Daily Earnings: Giants Slash Buybacks as Rates Bite | JPM, DPZ, JNJ | Oct 13

Today’s reports from JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Domino’s Pizza (DPZ), and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) reveal how higher interest rates and budget-conscious consumers are forcing companies to abandon automatic stock buybacks, police third-party AI bots, and rethink how store-level profits are shared.

- JPMorgan cut buybacks by 84% while Domino's halved repurchases ahead of a major debt wall.

- JPMorgan blocked external AI agents from customer accounts and pegged true AI spending at $700M.

- Smaller customer carts squeezed Domino's franchisees and slowed U.S. store builds despite higher corporate profits.

Even as Johnson & Johnson guided past $100 billion in annual sales, legal reserves and shifting unit economics showed why investors are looking past headline beats to scrutinize balance sheets and store-level cash flow.