IDD Daily Brief: Wednesday, Oct 21, 2026 — SpaceX and Netflix report as Salesforce bids for Braze
Published
The Big Picture
- SpaceX and Netflix headlined a heavy earnings night. SpaceX swung to a $4.40 billion third-quarter profit as revenue jumped 161% to $14.58 billion, while Netflix lifted EPS to $0.87 from $0.59 but cut its 2026 ad revenue outlook to about $2.7 billion from roughly $3 billion.
- Industrial and defense giants raised the bar. RTX, GE Aerospace, Northrop Grumman and 3M all lifted their 2026 profit outlooks, and General Motors approved a new $20 billion buyback after its quarterly profit more than doubled.
- Salesforce went shopping. It agreed to buy Braze for $47.50 a share in cash, about $5.66 billion in enterprise value, as Prudential agreed to sell its Brazil and Mexico units for about $4.025 billion and CBRE struck a roughly $610 million deal for Onnec.
Earnings
Reported since yesterday's brief
- SpaceX (SPCX): Net income was $4.40 billion, or $0.35 a diluted share, versus a $1.05 billion loss a year earlier, on revenue up 161% to $14.58 billion, according to its 8-K. Super Intelligence segment revenue rose to $7.56 billion from $813 million.
- Netflix (NFLX): Revenue rose 12% to $12.87 billion and diluted EPS climbed to $0.87 from $0.59 as operating margin widened to 34.6% from 28.2%, the company said in an 8-K.
- RTX, GE Aerospace, Northrop Grumman and 3M (RTX, GE, NOC, MMM): All four raised 2026 profit guidance, according to their 8-Ks. RTX's adjusted EPS rose 33% to $2.26, GE Aerospace's rose 36% to $2.25 as orders jumped 49%, Northrop's backlog reached $109.6 billion and 3M's adjusted EPS rose 12% to $2.50.
- General Motors (GM): Net income rose to $3.3 billion, or $3.73 a diluted share, from $1.35 a year earlier, according to its 8-K. GM narrowed its 2026 EBIT-adjusted outlook to $14.5 billion to $15.5 billion and approved a new $20.0 billion repurchase authorization.
- United Airlines (UAL): Record revenue rose 17.4% to $17.88 billion, but adjusted EPS fell to $2.54 from $2.78 as fuel expense rose 61.6%, according to its 8-K. United guided to fourth-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.50 to $1.50.