markets

Matt Phillips4/28/25

Palantir is once again the top stock in the S&P 500

A nearly 30% surge in Palantir shares this month has pushed the defense data and AI software company back into contention for the top of the S&P 500 — again.

The company, which was cofounded by Peter Thiel, was the top performer in the blue-chip index last year with a 340% gain. It was added to the S&P 500 in September 2024, and then exploded in price as part of the Trump stock rally that followed the November election.

This year has been much choppier, with the company up as much as 65% for the year through mid-February before losing all those gains in less than a month. The administration’s goal for deep cuts to defense spending and the federal bureaucracy seemed to spark a mini panic around the shares, as the US government is Palantir’s largest single customer.

But Palantir began to bounce as President Trump backed off on tariffs — it jumped 19% on the April 9 “pause” — and soon after announced a fresh defense deal with NATO.

Through Friday’s close, Palantir was up 49%, putting it ahead of CVS Health — which has sat atop the index for most of the year with its nearly 46% rise. And shortly before 12 p.m. ET, Palantir was still holding pole position in S&P 500, despite a slump in tech.

Palantir reports earnings on May 7 after the close of trading, and expectations are quite high, with analysts predicting sales growth of 36% year over year.

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The slow burn in software stocks is erupting into an all-out bonfire

Good results? Doesn’t matter. Good guidance? Doesn’t matter. Spending a ton to augment your business with AI? You’d better believe it doesn’t matter.

This earnings season, investors have decided that AI is enough of a long-term threat to the earnings power of software companies that the past three months or the next 12 are, at best, the calm before the storm. And heaven help management teams that didn’t offer strong results or a positive outlook.

The slow burn in software stocks has erupted into an all-out bonfire on Thursday, fueled by traders finding any excuse to sell Microsoft and ServiceNow after both reported robust quarterly results. The follow-through is weighing on the likes of Atlassian, Workday, Salesforce, Datadog, and Intuit. Put it all together and iShares Expanded Tech Software ETF is poised for its worst day since the Friday following the Rose Garden reciprocal tariff announcements in April 2025.

Here’s how an assortment of software companies have done on the session after reporting earnings:

Are there babies being thrown out with the bathwater here? Maybe. Probably, even!

But it likely won’t inspire too much confidence to learn that the last time the S&P 500 Software & Services industry group was down at least 20% over a 63-session stretch while the SPDR S&P 500 ETF was positive happened to be June 12, 2000.

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Max Knoblauch8h

Joby plunges after announcing plans to raise $1 billion in convertible bonds and stock

Shares of air taxi maker Joby Aviation are down more than 14% in premarket trading after the company announced a $1 billion capital raise after the bell Wednesday.

Joby, which in December said it would invest in equipment, facilities, and employees to double its aircraft production output by 2027, is offering convertible senior notes due 2032.

According to reporting by Bloomberg, the notes are being offered with an up to 30% conversion premium. Bloomberg reports that the company is pricing its share offering between $11.35 and $11.75, representing up to a 15% discount on the stock as of Wednesday’s close.

Joby ended its third quarter with $978.1 million in cash and cash equivalents, down slightly from its second quarter. Its shares have risen 62% over the past 12 months, compared to a more than 14% loss for its rival Archer Aviation in the same stretch.

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