Key Takeaways
- The S&P 500 added 0.8% on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, finishing just short of the closing record it set last week.
- Gilead Sciences shares logged the S&P 500’s best performance after the drugmaker beat quarterly sales and profit forecasts.
- The Trade Desk said its customers were reining in ad spending amid tariff pressures, and shares plunged.
Major U.S. equities indexes climbed to close out the week as investors weighed comments by Federal Reserve officials suggesting interest-rate cuts could be approaching, as well as President Trump’s nomination of Stephen Miran to a Fed position.
The S&P 500 ended Friday’s session 0.8% higher, finishing just short of the all-time high set last week, while the Nasdaq advanced nearly 1% to secure its second straight record close. The Dow added 0.5%.
Gilead Sciences (GILD) stock was the top performer in the S&P 500 on Friday, jumping 8.3% after the biopharmaceutical company posted stronger-than-expected revenue and adjusted earnings per share for the second quarter. Descovy, Gilead’s HIV treatment that is also prescribed as a pre-exposure prophylaxis to lower the risk of HIV infection, helped drive sales growth during the quarter, with a rise in demand and higher average selling prices.
Cybersecurity firm Gen Digital (GEN) beat quarterly sales and profit expectations and raised its full-year outlook. The provider of antivirus software and identity protection services benefitted from strong demand for its AI-driven security solutions amid an uptick in AI-powered scams. Gen Digital shares surged 7.7%.
Monster Beverage (MNST) surpassed analysts’ top- and bottom-line expectations on record quarterly revenue, and shares of the energy drink maker climbed 6.4%. Analysts pointed to a growing market for energy drinks and suggested Monster could also benefit from its innovations in zero-sugar products.
Apple (AAPL) shares rose over 4%, in the stock’s third straight day of gains after CEO Tim Cook joined President Trump at the White House to announce a $100 billion investment in U.S. production, and Trump said the iPhone maker would be exempt from new tariffs on chips.
Shares of The Trade Desk (TTD) plummeted 38.6%, falling the furthest of any stock in the S&P 500 on Friday. The provider of a cloud-based platform that helps advertisers optimize their campaigns said some of the large companies that use its services are limiting ad spending in response to tariff pressures. While The Trade Desk grew its quarterly revenue 18.7% year-over-year to edge out analysts’ sales forecasts, its adjusted earnings slightly missed expectations. The company also named a new CFO.
Internet domain provider GoDaddy (GDDY) topped sales and profit expectations for the second quarter and lifted its full-year revenue guidance, boosted by demand for its AI tools that help businesses maximize their digital footprint. However, GoDaddy said it will no longer operate as a registry service provider for the .CO level domain as of the fourth quarter of 2025, which the company says could weigh on bookings and revenue beginning later this year. GoDaddy shares dropped 11.3%.
Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) shares ended Friday’s session 8% lower, a day after the entertainment giant posted its quarterly results. Although the studio division generated significant year-over-year revenue growth, boosted by strong box-office sales from a number of theatrical releases, WBD’s global linear networks revenue was down from a year ago, reflecting challenges in the TV business.