Dow Industrials Hit Record, Boosted by Strong Earnings

Strong earnings reports briefly helped power the Dow Jones Industrial Average above 47000 for the first time, the latest milestone in stocks’ three-year bull run. The blue-chip average pared gains to close below the mark, but still finished at a record.

With sky-high earnings expectations baked into stock prices, Wall Street has been watching this third-quarter reporting period closely. So far, Corporate America has delivered.

Heavyweights Coca-Cola , 3M and General Motors all reported results that exceeded analyst expectations before the opening bell on Tuesday. 3M shares rose 7.7% to a four-year high, leading the Dow.

GM soared 15% to the highest level since its 2010 post-bailout initial public offering after Chief Executive Mary Barra raised guidance and told analysts the automaker can’t make enough full-size SUVs to keep up with demand.

GM said it is making faster-than-expected progress reducing a multibillion-dollar tariff bill—a key topic for investors who are still laser-focused on trade tensions between the U.S. and China.

A solid start to third-quarter earnings has helped buoy investor sentiment, taking stocks back toward record highs after concerns over trade and credit quality bubbled up earlier this month.

As of last Friday, 86% of companies overshot earnings estimates, according to FactSet. Nearly one-fifth of S&P 500 companies are scheduled to give financial updates over the course of this week.

The S&P 500 was little changed Tuesday, while the Nasdaq composite dropped 0.2%. The Dow rose 0.5% to a record closing level of 46924.74. Treasury yields slipped, with the benchmark 10-year yield closing at 3.962%, its lowest reading since October 2024.

“This is a market being driven by strong fundamentals,” said Scott Helfstein , head of investment strategy at asset manager Global X. “Earnings growth is largely driving equity values.”

Elsewhere Tuesday, it was a historically ugly day for precious metals after an epic run-up switched abruptly into reverse. Gold tumbled 5.7%, its worst single-day decline since 2013. Silver fell 7.2%.

Some analysts tied the selloff in safe-haven assets like gold to optimism that the U.S. will reach a new trade deal with China, after the U.S. and Australia signed a rare-earths trade agreement on Monday. The drop followed a remarkable run of gains : Gold remains up 55% on the year and only fell to its lowest level since Oct. 10.

In company news, Warner Bros. Discovery said it is exploring a potential sale of some or all of its media holdings, which include a movie studio, HBO Max and CNN. Its shares rose 11% on the news, which could reshape the entertainment industry.

Porsche car deliveries fell 10% in 2025 as demand was hit by a slowdown in luxury spending in China and as it ceased production of its 718 Boxster and 718 Cayman models through the year.

The German luxury sports-car maker said Friday that it delivered 279,449 cars in the year, down from 310,718 in 2024.

The company had a tumultuous year as it contended with a stuttering transition to electric vehicles and a tough Chinese market, while the Trump administration’s automotive tariffs presented a further headwind.

Deliveries in its largest sales region of North America were virtually flat at 86,229, but continued challenges in China meant deliveries in the country dropped 26% to 41,938 vehicles.

Automakers have faced intense competition in China, sparking a prolonged price war as rivals cut prices to win customers, while a lengthy property market slump and economic-growth concerns in the country has also led to buyers pulling back on luxury spending.

“Key reasons for the decline remain the challenging market conditions, particularly in the luxury segment, and the very intense competition in the Chinese market, especially for all-electric models,” the company said.

Other German brands including Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz have all recently reported that the challenging Chinese market hit demand last year.

In Europe, Porsche deliveries fell 13% to 66,340 cars excluding its home market of Germany, while German deliveries dropped 16%.

The company cut guidance several times last year as it warned of hits from U.S. import tariffs, investments in new combustion engines and hybrid models amid the slow uptake of EVs, and the competitive situation in China.

Porsche also last year announced plans to scale back its EV ambitions and instead expand its lineup with more gas-powered and plug-in hybrid models than it had originally planned.

However, in its statement Friday, the company said it increased its share of electrified-vehicle deliveries in the year. Around 34% of vehicles delivered worldwide were electrified, an increase of 7.4 percentage points on year, with about 22% all-electric vehicles and 12% plug-in hybrids.

That leaves its global share of fully-electric vehicles at the upper end of its target range of 20% to 22% for 2025.

In Europe, for the first time in 2025, more electrified vehicles than purely combustion engine vehicles were delivered.

The Macan topped the delivery charts in the year, while the 911 reached a record high with 51,583 deliveries worldwide, it said.

Porsche said it is investing in its three-pronged powertrain strategy and will continue to respond to increasing demand for personalization requests from customers.

“We have a clear focus for 2026,” Sales and Marketing Chief Matthias Becker said. “We want to manage supply and demand in accordance with our ‘value over volume’ strategy.

“At the same time, we are realistically planning our volume for 2026 following the end of production of the 718 and Macan with combustion engines.”

Dow Industrials Hit Record, Boosted by Strong Earnings

Coca-Cola, 3M lead blue-chip index higher after reporting results.

The sports-car maker delivered 279,449 cars last year, down from 310,718 in 2024.