U.S. stock futures rose early Friday, Oct. 9, while oil prices eased, offering Wall Street some relief after concerns about OpenAI’s revenue unsettled technology shares. The modest rebound pointed toward a firmer opening, although regular trading had yet to begin.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq advanced in overnight trading. Investors were assessing a report that OpenAI expects its annualized revenue to reach or exceed $70 billion by year-end, following disclosures that its September run rate was closer to $50 billion.
Bloomberg reported the year-end expectation, citing people familiar with the matter, and said growth would come largely from business customers. OpenAI declined to comment to Bloomberg. The projection remains a reported company expectation, rather than a completed financial result.
That distinction matters because annualized revenue is a measure of sales pace. It projects revenue from a shorter period over a full year; it does not mean the company has already collected that amount, nor does it establish profitability.
Thursday’s selling showed how closely public-market investors are watching the finances of a private AI company. The Nasdaq Composite fell 345.35 points, or 1.25%, to 27,193.34. The S&P 500 declined 36.41 points, or 0.47%, to 7,765.36, while the Dow gained 51.77 points, or 0.10%, to 51,231.64.
Chipmakers suffered sharper losses. Nvidia fell 2.94%, Advanced Micro Devices lost 3.90% and Micron Technology declined 4.79%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped about 3.4%.
The revenue discrepancy also requires care. Reporting by the Financial Times, summarized by Investing.com, linked the earlier, higher estimates to attempts to compare OpenAI’s revenue with Anthropic’s using different treatment of cloud-partner sales. The figures should therefore not be read as proof that OpenAI suddenly lost $20 billion in customer business.
For semiconductor suppliers, cloud providers and companies building data centers, the underlying question is whether AI customer spending can sustain the industry’s substantial infrastructure commitments. Revenue growth supports that case, but a run-rate forecast alone cannot show whether the spending will generate adequate profits.
Oil provided a separate source of relief Friday after a sharp increase Thursday. November West Texas Intermediate crude had settled at $91.49 a barrel, up 3.64%, while December Brent settled at $104.28, up 4.07%.
Early Friday indicators showed crude retreating, with U.S. oil trading below $91. The pullback followed President Donald Trump’s statement that the United States would not attack Iran before the midterm elections. Middle East risks and disruptions to Gulf of Mexico production continued to cloud the supply outlook.
Households are still paying substantially more for fuel than a year ago. AAA’s latest available national average, dated Oct. 8, put regular gasoline at $4.3612 a gallon, compared with $4.4137 a week earlier and $3.1156 a year earlier.
For a 15-gallon purchase, that annual increase adds approximately $18.68. The weekly decline saves less than 80 cents on the same purchase, illustrating how limited the recent relief has been.
Diesel averaged $6.2847 a gallon, versus $3.6791 a year earlier—an increase of roughly 71%. Those costs pressure trucking operators and businesses that depend on freight deliveries, potentially feeding into shipping charges and retail prices.
A sustained oil decline could reduce some inflation pressure, but a single session’s retreat does not guarantee immediate cuts in gasoline prices or borrowing costs. Refining conditions, distribution expenses, bond markets and lenders’ pricing decisions also matter.
Friday’s regular session will test whether the overnight recovery extends to the chipmakers hit hardest Thursday. Investors will also watch whether oil holds its decline and whether subsequent disclosures clarify OpenAI’s revenue trajectory and the accounting behind the competing estimates.
JBizNews Desk | Wall Street
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