The S&P 500 indexes hit a record high as stock market rallied in President Donald Trump's first week back in the White House, issuing a slew of executive orders on energy, bitcoin and more, as well as a variety of tariffs. Trump announced a Stargate AI infrastructure plan, fueling Oracle, Nvidia and many others. Netflix surged on earnings, as did former General Electric members GE Vernova and GE Aerospace.
S&P 500 Hits Record High
The S&P 500 hit a record high, with the Dow Jones and Nasdaq also near all-time levels in a strong first week to Trump's second presidential term. Many more leading stocks broke out. Oracle and many other AI stocks ran on the Stargate project, while Netflix, GE Vernova and GE Aerospace were big winners. Treasury yields ended a recent slide. Crude oil prices tumbled.
Stargate Plan Buoys AI Stocks
Oracle led a list of cloud-computing and chip stocks boosted by the Stargate AI infrastructure plan. Announced Tuesday by President Trump, Stargate calls for $100 billion in private investment this year to build AI infrastructure, with potential to reach $500 billion in the next four years. The project includes a large data center already underway in Texas. SoftBank, OpenAI, Oracle and MGX are the initial equity funders. Arm, Microsoft, Nvidia are technology partners. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is a Trump ally but OpenAI rival, questioned whether the venture had the money ready to go. Analysts, however, took the view that Trump's announcement signaled his eagerness to boost American AI capabilities and industry's willingness to step up investment. Shares of Oracle, Nvidia, Microsoft and Arm were solid-to-strong winners. So were many other AI stocks, including AI-adjacent power producers and cooling plays.
Netflix Surges On Earnings Beat
Internet television network Netflix beat estimates for the fourth quarter thanks to a rush of new subscribers. Netflix added 18.91 million new subscribers in the fourth quarter, ending 2024 with 301.63 million worldwide. Wall Street expected 10.18 million new subscribers. Earnings surged 102% in Q4 while revenue rose 16% to $10.25 billion. Netflix sees 2025 revenue rising 13% to $44 billion, based on the midpoint of its guidance, just above consensus. Netflix stock broke out of a flat base on the news.
GE Vernova Has Wind At Its Back
Vernova holds the gas power and renewable energy assets of the former General Electric, reported a 140% EPS jumped while revenue grew 5% to $10.6 billion, but both missed views. But the wind business turned modestly profitable in Q4. President Trump halted offshore leasing in federal waters and paused both offshore and onshore permits, pending review. But GE Vernova expects growth in its electrification and power segments. GE Vernova stock rose strongly to a new high, building on a huge rally since its April 2024 debut.
GE Aerospace Earnings Double
The jet engine and defense manufacturer's earnings surged 103% while revenue climbed 16% to $9.9 billion, its best gain in years. GE Aerospace guided 2025 profit and sales just above consensus. The company also plans to hike its dividend by 30% and announced a $7 billion share buyback. GE stock broke out to a new high.
Trump, Banking Giants Push Crypto
President Trump issued a major executive order on Thursday, creating a working group tasked with developing pro-crypto regulation and mulling the creation of a digital assets stockpile. But the order had no specific mentions of bitcoin. The Senate on Thursday voted to appoint Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., who has called for a bitcoin strategic reserve, to chair the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Digital Assets. Meanwhile, executives at bitcoin miner Mara Holdings have been lobbying state officials to create their own bitcoin reserves. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink talked up bitcoin and crypto. Bitcoin hit a record high above $109,300 around Trump's inauguration. Meanwhile, Trump and his wife Melania launched the $TRUMP and $MELANIA meme coin over the weekend, though both quickly came off highs.
Online Brokers Strong
Strong stock and crypto markets continued to fuel online broker earnings in the fourth quarter. Interactive Brokers reported EPS grew 34% as revenue rose 22% to $1.39 billion. DARTs, or daily average revenue trades, surged 61% after Q3's 42% jump. Charles Schwab delivered a 49% EPS surge, its best gain since Q3 2021, on record inflows. That followed six quarters of flat profit or declines. Revenue jumped 20%, with net interest revenue up 19%. Interactive Brokers stock broke out. Schwab jumped toward a buy point.
Medical Giants Deliver Mixed Results
Johnson & Johnson reported an 11% EPS drop that beat views while sales climbed 5% to $22.52 billion. But the Dow Jones giant gave weak 2025 revenue guidance, citing currency headwinds. J&J stock fell modestly on that news, but was little changed for the week. in sales. Abbott Laboratories met EPS views for a 13% gain, while a 10% organic sales rise to $10.97 billion fell short. But Abbott stock rallied above a buy point to a 52-week high.
In Brief
Twilio surged out of a base Friday after reporting strong preliminary Q4 figures, bullish long-term targets and a $2 billion buyback.
Tesla launched the new Model Y in the U.S. and Europe, after unveiling the refreshed crossover in China earlier this month. Deliveries will start in all three markets in March. But early U.S. and European buyers will pay a premium. Shares fell modestly for the week.
Intuitive Surgical reported Q4 EPS grew 38% while revenue, preannounced earlier this month, advanced 25% to $2.41 billion Both beat views and were the third straight quarter of accelerating growth. Notably, the number of procedures performed using Intuitive Surgical's da Vinci robotic surgery systems jumped 18%, beating forecasts for 16.9%. The company expects procedure growth of 13%-16% this year.
Boeing fell Friday after the Dow aerospace giant preannounced a big loss for the fourth quarter, which included a two-month strike.
3M reported a 17% EPS decline while revenue fell 24% to $5.81 billion, part due to divestitures, both beating views. The diversified maker of industrial, medical and other products gave a 2025 outlook. The Dow giant jumped to a three-year high.
Guardant Health surged to a 52-week high after Medicaid officials agreed to pay for its colon cancer blood test. The Guardant Reveal test looks for tumor DNA circulating in a patient's blood. This helps detect recurrent cancer early, allowing for earlier treatment.
Novo Nordisk jumped Friday on strong early-stage results for its once-a-week obesity drug, with patients reporting an average weight reduction of 22% in 36 weeks.
Verizon reported EPS and revenue both rose nearly 2% vs. a year, edging past views. Wireless subscriber gains easily beat. The Dow Jones telecom giant gave in-line 2025 guidance.
Travelers Cos. reported a 31% EPS gain in Q4 with revenue up 10%, both beating. Its combined loss ratio — a key metric — also improved. Earned premiums and underwriting margins were strong across business segments. But the Dow Jones insurance giant said the ongoing Los Angeles-area fires will have a "material impact" on earnings in Q1. Shares edged higher.
Texas Instruments reported Q4 EPS fell 13% as sales dipped 2% to $4.01 billion, both beating. But for Q1, TI guided lower on EPS but up on revenue. TXN earned $1.30 a share, down 13% year over year, on sales of $4.01 billion, down 2%, in the fourth quarter. Shares fell Friday, erasing weekly gains.
