Highlights for this morning: a Netflix report, a new White House AI initiative and an assistant from OpenAI

Netflix beat second-quarter revenue expectations and raised its outlook for the year. The White House is preparing to unveil a major artificial intelligence initiative. Jerome Powell was forced to publicly defend the $2.5 billion Fed headquarters overhaul project amid criticism from Trump. OpenAI unveiled the ChatGPT Agent, a tool that the company claims can handle errands on its own using a "virtual computer." About these and other topics - in our review of key events for the morning of July 18.

Netflix reported its financial results for the second quarter of 2025, with revenue up 16% year-on-year, exceeding analysts' expectations, reports CNBC.

"The year-over-year revenue growth was primarily driven by an increase in subscribers, higher subscription prices and higher advertising revenue," stated Netflix.

The company raised its full-year revenue forecast - it now expects between $44.8 billion and $45.2 billion, up from a previous forecast of $43.5 billion to $44.5 billion. The upward revision is due to a weaker dollar against other currencies, as well as "healthy" growth in subscribers and advertising revenue, Netflix said in a statement.

The TV station notes that this is the second quarter in a row that the company has not released subscriber numbers.

Financial results for the second quarter:

- Revenue rose nearly 16% to $11.08 billion.

- Operating cash flow was $2.4 billion, up 84% from a year earlier.

- Free cash flow increased by 91% to $2.3 billion.

- The annual free cash flow forecast has been increased to $8-8.5 billion (previously around $8 billion).

- Operating margin reached 34.1%, improving almost 3 p.p. from the previous quarter and 7 p.p. from the same period last year.

However, Netflix has warned that operating margins will decline in the second half of 2025 due to higher content amortization costs, as well as increased marketing and promotion costs for a major release calendar. That's probably why the company's stock is down about 1% in the postmarket, the channel points out.

Expect a string of big premieres in the second half of the year - including the second season of Wednesday, the Stranger Things finale, the comedy Happy Gilmore 2 and Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein.

OpenAI is betting on one of the most talked-about trends in AI - agent systems that can perform multi-step tasks on behalf of a user, writes The Verge. On Thursday, the company unveiled the ChatGPT Agent, a tool that OpenAI claims can handle errands on its own using a "virtual computer."

During a demo for The Verge, project managers Yash Kumar (product lead) and Isa Fulford (research manager) said that ChatGPT Agent is based on a new model developed specifically for the product. The agent can, for example, analyze a user's calendar and prepare information on upcoming meetings, compile and order a grocery list for a family breakfast, or create presentations based on competitor analysis.

The model underlying the ChatGPT Agent (its name is not yet disclosed) was trained on complex tasks using several tools - a text browser, a visual interface, and a terminal where you can upload your own data. It was trained using reinforcement learning, as with other OpenAI models that focus on logical thinking.

To create the ChatGPT Agent, the company has combined the teams that previously worked on Operator and Deep Research, which are now part of the new product's functionality. According to Kumar and Fulford, the combined team includes 20 to 35 product and research specialists.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell commented in detail for the first time on the $2.5 billion overhaul of the Fed's headquarters, reports Yahoo Finance. In a letter sent to White House Budget Office Director Russell Vought, Powell emphasized: "We take seriously our responsibility to be good stewards of public resources."

This was in response to Vought's July 10 letter in which he expressed concern about cost overruns and a number of design decisions, calling the project excessive and adding that "the President is extremely concerned about the way you run the Federal Reserve."

"Instead of getting the Fed's budget in order, you continue your pathos-laden renovation of the Washington, D.C. headquarters," Vought wrote, pointing to plans for rooftop gardens, private dining rooms for VIP guests, fountains, marble finishes and separate elevators.

Donald Trump also criticized the project last week, saying that "it's somewhat of an excuse to fire him." He added, however, that he had no plans to fire Powell yet, but did not rule out the possibility, especially "if fraud comes to light."

In his response, Powell noted that the renovation project was approved by the Fed's Board of Directors back in 2017 and has been "implemented under careful oversight" since then. He emphasized that the buildings on National Mall are in need of "significant overhaul" to ensure the safety and health of employees - there has not been a complete renovation since construction in the 1930s.

Powell also pointed out that the Fed submitted the project to the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) and received its approval in 2020 and 2021. Since then, according to the Fed chief, "minor design changes have been made to simplify the project and eliminate some items. No new items have been added."

Donald Trump is preparing to announce new policy guidelines for artificial intelligence (AI), acknowledged Bloomberg. The plan includes easing regulations and expanding power sources for data centers, as well as calling on Congress to pass a federal law to replace piecemeal initiatives at the individual state level.

The so-called AI Action Plan is due to be published in the coming days. It builds on an order issued earlier this year to form a comprehensive strategy for the development of AI in the US. Trump is expected to sign several executive orders that will implement key provisions of the plan, sources familiar with discussions within the administration said.

According to the interlocutors, the document will be largely declaratory in nature and limited to actions within the executive branch, rather than representing a global vision for the future of AI. Nevertheless, it will be the administration's most serious statement on the topic, reflecting the U.S. aspiration for global leadership in AI and the formation of international standards.

The plan is beneficial to technology companies that favor safety standards and international cooperation. It is particularly awaited by industry leaders, including OpenAI, Meta (owner of Facebook) and Google (part of Alphabet), which opposed the excessive regulation seen under the Joe Biden administration, the agency points out.

Asian markets began the trading day with gains. 

- Japan's Nikkei 225 index was up 0.4 percent at the open, while the Topix index was up 0.3 percent as of 8:02 a.m. local time (8:02 p.m. ET Tuesday).

- South Korea's Kospi index added 0.2 percent and the Kosdaq small-company index was up 0.3 percent.

- Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index climbed 0.6% to a record high of 8,689.4 points in morning trading. The benchmark has gained 6.6% since the beginning of the year, according to LSEG data.

- US stock futures traded in the green zone, adding 0.1-0.2%. The day before, the S&P 500 index rose 0.5% to close at 6,297.36. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.5%, ending trading at 44,484.49. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added about 0.8% to end the session at 20,885.65.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor