Apple Stock Is Falling. A Downgrade Highlights China and AI.

/ / Technology /

It’s time to step to the sidelines on Apple, Oppenheimer argued on Wednesday. Analysts Martin Yang and Andrew Northcutt downgraded shares of the iPhone maker to Perform from Outperform, slashed estimates, and removed their $250 price target. Apple stock slipped 1.6% to $234.35 in premarket trading Wednesday. Over the last 12 months, shares have gained 28%. The analyst team cut their revenue and earnings-per-share forecasts for fiscal 2025 and 2026 to below consensus, citing reduced estimates for iPhone sales over the next 12 to 18 months. “We see a twofold challenge ahead for iPhone growth: 1) stronger competition in greater China and 2) lack of compelling Apple Intelligence and generative artificial-intelligence apps to accelerate near-term device replacement,” they wrote. iPhone sales have been slower than anticipated since September, and with Apple stock’s high valuation, Oppenheimer believes it will prove difficult for the shares to outperform from here. Apple reports fiscal-first-quarter […]

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Apple Facing Slower Replacement Demand, Stronger China Competition, Oppenheimer Says

/ / Technology /

Apple (AAPL) is facing stronger competition in China and a “lack of compelling Apple Intelligence and generative AI apps to accelerate near-term device replacement,” analysts at Oppenheimer said Wednesday, downgrading the tech giant’s stock to Perform from Outperform. The Oppenheimer analysts cut their forecast for fiscal 2026 EPS by 4% to $7.95 based on reduced estimates for iPhone sales in the next 12-18 months. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expect $8.22 per share. With slower-than-expected iPhone sales and a lofty valuation, “we believe it will be challenging for AAPL to outperform,” Oppenheimer said.

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How Oracle Plays Cheaply in AI

/ / Technology /

When it comes to big techs, Oracle is hardly small-fry. But the 47-year-old software titan still has to play its hand deftly when it comes to the ultra-expensive game of artificial intelligence. Its approach was apparent in the high-profile announcement about the “Stargate Project,” which aims to invest $500 billion over the next four years to build new AI infrastructure for OpenAI. Oracle was named as both an equity investor and “key initial technology partner” for the project, and founder and Chairman Larry Ellison joined OpenAI’s Sam Altman and SoftBank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son Tuesday at the White House for the announcement. Ellison noted Tuesday that construction on the initial data center for the project was already under way in Texas. Less clear is where such a staggering sum of money will be coming from. OpenAI said $100 billion was being deployed immediately, but that is more than double Oracle

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Nvidia Stock Falls. Why Stargate Will Soothe Blackwell AI Chip Fears

/ / Technology /

Nvidia stock reversed course Thursday after rallying earlier this week on the back of President Trump’s announcements on artificial intelligence. Investors had been worried about a slow rollout of the company’s Blackwell chip but a flagship $500 billion AI plan is soothing those fears. Nvidia shares were down 2% to $144.20 in premarket trading. It rose 4.4% Wednesday, amid broad gains for AI stocks, fueled by the announcement of the Stargate Project — an AI infrastructure investment partnership between the White House, Oracle, OpenAI, and SoftBank. Thursday’s premarket drop may well be investors taking profits after a good two-day run. Nvidia is mentioned as a partner in Stargate but not one of the key players and analysts are predicting it could greatly boost the chip maker over the coming years. The Stargate initiative pledged up to $500 billion in investments in AI infrastructure such as data centers over the next

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Oracle and Other AI Stocks Fall. Why Trump’s $500 Billion Funding Project Isn’t a Silver Bullet.

/ / Technology /

Oracle and Super Micro Computer Inc. were among the artificial intelligence-related stocks giving up some of their recent gains Thursday as excitement about Donald Trump’s Stargate Project faded. The losses could just be investors taking profit after news of the $500 billion funding drive sparked a broad rally on Wednesday — but it might also reflect that at this point, the market might have more questions than answers. Information-technology company Oracle’s stock slid 1.2% in premarket trading, having jumped 6.8% the previous session. Futures tracking the benchmark S&P 500 were down 0.2%. Shares in Vertiv, which develops cooling infrastructure for AI data centers, also fell 1.2% ahead of the opening bell, while server makers Super Micro and Dell Technologies were down 1.8% and 0.5% respectively. Elsewhere, SK Hynix shares closed 2.7% lower Thursday after the South Korean memory-chip supplier posted a record profit but warned of faltering demand this year.

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GE Aerospace Stock Rises. Earnings and Its Outlook Are Solid.

/ / Industrials /

GE Aerospace reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings Thursday. The outlook from the company looked solid too. Shares were rising shortly after the results were released. GE Aerospace reported fourth-quarter sales of $9.9 billion, operating profit of $1.9 billion, and earnings per share of $1.32. Wall Street was looking for sales of $9.5 billion, operating profit of $1.7 billion, and earnings of $1.04, according to FactSet. For 2025, GE expects to grow sales above 10%, in line with Wall Street estimates. The midpoint of operating profit guidance was $8 billion, which also aligns with estimates. The midpoint of EPS guidance is almost $5.30. Wall Street is looking for closer to $5.25. When GE Aerospace reports earnings on Thursday morning, the fourth-quarter numbers will matter, but the company’s outlook should matter more. This year, ideally, will be pivotal for commercial aerospace, with the industry set to dig out from years of underproduction. For

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GE Aerospace Revenue Surges on New Orders, Beating Estimates

/ / Industrials /

GE Aerospace posted a surge in quarterly revenue that blew past Wall Street’s estimates as the jet-engine maker received an influx of orders to end the year. The Cincinnati company Thursday reported fourth-quarter net earnings of about $1.9 billion, or $1.76 a share, for the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with $1.59 billion, or $1.46 a share, a year earlier. Stripping out certain one-time items, earnings came in at $1.32 a share. Analysts polled by FactSet expected $1.04 a share. Revenue rose to $10.81 billion from $9.46 billion, ahead of the average analyst forecast for $9.49 billion. Shares of GE Aerospace rose 6.8% to $201.11 in premarket trading. Revenue grew 19% to $7.65 billion year-over-year in its commercial engines-and-services segment. The defense-and-propulsion-technologies segment rose 4% to $2.52 billion. Chief Executive H. Lawrence Culp, Jr. said the company ended 2024 on a high note amid robust demand for its services

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Meta Platforms’ WhatsApp Wins Reprieve in India as Tribunal Suspends Fine, Data Sharing Ban

/ / Technology /

Meta Platforms’ (META) WhatsApp messaging service won a reprieve in India on Thursday when the country’s National Company Law Appellate Tribunal suspended a fine and data sharing ban that was imposed on the platform by the Competition Commission of India. The antitrust regulator, in November, imposed a fine of 2.13 billion Indian rupees ($25 million) on Meta and banned WhatsApp from sharing data within the Meta group, concluding that WhatsApp “abused its dominance” and unfairly compelled users to agree to certain privacy policy changes. According to the regulator, the policy changes enabled comprehensive data collection and sharing within the Meta group. Meta has challenged the ruling, and the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal has suspended the fine and data sharing ban while it considers the social media company’s appeal, with the next hearing scheduled for March 17.

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Palantir could be the next Oracle or Salesforce over coming years, says Wedbush

/ / Technology /

Wedbush shared positive views about Palantir Technologies’ (NASDAQ:PLTR) future while raising the price target on the shares of the company to $90 from $75 and maintaining its Outperform rating. Analyst Dan Ives said their recent checks and growing confidence in the company’s AI strategy is key to the bull thesis for 2025 on Palantir — which provides software platforms for the intelligence community. “We believe Palantir has a path to become the next Oracle (ORCL) or Salesforce (CRM) over the coming years,” said Ives in a post on X, formerly Twitter. Ives and his team added that while Palantir’s valuation is expensive today, they see the company as a core winner in the trillions of AI spend over the next few years. The analysts noted that Palantir remains one of their top names to own in 2025 as its game-changing AIP — the company’s artificial intelligence platform — strategy is quickly becoming a

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S&P 500 Futures Fall In Premarket Trading; Electronic Arts, AST SpaceMobile Lag

/ / Consumer Discretionary /

With U.S. stock markets set to open in two hours, Ingram Micro Holding Corp. (INGM) was up 13.4% in pre-market trading, and Reynolds Consumer Products Inc. (REYN) was up 8.5%. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. Cl A (KNX), Fortune Brands Innovations Inc. (FBIN), and GE Aerospace (GE) were all posting gains of at least 6%. In early trading, Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) and AST SpaceMobile Inc. (ASTS) had posted declines, falling 15.9% and 15.8%, respectively. Meanwhile S&P 500 futures were down 0.20%, with futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.05%. The Cboe Volatility Index futures were up 1.88%. In commodities news, Brent crude oil futures were up 0.42%, while gold futures were down 0.62%. Bitcoin was down 2.52% to $101,644. The 10-Year Treasury yield climbed to 4.646%. In the previous regular trading session, the S&P 500 and the Dow were up 0.61% and 0.30%, respectively. Stocks in Asia were

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American Airlines Posts Record Revenue, Beats Earnings Estimates. Why the Stock Is Tumbling

/ / Consumer Discretionary /

American Airlines stock tumbled early Thursday and looked set to wipe out all of its 2025 gains. At first glance, the carrier’s earnings were good — revenue came in at a fourth-quarter record of $13.7 billion, securing record annual revenue of $54.2 billion. Earnings of 84 cents per share in the quarter also beat analysts’ estimates of 66 cents, according to FactSet. But a strong recent rally for airline stocks means investors are in no mood to tolerate any disappointments. American’s first-quarter guidance looks like a misstep the market isn’t prepared to forgive. The carrier expects an adjusted loss of between 40 cents and 20 cents per share, steeper than the 4 cents per share loss estimated by Wall Street. It cited current demand trends and fuel price forecasts. The global average jet fuel price has jumped 12% in the past month, according to the International Air Transport Association. Still,

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GE Aerospace Q4 Earnings: EPS Beat, Dividend And Stock Buyback Hike, Strong FY25 Outlook And More

/ / Industrials /

GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE) shares are trading higher premarket on Thursday after it reported fourth-quarter adjusted revenue growth of 16% year-over-year to $9.879 billion and GAAP revenue of $10.812 billion. The analyst consensus was $9.604 billion. Commercial Engines & Services revenue was $7.650 billion (+19% Y/Y) and Defense & Propulsion Technologies revenue totaled $2.523 billion (+4% Y/Y). Total orders increased 46% Y/Y to $15.5 billion, with Commercial Engines & Services +50% Y/Y and Defense & Propulsion Technologies +22% Y/Y. GE Aerospace’s adjusted operating profit margin expanded 450 bps to 20.1%, with an adjusted operating profit of $1.988 billion, up 49% in the quarter. Adjusted EPS for the quarter was $1.32 (+103% Y/Y), beating the consensus of $1.04. GE Aerospace’s cash from operating activities for the fiscal year stood at $5.8 billion (+26%), while adjusted free cash flow rose 28%. The company repurchased shares worth more than $6 billion in 2024. Also, it

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