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- 🗞️ Micron's Massive Q1 Beat
🗞️ Micron's Massive Q1 Beat
Big Moves Decoded: LRCX, SBUX, and more!
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Market Performance
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Micron Stuns Wall Street
Micron Technology's (MU) stock surged 10% after reporting what Morgan Stanley called the best revenue and earnings upside in "the history of the U.S. semis industry" outside of Nvidia.
The company reported adjusted earnings of $4.78 per share on $13.64 billion in revenue, crushing estimates of $3.95 per share and $12.84 billion in revenue, respectively.
Micron guided current-quarter revenues to $18.70 billion, versus the $14.20 billion analysts expected.
"We are more than sold out," declared business chief Sumit Sadana. "We have a significant amount of unmet demand."
Translation? The AI infrastructure boom has created an insatiable appetite for high-bandwidth memory, and Micron can't keep up.
The company expects the addressable market for high-bandwidth memory to hit $100 billion by 2028, growing at 40% annually.
To capitalize, management raised capital expenditure guidance from $18 billion to $20 billion and projects gross margins of 68% as pricing power strengthens.
MU stock has a Ziggma score of 93 and ranks above most peers in terms of valuation and financial health.
The chipmaker has returned close to 1,700% in the past decade and still trades at a reasonable valuation in December 2025.
Our Takeaway
This isn't just a Micron story—it's validation that the AI infrastructure buildout has legs beyond the headline chip names.
When memory suppliers are sold out with "significant unmet demand," it signals that the foundation of AI growth remains robust, creating opportunities across the semiconductor supply chain.
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Market Overview 📈
The S&P 500 snapped its four-day slide on Thursday, as lighter-than-expected inflation data brightened prospects for lower interest rates in 2026.
The delayed November consumer price index showed annual inflation of 2.7%—well below the 3.1% economists expected—while core CPI came in at 2.6% versus forecasts of 3%.
The report, pushed back from December 10 due to the government shutdown, lacked October comparison data, leading some economists to question its significance.
However, markets embraced the news, with initial jobless claims of 224,000 also coming in below the 225,000 estimate.
The consumer discretionary and information technology sectors led gains, each rising around 2% and 1%, respectively, as growth-oriented stocks rebounded after recent underperformance.
The artificial intelligence trade rekindled following Micron's blowout results, with the Magnificent 7 stocks posting solid gains across the board.
However, BTIG's Jonathan Krinsky warned that AI stocks may be losing leadership, noting the Goldman Sachs TMT AI Basket dropped 2.6% Wednesday, with relative strength back to December lows.
"While it's still premature to say this is 'the' top for AI stocks, evidence is growing that it's more than just a speed bump," he wrote.
Stock Moves Deciphered 📈
👩💻 Lam Research (LRCX)
Lam Research surged over 6% after multiple analysts raised price targets, citing robust demand from the AI sector.
The semiconductor equipment maker posted impressive 48.3% year-over-year growth in systems revenues for fiscal Q1 2026, demonstrating the sustained capital expenditure cycle driving chipmaking infrastructure.
⚡️ Constellation Energy (CEG)
Constellation Energy rallied almost 6% following the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's renewal of the operating license for its Dresden Nuclear Power Station.
The 20-year license extension ensures long-term revenue stability and positions the company favorably amid surging demand for reliable power to support AI data centers and infrastructure buildout.
📊 FactSet (FDS)
FactSet shares tumbled 7.7% despite beating earnings and revenue estimates for the quarter. The decline reflects investor disappointment with forward guidance and concerns about decelerating long-term revenue growth.
The stock's weakness highlights how even solid current performance can't overcome concerns about future growth in this market environment.
Headlines You Can't Miss 👀
🔬 Trump Media surges 19% after announcing merger with TAE Technologies, a fusion power energy company, in an all-stock deal valued at more than $6 billion.
🎯 Target rallies toward record 12th consecutive positive session, leveraging AI-driven shopping strategies to compete with Walmart during the holiday season.
💼 Accenture beats Q1 expectations with EPS of $3.94 vs. $3.74 estimated on revenue of $18.74 billion.
💻 Coinbase launches prediction markets, stocks, and tokenized asset trading in push to become "everything exchange."
🏛️ Fed Governor Christopher Waller receives positive remarks from President Trump: "I think he's great...a fantastic man" as the administration considers Fed chair candidates.
📈 Citizens upgrades Core Scientific to market outperform with a $30 price target, citing a solid power pipeline to secure additional HPC lease agreements beyond CoreWeave.
⚡ Alphabet's Magnificent 7 peers rebound strongly: Google up 2%, Nvidia and Amazon rise over 2.5%, Meta gains 2.5%, Microsoft climbs 2.3%, Tesla jumps nearly 5%.
Trending Stocks 📊
🧦 Lululemon Athletica (LULU)
The athleisure retailer jumped 3.5% after reports emerged that activist investor Elliott Investment Management built a stake exceeding $1 billion in the company.
Elliott is bringing a potential CEO candidate to discussions, signaling potential operational or strategic changes ahead.
Despite the rally, Lululemon trades at just 13x forward earnings—a steep discount to peers like Walmart and Costco at 40x.
🥩 Darden Restaurants (DRI)
The restaurant operator reported strong same-restaurant sales growth across all segments, led by Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse.
For the second consecutive quarter, Darden raised its full-year revenue growth outlook, though it maintained earnings projections.
CEO Rick Cardenas noted, "The second quarter exceeded our top-line expectations as every segment delivered positive same-restaurant sales."
🤖 Core Scientific (CORZ)
The high-performance computing infrastructure provider gained after Citizens upgraded the stock to market outperform with a $30 price target (121% upside).
Analyst Greg Miller cited Core Scientific's power pipeline as providing "a solid foundation to secure additional HPC lease agreements with new customers beyond CoreWeave, enabling the company to capture accelerating demand for HPC infrastructure."
What’s Next?
Key market and macro news 👇
📊 The Federal Reserve's updated economic projections, including forecasts for GDP, inflation, and unemployment, will be closely watched by investors for clues about the future direction of monetary policy.
📉 As it is the third Friday of the last month of the quarter, the simultaneous expiration of stock index futures, stock index options, stock options, and single stock futures can lead to increased trading volume and volatility.
💸The release of the November 2025 CPI data will be a key indicator of inflation, influencing the Federal Reserve's interest rate decisions and investor sentiment.
🛍️ The Census Bureau's advance retail sales report for November will provide insight into consumer spending strength heading into the holiday season, a crucial driver of the U.S. economy.
👟 Nike is expected to release its second-quarter fiscal year 2026 earnings. The results will offer a look into consumer discretionary spending and the company's performance.
Chart of the Day
Source: App Economy Insights
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