Stocks Pare Gains Following Tame Inflation Report; Tech Sell-Off Eases

DraftKing Stock Slumps as Revenue Forecast Comes Up Short

FROM 12 minutes ago

Shares of DraftKings (DKNG) dropped 13% on Friday after the online sports betting operator’s full-year revenue guidance came up short of Wall Street estimates. 

DraftKings on Thursday evening forecast revenue would be between $6.5 billion and $6.9 billion in 2026. The consensus estimate on Wall Street heading into Thursday’s earnings report was about $7.3 billion. 

DraftKings’ soft revenue forecast overshadowed otherwise solid fourth-quarter results. Revenue rose 43% to $1.99 billion, about in-line with estimates. The company swung to a profit of $136 million, or 25 cents a share, from a $135 million loss in the year-ago quarter. 

DraftKings revenue forecast was particularly disappointing given the investments it plans to make in prediction markets, a rapidly growing niche that’s increasingly encroaching on sportsbook businesses. Bank of America estimates that about 20% of all Super Bowl-related betting last weekend occurred on prediction markets. DraftKings was the fifth-most downloaded app last Sunday, while prediction market Kalshi, on which trading volume totaled nearly $900 million the day of the game, ranked second. 

“We plan to deploy growth capital to build the best customer experience in Predictions and acquire millions of customers,” said DraftKings CEO Jason Robins in a letter to shareholders on Thursday. “We are targeting hundreds of millions in annual revenue for DraftKings Predictions in the years ahead, and we believe there is much more upside over the long-term.”

The momentum behind prediction markets has been a headwind for DraftKings stock. Shares are down more than 50% in the past year, and have shed 37% of their value in the last month and a half alone. 

Coinbase Is Buying the Dip in Bitcoin. Some Experts See More Downside Ahead

FROM 58 minutes ago

Crypto whales are rushing in where other investors fear to tread.

Bitcoin is struggling to stage a turnaround. Recent prices are stuck under the $70,000 level, and altcoins including ether and solana are in a similar state. Though the volatility in crypto markets appears to be putting off retail investors, some industry players are buying. Crypto exchange Coinbase Global (COIN), for example, said it will continue to “buy the dip” in bitcoin—and its own stock.

That optimism has yet to meaningfully register in crypto markets, but some crypto-linked stocks are climbing today. Coinbase is up 18%, while shares of the Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss-founded exchange Gemini have risen about 12%. Strategy (MSTR) and Circle (CRCL) are also climbing, though more modestly.

Some experts worry that the reprieve in crypto stocks may be short-lived. One bank is calling for more pain in the near future, citing a lack of new buyers.

Read the full story here.

–Crystal Kim

Arista Networks Stock Rises on Earnings Beat, Steady Margin Forecast

FROM 1 hr 56 min ago

Shares of Arista Networks (ANET) rose on Friday after the networking equipment provider topped estimates with its fourth-quarter results and offered a strong outlook for the current quarter. 

Arista Networks on Thursday afternoon reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.05 billion, or 82 cents per share, a nearly 25% increase from a year ago. It was the company’s first quarter in which net income exceeded $1 billion. Revenue grew 29% year-over-year to $2.49 billion. 

“We exceeded both our AI networking and campus expansion goals, delivering profitable growth and revenue of $9 billion,” said CEO Jayshree Ullal in a press release.

The company expects current-quarter of $2.6 billion, and gross margin to fall between 62% and 63%. The latter metric stood in stark contrast to that of networking competitor Cisco (CSCO), which said in its earnings report earlier this week that the soaring cost of memory components would pressure its margins. Cisco shares tumbled 12% after it issued that warning.

Shares of Arista Networks were recently up about 6%. The stock has traded sideways since tumbling following its earnings report in November. Still, shares are up about 30% over the past year. 

Wall Street is overwhelmingly bullish on Arista Networks stock, with 8 of 9 analysts with current ratings tracked by Visible Alpha calling the stock a “buy.” The lone holdout has assigned the stock a neutral rating. The average price target of $178.63 is about 25% above the stock’s intraday level on Friday.

Rivian Predicts Big Jump in Sales as R2 SUV Set to Launch Soon. Its Stock Soars

FROM 2 hr 40 min ago

A solid fourth quarter and ambitious plans for 2026 have Rivian stock soaring Friday.

Rivian (RIVN) shares jumped more than 25% after the electric vehicle maker narrowly topped revenue estimates at $1.29 billion, while recording a smaller adjusted loss than analysts had forecast at 54 cents per share.

The company said its plans to start selling the R2, an SUV that will be cheaper than its current vehicles, remain on track for the second quarter. Rivian said that more details about its product lineup will be coming at a March 12 event.

Rivian expects to deliver between 62,000 and 67,000 vehicles this year, a more than 50% jump at the midpoint from the 42,247 it delivered in 2025. The company hopes software upgrades and its new model can help drive demand that has slowed in the U.S. after the Trump administration allowed EV tax credits to expire last September.

Wedbush analysts said they remain confident in Rivian’s long-term plan and said the EV maker is in the midst of a “massive transformation” as it looks to streamline production of its R1 vehicles and ramp production of R2s this year. Wedbush has an “outperform” rating on the stock and a $25 price target.

Rivian shares were up 26% at $17.70 in recent trading. Despite today’s surge, the stock is still down more than 10% since the start of 2026 after hitting its highest level in two years in December.

–Aaron McDade

Applied Materials Jumps as AI Chips Drive Profit Growth

FROM 3 hr 41 min ago

Shares of Applied Materials (AMAT) jumped 9% on Friday after the maker of semiconductor manufacturing equipment said profit surged last quarter amid booming demand for advanced chips. 

Applied Materials’ profit soared more than 70% to $2.03 billion, or $2.45 a share, in the first quarter of its 2026 fiscal year. Revenue declined 2% to $7.01 billion. 

“The need for higher performance and more energy-efficient chips is driving high growth rates for leading-edge logic, high-bandwidth memory and advanced packaging,” said CEO Gary Dickerson in a press release. Dickerson said demand in those areas should help Applied Materials grow its semiconductor equipment business by more than 20% this year. 

The AI data center buildout has caused a spike in demand for more powerful, energy-efficient semiconductors. That’s been a boon to companies like Applied Materials whose equipment and processes enable the fabrication of said chips. 

Dickerson expects demand to remain strong through this year, when he estimates global semiconductor industry revenues will hit $1 trillion. 

Applied Materials forecast current quarter revenue will fall between $7.15 billion and $8.15 billion, and adjusted earnings per share between $2.44 and $2.84. The upper-end of those ranges would represent double-digit growth on both metrics. 

Applied Materials stock was already flying high heading into Thursday’s report, with shares up nearly 28% since the start of the year. As of midday Friday, the stock is up about 95% in the last 12 months. 

AI Fears, Political Pressure Put Apple Stock on the Back Foot Again

FROM 4 hr 48 min ago

Apple (AAPL) stock is in the red again. 

Shares slumped 5% yesterday after the Federal Trade Commission said it had sent a warning letter to the company over its Apple News service. The stock was also pressured by reports Wednesday that the company was once again delaying the release of some AI-powered Siri features, adding to persistent concerns the iPhone maker’s AI capabilities lag peers. 

Apple and its Magnificent Seven peers are having a rough 2026 so far. Shares of hyperscalers Alphabet, Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN) and Meta (META) have been weighed down by concerns that the tech giants are overspending on AI infrastructure. Their massive data center spending has historically been a boon to chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA), but even that stock is treading water amid anxiety about tech sector valuations. 

Before this week’s setbacks, Apple stock appeared to have turned a corner. Apple announced in mid-January that it had selected Alphabet’s (GOOG) Gemini to power its future AI features, including the updated Siri features that are reportedly delayed. Weeks later, Apple reported record results for the all-important holiday quarter, when iPhone and services revenue easily beat estimates. 

Apple shares rose nearly 8% in the week following that earnings report, lifting the stock into the green for the year. Thursday’s slump erased most of those post-earnings gains. Shares slid about 0.8% Friday morning, putting them down nearly 4.5% year-to-date.

What Does the Inflation Report Mean for the Federal Reserve?

FROM 5 hr 28 min ago

Softer inflation will likely give the Federal Reserve breathing room to wait and see how the economy evolves in the coming months.

According to the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, traders are pricing in a 70% chance that central bankers will next cut their influential fed funds rate at their June meeting. That was up from 66% just before the report was released. The FedWatch tool forecasts rate movements based on fed funds futures trading data.

“January’s inflation data, paired with a strong job payroll report, support the FOMC members who think the easing cycle should remain on hold in the coming months,” wrote Moody’s Analytics Economist Matt Colyar.

–Taylor Tompkins

Inflation Was Tame in January

FROM 6 hr 28 min ago

The Consumer Price Index rose 2.4% over the year in January, down from a 2.7% annual increase in December. That was less than economists expected and the lowest since May.

Core inflation fell to a 2.5% annual increase from 2.6% in December, the lowest since March 2021. Economists expect core inflation to be a better measure of inflation because it excludes volatile food and energy prices, which can fluctuate for factors not reflective of the broader economy.

–Taylor Tompkins

Stock Indexes Slip Ahead of January CPI Report

FROM 7 hr 6 min ago

Futures contracts connected to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down about 0.2% in premarket trading.

S&P 500 futures were also off 0.2%.

Nasdaq 100 contracts dipped 0.3%.