5 Things to Watch on
April 30, 2026

Stocks are up more than +0.4% today in premarket trading as investors digest a wave of economic data and the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision alongside another round of Magnificent 7 earnings. The Fed held its policy rate steady at 3.50%-3.75% for a third consecutive meeting, citing uncertainty over oil prices and it's impact on inflation going forward. March core PCE, the Fed's preferred inflation metric, came in at +0.3% MoM, in line with expectations, though the YoY reading ticked up to +3.2% from +3.0% in February. GDP growth landed slightly below consensus, with the U.S. economy expanding at an annualized +2.0% in Q1 2026, missing the +2.2% forecast but marking a sharp rebound from the +0.5% posted in Q4, when the government shutdown weighed on activity.

The four largest cloud players collectively raised 2026 AI infrastructure budgets this earnings season, but markets split sharply on who will earn a return. Alphabet (GOOGL) is up +6% in premarket trading after lifting CapEx to $185B with cloud backlog nearly doubling to $460B, while Meta Platforms (META) is down -9% on a $135B forecast that drew skepticism over memory pricing and pending May layoffs. Microsoft (MSFT) slipped -2% on a $190B plan that leaves Azure capacity constrained through 2026, while Amazon (AMZN) held its $200B target after Q1 CapEx surged +76% YoY to $43.2B.

Anthropic is in early talks with investors over a new funding round that would value the Claude maker at over $900B. The implied valuation has surged +733% since October 2025, recently crossing $1T in on-chain private-market trading. Anthropic last raised $30B in February at a $380B valuation, with backers including Microsoft (MSFT) and Nvidia (NVDA). Alphabet (GOOGL) recently committed up to $40B plus 5GW of compute, while Amazon (AMZN) pledged up to $25B. The new mark would put Anthropic near OpenAI's $852B.

Eli Lilly (LLY) is up +6% in premarket trading after another blowout quarter underscored the central role its GLP-1 franchise now plays in the pharma giant's growth story. Mounjaro and Zepbound together drove the bulk of the $19.8B top line, with CEO David Ricks touting newly launched oral therapy Foundayo as the next leg of growth against Novo Nordisk's (NVO) Wegovy pill. Analysts say Mounjaro is on track to become the world's best-selling drug, with LLY poised to reclaim its $1T market cap. NVO traded +2% higher on the read-across.

DoorDash (DASH) and Lyft (LYFT) announced an expanded partnership today bringing rideshare benefits to DASH's DashPass membership in Canada. DashPass members receive a one-time 50% discount (up to $10) on eligible LYFT rides within 30 days of linking accounts, plus ongoing monthly perks. The move marks the first international expansion of LYFT ride benefits through DashPass, building on the companies' existing U.S. arrangement.