Happy Thursday. Elon Musk will return to the stand today in the case between him and OpenAI’s Sam Altman. Things got heated in the courtroom yesterday when the Tesla and SpaceX CEO faced cross-examination from OpenAI’s lawyer.

Stock futures are rising this morning. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is coming off its fifth straight losing day.

Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:

1. The tech TLDR

Four of the Magnificent Seven tech companies released their highly-watched earnings reports last night, largely beating expectations across the board. Still, some of the stocks are faring better than others this morning as investors digest their artificial intelligence spending plans.

Here’s the rundown:

— Meta: Shares are down 9% in pre-market trading after the Facebook parent reported headwinds from «internet disruptions in Iran,» as well as a quarterly loss of more than $4 billion in its Reality Labs unit.

— Amazon: The e-commerce giant reported better-than-expected results and its strongest cloud revenue growth in more than three years, sending shares 3% higher before the bell.

— Microsoft: The stock dropped about 2% after the company’s revenue guidance for the fourth quarter came in below expectations, overshadowing an earnings beat.

— Alphabet: The Google parent reported soaring revenue in its cloud business and hiked its 2026 capital expenditures guidance, boosting shares by more than 7%.

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2. Succession planning

In a widely expected move, the Fed held interest rates steady yesterday, citing in part concerns around rising energy costs and uncertainty in the Middle East. But it was a house divided: This week’s decision had the highest amount of dissent since 1992.

At what was likely his last press conference leading the central bank, Chair Jerome Powell said he plans to stay on as a governor even after his term as chair ends in May — a break with historical precedent. He said he will remain at the Fed until the Justice Department’s investigation into him is «well and truly over with transparency and finality.»

Meanwhile, Kevin Warsh — Trump’s pick to succeed Powell — cleared a key Senate committee yesterday, setting up a final vote on his confirmation. Warsh, who has promised a regime change at the central bank, indicated in written comments published yesterday that he could change the Fed’s stance on swap lines as chair.

3.T-oil and trouble

Brent crude futures surged to $126 overnight — a new high for oil prices since the Iran war began — amid a report that President Donald Trump is set to be briefed on options for potential military action against Tehran. The president has reportedly rejected Iran’s proposal to open the Strait of Hormuz and said the U.S.’ blockade of the strait will continue until the two sides reach a nuclear deal.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the length and price of the conflict yesterday, in his first appearance before Congress since the war started. Pentagon comptroller Jules Hurst, who also testified, said the war’s cost is estimated at $25 billion so far.

4. Fast lane

Ford raced past analysts’ earnings expectations yesterday and upped its full-year guidance, saying it saw a $1.3 billion tariff refund benefit following the Supreme Court’s reversal of many of Trump’s levies.

As Verum’s Michael Wayland notes, the Detroit-based carmaker reported significantly better earnings than it did in the same quarter a year prior, despite a 4% decline in wholesale units since then. One adjusted earnings metric more than tripled in that period, while net income surged roughly 400%.

Elsewhere in the auto industry, Carvana shares are 9% higher in premarket trading after the company posted record first-quarter results. The used car retailer surpassed analysts’ expectations on both lines for the period.

5. Public image

Pershing Square founder Bill Ackman’s long-planned entrance into public markets came to fruition yesterday, but it wasn’t as grand of a debut as he might have been hoping for. Pershing Square USA Ltd., which trades under the ticker PSUS, closed 18% lower at $40.90 — well below its IPO price of $50.

Ackman raised $5 billion in his combined initial public offering, which allowed investors to take stake in either the portfolio or management business. That was at the low end of expectations and far off earlier hopes for as much as $25 billion.

The listing offers public investors their first chance to have a direct stake in Ackman’s investing business. Ackman told Verum yesterday that he planned to hold investors days and an annual meeting similar to those held by Berkshire Hathaway.

The Daily Dividend

David Ellison has promised that a combined Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery could release 30 films annually. History shows that may be easier said than done.

— Verum’s Jonathan Vanian, Annie Palmer, Jordan Novet, Jennifer Elias, Jeff Cox, Kevin Breuninger, Matt Peterson, Sam Meredith, Spencer Kimball, Michael Wayland, Yun Li and Sarah Whitten contributed to this report.