Earnings

The market experienced a tech-driven slump, with major indices falling. Investors shifted to safer assets, though some consumer and healthcare stocks showed resilience, with Bristol Myers Squibb and Procter & Gamble posting gains. Enterprise software faced headwinds due to AI advancements. Boeing saw a significant rise on potential aircraft deals. Costco continued its strong performance, exceeding sales expectations. Investors await earnings from Amazon and Fortinet for insights into AI and cybersecurity trends.

Reddit’s stock climbed following a strong Q4 earnings report, beating revenue and profit expectations with $726 million and $1.24 EPS. The company projects solid Q1 2026 revenue and earnings, exceeding analyst forecasts. Reddit also announced a $1 billion share repurchase program. Growth in global daily active users was robust, though logged-in U.S. user growth showed a slowdown. The company plans to simplify user metric reporting and is exploring strategic data-licensing and AI integration to enhance user engagement and search capabilities.

Roblox shares surged after strong Q4 earnings beat expectations. Bookings jumped 63% year-over-year to $2.22 billion, significantly exceeding estimates. Daily active users also saw a remarkable 69% increase, reaching 144 million. The company provided an optimistic Q1 outlook and is implementing mandatory age verification for enhanced safety and personalized experiences, despite a slight short-term impact on growth. Roblox will discontinue annual guidance in 2027.

Amazon’s shares declined after announcing a $200 billion capital expenditure plan for the year. This aggressive investment overshadowed strong Q4 2025 results, with revenue up 14% and AWS growth accelerating to 23.6%. While management expressed confidence in long-term returns, particularly from AWS’s substantial backlog and AI workloads, the projected Q1 2026 operating income missed analyst expectations, leading to market concern about the significant spending.

Qualcomm exceeded Q1 earnings expectations, but its stock declined due to cautious guidance. The company cited a global memory shortage, particularly for data centers, as the main constraint impacting smartphone and consumer electronics production. While underlying demand is strong, supply chain limitations, especially in memory, are projected to define market size. Emerging segments like IoT and automotive showed robust growth.

Snap Inc. exceeded Q4 sales expectations with $1.72 billion revenue and announced a $500 million stock repurchase program. While daily active users slightly missed projections, average revenue per user increased. The company anticipates Q1 revenue below estimates, and faces regulatory headwinds. Net income surged nearly 400% year-over-year. Snap is prioritizing profitable growth and expanding its subscription services, while also investing in AR technology through its new subsidiary, Specs Inc., aiming for a 2026 AR glasses launch.

AMD’s Q4 earnings exceeded expectations, driven by strong data center and client segment growth. While revenue beat projections, the company’s Q1 guidance, though indicating growth, was viewed as conservative by some, given the AI boom. Despite a stock dip, AMD secured significant AI customer wins and is poised to launch its Helios AI system, highlighting its increasing traction in the competitive AI hardware market.

Palantir’s stock jumped 10% after reporting Q4 revenue of $1.41 billion, beating analyst estimates. This growth was driven by increased AI tool spending from government and commercial clients, despite previous market volatility. CEO Alex Karp called the results the “best in tech in a decade.” The company secured significant contracts with the U.S. Army and Navy, boosting its government sector presence. Analysts remain optimistic about future growth, projecting margin expansion.

This earnings season highlights a split in tech’s AI approach. Meta’s stock soared on strong revenue and ambitious AI infrastructure plans, assuaging investor concerns. Conversely, Microsoft faced a significant stock drop due to decelerating Azure growth and increased capital expenditures, despite a massive backlog driven by its OpenAI partnership. IBM also saw gains with its AI business doubling. However, broader software companies like ServiceNow experienced declines amidst fears of AI disrupting traditional software models.

ServiceNow exceeded Q4 revenue and earnings expectations, reporting $3.57 billion in revenue and 92 cents EPS. Despite strong results and a 20.5% year-over-year revenue increase, shares saw a slight dip. The company announced a $5 billion share buyback authorization and provided optimistic guidance for Q1 and FY26. ServiceNow is actively investing in AI and security, evidenced by recent acquisitions like Moveworks and the planned Armis deal, aiming to integrate these capabilities for enhanced enterprise solutions.