The stock market had some highs and lows. The S&P 500 hit a record high, but ultimately fell modestly. The Nasdaq backed off from near record highs. The Dow Jones and Russell 2000 retreated solidly. Meanwhile, there were big losses in many growth stocks, including Palantir Technologies, Axon Enterprise, Carvana and Shift4, with the latter two on earnings. Walmart also sold off earnings. But Alibaba jumped, adding to a rally in Chinese stocks.
Stock Market Indexes Fall, Leaders Tumble
The stock market saw modest declines for the major indexes after the S&P 500 hit a record high. Many leading stocks, especially those that are highly valued, suffered huge losses. China stocks were strong. Treasury yields fell.
Walmart Slumps On 2026 Outlook
Walmart earnings rose 10% in Q4, with sales up 4% to $180.6 billion, edging past estimates. Comparable sales for Walmart U.S. rose 4.6%, while global e-commerce sales grew 16%. The Dow giant also raised its dividend by 13%, the biggest hike in over a decade. But the retail giant's Q1 2026 and full-year earnings targets were below consensus. Analysts were split, but WMT stock tumbled 6.5% on Thursday.
Arista Networks
Arista Networks said adjusted Q4 EPS rose 25%, solidly beating but with growth slowing for a fourth straight quarter. Revenue edged past views with a 25% jump to $1.93 billion. Arista predicted revenue of $1.95 billion at the midpoint of guidance, just above consensus. The networking giant still sees $750 million in AI-related revenue. Shares tumbled on the narrow guidance raise and concerns about losing share from key customer Meta Platforms.
Alibaba Soars On AI Growth
Alibaba continued its red-hot stock run with a fiscal Q3 earnings and sales beat. Cloud growth grew 13% vs. a year earlier, picking up from Q2's 7%, with the Chinese tech giant touting another quarter of triple-digit AI-related gains. Alibaba pledged to "aggressively invest" in AI infrastructure. U.S.-listed Baidu, meanwhile, fell after its Q4 reported, which showed a decline in advertising revenue for the China internet search company.
Payment Stocks
Shift4 said adjusted Q4 EPS rose 77%, solidly beating, while revenue boomed 50% to $405 million including acquisitions, in line. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) swelled 51% to $206 million, slightly missing. Payment volume also leaped but fell just short. Shift4 guided fractionally lower on 2025 revenue. In addition, Shift4 will pay $2.5 billion for Global Blue, a specialty payments and technology platform focused on retail luxury brands. FOUR stock plunged from record highs. Toast earnings shot up 171% but missed views. Revenue rose 29% to $1.338 billion, slightly topping estimates of $1.32 billion. For 2025, the restaurant payments company guided higher on EBITDA. Shares whipsawed, little changed for the week and modestly below a buy point. Square-parent Block reported Q4 adjusted EPS jumped 51%, while net revenue grew 4% to $6.032 billion, including Cash App transactions for Bitcoin. But both fell short of views. EBITDA and gross payment volume topped. Square gave some weak guidance for 2025. Shares tumbled.
MercadoLibre Breaks Out On Earnings
MercadoLibreMELI gapped out of a double-bottom base after reporting earnings surged 286% to $12.61 a share, crushing views for $7.90. Revenue grew a stronger-than-projected 37% to $6.1 billion. Earnings jumped 286% year-over-year, compared against a 2023 fourth quarter that included a large tax expense. The company's e-commerce platform reached 100 million unique buyers while its fintech operations reached 60 million monthly users.
Apple Debuts Budget iPhone
Apple introduced a lower-cost smartphone, the iPhone 16e, to boost sagging handset sales. The device replaces the third-generation iPhone SE and features a revamped design and improved technical specs. The iPhone 16e also is capable of running artificial intelligence applications, branded Apple Intelligence. The new handset starts at $599, vs. the cheapest regular iPhone 16 handset at $799. Analysts say the new iPhone should help Apple better compete in more price-sensitive markets, such as China. But some expressed concern that it could cannibalize sales of higher-priced iPhone 16 models.
Constellation Energy
Constellation Energy reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit and reaffirmed 2025 earnings guidance early Tuesday. The nuclear power giant saw Q4 EPS grow 40%. Revenue declined 7% to $5.38 billion, missing views significantly. The Baltimore-based company also stuck to its initial 2025 guidance. CEG stock fell modestly within a messy consolidation.
Carvana Earnings Soar, But Stock Dives
The Carvana turnaround continues to gather steam. The online used-car seller easily beat fourth-quarter estimates as retail sales volumes grew more than expected. Year over year, adjusted earnings surged 498% as revenue rebounded 46%. Carvana sold 114,379 retail units during the quarter, up 50% and handily outpacing views as well. But gross profit per unit and profit margins softened vs. Q3. CVNA dived from record highs.
Stock Market News In Brief
UnitedHealth tumbled Friday on a Wall Street Journal report that the Justice Department is investigating the health insurer's Medicare Advantage billing practices.
Booking Holdings joined online travel booking rivals Airbnb and Expedia in reporting a strong close to 2024. The parent of Booking.com, Priceline and Kayak said its adjusted earnings increased 30% year-over-year while revenue grew 14% to $5.5 billion. Both beat estimates. Booking stock ticked rallied Friday on the report.
Palantir Technologies plunged from record highs amid reports that the Trump administration is looking to slash the defense budget.
Axon Enterprise suffered downgrades in consecutive days, triggering a massive breakout failure for the Taser and body camera maker. Northcoast Research highlighted Axon's falling out with tech partner Flock Safety as posing "a small threat" to one of its big growth opportunities. Craig-Hallum sees federal hiring freezes and spending cuts as an obstacle to new government contracts.
Medtronic tumbled after missing analysts' January-quarter sales forecasts, though profit beat. EPS rose 7% while sales climbed 2.5% to $8.29 billion. Organically, sales grew 4.1%.
GeneDx catapulted 48% on Tuesday handily beating Q4 projections. The company, which provides gene sequencing to scan for genetic diseases, earned 77 cents per share adjusted, flipping from a year-earlier loss, with sales up 65% to $95.6 million.
Analog Devices beat fiscal first-quarter estimates and signaled a return to growth starting with the current quarter. Q1 EPS fell 6% with sales down 4% to $2.42 billion. The chipmaker spiked on the improved outlook.
Garmin smashed expectations and guided higher for 2025. The maker of devices for outdoor recreation, fitness and navigation surged to a record high. Q4 earnings jumped 40% while sales increased 23% to $1.82 billion.
Cadence Design Systems topped Q4 estimates with a 36% EPS gain and sales up 27% to $13.6 billion. But the electronic design automation software firm came up short with its guidance for 2025.
Rivian reported a smaller-than-expected GAAP loss in Q4 and reported a gross profit, buoyed by regulatory credits and lower costs. Shares of the premium EV startup tumbled.
