Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading. Affirm Holdings – The stock popped nearly 7% following the announcement that its buy now, pay later loans will be embedded into Apple Pay as an option for purchases. U.S. Apple Pay users on iPhones and iPads will be able to use the option later this year, the company said in a filing. General Motors – The automaker’s stock added about 2% after announcing a $6 billion share repurchase program. GM also cut its 2024 EV sales forecast due to slow adoption. It plans to produce between 200,000 and 250,000 EVs this year, down from a prior range of 200,000 to 300,000. Apple – The stock jumped around 6% one day after the iPhone maker announced its artificial intelligence strategy at its Worldwide Developers Conference . Along with other updates, Siri will be harnessing ChatGPT through Apple’s partnership with OpenAI. GameStop – The stock rose about 2%, trimming losses after its recent slide. GameStop shares dropped 12% on Monday , adding to Friday’s decline after a poor earnings report and the first livestream in years from Keith Gill, the meme stock leader known as Roaring Kitty. FMC Corp – Shares of the agricultural sciences company jumped more than 4% after it announced that former CEO Pierre Brondeau is returning to his former post, effective immediately, after Mark Douglas, CEO and president, stepped down. Ronaldo Pereira has been appointed president. The company also reaffirmed its second-quarter revenue and earnings forecasts. Shopify – Shares rose 1% after JPMorgan initiated the e-commerce company with an overweight rating, saying the beaten-down stock is an “online sale you don’t want to miss.” The firm said Shopify’s product breadth, ease of use, and scale are unique competitive advantages that will fuel its growth. DXC Technology – Shares were relatively flat after Reuters reported that Apollo Global and Kyndryl Holdings are making a joint bid for the IT services firm. Reuters said the duo is offering between $22 and $25 per share for the information technology firm. Apollo slipped 1.4% in midday trading, while Kyndryl shed 0.9%. Southwest Airlines – Shares fell 4% after the airline announced it was open to meeting with Elliott. The activist management firm has a $1.9 billion stake in Southwest and previously said it would push for a leadership change at Southwest. Calavo Growers – Shares of the avocado distributor rose more than 8% after the company topped second-quarter expectations by a wide margin. CEO Lee Cole said “improved prices and margins in our core avocado business as well as in our tomato portfolio” contributed to the better-than-expected results. The company’s guacamole business has also improved from the year prior. Academy Sports and Outdoors – The retail stock fell about 4% after a disappointing first quarter and a downgrade from Bank of America to neutral from buy. Academy earned $1.08 per share, after adjustments, while analysts surveyed by FactSet had penciled in $1.21 per share. — CNBC’s Alex Harring, Samantha Subin, Lisa Kailai Han, Pia Singh, Sarah Min and Jesse Pound contributed reporting.
