Intel slumps after Q1 guidance disappoints

The stock price of the company responsible for the brains of the AI boom is finally showing some brawn again.

Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company, is poised to close at a record high for the first time since October 29, 2025, on Friday (if it ends above $207.04).

The AI chip trade is on fire, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index slated to deliver its 18th consecutive gain as Intel’s robust results and outlook juice the entire ecosystem. Hyperscalers report earnings next week, and their capex guidance can be thought of as the earnings guidance for Nvidia and other AI suppliers for the quarters to come.

This would end Nvidia’s longest stretch without a record close since the unofficial start of the AI boom (when the chip designer delivered blowout quarterly results in May 2023).

(Sorry if I jinx this!)

Eli Lilly fell on Friday after prescription data for its new weight-loss pill, Foundayo, showed that it’s having a significantly slower rollout than its top competitor.

The pill was prescribed about 3,700 times in its second week, according to IQVIA data cited by Deutsche Bank analysts, compared to the roughly 8,000 they were expecting. Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy pill, which came out in January, hit over 18,000 prescriptions in its second week.

The FDA approved Foundayo on April 1 and shipments began on April 9. Deutsche analysts noted that Lilly’s GLP-1 injections, which currently outsell Novo’s, also had a slower start.

Lilly fell more than 4% after the numbers were released. Novo Nordisk rose more than 5%.

If you’re a good host, even the last person who shows up to the party gets to have a good time.

On that note, beleaguered Qualcomm — the worst-performing member of the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index this year — is staging a furious rally on Friday, with the industry poised to deliver its 18th consecutive session of gains.

Intel’s earnings are buoying the semi space broadly on Friday, and Qualcomm isn’t being left out. Options activity is also elevated and tilted toward the bull side. As of 9:56 a.m. ET, more than 48,000 calls have changed hands, roughly double its full-day average for the past 20 sessions. Its put/call ratio of 0.17 is well below the 20-day average of 0.44.

The San Diego-based firm has been negative in 2026 since the seventh session of the year, and even with today’s advance, remains mired in the red year to date. The stock cratered after reporting Q1 earnings in early February because its poor Q2 guidance seemingly confirmed fears that smartphone sales would come under pressure from rising memory chip prices and limited availability. Smartphone chips are still Qualcomm’s primary business, accounting for nearly two-thirds of revenues in its most recent quarter, and memory chip sellers appear to be incentivized to meet demand from major AI customers first.

Qualcomm reports Q2 earnings next Wednesday, but that release will likely be overshadowed by the four Magnificent 7 hyperscalers releasing results after the close.