Morning News Call

TOP NEWS

• Nvidia's results beat estimates, forecast current-quarter revenue above market; Wall Street wants more cash return.
• Rare earth shortages worsen in US aerospace and chips despite trade truce.
• Musk touts California robotaxis, but Tesla did not seek permits in 2025.
• Paramount Skydance forecasts Q1 revenue below estimates due to legacy TV, but predicts strong streaming growth.
• Amazon refused permission to appeal go-ahead for UK lawsuits worth up to 4 billion pounds.

BEFORE THE BELL

• Wall Street stock futures fell after Nvidia's lukewarm response and weak Salesforce earnings.
• Europe's benchmark index hit a record high; Japan's Nikkei traded near an all-time peak.
• Chinese stocks fell, ending a post-Lunar New Year rally.
• Yen bounced off lows; dollar was little changed.
• Oil prices fell due to rising U.S. crude inventories and physical market weakness.
• Gold rose due to uncertainty over U.S. tariff policy.

STOCKS TO WATCH

• Agilent Technologies Inc: Q1 results in line, raised full-year revenue forecast.
• Amazon.com Inc: Lost bid to throw out UK mass lawsuits; potential $50 billion OpenAI investment.
• APA Corp: Beat Q4 profit estimates, lower operating costs offset weaker commodity prices.
• AT&T Inc: Settled lawsuit, shareholders to vote on workforce diversity disclosure.
• Baidu Inc: Q4 revenue drop, strong cloud business growth, AI becoming "new core."
• Boeing Co: FAA issued airworthiness directive for 737 MAX 8/8200 due to circuit breaker issue.
• C3.ai Inc: Cutting 26% of workforce, forecast current-quarter sales below estimates, wider Q3 net loss.
• Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce: Q1 profit jumped due to robust capital markets.
• Cheniere Energy Inc: Full-year 2025 profit rose almost 64% on strong LNG demand.
• Chime Financial Inc: Forecast 2026 revenue above estimates due to digital banking demand.
• Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp: AI replacement fears "overblown," clients need help deploying technology.
• Coupang Inc: Fined 2.2 billion won by antitrust regulator for pressuring suppliers.
• Eni SpA: Beat forecasts with 35% Q4 adjusted earnings jump, strong exploration and production.
• FS Bancorp Inc: To acquire Pacific West Bancorp for $36.4 million.
• HSBC Holdings PLC: Began sale process for Singapore life insurance product manufacturing business (>$1 billion).
• Jefferies Financial Group Inc: Sued by investors over fund linked to bankrupt auto parts supplier First Brands.
• Nu Holdings Ltd: Q4 net profit rose 50% due to customer base growth and increased revenue per customer.
• Nvidia Corp: Beat Q1 estimates, forecast current-quarter revenue above market, received licenses to ship H200 chips to China.
• Paramount Skydance Corp: Forecast Q1 revenue below estimates, but predicted strong streaming growth.
• Royal Bank of Canada: Q1 profit rose, buoyed by capital markets and personal banking.
• Salesforce Inc: Fiscal 2027 revenue forecast below expectations, investing in AI, raised 2030 revenue forecast.
• Snowflake Inc: Fiscal 2027 product revenue forecast above estimates due to AI tools demand.
• Steel Dynamics Inc: BlueScope Steel rejected revised A$15 billion bid, open to further talks.
• Stellantis NV: Net loss of 20.1 billion euros in H2 2025 after EV ambition writedowns.
• Tesla Inc: Did not secure permits for driverless robotaxi service in California in 2025.
• Toronto Dominion Bank: Q1 profit rose due to higher interest.
• Toyota Motor Corp: Plans large-scale unwinding of strategic shareholdings, totaling around $19 billion.
• Trade Desk Inc: Forecast Q1 revenue below estimates due to rival pressure.
• Universal Health Services Inc: Missed Q4 results estimates due to lower admissions, but forecast 2026 revenue above estimates.
• VICI Properties Inc: Forecast 2026 adjusted funds from operations below estimates due to weak demand.
• Zoom Communications Inc: Forecast quarterly profit below estimates due to competition and cautious spending.

ANALYSIS

• Nvidia's CEO prepares investors for a renewed battle with Intel and AMD, increasingly focusing on generalist CPUs.

ANALYSTS' RECOMMENDATION

• American Tower Corp: Jefferies raised target price to $209.
• Lowe's Companies Inc: Piper Sandler raised target price to $300.
• Magnite Inc: B. Riley cut target price to $20.
• Snowflake Inc: Scotiabank cut target price to $205.
• United Therapeutics Corp: Jefferies raised target price to $640.

ECONOMIC EVENTS

• Initial jobless claims w/e Feb 21: Expected 215,000.
• Jobless claims 4-week average: Prior 219,000.
• Continued jobless claims w/e Feb 14: Expected 1.858 mln.
• KC Fed Manufacturing for Feb: Prior -2.
• KC Fed Composite Index for Feb: Prior 0.

COMPANIES REPORTING RESULTS

• AES Corp: Expected Q4 earnings of 60 cents per share.
• Autodesk Inc: Expected Q4 earnings of $2.64 per share.
• Block Inc: Expected Q4 earnings of 65 cents per share.
• Coterra Energy Inc: Expected Q4 earnings of 48 cents per share.
• Dell Technologies Inc: Expected Q4 earnings of $3.53 per share.
• EMCOR Group Inc: Expected Q4 earnings of $6.68 per share.
• Intuit Inc: Expected Q2 earnings of $3.66 per share.
• J M Smucker Co: Expected Q3 earnings of $2.27 per share.
• Monster Beverage Corp: Expected Q4 earnings of 48 cents per share.
• NetApp Inc: Expected Q3 earnings of $2.07 per share.
• Public Service Enterprise Group Inc: Expected Q4 earnings of 71 cents per share.
• Qnity Electronics Inc: Expected Q4 earnings of 63 cents per share.
• SBA Communications Corp: Expected Q4 earnings of $3.79 per share.
• Sempra: Expected Q4 earnings of $1.17 per share.
• Solventum Corp: Expected Q4 earnings of $1.50 per share.
• Viatris Inc: Expected Q4 earnings of 53 cents per share.
• Vistra Corp: Expected Q4 earnings of $2.35 per share.
• Warner Bros Discovery Inc: Expected Q4 loss of 3 cents per share.

CORPORATE EVENTS

• Hormel Foods Corp: Q1 earnings conference call at 0800 ET.
• Qnity Electronics Inc: Q4 earnings conference call at 0800 ET.
• Warner Bros Discovery Inc: Q4 earnings conference call at 0800 ET.
• Viatris Inc: Q4 earnings conference call at 0830 ET.
• J M Smucker Co: Q3 earnings conference call at 0900 ET.
• Universal Health Services Inc: Q4 earnings conference call at 0900 ET.
• VICI Properties Inc: Q4 earnings conference call at 1000 ET.
• Vistra Corp: Q4 earnings conference call at 1000 ET.
• EMCOR Group Inc: Q4 earnings conference call at 1030 ET.
• APA Corp (US): Q4 earnings conference call at 1100 ET.
• Public Service Enterprise Group Inc: Q4 earnings conference call at 1100 ET.
• Sempra: Q4 earnings conference call at 1200 ET.
• Dell Technologies Inc: Q4 earnings conference call at 1630 ET.
• Intuit Inc: Q2 earnings conference call at 1630 ET.
• Solventum Corp: Q4 earnings conference call at 1630 ET.
• Autodesk Inc: Q4 earnings conference call at 1700 ET.
• Block Inc: Q4 earnings conference call at 1700 ET.
• Monster Beverage Corp: Q4 earnings conference call at 1700 ET.
• SBA Communications Corp: Q4 earnings conference call at 1700 ET.
• NetApp Inc: Q3 earnings conference call at 1730 ET.

EX-DIVIDENDS

• Delta Air Lines Inc: $0.19.
• Marriott International Inc: $0.67.