors focused on the company’s push into AI-powered services that go beyond traditional advertising revenue.

Yelp announced that its AI phone answering service, Yelp Host, has surpassed 1 million calls handled. The company expanded the product to include food ordering capabilities over the phone and integrated it with OpenTable’s reservation network in the United States and Canada. Guests can now book, modify or cancel reservations by phone through Yelp Host, with bookings syncing automatically to OpenTable in real time.

The expansion adds support for 16 additional languages. Akhil Kuduvalli Ramesh, Yelp’s chief product officer, said the platform helps restaurants manage inquiries in ways “generic solutions can’t match.”

Yelp Host, launched as an AI-powered call answering service for restaurants, answers incoming calls, manages reservations, shares wait times, blocks spam and answers common questions. Pricing starts at $249 per month after a free trial period. Company executives have previously estimated a market opportunity exceeding $1 billion in the United States for the product.

The announcement builds on earlier updates. In the first quarter, Yelp Host reached an annual run rate of more than 1.5 million calls handled by April, more than doubling from January levels. Management has described strong restaurant demand and plans to further expand functionality.

Separately, Yelp continues to benefit from attention around its July 23 licensing agreement with OpenAI. Under the deal, ChatGPT can use Yelp’s reviews, photos, ratings and business information to respond to local queries. Yelp branding and links appear when the content is used. A “Request a Quote” feature is also planned, allowing ChatGPT users to contact local service providers directly.

Yelp Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Stoppelman told Axios the partnership reflects the value of the company’s data. “If you want to answer local queries, you really need Yelp,” he said. He added that distributing content beyond Yelp’s own platform can still create value for the company: “Ultimately, we believe that if we allow our content outside the walls of just Yelp, and we provide it in useful ways to consumers … value does accrue back to Yelp.”

The OpenAI agreement is non-exclusive and financial terms were not disclosed. It follows earlier data licensing arrangements Yelp has with platforms including Apple Maps, Amazon Alexa, Microsoft Bing and others. Stoppelman has noted that local intent remains a significant portion of search activity and that high-quality, human-written reviews provide an advantage.

Yelp is scheduled to report second-quarter 2026 financial results after the market closes on Aug. 6. In the first quarter, the company posted net revenue of $361 million, up 1% year over year. Advertising revenue from restaurants, retail and other categories declined 11%, while services advertising rose modestly and other revenue grew 75%, driven by contributions from Hatch, data licensing and food ordering.

Adjusted EBITDA was $79 million. The company reiterated full-year 2026 guidance for net revenue of $1.455 billion to $1.475 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $310 million to $330 million. It is targeting an annual run rate of $250 million in other revenue by the end of 2028.

Yelp has been investing in AI transformation, including the launch of an expanded Yelp Assistant for local discovery across categories and the acquisition of Hatch, an AI lead management platform for service professionals, earlier in the year. The company has also been returning capital to shareholders through share repurchases.

Analysts maintain a Hold consensus rating on the stock, with an average price target near current levels. Shares have declined more than 20% year to date amid pressure on core advertising revenue and fewer paying advertisers, though the stock remains well above its 52-week low of $19.60.

The dual focus on expanding AI tools for businesses and licensing content to major AI platforms positions Yelp to capture new revenue streams as consumer behavior shifts toward chat-based discovery. Restaurant operators face ongoing challenges with missed calls during peak periods, which can lead to lost bookings and orders. Yelp Host aims to address that by providing 24/7 automated handling while integrating with existing reservation systems.

Market participants will watch the upcoming earnings report for updates on advertising trends, the contribution from other revenue sources and further details on AI product adoption. Yelp’s shares have shown sensitivity to news on partnerships and product progress in recent sessions, reflecting investor interest in the company’s ability to diversify beyond traditional search-driven advertising.

The broader environment for local businesses remains mixed, with management previously noting challenging conditions for advertisers. Strength in services categories and newer offerings has helped offset some of the weakness in restaurants, retail and other advertising. Data licensing and AI tools represent efforts to build higher-margin, recurring revenue that is less dependent on consumer ad clicks.

Yelp, founded in 2004, operates a platform connecting consumers with local businesses through user-generated reviews, photos and ratings. It generates the majority of its revenue from performance-based advertising sold to local merchants. The company employs roughly 5,000 people and continues to emphasize trust and safety measures alongside its technology investments.

Tuesday’s advance leaves the stock trading with a market capitalization of about $1.5 billion. Volume and broader market conditions will influence whether the gains hold through the close. Investors remain focused on execution of the AI strategy and the pace of revenue diversification as the company approaches its next quarterly report.

Global markets have been volatile this month as investors worry ‌that Alphabet, Microsoft, ⁠Amazon ⁠and other technology heavyweights may be overspending on AI data centers as they race to dominate the emerging technology.

Microsoft rose ahead of its report on Wednesday, while Amazon was near flat ahead of its results on Thursday. Apple climbed and lifted its stock market value to $5 trillion for the first time. The iPhone maker reports its results on Thursday.

The S&P 500 healthcare and consumer staples indexes each rallied, while declining chipmakers kept the tech index in negative territory.

“What has been behind the ⁠move into ‌these non-tech names? Part of it is value,” said Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird in Louisville, Kentucky. “GDP is solid, the labor market continues to churn ⁠along and, in a lot of places, there’s evidence that consumer spending is reaccelerating.” Coca-Cola rallied after the beverage company raised its annual revenue and profit forecasts. Boeing jumped after the airplane maker generated positive free cash flow as its turnaround plans gained momentum.

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According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained 17.07 points, or 0.23%, to end at 7,430.25 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 58.88 points, or 0.24%, to 24,873.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 546.61 points, or 1.05%, to 52,756.69.
FED DECISION IN FOCUS
The ‌Federal Reserve is due to announce its interest-rate decision on Wednesday. Traders see a 71% probability that the central bank will leave rates unchanged and a 29% chance of a 25-basis-point rate hike, according ⁠to CME’s FedWatch tool. Higher rates could further pressure AI companies that are becoming more dependent on debt financing. Corning tumbled after third-quarter sales forecasts missed estimates, while contract research firm IQVIA Holdings jumped 12% after lifting its annual profit forecast. Oil prices offered some broader relief, with Brent falling 4.8% to settle at $84.09 a barrel on expectations that tensions in the Middle East and in Ukraine would ease as the White House hosted Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy