Editor
Market earnings movers dominated the narrative on Tuesday, headlined by a blockbuster partnership between Advanced Micro Devices and Meta that sent semiconductor bulls into a frenzy. While the broader indices wrestled with mixed signals, the chip sector found a fresh catalyst in the form of a 6-gigawatt power play, proving once again that in the current climate, AI isn’t just a buzzword—it’s the only currency that matters.
AMD shares vaulted 11% following the announcement of a multiyear pact to supply Meta’s data centers with specialized graphics processing units. The scale is staggering: 6 gigawatts of capacity is enough to power a small country, or in this case, the next generation of social media’s intelligence.
“This isn’t your standard hardware contract,” noted Elena Vance, lead tech analyst at Silver Basin Capital. “The performance-based warrant for up to 160 million shares suggests Meta isn’t just a customer; they’re effectively betting on AMD’s long-term roadmap. It’s a marriage of necessity in a world starved for compute power.”
Retail Resilience and Tech Triumphs
While Big Tech grabbed the headlines, the “do-it-yourself” sector showed surprising grit. Home Depot climbed 2.7% after delivering a fourth-quarter beat that caught the Street off guard. Despite a high-interest-rate environment that usually cools home improvement, the retailer posted $2.72 in adjusted earnings per share on $38.20 billion in revenue. It wasn’t a landslide victory, but in a cautious consumer market, beating the LSEG consensus is enough to earn a green screen.
Further down the hardware food chain, Keysight Technologies became the day’s dark horse. The electronic testing firm rallied 15% after reporting adjusted earnings of $2.17 per share. When the “picks and shovels” providers like Keysight beat expectations, it’s often a leading indicator that the broader tech infrastructure spend is stickier than bears would like to admit.
Cracks in the Health and Energy Pillars
It wasn’t all champagne on the trading floor, however. Hims & Hers Health saw its valuation clipped by nearly 7% after a guidance forecast that felt more like a cold shower. Predicting first-quarter revenue between $600 million and $625 million—well below the $653 million FactSet estimate—investors are questioning if the telehealth darling’s growth engine is beginning to sputter.
The energy sector also faced headwinds. Diamondback Energy slipped 3% after failing to hit its marks, posting $1.74 per share against a $2.08 expectation. ONEOK followed suit, dipping 2% on lackluster full-year guidance.
“Energy is in a bit of a holding pattern,” says Marcus Thorne, an independent macro strategist. “When you see misses like Diamondback’s, it highlights the operational pressures these Texas-based firms are facing, even as oil prices remain relatively stable. The margin for error has simply vanished.”
Industrial Shifts and Dilution Fears
The day’s most significant “ouch” moment belonged to Whirlpool. The appliance giant tumbled 8.6%—not because of poor sales, but because of the price of progress. The company announced an $800 million stock offering to fund automation and pay down debt. To investors, “strategic investment” often sounds a lot like “dilution,” and the market reacted accordingly.
Meanwhile, BWX Technologies provided a bright spot for the industrial crowd, jumping on a “rosy” outlook for nuclear fuel demand. As the world pivots toward carbon-free baseload power, BWX’s earnings of $1.08 per share—beating the 89-cent estimate—suggests the nuclear renaissance might finally have legs.
As we look toward the rest of the week, the divergence between AI-driven tech and traditional consumer durables remains the story to watch. If the AMD-Meta deal is any indication, the gap between the “digital haves” and the “physical have-nots” is only widening.
