President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Friday to praise Palantir Technologies (PLTR), calling the AI software firm's tools proof of "great warfighting capabilities."

The post gave the stock a brief lift — but couldn't stop PLTR from closing out its worst week in a year, down 13.7%, and now off nearly 28% year-to-date.

At the heart of the story is a layered irony:

Meanwhile, Palantir is navigating real operational complexity.

Its Maven Smart System is reportedly being used by the U.S. military for targeting in the ongoing conflict with Iran — a double-edged sword that attracts government contracts but also draws ethical scrutiny.

CEO Alex Karp has publicly committed to supporting the Trump administration, despite past tensions, but the company's ties to Anthropic — whose new Claude Mythos model triggered a broader software selloff this week — add another layer of uncertainty.

PLTR stock has a Ziggma score of 93, as it ranks higher than its peers in growth and financial health.

Despite its lofty valuation, analysts forecast the AI giant to gain 56% from current levels.

Trump's endorsement is noise, not a signal. The stock's 28% decline in 2026 reflects deeper structural concerns: premium valuation, AI disruption risk to its software stack, and a market increasingly skeptical that government contract wins can justify a near-$300B peak market cap.

Burry's thesis — that Palantir is worth less than $50 — is extreme, but the direction of his argument deserves serious consideration.

At $128, there's very little margin for error. Unless the Iran war generates a visible, durable uplift in U.S. defense AI spend, we'd stay cautious.

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Friday's session wrapped up a volatile but ultimately strong week for U.S. equities.

The major indices ended mixed on the day — the S&P 500 and Dow edged lower while the Nasdaq eked out a gain, bolstered by semiconductor strength from Nvidia and Broadcom.

The dominant macro theme of the week was the fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire, now in its second week.

The Strait of Hormuz remains largely restricted, keeping oil prices elevated. WTI crude settled at $96.57 a barrel and Brent at $95.20, though both had crossed $100 earlier in the week.

March CPI came in at 3.3% year-over-year, in line with expectations, but the headline number included a 10.9% spike in energy costs due to the conflict.

Core CPI, stripping out food and energy, rose a softer-than-expected 0.2% monthly and 2.6% annually. Analysts were quick to note this gives the Fed only partial comfort.

Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth said flatly that the report "will keep any rate cuts out of the conversation at the Fed in the near term."

University of Michigan consumer sentiment data added to the gloom: the headline index plunged 10.7% from March to a record low of 47.6, while one-year inflation expectations rose a full percentage point to 4.8%.

The Atlanta Fed's GDPNow tracker for Q1 slipped to 1.3%, its lowest since the Iran war began.

Software stocks took a notable hit throughout the week.

The iShares Expanded Tech-Software ETF (IGV) fell 3% on Friday and is now down more than 27% in 2026, pressured by fears that new AI tools — particularly Anthropic's Claude Mythos model — will displace traditional SaaS business models.

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ServiceNow plunged 7.6% on Friday to close at $83.00, extending a brutal weekly slide of about 34%.

The catalyst: UBS downgraded the stock from buy to neutral, stating that its earlier confidence in ServiceNow's ability to adapt to the AI era has "weakened."

Fortinet dropped 4.91% to close at $76.70, caught in the broader sell-off in the cybersecurity sector that swept the market this week.

The decline appears to reflect investor caution around enterprise IT spending rather than any company-specific bad news.

Fortinet's Q1 2026 guidance of $0.59–$0.63 EPS has not assuaged concerns about near-term demand, particularly as macro headwinds intensify.

Super Micro Computer was the standout performer of the day, surging 8.8% to close at $25.26 after delivering a blowout Q3 2026 earnings report.

Revenue came in at $12.68 billion — a staggering 123% year-over-year increase — powered by surging demand for its AI server infrastructure.

SMCI also launched its new Gold Series product line, which is seeing strong adoption.

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💰 The Treasury Department reported the fiscal year-to-date deficit at $1.17 trillion through March, down $139 billion (-11%) from the same period last year, helped by a 272% surge in customs/tariff revenue to $175 billion.

🏦 Morgan Stanley lifted near-term earnings estimates for brokers and exchanges ahead of Q1 reports, citing strong trading volumes.

⛏️ Deutsche Bank analyst Michael Hsueh called gold's pullback during the conflict a buying opportunity, setting a Q2 target of $5,100/oz and arguing gold's prospects have only been "temporarily dented" by the war.

⚽️ Dick's Sporting Goods & the World Cup : Oppenheimer says DKS could see a 150–300 basis point comp boost in Q2 from the 2026 FIFA World Cup, given ~20% of its sales are soccer-related.

🍔 Shake Shack upgraded by Mizuho to outperform with a $120 price target (23% upside), citing World Cup tailwinds, improved value offerings, and supply chain efficiencies driving high-teens EBITDA growth in 2026–2027.

CoreWeave had a big day, rising over 10% after announcing a multi-year deal with Anthropic to run Claude model workloads on its cloud platforms.

This came on top of a separate $21 billion commitment from Meta — its largest customer — using Nvidia's new Vera Rubin system.

CoreWeave also announced a $3 billion debt raise, which analysts at Wells Fargo and Barclays both downplayed, given the strength of the customer pipeline.

Amazon shares have been a relative laggard in 2026, up just 3% year-to-date, and Needham analyst Laura Martin laid out why on Friday.

Her core argument: Amazon is asking for nearly $200 billion in FY26 capex — more than its free cash flow can cover — and roughly 30% of that spending is going toward non-AI legacy businesses that AI itself may eventually disrupt.

TSMC's U.S.-listed shares rose after the world's largest chipmaker reported record revenue for Q1 2026, representing a 35% year-over-year increase.

The results underscore how AI-driven chip demand — particularly for advanced nodes used in Nvidia, Apple, and AMD processors — continues to power TSMC's growth engine.

As the backbone of the global semiconductor supply chain, TSMC remains one of the clearest structural beneficiaries of the AI build-out.

💸 Goldman Sachs reports Q1 2026 earnings before the open on Monday — strong results expected, could lift the broader financial sector.

🎤 Fastenal reports Q1 results — a bellwether for manufacturing and construction activity.

💰 Applied Digital Corporation releases quarterly numbers — watch for AI infrastructure demand signals.

🏠 March Existing Home Sales — NAR releases the data on Monday, a key read on housing market momentum.

🏦 3-Month & 6-Month Treasury Bill Auctions — Results at 3:30 PM ET; will provide insight into short-term rate expectations and Fed policy outlook.

🗣️ Fed Governor Stephen Miran speaks — Watch for any signals on rate cuts, balance sheet strategy, or the inflationary impact of elevated energy prices.

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