5 Things to Know Before the Stock Market Opens

Tesla (TSLA) shares are coming off some of their strong Monday gains as the electric vehicle (EV) maker prepares to disclose its highly anticipated second-quarter deliveries numbers; Paramount Global (PARA) shares are rising as billionaire Barry Diller’s IAC is reportedly exploring a bid to take control of the entertainment giant; Fed Chair Jerome Powell is set to speak at the ECB Forum on Central Banking; Salesforce (CRM) investors voted against the cloud software firm’s compensation plans for Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Marc Benioff and other executives as shareholder advisory groups decried the high pay levels; and shares of cruise operators Royal Caribbean (RCL), Carnival (CCL), and Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH) are all extending losses as Beryl becomes the earliest Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic. U.S. stock futures are falling after the Nasdaq Composite climbed to a record high Monday. Here’s what investors need to know today.

1. Tesla to Issue Highly Anticipated Q2 Deliveries Figures

Tesla (TSLA) shares are falling almost 2% in premarket trading, giving back some of the gains Monday that took them to their highest level since January. The legacy EV maker is due to report its highly anticipated second-quarter deliveries report today. Visible Alpha’s current consensus is for just under 439,000 deliveries after the company reported nearly 387,000 for the first quarter. China EV manufacturers Nio (NIO), Li Auto (LI), and XPeng (XPEV) all posted solid monthly and quarterly delivery gains Monday, with Nio announcing an all-time monthly high for vehicle deliveries in June.

2. Paramount Shares Jump as Barry Diller Reportedly Becomes Latest Possible Bidder 

Paramount Global (PARA) shares are rising 3% in premarket trading following a report by The New York Times that billionaire Barry Diller is exploring a bid to take control of the entertainment giant. In the latest twist in the battle for the owner of CBS and Nickelodeon, the report said that Diller’s digital-media conglomerate, IAC, signed nondisclosure agreements with National Amusements, Paramount’s controlling shareholder. (IAC is the owner of Investopedia parent Dotdash Meredith.) The nondisclosure agreements were signed sometime after Paramount’s deal with Skydance Media fell apart last month, when National Amusements owner Shari Redstone reportedly called off the monthslong merger talks, the Times said.

3. Investors Look to Powell Speech, JOLTS Data for Rate-Cut Clues

Investors will be looking to two events that may give clues on the Federal Reserve’s plans to cut interest rates. Fed Chair Jerome Powell is speaking at a European Central Bank (ECB) event in Portugal. The central bank has projected one rate cut this year. Also potentially helping determine the Fed’s rate trajectory is the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data due at 10 a.m. ET. The JOLTS data is expected to show that job openings in May dropped to 7.9 million from 8.1 million in April, according to a survey of economists by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

4. Salesforce Investors Vote Against CEO Benioff’s Pay Plan 

Salesforce (CRM) investors voted against the cloud software firm’s compensation plans for its top executives, including CEO Marc Benioff, after shareholder advisory groups had complained of how high Benioff’s equity awards were. Benioff earned $39.65 million in total compensation for fiscal 2024, a more than 32% year-over-year jump. The board had urged shareholders to vote in favor of the compensation plan but shareholder advisory firms Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services reportedly had both recommended that investors vote down the measure. Salesforce shares are down almost 1% in premarket trading.

5. Cruise Operators Fall Further as Beryl Becomes Earliest Atlantic Category 5 Hurricane

Shares of cruise operators continue to fall in premarket trading after Beryl was upgraded to a Category 5 hurricane, the earliest such hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean. Beryl has forced ships to reroute, heralding a dangerous hurricane season this year. Shares of Royal Caribbean (RCL), Carnival (CCL) and Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH) are all lower after posting substantial declines Monday.