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Tilray rises after reporting earnings, revenue beat

Tilray’s biggest areas of revenue growth have been its alcohol business and its international market.

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Tilray rose in after-hours trading after it reported earnings results that beat Wall Street expectations, its first earnings report since President Trump signed an executive order directing regulators to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug.

Tilray reported a loss per share of $0.02, compared to the $0.21 per-share loss analysts polled by FactSet were expecting. The company also reported $217.5 million in sales for the quarter ended November 30, higher than the $210.9 million the Street was penciling in.

The stock rose more than 5% in after-hours trading after the report came out. It’s up 54% over the past six months.

Tilray’s biggest areas of revenue growth have been its alcohol business and its international market. The company sold $20 million through its international segment, up from $14.8 million in the same period last year.

On December 18, Trump signed an executive order directing the attorney general to expedite the process of changing cannabis from a Schedule I drug, like heroin and LSD, to a Schedule III drug, like testosterone. The move would instantly make US cannabis companies more profitable by reducing their high tax burden.

Tilray does not sell adult-use cannabis in the US but still got a lift in its stock price amid the news, as it could potentially pave the way for the company to enter the market.

“As the U.S. regulatory landscape progresses, Tilray is prepared to leverage its experience to play a key role in building a responsible, research-oriented national medical cannabis industry,” Tilray CEO Irwin D. Simon said in a statement.

Matt Phillips3m

Intel gains after a favorable post from Trump

Intel continued its strong 2026 start by rising early Friday, following a favorable online post from President Trump, whose administration partially nationalized the ailing American chip giant in August.

In a Truth Social post Thursday afternoon, he praised CEO Lip-Bu Tan, boasted about the amount of money the government’s 10% investment in the company has made, and said, “Our Country is determined to bring leading edge Chip Manufacturing back to America, and that is exactly what is happening!!!”

Even after adjusting for the Trumpian tendency toward hyperbole, that last comment will be intriguing to Intel watchers. The company’s search to make deals with external customers willing to use its next-generation contract chip manufacturing business, crucial to the future of Intel’s ailing foundry business, will likely be a key driver of the stock price this year.

It’s not nuts to think that having the US government as a shareholder and the president as an active cheerleader — especially one who’s not shy about putting pressure on private sector companies to get what he wants — could be helpful in corralling reticent foundry customers.

Intel is up roughly 16% year to date and has more than doubled over the last year.

Intel stock rises after Trump touts 'very successful' CEO, applauds government's investment

Intel is up roughly 16% year to date and has more than doubled over the last year.

Max Knoblauch26m

Southwest climbs to highest since 2022 on a double upgrade and 66% price target hike from JPMorgan

A rare double upgrade from JPMorgan has Southwest Airlines taking off on Friday morning, with shares up 4% shortly after the market opened.

The firm upgraded Southwest from “underweight” to “overweight” and hiked its price target from $36 to $60. According to analyst Jamie Baker, the potential for earnings-per-share guidance of $5 is “attractively probable” in 2026 — a figure that would “handily dwarf” the Wall Street consensus.

“Southwest possesses the industry’s deepest track record of profitability, an investment grade balance sheet, and a loyal customer base,” Baker wrote, adding that recent hiccups and slow adaptation is stabilizing, and revenue-driving initiatives like bag fees are “progressing as planned.”

Bag fees helped drive the airline to record third-quarter revenue in October. Later this month, the carrier will roll out assigned seating, which will open up new seating tier categories (and more premium ticket options).

Max Knoblauch1h

GM says it will take a $6 billion charge in latest major EV write-down

Shares of GM are down about 2% in premarket trading on Friday following the automaker’s announcement on Thursday evening that it expects to take $6 billion in charges in Q4 on its EV pullback.

GM will take an additional $1.1 billion charge on the restructuring of a joint venture in China.

“With the termination of certain consumer tax incentives and the reduction in the stringency of emissions regulations, industry-wide consumer demand for EVs in North America began to slow in 2025. As a result, GM proactively reduced EV capacity,” read a public filing by the company.

The move follows a similar EV-related write-down by rival Ford, which announced a $19.5 billion charge related to its EV pullback.

GM to take $6 billion writedown on EV pullback

The move follows a similar EV-related write-down by rival Ford, which announced a $19.5 billion charge related to its EV pullback.

Luke Kawa2h

Unemployment rate drops by more than expected in December, even with weak job growth

The jobless rate dipped down to 4.4% in December, even as employment grew by just 50,000. Economists anticipated 70,000 jobs would be added, with the unemployment rate edging down to 4.5%.

Ahead of this release, prediction markets implied that job growth for December would be a little north of 80,000.

(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)

In the wake of this report, traders in prediction markets calcified bets that the Fed would do nothing at its January meeting, with probabilities rising to 97% from 93%, while the SPDR S&P 500 ETF added to its premarket gains.

Revisions to previous reports were negative, with payrolls for the two last readings being lowered by 76,000, cumulatively.

In the previous report, a joint release of October and November nonfarm payrolls, the unemployment rate had jumped by more than expected to 4.6%. That marked the first time the US unemployment rate increased for four consecutive readings since June 2009.

Hyunsoo Rim2h

Housing stocks rise after Trump calls for $200 billion mortgage bond purchase

Housing-related stocks rose in after-hours trading yesterday, and remained in the green early on Friday, after President Trump said he would direct a large-scale purchase of mortgage bonds in a bid to lower borrowing costs.

In a Truth Social post yesterday, Trump said he is instructing his “Representatives” to buy $200 billion in mortgage bonds, arguing the move will “drive Mortgage Rates DOWN, monthly payments DOWN, and make the cost of owning a home more affordable.” The purchase will be executed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, per an X post by Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees the two firms.

Shares of mortgage lenders surged early Friday, with Rocket Cos and UWM Holdings both up around 6% as of 7 a.m. ET and LoanDepot rising as much as 16.8%. Online real estate platform Opendoor Technologies jumped 8.4%, while home builders like Lennar saw more modest gains.