Your Evening Briefing

February 26, 2026

Tech weighs down stocks as investors digest Nvidia’s earnings

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 fell, while the Russell 2000 gained as investors digested Nvidia’s earnings beat. Despite a massive sales outlook, Nvidia and chip stocks dipped as concerns about hyperscalers' capex binge lingered.

An equal-weighted index of S&P 500 companies advanced, but tech, which was the worst-performing sector, weighed on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100. The financials sector fared the best.

Stocks that moved higher:

Paramount Skydance was the best performer in the S&P 500 today despite reporting underwhelming fourth-quarter earnings after the bell on Wednesday as Warner Bros. Discovery continued to evaluate its $31 per share offer. Warner Bros. reported a deeper-than-expected Q4 loss before the bell this morning.
JM Smucker was also a top performer in the benchmark index as coffee price hikes spurred better-than-expected earnings. The company also struck an agreement with activist investor Elliott Management to add two new directors.
Sezzle spiked after posting strong quarterly results and guiding above analyst expectations for fiscal year 2026.
IonQ skyrocketed after a big Q4 revenue beat and better-than-expected sales guidance.
Imax soared as the box office success of “Avatar: Fire & Ash” drove record revenue in Q4 and better-than-expected earnings per share.
Celsius rose after crushing earnings expectations with a record sales year.
Sony climbed following the expansion of its buyback plan to $1.6 billion.
D-Wave Quantum rose despite reporting underwhelming Q4 results.
Salesforce traded higher after posting an earnings beat after the bell yesterday, in which CEO Mark Benioff shaded rivals and name dropped customers.
Nutanix spiked on news that Advanced Micro Devices will buy $150 million in stock as part of new strategic partnership between the two companies.
Sandisk traded higher following news of a partnership with SK Hynix to standardize memory chip architecture tailored for AI data centers.
Stellantis rose as its announced it will return to profitability, thanks to popular gas-powered vehicles like the Jeep Cherokee and Hemi V8 Ram 1500.
Air taxi maker Joby Aviation climbed after posting a smaller loss and larger cash pile than expected in Q4 after the bell yesterday.

Stocks that moved lower:

Array Technologies tumbled after its full-year adjusted EBITDA outlook fell short of estimates.
C3.ai cratered after cutting revenue guidance.
Zoom slumped on a weaker-than-expected profit outlook.
Baidu slipped as revenues fell 4%, the company’s third consecutive quarterly decline.
PayPal dropped after Semafor reported that Stripe is not currently in talks to buy the company.
The Trade Desk sank on weak Q1 sales guidance.

The threat of AI disruption has dawned on the bond market

22V Research economist Peter Williams noted that medium-term rate expectations have disconnected from recent encouraging labor market data. Read more.

Why Nvidia’s terrific quarter is getting a terrible reaction

Nvidia’s CEO gave a deeply unsatisfying answer about his biggest customers’ ability to generate cash. But they might be investing more in AI GPUs in 2027 anyway.

Read more.

Smartphone shipments are expected to decline 13% — the biggest drop ever — to 1.12 billion in 2026, according to new data from IDC, as the memory shortage drives up costs and prices for phones. The firm expects the average smartphone selling price to jump 14% to a record $523 this year. Read more.

Nvidia’s Jensen Huang thinks markets “got it wrong” on software stocks sell-off
The Nvidia CEO said agentic AI will use software tools like Excel, SAP, and ServiceNow — not replace them — after reporting strong earnings and guidance.
Michael Burry flags “troubling” jump in Nvidia’s supply commitments
The famed investor warns that noncancelable AI chip orders and $117 billion in total obligations could amplify the damage if demand cools.
Bitcoin’s brief bounce doesn’t signal the bottom, analysts warn
With only two days to go in February, the asset is on track to notch its fifth straight month of losses.
Apple and Netflix announce a Formula 1 content swap
Apple TV will allow Netflix to simulcast the F1 Canadian Grand Prix in May. Netflix, in turn, will allow Apple to carry its popular “Drive to Survive” docuseries.
Tesla’s ride-hailing service is looking a lot more like Uber’s than Waymo’s
Tesla did nothing to secure driverless robotaxi approval in California last year.
Google drops new Nano Banana
The updated image generation model features improved text rendering and translation and “advanced world knowledge.”
As Nvidia’s gaming results underwhelm, the company sees “very tight” quarters ahead
The company’s former golden goose gaming division booked $3.7 billion in revenue in the fourth quarter, 8% below Wall Street’s expectations.
OpenAI may need to IPO or achieve AGI to get all of Amazon’s $50 billion investment
As part of OpenAI’s $100 billion fundraising round, a large part of Amazon’s investment could depend on the company achieving one of two difficult goals.

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