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.

More Markets

See all Markets

Toby Bochan, Luke Kawa

Markets end first week of November on a mixed note

While November is historically the best month for US stocks, the first week of the month in 2025 wasn’t great.

Horse Ranch In Zhangye

BEAR NECESSITIES

The insanity over the Starbucks “Bearista” cups tells you everything you need to know about the US economy and markets

Upper-income consumers and megacap tech companies are both a) doing well and b) supply constrained.

Bear Roar

markets

Retail traders are “skipping the dip” this time

Here’s one noteworthy feature of the recent market downturn that has the S&P 500 poised for its worst week since reciprocal tariffs were announced in early April: retail traders seemingly aren’t eager to buy the weakness in single stocks the way they used to be.

JPMorgan strategist Arun Jain has flagged that retail traders instead appear to be “skipping the dip.”

“In contrast to the behavior observed during the post-Liberation Day selloff, retail investors did not seize the opportunity to buy-the-dip on Tuesday, with a few exceptions such as META,” he wrote of the day where the benchmark US stock index fell 1.2%. “In fact, they scaled back their ETF purchases and turned net sellers in single stocks.”

Then on Thursday, when the S&P 500 fell 1.1%, Jain projected that retail traders sold $261 million in single stocks. Through noon ET on Friday, his daily outflow estimate stands at $851 million.

With that intel, it’s little wonder why the carnage this week has been particularly intense in more speculative single stocks that had been favored by the retail community, including IREN, IonQ, Rigetti, Cipher Mining, Bloom Energy, and Oklo.

Prediction Markets Draftkings

DraftKings rebounds after Wall Street hears its prediction market plans

The company plans to launch its own predictions product in the coming months.

Matt Phillips11h

markets

Max Knoblauch12h

Archer Aviation plunges on $650 million share sale following its third-quarter results

Air taxi maker Archer Aviation is deep in the red on Friday morning after reporting its third-quarter results after the bell Thursday. The stock is down more than 12%.

Investors don’t appear to be thrilled about the company’s $650 million direct stock offering, announced alongside its results.

The move marks at least the third major equity raise, and dilution, for Archer this year. The company raised $300 million from a new stock sale in February, and sold $850 million worth of shares in June.

On Archer’s earnings call Thursday, interim CFO Priya Gupta said the company came to the decision after “substantial inbound interest.” According to Gupta, the company has heard from government and commercial partners that liquidity is a “key driver to their decisions of who to partner with.” With its latest share sale, Archer said its total liquidity is more than $2 billion.

Archer Aviation sinks after reporting better-than-expected Q3 loss, announces it will acquire LA’s Hawthorne Airport

Archer Aviation sinks after reporting better-than-expected Q3 loss, announces it will acquire LA’s Hawthorne Airport

The move marks at least the third major equity raise, and dilution, for Archer this year. The company raised $300 million from a new stock sale in February, and sold $850 million worth of shares in June.

On Archer’s earnings call Thursday, interim CFO Priya Gupta said the company came to the decision after “substantial inbound interest.” According to Gupta, the company has heard from government and commercial partners that liquidity is a “key driver to their decisions of who to partner with.” With its latest share sale, Archer said its total liquidity is more than $2 billion.

Latest Stories

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.

©2025 Sherwood Media, LLC