Welcome to Markets Desk, here's what's moving the needle right now.
The helium squeeze triggered by Middle East tensions is starting to show up in corporate earnings. Dollar Tree flagged weaker balloon and party supply sales as the Iran conflict tightens global helium supply. That may sound trivial, but researchers warn the same shortage threatens semiconductor fabrication, MRI machines, and fiber optics — industries that can't simply substitute another gas.
Shifting to software, the panic that AI would cannibalize subscription software companies appears to have been premature. A strong run of earnings this week has investors reassessing, and analysts are now calling for what they're describing as an epic rally that could carry the sector through October as revenue resilience surprises to the upside.
And in retail earnings, a fascinating divergence is playing out this quarter around tariff refunds. Some retailers are passing those savings directly to consumers through lower prices, while others are quietly absorbing them into margins. The strategic choice reveals a lot about each company's competitive positioning and how much pricing power they believe they actually hold heading into the back half of the year.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
