Meta (META) is laying off several hundred employees across Facebook, global operations, recruiting, sales, and Reality Labs, its VR division.

Some affected workers are being offered new internal roles, in some cases requiring relocation.

But don't let the word "layoffs" fool you. Meta isn't a company in distress — it's a company ruthlessly reshuffling its bets.

The same week it trims headcount, it's licensing AI startup Dreamer's technology and bringing co-founder Hugo Barra back into the fold at Meta Superintelligence Labs.

Simultaneously, top executives, including CFO Susan Li, CTO Andrew Bosworth, CPO Christopher Cox, and COO Javier Olivan, are being handed new stock option packages with an aggressive 5-year vesting timeline.

Translation? Meta is betting the house on AI — and tying its leadership's wealth to winning that bet.

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

However, analysts forecast the tech giant to gain 44% from current levels.

Shedding VR headcount while doubling down on generative AI and agent technology signals that Zuckerberg has picked his horse and is riding it hard.

The stock option incentive program for top brass tells you everything — this management team believes the best days are ahead, and their compensation is proof of conviction.

Investors should watch how quickly Meta's AI pivot starts showing up in revenue metrics.

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Stocks climbed on Wednesday as oil prices pulled back and investors grew cautiously optimistic that the U.S. and Iran might edge toward a ceasefire.

The Dow gained 305 points while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posted modest gains, with technology stocks — particularly semiconductors — leading the charge.

The key catalyst was a report from The Associated Press that Iran received a 15-point U.S. peace proposal delivered via Pakistan.

However, Iranian state media subsequently rejected the offer, instead countering with a five-point plan that would hand Tehran control over the Strait of Hormuz — a condition analysts widely view as a non-starter for Washington.

Meanwhile, the U.S. deployed the Army's 82nd Airborne Division to the region, underscoring that the two nations remain far apart.

Oil felt the whipsaw immediately. WTI futures fell 2.2% to $90.32 per barrel, while Brent dropped 2.17% to $102.22.

Treasury yields also tumbled alongside oil. Adding to macroeconomic unease, import prices jumped 1.3% in February, the biggest monthly gain since March 2022, well above the 0.6% economists had expected, stoking fresh inflation concerns ahead of the Fed's next move.

Recession odds are also creeping higher. Moody's Analytics put the probability of a U.S. contraction in the next 12 months at 48.6%, while Goldman Sachs raised its estimate to 30%.

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Arm had a historic session, surging over 16% after unveiling its first-ever in-house central processing unit chip.

The company said the new product line would generate $15 billion in revenue by 2031. Raymond James upgraded the stock to Outperform from Market Perform, setting a $166 price target, implying 23% upside from Tuesday's close.

Micron had a rough session, declining nearly 3.4% and logging its fifth consecutive day of losses — a 10% slide week-to-date.

Micron delivered stellar earnings last week, and investors are recalibrating expectations around the company's growing capital expenditure profile and gross margin trajectory.

For long-term investors, the stock's 300%+ gain over the past year offers important context — and some would argue the pullback is an opportunity.

Insulet fell 4.2% to a new 52-week low on heavy volume, a tough day for a company that actually beat Q1 revenue and earnings estimates.

The decline stemmed from investor anxiety around an Omnipod 5 device correction and potential cost pressures heading into 2026.

🤖 SMCI surged 8.2% after deepening its AI cloud partnership with Mirantis, supported by a blowout fiscal quarter with $12.68B in revenue — up 123% year-over-year.

🖥️ HPE jumped 7.87% on new security upgrades, strong quarterly results, and a fresh dividend of $0.142/share with a March 24 ex-date.

💊 Merck agreed to acquire Terns Pharmaceuticals for $6.7B in cash at $53/share — a 6% premium to Terns' prior close. Deal expected to close in Q2.

🔬 Thermo Fisher Scientific completed its $8.875B all-cash acquisition of Clario Holdings, integrating AI-powered data collection to accelerate drug trial approvals.

🎮 Braze surged after Q4 revenue of $205.2M beat the $198.2M FactSet estimate, with current-quarter guidance also ahead of the Street.

📡 EchoStar jumped ~7% after reports that SpaceX could file for an IPO as soon as this week — EchoStar holds a ~3% stake in Elon Musk's company.

JetBlue surged 13% after Semafor reported that the unprofitable airline has hired advisors to explore a potential merger with a competitor, including United Airlines, Alaska Air, or Southwest Airlines.

M&A talks are in the early stages, and JetBlue may decide not to pursue a deal.

Paychex rose ~3% after beating fiscal Q3 estimates, posting adjusted EPS of $1.71 on revenue of $1.81 billion versus expectations of $1.67 EPS and $1.78 billion in revenue.

The company also reaffirmed its full-year earnings and revenue growth guidance, a sign of management confidence heading into the back half.

Chewy jumped over 13% after delivering an encouraging Q4 report. Adjusted EBITDA of $162.3 million came in slightly above the $161 million FactSet consensus, and full-year net sales guidance of $13.60 billion –$13.75 billion topped the $13.58 billion expected.

Q1 net sales guidance of $3.33 billion–$3.36billion also beat the $3.27 billion estimate, suggesting the pet products giant is finding its footing despite a revenue miss for the quarter itself.

🚗 Pony AI: Q4 results before the bell; progress update on autonomous driving.

🏢 Argan: Q4 2026 earnings after the close; infrastructure and engineering sector read.

🏍️ BRP: Q4 2026 earnings before the open; consumer discretionary bellwether.

📋 Initial Jobless Claims: A key read on labor market health.

💵 U.S. Treasury Bill Auctions — 4-week and 26-week bill auctions could move short-term yields.

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