Good afternoon! PepsiCo is hitting the brakes on snack price hikes. The company said it will cut prices on some of its most popular chips by up to 15% as soon as this week, aiming to win back shoppers who’ve been trading down or skipping snacks altogether. After years of increases, management admitted budget-conscious consumers finally pushed back hard enough to force a reset.
Importantly, this is not shrinkflation round two. Bag sizes stay the same, but the sticker shock eases just in time for the Super Bowl, one of the biggest snack weekends of the year. With salty snack prices up sharply since 2020, Pepsi is betting cheaper chips can bring customers back to the party aisle.
MARKETS
Stocks kept sliding as another tech-heavy sell-off pushed investors into full risk-off mode. The major indexes all fell, with software leading the drop while energy and materials held up better. A weak ADP jobs report didn’t do sentiment any favors.
Crypto stayed under pressure too. Ethereum hit a fresh nine-month low and Bitcoin dropped again, dragging crypto-linked stocks with it. Meanwhile, oil edged higher on renewed tensions ahead of US-Iran talks.
STOCKS
Winners & Losers
What’s up 📈
Silicon Laboratories skyrocketed 48.76% after Texas Instruments agreed to acquire the chipmaker in a $7.5B deal at a hefty premium $SLAB $TXN
Enphase Energy surged 38.57% as strong demand and upbeat guidance reassured investors the solar slowdown narrative may be overdone $ENPH
Super Micro Computer jumped 13.75% after blockbuster results revived confidence in AI server demand $SMCI
Eli Lilly gained 10.39% on blowout earnings and bullish guidance powered by weight-loss drug momentum $LLY
MGM Resorts rose 8.11% after BetMGM hit profitability and posted strong growth $MGM
Lumentum added 7.10% on an earnings and guidance beat in the optical components space $LITE
Match Group climbed 5.92% as management pitched an AI-fueled Tinder turnaround $MTCH
What’s down 📉
Advanced Micro Devices plunged 17.32% as investors focused on the lack of major new AI customer wins despite solid numbers $AMD
AppLovin dropped 16.11% on concerns about rising competition in AI-driven mobile ads $APP
Palantir fell 11.64% as valuation worries resurfaced following multiple analyst price-target cuts $PLTR
BitMine Immersion Technologies slid 9.22% as crypto-linked names stayed under pressure $BMNR
SharpLink Gaming sank 7.51% alongside weakness in digital asset–exposed stocks $SBET
The New York Times lost 6.31% as higher operating costs weighed on profitability $NYT
Novo Nordisk fell 6.02% after warning about intensifying pricing pressure in obesity drugs $NVO
Take-Two Interactive dropped 5.38% despite raising guidance, caught in the broader tech pullback $TTWO
Uber declined 5.17% on soft profit guidance $UBER
Tesla slipped 3.82% after renewed scrutiny around its self-driving tech $TSLA
AbbVie dipped 3.83% despite an earnings beat $ABBV
Roblox edged down 3.58% as regulatory pressure expanded internationally $RBLX
Strategy fell 3.15% as bitcoin-sensitive equities remained volatile $MSTR
EARNINGS
Alphabet Earnings Top Estimates as AI Spending Set to Surge
Alphabet $GOOGL just reminded Wall Street who still runs the internet’s cash machine. The Google parent posted earnings and revenue ahead of expectations, powered by strong growth in search, cloud, and advertising, while signaling an even bigger bet on artificial intelligence next year. Investors liked the results, but the eye-popping jump in planned AI spending quickly became the main storyline.
Revenue climbed to $113.8 billion for the quarter, up sharply from a year ago, while earnings per share of $2.82 beat forecasts. Net income also jumped, showing that Google is not just growing, but doing it profitably even as it pours billions into new infrastructure and AI models.
Cloud Is Carrying the AI Narrative
Google Cloud was one of the biggest standouts. Revenue surged roughly 48% year over year, as companies race to build and run AI applications on Google’s infrastructure. Management highlighted booming demand for compute tied to AI workloads, reinforcing the idea that cloud is becoming the financial engine behind Alphabet’s AI ambitions.
Search, meanwhile, continues to defy the skeptics. The core search business generated more than $63 billion in revenue, with AI features helping drive higher engagement rather than replacing traditional search. YouTube advertising also grew, though at a slower pace, as the platform balances competition and shifting ad budgets.
The Price of Staying in the AI Race
The real shock came from capital spending guidance. Alphabet said 2026 capital expenditures could land between $175 billion and $185 billion, far above what analysts had expected. That money is earmarked for AI chips, data centers, and the computing muscle needed to train and run ever-larger models like Gemini.
In other words, Google is doubling down on the AI arms race. Management framed the spending as necessary to support surging cloud demand, improve ad performance, and expand AI features across its products. But for investors, the message is clear: Alphabet is choosing long-term AI dominance over near-term margin comfort.
More Than Just Search and Ads
Elsewhere, Alphabet’s “Other Bets” segment, which includes self-driving unit Waymo, remained a money-loser but continues to push into new cities and scale operations. While still small compared to the ad and cloud businesses, these moonshots represent Google’s longer-term optionality beyond its core franchises.
Put it all together, and Alphabet delivered a classic Big Tech earnings report: strong growth, even stronger AI momentum, and a spending plan big enough to make even Silicon Valley blush. The question now is not whether Google can grow, but whether investors are comfortable with just how much it plans to spend to stay ahead.
NEWS
Market Movements
💻 AMD Beats Big in Q4, but Stock Still Slips: AMD topped Wall Street’s expectations on both revenue and earnings and issued solid guidance, helped in part by renewed AI chip shipments to China. But investors focused on how sustainable that momentum is, especially without splashy new customer wins to back up the growth story. $AMD
🎮 Take-Two Lifts Outlook, GTA 6 Still on Track: Take-Two beat bookings estimates and raised its full-year outlook while reaffirming a November 19, 2026 launch date for Grand Theft Auto 6. Despite recent worries about AI-generated gaming tools, analysts say the market may be underestimating how massive the GTA 6 release could be. $TTWO $GOOGL
🌯 Chipotle Beats Q4, but 2026 Looks Flat: Chipotle delivered a small earnings and revenue beat and a milder-than-feared same-store sales decline. Still, management expects comparable sales to be flat in 2026, signaling cautious consumers and limited pricing power ahead. $CMG
🎬 Netflix Tells Lawmakers Big Tech Is the Real Threat: Netflix executives defended their proposed Warner Bros. Discovery deal by arguing that tech giants like Google, Amazon, and Apple are the true competitive force reshaping television. Senators pushed back on media consolidation concerns, but Netflix said scale is necessary to compete in the streaming arms race. $NFLX $WBD $GOOGL $AMZN $AAPL
🖥️ Super Micro Blows Past Estimates, Restores Confidence: Super Micro crushed revenue and profit expectations and gave bullish guidance, suggesting AI server demand is translating into real orders. After a stretch of disappointing updates, investors are starting to believe the company may finally be executing at scale. $SMCI
🤝 Nvidia Nears Massive OpenAI Investment: Nvidia is reportedly close to investing $20 billion in OpenAI’s new funding round, deepening ties with one of its biggest AI customers. The move would give Nvidia more exposure to the software layer of AI, not just the chips powering it. $NVDA
🥤 PepsiCo Cuts Snack Prices as Consumers Push Back: PepsiCo is lowering prices on popular snacks after complaints from shoppers feeling squeezed by inflation. With snacks driving the bulk of its North American profits, the company is trying to protect volumes without fully giving up margin gains. $PEP
💊 Novo Nordisk Warns on Pricing, Shares Slide: Novo Nordisk’s latest quarter beat estimates, but guidance for 2026 pointed to declining sales and profits amid “unprecedented” pricing pressure. Intensifying competition in weight-loss drugs is squeezing margins just as patents begin to expire in key markets. $NVO
💉 Eli Lilly Delivers Blockbuster Quarter: Eli Lilly crushed earnings expectations and raised its 2026 outlook as demand for its GLP-1 drugs Zepbound and Mounjaro continues to surge. The results show Lilly widening its lead in the booming obesity drug market. $LLY
🚗 Uber Drops as Profit Outlook Lags Growth: Uber posted solid bookings and revenue growth, but softer-than-expected profit guidance for the current quarter weighed on shares. The company is prioritizing expansion and lower-cost offerings, even if that means slower margin gains in the near term. $UBER
🛒 Walmart Joins the Trillion-Dollar Club: Walmart’s market cap topped $1 trillion as investors rewarded its e-commerce growth, expanding ad business, and AI partnerships. The retail giant is increasingly being viewed as a tech-enabled platform, not just a big-box chain. $WMT
📉 Bitcoin Pressured as $70K Becomes Key Level: Analysts say the fallout from past liquidation waves and weakening technical signals is keeping bitcoin under pressure. Many are watching the $70,000 area as a crucial support zone that could determine the next major move. $BTC
💔 Ethereum Hits Nine-Month Low: Ethereum fell below $2,200 after losing over $100 billion in market value in a week, even as on-chain activity remains solid. ETF outflows and broad risk-off sentiment are overpowering longer-term growth narratives. $ETH
🚘 Tesla Faces Heat Over Self-Driving Strategy: Tesla executives faced tough questions from senators over the company’s camera-only approach and how broadly drivers can use Full Self-Driving features. Lawmakers signaled growing scrutiny around how advanced driver-assistance systems are marketed and regulated. $TSLA
🧩 Palantir Sinks as Valuation Debate Returns: Palantir gave back its post-earnings gains as investors refocused on its still-rich valuation despite strong growth. After a huge multi-year run, even good news is struggling to push the stock higher. $PLTR
AI
AI Fears Slam Financial Data Stocks
Wall Street’s data gatekeepers just ran into an unexpected buzzsaw. Shares of firms like S&P Global $SPGI, London Stock Exchange Group $LSEG, FactSet $FDS, MSCI $MSCI, and Intercontinental Exchange $ICE slid after investors began rethinking how safe the financial data business really is in an AI-first world. The trigger was a fresh set of automation tools from AI startup Anthropic, which highlighted how quickly software can take on complex research and workflow tasks once handled by highly paid professionals.
These companies have long thrived on a simple formula: own must-have data, bundle it into powerful tools, and charge Wall Street premium subscription fees. But the latest AI advances are raising a new question. If intelligent systems can sift through information, generate analysis, and streamline decision-making on their own, the pricing power behind some of those platforms may not be as untouchable as it once seemed.
Moats Meet Machines
For years, financial data providers pitched themselves as infrastructure, not just software. Their value came from proprietary datasets, real-time feeds, and deep integration into trading desks, research teams, and risk models. That positioning helped justify steady price increases and made their products feel more like utilities than optional tools.
AI is now testing that narrative. Investors are starting to wonder whether advanced models layered on top of broader data sources could reduce reliance on expensive terminals and analytics suites. Even if AI still needs high-quality inputs, the fear is that it could shift bargaining power away from the platforms and toward the intelligence built on top of them.
The Selloff Spreads
The market reaction showed just how wide the concern has become. The pressure did not stay confined to data vendors directly tied to legal or research workflows. It rippled into other corners of software and professional services, as traders tried to map which white-collar tasks could be next on AI’s to-do list.
In other words, this is no longer just a tech story. It is a valuation story for large parts of the knowledge economy. Companies that once looked insulated by specialized expertise and subscription revenue are now being reassessed through a different lens: how much of what they do could eventually be automated.
Panic or Growing Pains?
Not everyone thinks the market reaction makes sense. Executives across the data industry argue that AI will actually increase the need for trusted, structured, and real-time information, not replace it. Models may get smarter, but they still need reliable raw material to produce useful outputs.
The debate now centers on whether AI erodes pricing power or expands the pie. For investors, the easy assumption that “data is always safe” just got a lot harder to defend.
CALENDAR
On The Horizon
Tomorrow
Labor nerds are eating this week. Fresh jobless claims drop today, giving traders another read on how sturdy the employment picture really is, and Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic is also set to weigh in, which means every word about inflation and rates will get overanalyzed in real time.
On the earnings front, it’s a globe-spanning lineup with results from heavyweights across tech, energy, finance, healthcare, and consumer brands, so expect plenty of sector-specific drama. Overseas, central bank watchers have a big day too, with both the European Central Bank and the Bank of England announcing their latest rate decisions, adding an international twist to the macro mood.
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