Dow and Small Caps Climb Weekly While Nasdaq Slips on Megacap Earnings Charges

VANCOUVER, BC, Oct. 23, 2026 /CNW/ -- Stock Preachers News Commentary - Stocks closed a volatile earnings week with a split verdict: the Dow gained 0.64% and the Russell 2000 jumped 2.07%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.45% and the S&P 500 slipped 0.22%. The VIX rose to 19.40 and the VXN climbed to 28.13 as traders weighed a wave of third-quarter results. Gold dropped 3.47% and silver fell 4.90% on the week, while WTI crude rose 3.74% on Thursday alone. The 10-year Treasury yield eased 11 basis points to 4.99%. Active Companies from around the markets with current developments this week include: Meta Platforms, Inc. (Nasdaq: META), Texas Instruments Incorporated (Nasdaq: TXN), RTX (NYSE: RTX), IBM (NYSE: IBM), and First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (Nasdaq: FCNCA).

Large-cap benchmarks diverged sharply this week. The Dow closed at 52,337.54, up 0.64% for the week despite a 1% drop on Friday, while the S&P 500 ended at 7,642.22, down 0.22% weekly after touching a week high of 7,770.40. The Nasdaq Composite settled at 26,022.45, down 0.45% on the week, dragged by a rough stretch for megacap tech following a batch of earnings reports.

The Russell 2000 was the standout, closing at 2,777.63 for a 2.07% weekly gain, outperforming its large-cap peers as investors rotated toward smaller names. RSI readings show the Nasdaq at 38.9 and the S&P 500 at 43.5, both in cooler territory, while the Dow's RSI of 54.1 reflects its relative strength this week.

Volatility ticked higher into the weekend, with the VIX up 0.96 points for the week to 19.40 and the VXN up a full point to 28.13. In commodities, natural gas spiked 8.66% on Thursday alone even as it remained down 0.65% for the week, while copper rose 2.44% daily. The dollar firmed slightly against the euro, with EUR/USD down 0.24% on the week to 1.12.

The full report also breaks down key support and resistance levels for each index, additional earnings movers, and sentiment heading into next week's sessions.

CONTINUED... Read this and more news for Meta Platforms, Inc. (Nasdaq: META), Texas Instruments Incorporated (Nasdaq: TXN), RTX (NYSE: RTX), IBM (NYSE: IBM), and First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (Nasdaq: FCNCA) at: https://stockpreachers.com/articles/small-caps-lead-big-tech-lags-as-earnings-season-shakes-the-tape/

In other industry developments and happenings in the market this week include:

Meta Platforms, Inc. (Nasdaq: META) Meta reported third-quarter revenue of $64.60 billion, up 26% year over year, but net income of $9.86 billion reflected a $9.89 billion charge tied to an agreement with 52 state attorneys general over teen mental health and social media litigation. Diluted EPS was $3.83, up 265% year over year; excluding the litigation charge, EPS would have been $7.40.

Operating margin fell to 20% from 40% a year earlier, while costs and expenses rose 68% to $51.61 billion. Capital expenditures, including finance lease payments, totaled $34.91 billion, and free cash flow was negative $2.12 billion for the quarter.

"We hit major milestones this quarter toward delivering personal superintelligence for everyone - including launching Muse and Muse Wonder, our first frontier model," said Mark Zuckerberg, Meta founder and CEO. "Our investments are paying off, the core business is strong, and we're seeing velocity across the board." The company guided fourth-quarter revenue to a range of $73-76 billion and raised full-year 2026 total expense guidance to $175-179 billion. Read the release.

Texas Instruments Incorporated (Nasdaq: TXN) Texas Instruments reported third-quarter revenue of $6.06 billion, up 28% from a year earlier, with net income of $2.43 billion and earnings per share of $2.62. Operating profit rose 73% to $2.87 billion, and revenue increased 11% sequentially.

"Revenue increased 11% sequentially and 28% from the same quarter a year ago with continued broad growth in industrial, automotive and data center," said Haviv Ilan, TI's chairman, president and CEO. Trailing 12-month cash flow from operations was $9.9 billion, with free cash flow of $8.4 billion.

The company returned $5.8 billion to shareholders over the trailing 12 months and guided fourth-quarter revenue to a range of $5.80 billion to $6.30 billion, with earnings per share expected between $2.45 and $2.79. Read the release.

RTX (NYSE: RTX) RTX reported third-quarter sales of $25.0 billion, up 11% versus the prior year and 12% organically, with adjusted EPS of $2.26, up 33% from a year earlier. GAAP EPS was $1.89. Operating cash flow was $2.9 billion and free cash flow was $2.1 billion, with results including $0.25 of IEEPA cost recovery per share.

The company's backlog reached a record $340 billion, including $176 billion commercial and $164 billion defense, after over $81 billion of new awards including Tomahawk and AMRAAM multi-year production contracts.

"Our strong execution and operational focus in the third quarter enabled RTX to deliver double-digit organic sales growth across commercial aerospace and defense," said RTX Chairman and CEO Chris Calio. The company raised its full-year adjusted EPS outlook to $7.65-$7.75 and adjusted sales guidance to $97.0-$97.5 billion. Read the release.

IBM (NYSE: IBM) IBM reported third-quarter revenue of $17.1 billion, up 5% as reported and 6% at constant currency, with Software revenue up 8% and Infrastructure revenue up 4%. GAAP diluted earnings per share were $2.31, up 26% year over year, while operating (non-GAAP) EPS was $2.95, up 11%.

The company generated $4.0 billion in net cash from operating activities in the quarter and $3.0 billion in free cash flow, up $0.7 billion year over year. Year to date, free cash flow reached $7.8 billion.

"Disciplined execution throughout the quarter drove accelerated revenue growth and strong free cash flow," said Arvind Krishna, IBM chairman, president and chief executive officer. IBM now expects full-year free cash flow to increase by more than $1 billion year over year, while continuing to guide constant currency revenue growth of four to five percent. Read the release.

First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (Nasdaq: FCNCA) First Citizens BancShares reported third-quarter net income of $606 million, down from $672 million in the linked quarter. Net income available to common stockholders was $577 million, or $51.23 per common share, a $63 million decrease from the prior quarter's $640 million.

Net interest income rose to $1.70 billion, up $43 million from the linked quarter, while net interest margin declined 3 basis points to 3.07%. The company completed its BMO Branch Acquisition on September 4, 2026, assuming approximately $4.9 billion in deposits and acquiring approximately $650 million in loans.

"We returned $600 million to our stockholders through share repurchases and further optimized our balance sheet by repaying another $8.0 billion of the Purchase Money Note," said Chairman and CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. The board approved a new repurchase plan authorizing up to $1.2 billion of Class A common shares through 2027. Read the release.

Contact Information:

https://stockpreachers.com

Media Contact: [email protected]

DISCLAIMER: Nothing in this article should be considered as personalized financial advice. We are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular financial situation. No communication by our employees to you should be deemed as personalized financial advice. Please consult a licensed financial advisor before making any investment decision. This is a market commentary and is not a paid advertisement. This article is being distributed by Stock Preachers, which is wholly owned and operated by Market Equities Limited ("MEL"), a company incorporated under the laws of Ireland. This is an independent market commentary published on a non-paid basis. MEL has not been paid any fee by any company mentioned in this article for its production or distribution, and MEL has no advertising or digital media agreement with any company mentioned in this article. The companies mentioned have not reviewed or approved this article. Market Equities and its owners, operators, directors, and affiliates may, from time to time, hold positions in securities mentioned in this article or in the broad-market index funds that track them, and reserve the right to buy, sell, or hold such securities at any time without further notice. Information in this article was obtained from sources believed to be reliable, including company news releases and public market data, but its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Market data is as of the time stated and may be delayed. Portions of this commentary were produced with the assistance of automated tools from that data and reviewed against it. Investing in securities involves risk, including the possible loss of some or all of your investment. Technical analysis describes past price and volume behavior and does not predict future results; support and resistance levels can fail at any time. References to the companies named in this article are provided solely as market and sector context and as summaries of each company's own public news releases. No partnership, affiliation, or endorsement is implied, and nothing in this article is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. Quotations attributed to company executives are reproduced from those companies' own news releases. Forward-Looking Statements: This article may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including statements made by the companies mentioned in their own news releases. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially. Readers should review each company's filings with the SEC and applicable Canadian securities regulators. Eagle Eye is an investor signal-intelligence platform affiliated with the publisher of this article. Eagle Eye is not a broker-dealer, and nothing it provides is investment advice. Data may be delayed. Always do your own research.

SOURCE Stock Preachers