Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street. Markets & Fed: The S & P 500 lost steam and turned slightly lower Wednesday afternoon as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s highly anticipated press conference got underway. As expected, the Fed left rates unchanged at its July policy meeting. Interestingly, but not surprisingly, the vote was not unanimous. There were two dissenting voters who preferred to lower rates by a quarter percentage point at the meeting: Fed Governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman. In the weeks leading up to the meeting, both officials had lent their support for a July reduction. President Donald Trump also has been pushing the Fed to cut rates. The central bank’s current benchmark lending rate is 4.25% to 4.5%. After the Fed’s statement Wednesday, odds for a quarter-point cut at the September meeting inched up to roughly 62% from 56%, according to the CME FedWatch tool . However, at the news conference, Powell said the Fed has “made no decisions about September. We don’t do that in advance.” Stocks were modestly higher prior to that comment. The Fed has cited uncertainty around the inflationary impact of Trump’s tariffs as one of the main reasons to keep rates steady. Asked about the recent trade deals announced by the Trump administration, Powell said: “We’re still a ways away from seeing where things settle down. We are clearly getting more and more inflation. … I think at this point, our estimates, outside estimates of the likely effective level of tariffs is not moving around much at this point, but at the same time, there are many uncertainties left to resolve. We are learning more and more. It doesn’t feel like we’re very close to the end of that process, and that’s not for us to judge.” Powell also offered a positive assessment of the labor market, though he acknowledged there are some “downside’ risks. Nevertheless, Powell said: “You do not see weakening in the labor market. You do see a slowing of job creation, but also a slowing in the supply of workers, so you’ve got a labor market that’s in balance, albeit partially because both demand and supply for workers is coming down at the same pace. And that’s why the unemployment rate has remained roughly stable.” Get ready: Here are the key numbers we’re looking for when Club names Meta Platforms and Microsoft report after Wednesday’s close. Meta Platforms: In the second quarter, the company is expected to report revenue of $44.80 billion and adjusted earnings per share of $5.92, according to financial data provider LSEG. For the third quarter, the company is expected to guide revenues around $46.15 billion, according to LSEG. The other big question is how high will Meta increase its full-year total expense outlook? Last quarter, the company said it expects expenses to be in the range of $113 billion to $118 billion. The consensus is at $114.5 billion, according to FactSet. That number is probably too low given the AI talent hiring spree the company went on to build its “superintelligence” team. Last week, Google parent Alphabet raised its full-year capital expenditure outlook by $10 billion, and we would be surprised if all the hyperscalers didn’t take up their AI investment numbers given strong demand signals. Microsoft: In its fiscal fourth quarter, the company is expected to report revenue of $73.81 billion and adjusted earnings per share of $3.37, according to data LSEG. The important line item will be Azure sales growth, which was guided to 34% to 35% in constant currency. We should also get management’s first quarter fiscal year 2026 and full year outlook — but remember, that comes later during the earnings call, so it’s ill-advised to trust the market’s initial reaction to the press release. Up next: In addition to Meta and Microsoft, Lam Research , Carvana , Qualcomm , Ford Motor , Arm Holdings , and MGM Resorts report after the closing bell on Wednesday. Before the opening bell on Thursday, we’ll see earnings from Club name Bristol Myers Squibb , CVS Health , Roblox , AbbVie , Howmet Aerospace , Builders FirstSource , and Mastercard . Thursday’s an important day of data with the June PCE Price Index. (See here for a full list of the stocks in Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
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:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/GettyImages-2226993210-1a99008fe7eb40b488498bb5b62888ea.jpg "Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Carvana, and More")