Even a good profit forecast isn't insulating the AI chipmaker from uncertainty created by weaker U.S. consumer spending and Trump's tariffs
Dell $DELL’s (DELL) stock fell on Friday after its profit topped forecasts, but investors chose to focus on a revenue miss and the narrow profitability of its server business. Autodesk $ADSK (ADSK) slumped after rising yesterday on an earnings beat and newly disclosed plans to lay off employees. HP $HPQ Inc. (HPQ) and NetApp $NTAP (NTAP) also slid after earnings. Palantir $PLTR (PLTR) and Super Micro (SMCI) extended declines.
“While fourth-quarter earnings have been generally positive, with more companies than average beating expectations, some of the commentary about 2025 has been more negative,” Michael Rosen, CIO of Angeles Investments, told Quartz. Weaker consumer spending, tariffs, and possible policy changes are creating uncertainty.
Nvidia did give a positive outlook, but investors in Big Tech stocks are still getting more cautious amid the general anxiety, Rosen added. They’ve had an incredible run over the past two years — justified by rising profits — but they’re now broadening their focus, as shown by gains in European equities.
Mike Treacy, Head of Market Risk at Apex Fintech Solutions, sees a more-technical explanation for the weakness in tech stocks.
“We are seeing a massive unwind across multiple risk assets: AI, momentum stocks, crypto, etc.,” he told Quartz. “We are below the 200-day moving average in both SMH and NVDA. Despite robust earnings from NVDA, we could see technical selling across the AI ecosystem until these charts recover.”
The days a single earnings report could cause a jump in Nvidia’s stock are probably over because the company has become so big in market value, said Explosive Options’ founder Bob Lang.
It wasn’t all down-arrow on Friday: Nvidia is trading up on the day.
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