Stock Markets Research & Reports

🔹 Meta to pay $18 billion in mass social media settlement Meta Platforms has agreed to pay roughly $18 billion to settle claims from a 29-state coalition of attorneys general that its platforms caused harm to children. Shares of Meta (NASDAQ: META) rose more than 4% in pre-market trading on the news, a reaction that underscores how investors view a negotiated settlement as materially preferable to an open-ended jury verdict. However, shares later gave up gains to trade flat as more details about the settlement came to light, including potential caps on usage. https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/meta-to-pay-up-to-1668-billion-in-mass-social-media-settlement-4877295

🔹 Forget Nvidia’s Q2 results. Wall Street is watching this $200 billion exposure A potential $200 billion in off-balance-sheet credit exposure is the number Wall Street is watching when Nvidia (NVDA) reports its second-quarter results after Wednesday's close, eclipsing what is shaping up to be a near-doubling of revenue. Get latest on key market topics with InvestingPro -- now 55% off For BofA analyst Vivek Arya, it's the balance sheet that matters, not the earnings beat. More precisely, Arya says investors will be focused on "NVDA's potential disclosure of its multi-year, off-balance-sheet commitments to lock down supply, power, models and demand." "Quantifying these liabilities won't erase AI buildout risk, but it lets the market price properly into what we see as a depressed valuation," he said yesterday. https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/forget-nvidias-q2-results-wall-street-is-watching-this-200-billion-exposure-4876568

🔹 Nvidia to report Following the close of U.S. markets, Nvidia (NVDA) will step into the spotlight when it unveils its much-anticipated fiscal second-quarter results. The semiconductor giant has become a bellwether of the AI era, with investors routinely expecting the firm to log blockbuster sales of its cutting-edge chips that power the nascent technology. According to LSEG data cited by Reuters, Nvidia’s quarterly revenue is seen doubling from a year ago to a mammoth $92.18 billion, thanks largely to solid data center sales. At that pace, revenue would grow at its fastest rate in seven quarters. Traders will also likely be keen to see the extent to which Nvidia expects its customers to switch from using its Blackwell chips to its next-generation Vera Rubin processors. However, concerns have swirled around the sustainability of an AI infrastructure spending spree by Nvidia’s megacap clients, especially after these companies flagged pressure on free cash flows in their own recent earnings reports. _ Investing

🔹 Meta settles with US states over social media harms Aug 26 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms (META) reached a settlement to resolve claims brought by states across the country that the company designed Instagram and Facebook to addict children, misled consumers about their safety, and improperly collected personal data of children who used its platforms, court papers show. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/meta-settles-with-us-states-over-social-media-harms-2026-08-26/?utm_source=braze&utm_medium=notifications&utm_campaign=2025_engagement

🔹Memory stocks — A slew of memory storage companies were also starting the week in the red before the bell. Sandisk was off more than 5%, while Western Digital (WDC) and Seagate Technology (STX) declined almost 4%. Micron Technology (MU) slid 3.5%.

🔹Chipmakers — After falling 5.5% last week, the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) was down almost 2% on Monday. Marvell Technology (MRVL) declined almost 3.5%, while Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Intel (INTC) fell about 2%.

🔹 Alibaba (BABA)— U.S.-listed shares of the Chinese technology company were off by 2% after the company announced it was issuing $10.2 billion of new shares to non-U.S. investors. Alibaba said all of the money it raises will be used to fund its AI projects, particularly on its AI infrastructure.

🔹 Marvell gives Google option to buy $12.2 billion stake in custom chip deal (Reuters) - Marvell Technology (MRVL) said on Wednesday it has issued Alphabet’s Google a warrant to buy a stake worth about $12.18 billion as part of a deal to help develop custom chips for the search giant. Shares of the custom chipmaker jumped more than 11% in premarket trading, while larger rival Broadcom was down over 3%. Demand for custom chips such as Google’s tensor processing units (TPUs), used for AI workloads, has surged in recent years as businesses seek alternatives to Nvidia’s pricey graphics processors. https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/marvell-gives-google-option-to-buy-122-billion-stake-in-custom-chip-deal-4867472

🔹 Moderna, Merck cancer vaccine shows promise in late-stage trial; Moderna stock soars 50% • An experimental personalized cancer vaccine from Merck and Moderna showed positive initial results in its first-ever late-stage trial. • The combination regimen met the main study goal of significantly extending the time patients lived without their melanoma returning, compared with Keytruda alone, and also reduced the risk of the cancer spreading to distant parts of the body. • The initial data suggest that the combo could serve as a new treatment option for the deadliest form of skin cancer, and validate a new personalized treatment approach. https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/19/moderna-merck-cancer-vaccine-shows-initial-late-stage-melanoma-data.html?

🔹 Memory chip stocks — Several companies were higher after U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told the Wall Street Journal in an interview that the Trump administration opposes Apple (AAPL) buying Chinese memory chips. Sandisk (SNDK) jumped 10%, Western Digital (WDC) added 5%, Micron Technology (MU) tacked on 6% and Seagate Technology (STX) was higher by 2%.

🔹 CoreWeave shares rally on smaller Q2 loss as AI infrastructure demand surges CoreWeave (CRWV) shares rose 13% in extended-hours trading on Tuesday after the AI cloud provider reported a smaller-than-expected second-quarter loss and revenue that topped Wall Street estimates. The company reported a loss of $1.14 per share, compared with analysts’ estimate of a $1.41 loss. Revenue came in at $2.58 billion, above the $2.56 billion consensus estimate. Revenue more than doubled from $1.21 billion a year earlier. https://www.investing.com/news/earnings/coreweave-revenue-more-than-doubles-as-ai-infrastructure-demand-surges-4852602

🔹 Super Micro Computer stock surges 9% as guidance shatters expectations Super Micro Computer Inc. (SMCI) sent shares rallying 9% after reporting robust fourth-quarter profits and issuing aggressive forward guidance that blew past Wall Street consensus. The blowout outlook served as a sharp positive surprise for investors, who had braced for headwind after the AI server provider signaled soft Q4 revenue in its preliminary update on July 21. https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/super-micro-computer-stock-surges-8-as-guidance-shatters-expectations-4852609

🔹 SpaceX (SPCX)— Elon Musk’s rocket company gained 12% a day after key insider lock-up provisions expired and investors snapped up newly available shares. The stock is on track for a nearly 19% advance on the week.

🔹 SpaceX shares gain as lock-up fears ease SpaceX shares were trading about 2% higher midday on Thursday, giving back some of the earlier gains but managing to stay in the green, even as 911.5 million shares valued at approximately $100 billion were released from lock-up agreements that previously restricted insiders from selling. Nearly 200 million shares have changed hands so far. The stock was up as much as 5% earlier in the day. Thursday’s lock-up expiration increased the total number of tradable shares to 1.55 billion, up from 639 million that were available when Space Exploration Technologies Corp. completed its initial public offering in June. The company sold shares at $135 each in what was a record IPO. Another scheduled lock-up release is set for June 2027, when 6.4 billion shares of Musk’s Class A common stock will become available for trading. https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/spacex-shares-gain-as-lockup-fears-ease-4842936

🔹 SoundHound AI (SOUN) surged 23% following a strong beat-and-raise Q2 performance. The voice AI technology provider reported a narrower-than-expected loss of ($0.02) per share on revenue of $61.9 million, easily topping the $52.4 million analysts’ consensus due to expanding automotive and restaurant customer deployments.

🔹 AppLovin (APP) cratered 17% after posting second-quarter revenue of $1.92 billion, which narrowly missed the $1.94 billion analysts’ estimate. While EPS of $3.76 was essentially in line with consensus, third-quarter revenue guidance of $2.055–$2.085 billion failed to satisfy investors accustomed to larger growth beats.

🔹 Figma (FIG) tumbled 17% after releasing its quarterly earnings report. Although Q2 EPS of $0.08 and revenue of $370 million topped Wall Street targets, along with upbeat Q3 sales guidance of $373–$375 million, high valuation metrics and elevated market expectations triggered a sharp post-earnings sell-off.

🔹SanDisk (SNDK) slid 4% despite delivering blowout Q4 results, posting an EPS of $39.25 against the $34.59 consensus on revenue of $8.97 billion. The memory giant also offered upbeat Q1 2027 revenue guidance of $10.3 billion to $10.8 billion. Despite the strong fundamental beat-and-raise, shares pulled back as traders capitalized on recent momentum across the broader NAND memory space.

🔹 Western Digital (WDC) fell 9.5% despite posting a solid fiscal Q4 beat with an adjusted EPS of $3.56 on $3.75 billion in revenue. Management also issued strong Q1 2027 guidance above expectations, projecting revenue between $4.0 billion and $4.2 billion. However, profit-taking took hold as investors locked in gains following a massive run-up in data center storage stocks leading into the report.

🔹 Google chief scientist Jeff Dean leaving in AI reshuffle after 27 years at company • Google’s AI divisions are getting shuffled, the search giant announced on Wednesday. • Jeff Dean, the longtime chief scientist, is leaving after 27 years to start his own company. https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/05/google-chief-scientist-jeff-dean-leaving-company-after-27-years.html?__