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- 🗞️ Palantir Stuns Wall Street
🗞️ Palantir Stuns Wall Street
PLUS: Disney disappoints in Q4
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Market Performance
S&P 500: 6,976.44 ⬆️ 0.54%
Nasdaq: 23,592.11 ⬆️ 0.56%
Dow Jones: 49,407.66 ⬆️ 1.05%
Palantir's AI Dominance Continues
Palantir delivered what CEO Alex Karp boldly called "indisputably the best results that I'm aware of in tech in the last decade" – and the numbers back up that swagger.
The AI software giant crushed Q4 expectations with revenue soaring 70% year-over-year to $1.41 billion, well above the $1.33 billion estimate.
But here's what really matters: their Q1 revenue guidance of $1.53-$1.54 billion absolutely demolished the $1.32 billion consensus, while full-year 2026 guidance of $7.18-$7.20 billion smashed expectations of $6.22 billion.
What's driving this rocket ship?
Government contracts are exploding – up 66% – fueled by massive deals like the $10 billion U.S. Army contract and a $448 million Navy shipbuilding deal.
Meanwhile, U.S. commercial revenue more than doubled, with remaining deal value surging 145% to $4.38 billion.
The stock jumped 7% after hours, but it's been a bumpy ride lately. Despite an 81% rally over the past year, shares are down 15% in 2026 amid valuation concerns.
PLTR stock has a Ziggma score of 84, driven by growth and financial health but severly penalized by a valuation score of 7 - thanks to a record-setting forward price-to-earnings ratio of 204x.
Our Takeaway
Palantir is combining government entrenchment with commercial momentum at exactly the right time. The growth store is far from away.
Yes, the valuation is rich. The company will have to beat estimates consistently while guiding aggressively to justify it.
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Market Overview 📈
Wall Street kicked off February with solid gains as investors shrugged off Friday's dramatic precious metals selloff and refocused on fundamentals.
The session started rocky as Bitcoin dipped below $80,000 for the first time since April, while silver and gold extended Friday's brutal losses.
Silver had plunged 30% Friday, its worst day since 1980, while gold tumbled 11%.
However, both metals recovered from their lows by day's end, helping ease risk-off sentiment.
Manufacturing data provided a bright spot: the ISM manufacturing index hit 52.6 in January, expanding for the first time in a year and crushing the 48.4 consensus.
New orders jumped to 57.1 – the highest since February 2022 – signaling genuine economic momentum.
The earnings parade continues with over 100 S&P 500 companies reporting this week, including Amazon and Alphabet.
So far, roughly 78% of companies have beaten expectations according to FactSet, with earnings growth on track to be the strongest in four years.
Bank of America's Global Equity Risk-Love indicator hit the 95th percentile, suggesting markets may be overheated and setting up for "a period of consolidation or a mild correction," though the firm emphasized this doesn't signal the end of the bull market.
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Stock Moves Deciphered 📈
🎢 Disney (DIS) ⬇️ 7.40%
The House of Mouse delivered a mixed bag that left investors wanting more magic. Disney topped fiscal Q1 expectations with adjusted earnings of $1.63 per share on revenue of $25.98 billion, beating the $1.57 and $25.74 billion consensus.
However, earnings were down 7% year over year, and management warned of headwinds from reduced international travel to domestic parks.
💸 Oracle (ORCL) ⬇️ 2.80%
Oracle made waves by announcing plans to raise up to $50 billion in 2026 through debt and equity financing to "build additional capacity to meet the contracted demand from our largest Oracle Cloud Infrastructure customers, including AMD and Meta."
The software giant is doubling down on cloud infrastructure to capture surging AI demand.
🤖 Nvidia (NVDA) ⬇️ 3%
The AI chipmaker faced turbulence as The Wall Street Journal reported its planned $100 billion investment in OpenAI has stalled, with executives expressing doubts about the deal.
Nvidia plans to proceed with another OpenAI investment, though details remain unclear. The uncertainty stems from Wall Street's increasing scrutiny of AI investments and companies' ability to monetize partnerships.
Headlines You Can't Miss 👀
📈 Transports hit an all-time high – Dow Jones Transportation Average surged 2%, led by United Airlines (+5%), Old Dominion (+5%), Delta (+5%), and American Airlines (+4%). FedEx reached new highs since its 1978 IPO.
🏭 Manufacturing roars back – ISM manufacturing index jumped to 52.6 in January, expanding for the first time in a year and crushing the 48.4 consensus. New orders surged to 57.1, the highest since February 2022.
⛽ Natural gas plunges 20% – March natural gas contract tumbled over 20% in midday trading, with U.S. Natural Gas Fund (UNG) also dropping more than 20% on the session.
🪙 Critical metals stockpile investment – President Trump set to invest $12 billion in a critical minerals stockpile to counter China, sending rare earths stocks higher. Critical Metals jumped 8%, Energy Fuels gained 5%.
📊 January jobs report delayed – Bureau of Labor Statistics confirmed the January employment report scheduled for Friday, February 6 will be postponed due to partial government shutdown, with rescheduling upon resumption of funding.
🚨 Robinhood plunges on crypto weakness – Shares fell 10% as bitcoin continued its pullback to $78,439, down 11% over five days. Digital assets trading remains a large portion of Robinhood's revenue model.
Trending Stocks 📊
⬆️ Autodesk (ADSK)
JPMorgan upgraded the design software leader to overweight from neutral with a $319 price target, implying 26% upside.
Analyst Alexei Gogolev praised Autodesk's "modern technology stack" and position as the clear leader in design software for architecture, engineering, and construction.
The bank highlighted rapid cloud and AI adoption, with CEO Andrew Anagnost emphasizing the need to enable customers to "do more with less."
🛍️ Best Buy (BBY)
JPMorgan downgraded the electronics retailer to neutral from overweight, slashing its price target from $99 to $76.
Analyst Christopher Horvers warned of difficult comparison periods following the June 2025 release of Nintendo Switch 2 and the end of Microsoft 10 support in October.
The bank also flagged an AI-driven memory shortage leading to rising component prices that "will likely diminish computing sales."
💰 Microsoft (MSFT)
Matrix Asset Advisors CIO David Katz called Microsoft an AI winner trading at an attractive entry point on CNBC's "The Exchange."
“Microsoft is a winner in AI. Period. They had a very good quarter. The stock sold off very sharply. It's under 23 times earnings today. That's the lowest valuation in the last eight years," Katz noted.
What’s Next?
Key market and macro news 👇
💰 AMD Q4 Earnings: Advanced Micro Devices reports earnings with a $1.32 EPS estimate. As a major AI chipmaker with $400.8B market cap, results will significantly influence semiconductor and AI sector sentiment across the broader market.
💸 PayPal Q4 Earnings: PayPal Holdings announces fourth-quarter results with $1.29 EPS estimate. The performance of a digital payments leader impacts the fintech sector and consumer spending trends, affecting market confidence in digital economy growth.
💊 Merck Q4 2025 Earnings: Pharmaceutical giant Merck reports earnings with a $2.01 EPS estimate and a $16.12B revenue projection. As a $283.17B market cap company, results influence the healthcare sector and investor sentiment on pharma valuations.
🥤 PepsiCo Q4 Earnings: Consumer staples leader reports with $2.24 EPS estimate. With $212.48B market cap, PepsiCo's results reflect consumer spending strength and inflation pressures on pricing power in the food and beverage sector.
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