Tonight's Highlights | US Futures Mixed, AMD Plunges Over 10% Premarket
On Wednesday, US index futures were mixed: Dow futures rose while Nasdaq 100 futures declined. Major European indices broadly advanced.
The prior trading day saw major indices close lower as investors rotated from high-risk growth stocks to cyclical names like Walmart. The S&P 500 fell ~0.8%, Nasdaq dropped 1.4%, and the Dow gave back gains after hitting an intraday high, closing down 0.3%.
Long-standing investor concerns that AI could erode high-margin business models of code-, database-, and IT-service-focused software companies intensified with recent developments — such as Anthropic's new legal tools.
Deutsche Bank macro & thematic strategy head Jim Reid wrote: “Yesterday marked a clear acceleration of the trend we've seen recently: this year, the nine worst-performing S&P 500 companies are all from software & related services, with declines of 25% or more.”
He added: “While the question of AI's ultimate winners is unlikely to be answered in 2026, recent months have seen a clear shift from blind AI enthusiasm to greater focus on differentiation among companies — and growing worry about AI disrupting existing business models.”
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang pushed back against fears that AI will replace software & related tools, calling the idea “the most illogical thing in the world” — arguing it makes more sense for AI models to use existing tools.
Premarket, AMD shares fell more than 10% after its Q1 guidance missed some analyst expectations.
Novo Nordisk U.S. ADR down over 4% premarket after plunging nearly 15% overnight — the company guided that semaglutide patent expirations will cause 2026 sales and profit growth to slow significantly, below consensus.
Eli Lilly ADR surged more than 8% premarket after beating expectations strongly.
Company News
Eli Lilly Q4 Revenue $19.292 Billion, Up 43% YoY
On February 4, Eli Lilly reported Q4 2025 results: revenue $19.292 billion (+43% YoY); reported net income $6.636 billion (+50%); reported EPS $7.39 (+51%).
OpenAI: GPT-5.2/Codex Models Speed Up 40%
On February 3 local time, OpenAI's developer account posted on X that GPT-5.2 and GPT-5.2-Codex models have achieved a 40% overall speed improvement — “inference stack optimized for all API customers.”
Texas Instruments Acquires Silicon Laboratories for $7.5 Billion
Texas Instruments announced February 4 it has agreed to acquire U.S. chipmaker Silicon Laboratories in a $7.5 billion deal. Silicon Labs shareholders will receive $231 cash per share — a 55% premium to Tuesday's close. The deal is expected to close in H1 2027.
Nasdaq Proposes “Fast-Track” Inclusion Rule
Nasdaq proposed February 4 to accelerate inclusion of large newly listed companies into the Nasdaq-100 index. The “fast-track” rule would allow qualifying new listings to join the Nasdaq-100 on the 15th trading day after listing — far shorter than the current minimum three-month wait. This year's IPO pipeline includes SpaceX (potential valuation $1.3 trillion), which would become one of the largest Nasdaq-100 constituents.
Prosus Signs 3-Year Deal with AWS to Expand AI Applications
On February 4, Dutch internet investment firm Prosus announced a three-year comprehensive agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to expand its AI applications across tech ecosystems in Latin America, Europe, and India.
Samsung Foundry Plans Price Hikes for 4nm & 8nm Processes
Reports indicate Samsung Foundry is planning price increases for select processes, primarily targeting 4nm and 8nm nodes, with expected hikes of around 10%.
Toyota Plans 30% Increase in Hybrid Production by 2028
Reports say Toyota plans to boost hybrid vehicle production by about 30% by 2028. Toyota expects to produce 6.7 million hybrids in 2028, up from 5 million hybrids and plug-in hybrids planned for 2026. Toyota also plans significant expansion of hybrid production in the U.S.