Tech and financials weigh on stocks as credit risks rise

As CEO Peter Beck laid out for Sherwood News in an interview, Neutron is the cornerstone of the money-losing company’s plans to leap to profitability, as it will enable Rocket Lab to enter the market for larger, and more lucrative, payload launches. That market is currently dominated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

In January, one of Neutron’s fuel tanks ruptured during a test, necessitating construction of another, as well as some design changes. During the company’s post-earnings conference call last night, Beck told analysts Neutron’s first launch is now expected during the fourth quarter of 2026.

“Neutron is still scheduled to come to market in an incredibly aggressive time frame,” Beck said.

Judging by the stumble for the shares, which by around 1:30 p.m. ET were on track for their worst drop since last fall, investors are not buoyed by those assurances.

Evercore ISI: “Mgmt is explicitly redesigning Block as an ‘AI-native’ organization — embedding automation and efficiency tools across product development, underwriting, operations, and customer interfaces. The financial implications are significant: FY26 Adjusted Operating Income guidance of $3.2B (26% margin) sits materially above mgmt’s prior expectations at the Investor Day just a few months ago, signaling confidence that AI-driven efficiencies can expand margins structurally while sustaining or potentially accelerating product velocity.”

Morgan Stanley: “Cutting 40% of employees (to ~6,000 from ~10,000) encapsulates XYZ’s undertaking that it is now prepared to replace human labor with compute power. We certainly view it as an audacious move by the management, but one that is not without preparation... The reduced headcount should now drive a marked improvement in the gross profit/employee metric, which we expect will justify expanded valuation premium.”

Piper Sandler: “Dorsey characterized the move as a proactive step to make way for AI related productivity gains. The cost saves from lower headcount drive a $500M increase in Block’s Adjusted EBIT guidance for 2026 — now $3.2B vs. $2.7B at investor day just 3 months ago. Bottom line, while the right sizing from XYZ is being well received by investors and should boost short-term profitability, it seems like an extreme step, and we remain skeptical of XYZ’s longer term growth profile.”

Citi: “Several times during the Q&A, the sell side probed management’s comfort with carrying out the major headcount reduction in parallel with more extensive and more effective GenAI use over a roughly two quarter timespan. On the one hand, Block seemed confident in the organization’s ability to adapt and rise to the challenge, but on the other hand, we are aware that a 40% reduction in heads should generate many empty seats. While we believe it more likely for XYZ to succeed here, we think that more reassurance can surface should XYZ continue to do as they plan.”

RBC Capital: “The main question from investors thus far — is this just legacy bloat or real AI enhancements — only time will tell, but it feels like a combination of both... While AI efficiencies no doubt played a key role in a reduction in force of this magnitude, we also believe XYZ was moving in a direction to materially shrink the organization.”

You don’t have to be much of a market sleuth to see that Wall Street never liked the idea of Netflix scooping up the assemblage of media and movie properties for a whooping $83 billion price tag.

The stock slumped both on the day Netflix submitted a bid and the day it entered into an acquisition agreement with Warner Bros.

Now, on the back of Netflix declining to raise its bid and dropping out of the race to acquire Warner Bros., the streaming platform’s shares are having their best day since the market’s bounce back from the April tariff tantrum.

Driving the gains are what HSBC analysts call its “graceful exit” from the WBD brouhaha:

“A positive turn of events in our view, as we believe NFLX’s withdrawal from the race will leave it free to refocus on its business, while its closest competitors grapple with long and distracting regulatory approval and merger integration processes, and with Paramount Skydance saddled with sizable deal debts. And one must not forget the $2.8 bllion breakup fee (around 20% of NFLX 2026 estimated EPS) that NFLX will now be owed from WBD for choosing to go with another suitor.”