US stock futures slipped on Thursday as investors digested minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest meeting and geared up for Walmart (WMT) earnings for insight into the American consumer.

Contracts on the S&P 500 (ES=F) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) reversed earlier small gains to hover just below the flatline. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) nudged down 0.1%, following a solid advance across the major benchmarks the previous session.

Investors parsed minutes from the Fed’s January meeting, which revealed deep divides among policymakers regarding the path forward for interest rates. But even as the minutes revealed talk of potential rate hikes amid stubborn inflation, investor expectations for two rate cuts by the end of the year were not immediately swayed.

On the economic calendar, traders will turn their focus to weekly jobless claims data due Thursday, along with the pending home sales report.

Earnings continue, with Walmart (WMT) acting as a bellwether for the health of the retail sector, reporting before the market opens Thursday.

Elsewhere, tariff headlines have returned as President Trump's administration lashed out against the New York Federal Reserve. The regional Fed bank earned the White House's ire by releasing a report indicating that US consumers and businesses are bearing the brunt of the fiscal weight of Trump's favorite economic tool.

DoorDash (DASH) reported fourth quarter results that slightly missed Wall Street's expectations on the top and bottom lines, while total orders rose more than forecast.

Earnings per share came in at $0.48, compared with the $0.55 the Street had forecast. But adjusted EBITDA reached $780 million in the quarter — up 38% compared to a year ago and almost $5 million above the Street's estimates.

Meanwhile, revenue grew 28% year over year to $3.96 billion, a tick lower than the nearly $4 billion Wall Street predicted. Total orders, which means all orders through its marketplaces and commerce platform, also jumped 32% to 903 million in the quarter. That's more than the 888 million analysts had anticipated.

Its stock rose as much as 13% during premarket hours on Thursday.

Marketplace GOV — the total dollar value of transactions completed through the marketplace, including taxes, tips, and fees related to DashPass and its international platform Wolt+, clocked in at $29.7 billion compared to the expected $29.1 billion.

That was driven higher by growth in new customers and order rates among existing customers in the US restaurant category.

For the first quarter of 2026, the company expects marketplace GOV to be in the range of $31.0 billion to $31.8 billion, above the Street's forecast of $30.75 billion.

Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of $675 million to $775 million, which is below what the Street predicted of $800 million.

Oil steadied after its biggest daily gain since October, following an Axios report that American military intervention in Iran could come sooner than expected.

Bloomberg reports:

Brent (BZ=F) held above $70 a barrel after adding 4.3% on Wednesday, while West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) traded above $65. Axios reported that any US military operation would likely be a weeks-long campaign and that Israel’s government is pushing for a scenario targeting regime change in the Islamic Republic.

A potential war would put flows at risk from a region that pumps about a third of the world’s oil. However, US President Donald Trump risks angering voters ahead of mid-term elections this year if a spike in crude prices makes gasoline more expensive at the pump.

Talks between the sides so far have been inconclusive, with Tehran saying it reached a “general agreement” with Washington on the terms of a potential nuclear deal and an US official said Iranian negotiators would return to Geneva with a new proposal in two weeks. The US also announced visa restrictions on Iranian officials and executives over a recent crackdown on protests.

“The failure to resolve core areas of contention continues to tip the scales in favor of another military confrontation,” RBC Capital Markets analysts including Helima Croft said in a note.

Read more here.

Bloomberg reports:

OpenAI is close to finalizing the first phase of a new funding round that is likely to bring in more than $100 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, a record-breaking financing deal that would give the startup additional capital to build out its artificial intelligence tools.

As the ChatGPT maker prepares to spend trillions in infrastructure investment, the overall valuation of the company, including the eventual funding, could exceed $850 billion, according to some of the people. That’s higher than the $830 billion initially expected. The company’s pre-money value will remain $730 billion, said one person, all of whom asked not to be identified discussing private information.

The first portion of the funding round will largely come from strategic investors including Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), SoftBank Group Corp. (SFTBY), Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), the people said. If those companies invest near the highest ranges of what has been discussed, those commitments will near $100 billion. Those companies are expected to finalize their allocations by the end of this month, some of the people said.

Read more here.

Carvana (CVNA) stock hit a rough patch as investors took poorly to an earnings report highlighting high expenses in a push for extreme growth.

Bloomberg reports:

The online used-car retailer said its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization was $511 million, lower than the average analyst estimate of $536 million. Higher non-vehicle costs and depreciation were contributors, the company said in a statement Wednesday.

Carvana’s shares fell more than 15% at 6:49 p.m. during after-hours trading in New York, paring an earlier decline of more than 20%.

The company’s stock has been trading at all-time highs this year as investors expect Carvana to continue strong sales growth and improve margins as it builds scale in its operations. Shares hit a record of $478 in January, but have fallen since short seller Gotham City Research questioned related-party transactions and accused the company without proof of inflating earnings.

Read more here.