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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks in Brussels on March 4, 2025 (Nicolas Tucat/Getty Images)

European defense stocks have soared this year. Tomorrow, EU leaders will discuss the $840 billion defense plan.

The ReArm Europe Plan will likely be discussed with EU leaders at a special summit tomorrow.

European defense stocks have jumped since Friday’s tense showdown in the Oval Office between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as European leaders scrambled to adjust to the new world order over the weekend, pledging billions in new defense spending.

Now, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is out with an €800 billion ($842 billion) proposal, most of which would be spread over four years, to beef up Europe’s defense budget and provide “immediate” military support to Ukraine. This ReArm Europe Plan will likely be discussed at a crisis summit with EU leaders scheduled for tomorrow, with plans to discuss joint action on Ukraine and on Europe’s long-term security trajectory.

With the prospect of rising defense spending in Europe, the region’s Stoxx Europe aerospace and defense index closed 8% higher on Monday, marking its best session in five years. Double-digit percentage gains were also seen for companies like Germany’s security sensor company Hensoldt (22%), Italy-based Leonardo (16%), and French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation (15%).

Investors have remained optimistic about European defense stocks pretty much across 2025 so far, especially as American rivals have slumped thanks in part to Trump’s plans to downsize the Pentagon’s budget, which many US defense groups like Lockheed Martin rely on. As of Tuesday, shares in the five largest US defense companies were broadly flat since the start of the year, while their European equivalents have jumped 43%.

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Gilead rises after earnings beat driven by HIV drug sales

Gilead rose more than 5% on Wednesday after it reported quarterly earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street estimates, driven by sales of its HIV drugs.

For the last three months of 2025, Gilead reported:

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $1.86, compared to the $1.81 the Street was expecting.

  • $7.9 billion in revenue, more than the $7.6 billion the Street was penciling in. Late last year the company began selling Yeztugo, a twice-yearly HIV prevention shot. CEO Daniel O’Day told analysts it “has already exceeded our coverage goals and is rapidly gaining market share.”

For the full year in 2026, the company expects:

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $8.45 to $8.85, compared to the $8.79 analysts forecast.

  • Revenue of $29.6 billion to $30 billion, compared to the $29.92 billion the Street was expecting. The company anticipates Yeztugo will contribute $800 million in revenue in 2026.

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Micron jumps as CFO says company has started HBM4 shipments ahead of schedule

Micron is surging on Wednesday after a key executive said the company is getting its next-generation memory chips into customers’ hands ahead of schedule.

“We have been in high-volume production on HBM4. We’ve commenced customer shipments of HBM4 and we see shipment volumes ramping successfully this calendar Q1,” Chief Financial Officer Mark Murphy said at a conference hosted by Wolfe Research. “This is a quarter earlier than we mentioned during our December earnings call.”

HBM4 refers to the newest edition of high-bandwidth memory chips.

Micron has arguably been the laggard in bringing these chips to market compared to peers SK Hynix and Samsung, which may have caused the company to miss out on some high-profile customers (namely, Nvidia). But demand for these components is so intense, and running ahead of production, that finding willing buyers shouldn’t be much of a challenge even at ever-escalating prices.

Murphy added that he sees supply-demand tightness for high-bandwidth memory chips persisting beyond calendar year 2026.

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Electric aircraft maker Beta surges as Amazon discloses 5.3% stake, Jefferies upgrades stock to “buy”

Beta Technologies, the electric aircraft maker that went public in November, is soaring in early Wednesday trading. The stock climbed before markets opened following an upgrade from Jefferies from “hold” to “buy” with a $30 price target, reflecting a nearly 80% climb from its price as of Tuesday’s close.

Jefferies believes Beta shares are attractive after recent risk-off trading — the stock is down 40% since the beginning of the year.

Also appearing to boost optimism in Beta is an SEC filing on Tuesday that indicated Amazon owns a 5.3% stake in the company. The stake isn’t new: Amazon was listed as a 5% or greater shareholder in Beta’s November IPO.

markets

Analysts give mixed reviews on Robinhood’s Q4 results

Robinhood Markets remained down in premarket trading after delivering Q4 results Tuesday that fell short of some of Wall Street’s expectations, partly due to a slide in crypto trading.

Here’s what analysts had to say about the print:

Barclays: “Q4 came in softer than expected as lower take rates in options and crypto impacted transaction revenues, and lower [securities] lending in particular impacted [net interest income].”

Mizuho: “Prediction Markets were strong, but overall mixed quarter.”

Piper Sandler: “Bottom line, despite these ST headwinds which we laid out in our note last week, our LT thesis remains intact. If you can stomach the volatility, HOOD is the best way to play secular growth in retail trading and the closest FinTech platform we’ve ever seen to achieving ‘super app’ status.”

Zack’s Investment Research: “Crypto trading revenue fell 38% year over year in Q4, and January data showed another 57% decline in app-based crypto volumes. Unfortunately, that’s not a seasonal blip, that’s a structural slowdown in one of Robinhood’s historically highest-margin engagement drivers.”

Citizens JMP: “Slight revenue shortfall for Robinhood Markets but better expense performance, broadening business contribution, and a full roadmap should support strong growth again in 2026; reiterate our Market Outperform rating.”

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Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate, including Robinhood Markets, Inc., Robinhood Financial LLC, Robinhood Securities, LLC, Robinhood Crypto, LLC, or Robinhood Money, LLC.