Key Takeaways
- Carnival Corporation (CCL) significantly surpassed analyst expectations for its third-quarter 2025 earnings, reporting adjusted net income of $1.98 billion and adjusted EPS of $1.43.
- TotalEnergies (TTE) CEO predicts European gas prices will remain near $12 per MMBtu through 2025 due to tight supply, while the company also announced a $1 billion annual cut in its capital expenditure guidance.
- Netflix (NFLX) stock decreased 1.6% in premarket trading following an announcement by the U.S. President to impose a 100% tariff on foreign-made movies, impacting broader media and entertainment stocks.
- Instagram, a Meta Platforms (META) subsidiary, is testing a new Reels-first user interface in India and South Korea, signaling a strategic push to boost engagement amid fierce competition with TikTok.
- A Bank of England official commented that while second-round inflation effects might occur, they are considered less probable.
Carnival Corporation (CCL) delivered a robust performance in its third-quarter 2025 earnings, exceeding market forecasts across key metrics. The cruise giant reported adjusted net income of $1.98 billion, significantly higher than the estimated $1.84 billion. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) reached $1.43, comfortably beating the $1.32 estimate, with reported EPS at $1.33 year-over-year. Revenue also came in strong at $8.15 billion against an $8.1 billion estimate, and adjusted EBITDA stood at $2.99 billion, surpassing the $2.9 billion projection.
In the energy sector, TotalEnergies (TTE) is navigating a complex market. CEO Patrick Pouyanné stated that European natural gas prices are expected to remain elevated, forecasting an average of around $12 per MMBtu in 2025, primarily due to ongoing market tension and delays in new liquefied natural gas (LNG) capacity additions, which are not anticipated until late 2026 at the earliest. Concurrently, the French energy major announced a $7.5 billion savings program spanning 2026-2030 and reduced its net capital expenditure guidance by $1 billion per year from previous projections, now targeting approximately $16 billion in 2026 and $15-17 billion annually from 2027-2030. The company aims for 4% annual energy production growth through 2030, with a strategic focus on high-margin upstream projects and substantial investments in low-carbon initiatives.
The streaming giant Netflix (NFLX) saw its stock decline by 1.6% in premarket trading after the U.S. President announced plans to impose a 100% tariff on foreign-made movies. This policy move, aimed at revitalizing the domestic film industry, sparked a broader sell-off across media and entertainment stocks, including Lions Gate Entertainment, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), Walt Disney (DIS), and Paramount Global (PARA. While Netflix's shares initially dropped further in early trading (up to 5%), they recovered to a 1.9% daily loss by market close. The exact scope and implementation details of these tariffs remain uncertain, creating volatility for companies with significant international content portfolios.
In the social media landscape, Instagram, owned by Meta Platforms (META), is reportedly testing a new Reels-first user interface in India and South Korea. This initiative aims to give short videos more prominence within the app's layout, signaling Meta’s aggressive strategy to boost user engagement and compete more effectively with rival platform TikTok. Reports also suggest Instagram is developing a standalone Reels app, codenamed "Project Ray," to further enhance content recommendations and introduce longer video formats, directly challenging TikTok's dominance in the short-form video space. Reels has already garnered billions of views globally, particularly in regions where TikTok faces restrictions.
Meanwhile, a Bank of England (BOE) official, Randsden, offered a cautious outlook on inflation, stating that while second-round effects might materialize, he considers them less probable. This assessment comes amidst ongoing discussions about inflation dynamics and the potential for relative price increases to feed into broader inflationary pressures.
Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications.