^{_{Welcome to the TraderTV Live Morning Research Note. Here's what's making major moves in the market today.}}

0945 - S&P services PMI for January: Expected 52.9; Prior 52.5
0945 - S&P manufacturing PMI for January: Expected 52; Prior 51.8
0945 - S&P composite PMI for January: Expected 53; Prior 52.7
1000 - UMich consumer sentiment for January: Expected 54; Prior 54
1000 - UMich 1yr inflation expectation for January: Expected 3.4%; Prior 3.4%
1000 - UMich 5yr inflation expectation for January: Expected 4.2%; Prior 4.2%

Intel Corp (INTC)

-12.28%

Gapping down after its Q4 2025 earnings report, during which the company issued weaker-than-expected Q1 2026 guidance amid supply chain concerns. Intel projected adjusted earnings of $0.00 per share and sales between $11.7 billion and $12.7 billion for the quarter, compared to estimates of $0.05 and $12.49 billion, respectively. For Q4 2025, Intel posted adjusted EPS of $0.15 and sales of $13.674 billion, both of which exceeded estimates.

NVIDIA Corp and Advanced Micro Devices

+1.66%

Bloomberg reported that Chinese regulators have told major tech firms including Alibaba they can begin preparing orders for Nvidia’s H200 AI chips, signaling Beijing is nearing formal approval for importing key AI components. The move comes with conditions encouraging purchases of domestic chips alongside Nvidia products. Separately, Aletheia reiterated a Constructive outlook on AMD’s server CPU business, projecting 42% year-over-year revenue growth in the segment amid higher unit growth and ASP expansion.

NVDA, AMD

Amazon.com Inc (AMZN)

+0.20%

Reuters reported that the company is set to begin another round of mass layoffs targeting corporate white-collar roles as part of a broader effort to streamline bureaucracy after pandemic-era overexpansion. These reported layoffs follow job cuts impacting 14,000 employees across AWS, retail, Prime Video, and HR late last year.

Meta Platforms Inc (META)

-0.46%

On watch amid reports of two separate investigations into the company from international regulatory bodies. Bloomberg reported that Beijing is intensifying its probe into Meta’s $2 billion acquisition of Chinese-founded AI startup Manus, raising the possibility regulators could modify or unwind the deal if violations are found. Meanwhile, Reuters reported that UK regulator Ofcom has opened an investigation into the company over whether it provided complete and accurate information about WhatsApp during a review of the business bulk SMS market.

Tesla Inc (TSLA)

-0.08%

The stock closed over 4% higher on Thursday after social media users shared that the company has begun offering fully unsupervised robotaxi rides in Austin, an update which was later echoed by CEO Elon Musk. The announcement immediately followed Musk’s appearance at Davos, during which he referred to autonomous driving as “essentially a solved problem” and said that the company plans to start selling humanoid robots to customers by the end of 2027. Additionally, Musk said Tesla will raise the $99/month price for supervised Full Self-Driving as its capabilities improve, with a major value inflection expected once unsupervised FSD is available.

Fortinet Inc (FTNT)

+4.82%

Trading sharply higher premarket after TD Cowen upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold while maintaining a $100 price target, citing solid checks that point to improving stability into FY26. The firm sees upside to late-2025 and FY26 billings as AI augments rather than displaces security software, with valuation attractive at under 7x EV/FY27 revenue.

LM Ericsson Telefon (ERIC)

+7.83%

The company’s US-listed shares are gapping up following its Q4 2025 earnings report. Ericsson posted quarterly earnings of $0.27 per share and sales of $7.367 billion, surpassing estimates of $0.23 and $7.03 billion, respectively. Despite the beat, sales declined by 5% year-over-year amid a 25% drop in Enterprise segment revenue.

Capital One Financial Corp (COF)

-2.41%

Trading lower following its Q4 2025 earnings report, during which the company announced plans to acquire fintech firm Brex for $5.15 billion. Capital One posted adjusted earnings of $3.86 per share, below estimates of $4.11 per share, though sales of $15.583 billion beat estimates of $15.481 billion.

SLB Ltd (SLB)

-0.45%

On watch after its Q4 2025 earnings report. Adjusted earnings of $0.78 per share and sales of $9.745 billion beat estimates of $0.74 and $9.547 billion, respectively. While revenue grew by 5% year-over-year, adjusted EPS dropped by 15%. The company also announced a 3.5% increase to its dividend.

USA Rare Earth Inc (USAR)

+6.56%

Continuing to trade higher premarket. On Thursday, the company named Fluor and WSP Global as engineering and construction partners for its Sierra Blanca, Texas mining project. The partnerships support an accelerated development plan aimed at advancing studies, drilling, and processing work as the company targets commercial production of heavy rare earth oxides by late 2028. USA Rare Earth has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, and approximately 13.2% of its float is sold short.

Direct Digital Holdings Inc (DRCT)

+159.74%

Gapping up on no apparent news catalyst. The stock, which has rallied in the past, has a market capitalization of $2.85 million and a float of 1.27 million shares.