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Retail darling Planet Labs soars on earnings pop for second straight quarter

Planet Labs, which operates a network of satellites that record data, images, and information about the Earth, surged more than 40% after reporting better-than-expected quarterly numbers before the open of trading Monday.

It was the second straight quarter where the money-losing company’s quarterly update generated a massive market reaction. The stock jumped nearly 50% after numbers came out in June.

Planet Labs, which went public via SPAC in 2021, raised its full-year revenue guidance and notched its second straight quarter of positive free cash flow. Analysts and investors watch free cash flow closely as it can signal when a company’s business is starting to become more durable.

While the company is small — with roughly $2.5 billion in market cap — it has posted pretty serious gains, rising almost 300% the past 12 months. Planet Labs also appears to have a fairly large retail shareholder base.

Just 57% of its float is in the hands of institutional investors, according to FactSet data. That’s roughly the same as other retail favorites, like Palantir, though Planet Labs is nowhere near as highly valued as the defense data and AI software company led by CEO Alex Karp.

Planet Labs, which went public via SPAC in 2021, raised its full-year revenue guidance and notched its second straight quarter of positive free cash flow. Analysts and investors watch free cash flow closely as it can signal when a company’s business is starting to become more durable.

While the company is small — with roughly $2.5 billion in market cap — it has posted pretty serious gains, rising almost 300% the past 12 months. Planet Labs also appears to have a fairly large retail shareholder base.

Just 57% of its float is in the hands of institutional investors, according to FactSet data. That’s roughly the same as other retail favorites, like Palantir, though Planet Labs is nowhere near as highly valued as the defense data and AI software company led by CEO Alex Karp.

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Rani Molla

Amazon just matched its longest losing streak in 20 years

Amazon shares marked their ninth straight day of losses — the company’s longest losing streak since 2006.

The milestone follows a fourth-quarter earnings miss, downbeat guidance, and a plan to spend a whopping $200 billion on capital expenditure this year.

Amazon is hoping that by spending big on AI infrastructure now, it will reap rewards from the technology later. Investors aren’t so sure.

Interestingly enough, the current situation sounds quite similar to the one Amazon was in two decades ago. Back then, Amazon endured a similar stretch as it was upping spending on tech and an online toy store — moves that would eat into its profits.

At the time, an asset manager told Bloomberg, “They want to capture as many eyeballs as they can on the Internet and be the go-to place on the Internet, but thats costing them earnings, at least right now.”

Sound familiar? In case you’re wondering, Amazon stock has risen 14,849% since that quote.

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Rivian is on pace for its best-ever trading day as analysts dig into Q4 results

EV maker Rivian is on track to log its best trading day on record Friday, as investors pour in following its fourth-quarter earnings report and 2026 guidance and analysts issue bullish appraisals of the shares.

Rivian shares are up more than 30% on Friday afternoon, easily surpassing its previous best trading day, which came in January 2025.

“We continue to remain confident in the long-term vision that RIVN is amid a massive transformation,” Wedbush Securities’ Dan Ives wrote in a fresh note on Friday. The firm maintained its $25 price target and “outperform” outlook and said that the launch of Rivian’s upcoming lower-cost SUV, the R2, is “crucial.”

Rivian received upgrades from Deutsche Bank (to “buy” from “hold”) and UBS (to “neutral” from “sell”) following its results.

On its Thursday earnings call, Rivian said it expects its delivery volume of its existing vehicle lineup to land “roughly in line with... 2025 total volumes.” Given the automaker’s full-year delivery guidance, that statement implies 2026 R2 deliveries to land between 20,000 and 25,000 units.

Self-driving features also appear to be boosting investor optimism. On Thursday’s earnings call, CEO RJ Scaringe said the company would enable “point-to-point” driving in its vehicles later this year. In a podcast interview released Thursday, Scaringe predicted that by 2030, it will be “inconceivable to buy a car and not expect it to drive itself.” Rivian is targeting “a little sooner than that,” he added.

Rivian shares are also likely benefiting from something of a snapback: before the release of its Q4 results, Rivian shares had been hammered recently, down 38% since their recent high in December.

“We continue to remain confident in the long-term vision that RIVN is amid a massive transformation,” Wedbush Securities’ Dan Ives wrote in a fresh note on Friday. The firm maintained its $25 price target and “outperform” outlook and said that the launch of Rivian’s upcoming lower-cost SUV, the R2, is “crucial.”

Rivian received upgrades from Deutsche Bank (to “buy” from “hold”) and UBS (to “neutral” from “sell”) following its results.

On its Thursday earnings call, Rivian said it expects its delivery volume of its existing vehicle lineup to land “roughly in line with... 2025 total volumes.” Given the automaker’s full-year delivery guidance, that statement implies 2026 R2 deliveries to land between 20,000 and 25,000 units.

Self-driving features also appear to be boosting investor optimism. On Thursday’s earnings call, CEO RJ Scaringe said the company would enable “point-to-point” driving in its vehicles later this year. In a podcast interview released Thursday, Scaringe predicted that by 2030, it will be “inconceivable to buy a car and not expect it to drive itself.” Rivian is targeting “a little sooner than that,” he added.

Rivian shares are also likely benefiting from something of a snapback: before the release of its Q4 results, Rivian shares had been hammered recently, down 38% since their recent high in December.

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