Markets
Luke Kawa

US stocks fall with semis slammed again


US stocks slipped on Friday, but still managed to post their third straight weekly gain.

The price action, which has seen stocks fall in back-to-back sessions, is not yet outright worrisome. But it’s semi-concerning.

The VanEck Semiconductor ETF has given back 4.3% since Juneteenth in its worst two-day strength since the calendar was turning from April to May. 

Broadcom was the worst-performing S&P 500 constituent, down 4.4%, with Nvidia not too far ahead of it on the leaderboard with a decline of 3.2%. The two-day decline of 6.6% for the GPU maker is its worst such stretch in about two months.

The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF, meanwhile, posted a small gain to end the week. This year, it’s been out-of-touch with Nvidia’s moves to a record degree.

Consumer discretionary was the best-performing US sector ETF with a gain of 0.8%, with communication services not too far behind. Utilities and energy trailed, with each sector ETF down 0.6%.

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Hardware stocks jump thanks to server demand and record Lenovo revenue

Server stocks are rallying as Dell, Super Micro Computer, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise ride the momentum of Hong Kong-based Lenovo. The PC makers stock rose 19% on Friday, hitting an all-time high, on record Q4 earnings.

Powering the positive earnings report was the companys AI-related revenue, which grew 84% in the fourth quarter and now makes up over a third of total revenue. Investors seem to think the increased demand for servers could have trickle-down effects for other companies.

The companys results and commentary reinforced the outlook for strong AI-infrastructure demand while indicating resilient broader traditional server and storage spending, wrote Woo Jin Ho, a senior technology analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. Lenovos $21 billion AI-server pipeline and remarks that demand is outpacing supply support Dells AI-demand momentum and point to robust orders.

AIs insatiable computing demand is reshaping the hardware industry and driving up server demand.

Dell will report first-quarter earnings on Thursday, May 28.

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Take-Two’s “GTA 6” forecast feels absurdly conservative

Take-Two issued a 2027 net bookings forecast about $1 billion below Wall Street’s estimates. The stock is falling on Friday.

The D-Wave 2X quantum system, is operated at the NASA Advanced Supercomputing facility's Quantum Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif., as seen on Tuesday December 8, 2015.

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Luke Kawa5/22/26
markets

Ross Stores surges as Q1 results beat expectations, full-year guidance raised

Ross shares are rising after the company delivered strong Q1 results, with sales topping Wall Street’s projections.

The stock soared 6.3% just after the open.

Key numbers:

  • Earnings per share of $2.02 vs. $1.47 year over year (estimate: $1.72).

  • Sales of $6.01 billion, up 21% year over year (estimate: $5.61 billion).

  • Comparable sales growth of 17% (estimate: 8.58%).

CEO Jim Conroy attributed the results to better traffic in stores. “Customer traffic was the primary driver of the strong sales trend as compelling merchandise assortments, higher customer acquisition and engagement from our ongoing marketing initiatives, and an improved in‑store experience are resonating with shoppers.”

The company also noted that transaction volume grew across all key demographics, including “income levels, ethnicities, and age groups, including younger customers.” Sales were also likely buoyed by standard seasonal tailwinds, including consumer spending from tax refunds.

Backed by the strong quarter, the company lifted its full-year targets. Ross now projects same-store sales growth of 6% to 7%, up from the prior forecast of 3% to 4%, topping Wall Street’s estimate of 4.64%. It boosted its annual EPS guidance to a range of $7.50 to $7.74, versus the prior outlook of $7.02 to $7.36.

Ross Stores has been one of the retail sector’s standout performers this year, rising around 20% year to date as of Thursday’s close.

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