Luke Kawa3/3/25

S&P 500 suffers worst loss of 2025 on tariffs and Nvidia-fueled sell-off

The S&P 500 tumbled 1.8%, its worst loss of 2025, as markets were hit with a vicious one-two punch of the continued plunge in momentum stocks and a real wake-up call on the reality of President Donald Trump’s trade policy. The Nasdaq 100 gave back 2.2% while the Russell 2000 slumped 2.8%.

Energy was the worst-performing sector amid OPEC+’s slightly surprising decision to begin returning oil to the market next month. Tech wasn’t too far behind. Some sources of relief on the tape were the typically defensive sectors: real estate, consumer staples, healthcare, and, to a lesser extent, utilities.

Nvidia tanked nearly 9% amid a chorus of bearish commentary from Goldman Sachs’ market desk, closing at its lowest level of 2025.

Intel initially surged after reports that Nvidia and Broadcom were exploring the idea of becoming customers to make advanced chips, but gave up all those gains and then some.

Sunnova Energy lost nearly two-thirds of its value after issuing the dreaded “going concern” notice.

The gains that various cryptocurrencies enjoyed after this weekend’s declaration of a Crypto Strategic Reserve all faded amid the sell-off in risk assets.

Kroger dropped after announcing the abrupt resignation of its CEO for a personal conduct violation.

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A festive meal based on mean, green, hairy creature fueled McDonald’s biggest day of sales on record

“Am I eating this just because I’m bored?”

Santa Claus tours Valparaiso Bay by boat

markets

Matt Phillips2h

Cisco beats expectations for Q2 sales and EPS; Q3 margin forecast is light

Cisco beat Wall Street expectations for sales and earnings in its fiscal second-quarter results, which it released after the close of trading Wednesday.

Shares slid 7% in the after-hours session. A lighter-than-expected forecast for fiscal third-quarter profit margins may have played a role.

For the fiscal second quarter of 2026, the computer networking equipment giant reported:

Non-GAAP earnings per share of $1.04 vs. the $1.02 expected by Wall Street analysts, according to FactSet.
Sales of $15.35 billion vs. the $15.11 billion consensus expectation.
AI infrastructure orders from hyperscalers of $2.1 billion vs. $1.3 billion in the previous quarter.
Revenue guidance for fiscal Q3 of between $15.4 billion and $15.6 billion vs. $15.19 billion consensus estimate.
Adjusted gross margin guidance for fiscal Q3 of 65.5% to 66.5%, compared with analysts’ forecasts for 68.2%.
Fiscal year 2026 sales guidance of $61.2 billion to $61.7 billion vs. previous guidance of between $60.2 billion and $61.0 billion.

Along with other companies like Lumentum, Corning, and new S&P 500 member Ciena, which provide things like the wiring and networking equipment needed to connect server racks, Cisco shares have had a strong start to 2026 as the AI data center boom continues to roll.

Through the end of trading on Wednesday they were up 11% for the year, compared to a 1.4% gain for the S&P 500.

This is a developing story.

markets

J. Edward Moreno2h

McDonald’s Q4 earnings, sales beat Wall Street estimates

McDonald’s reported Q4 results on Wednesday that beat Wall Street’s expectations, which the company attributes to its “value leadership.”

For the last three months of 2025, the fast-food giant reported:

Adjusted earnings per share of $3.12, compared to the $3.05 analysts polled by FactSet were expecting.
Revenue of $7 billion, higher than the $6.8 billion analysts were penciling in.
Global comparable-store sales growth of 5.7%, compared to the 3.9% growth analysts were expecting. In the US, comparable sales grew 6.8% versus the 5.4% that was expected. The company said this was “driven by positive check and guest count growth primarily from successful marketing promotions.”

McDonald’s has emphasized discounts and promotions, such as its $5 meal deals. “McDonald’s value leadership is working,” CEO Chris Kempczinski said in a statement.

Shares were little changed in after-hours trading.

AppLovin delivers top- and bottom-line beats in Q4 with Q1 guidance ahead of estimates

The ad tech company just released Q4 results.

Tasha Matsumoto

Stocks finish flat after blockbuster jobs report

Employers added 130,000 jobs last month, crushing estimates for 65,000.

BISHOP'S STORTFORD, ENGLAND - JANUARY 25: Snowfall in the Essex countryside on January 25, 2021 in Bishop's Stortford, Essex, United Kingdom.

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