Stock Indexes Mostly Rise Ahead of Nvidia Results; S&P 500 on Pace to End 4-Session Skid

Lowe’s Stock Is Jumping After Earnings. Here’s Why Its Results Were Different Than Home Depot’s.

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Lowe’s (LOW) shares surged Wednesday after the home improvement retailer reported profits that topped analysts’ expectations, just a day after rival Home Depot’s (HD) profits fell short.

Lowe’s stock was up over 5% in recent trading, making it one of the best-performing stocks in the S&P 500 Wednesday morning.

The retail giant posted adjusted earnings of $3.06 per share in the third quarter, up from $2.89 the same time last year and well above the analyst consensus compiled by Visible Alpha. Revenue was roughly in line with estimates at $20.81 billion, while comparable sales grew slower than expected at 0.4%.

Lowe’s said a jump in sales online and to professional contractors helped drive the results, along with double-digit growth in “home services,” in which customers can call on professionals in the company’s network to help with tasks such as installing appliances or flooring.

Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison also said that the current quarter has started with positive comparable sales growth, which he said is notable given Lowe’s saw strong sales activity this time last year as hurricanes drove demand.

Lowe’s lifted its full-year revenue forecast to $86 billion, up from a range of $84.5 billion to $85.5 billion previously and above the analyst consensus. However, the retailer said it sees adjusted EPS coming in at the lower end of its range, at $12.25 compared to its previous projection of $12.20 to $12.45, citing “ongoing uncertainty in the macroeconomic environment.” The company said it now anticipates roughly flat comparable sales, compared to flat to 1% growth previously.

Read the full article here.

–Aaron McDade

Do Nvidia Earnings Have You Worried About What’s Next For Markets? You’re Not Alone

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Nvidia’s quarterly results are almost here, and anxiety is running high.

The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX), known as Wall Street’s Fear Index, on Tuesday ended the day just below 25, near its highest level since May, when the market was cooling off from April’s tariff tantrum. The index has risen substantially in the past week after coasting along in the mid-teens throughout the second half of the year. (It was recently a bit below 24; a reading below 20 is generally considered calm.)

And CNN’s Fear & Greed Index, which tracks seven stock-market metrics to gauge the mood on Wall Street, yesterday fell to its lowest level since mid-April. Six of the seven index inputs were flashing “Extreme Fear” on Wednesday morning, with measures of momentum and market breadth having slumped in recent weeks.

Recent anxiety has centered on AI, with some investors worrying that tech giants are overspending on technology with uncertain commercial prospects. Others argue AI will transform nearly every industry, justifying tech’s massive investments and high stock valuations. 

The AI bubble debate has been playing out for some time, but it intensified this month. Forty-five percent of fund managers surveyed by Bank of America in November said an AI bubble was the biggest tail risk facing the market, up from 33% last month and just over 10% in September. More than half of those surveyed said AI was already in a bubble.

Read the full article here.

–Colin Laidley

Energy Is Worst-Performing S&P 500 Sector Wednesday

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On a positive day for the S&P 500, energy shares are underperforming.

The S&P 500 Energy Sector was by far the worst performer of the 11 industries tracked by the benchmark index, down 1.7%—roughly double the second-worst-performing sector, Real Estate.

Eversource Energy (ES) was the worst-performing individual stock in the S&P 500, with shares tumbling about 8.5%. APA (APA), Valero Energy (VLO), Phillips 66 (PSX), and Marathon Petroleum (MPC) also were among the biggest decliners Wednesday morning.

The S&P 500 overall was up about 0.4%, on pace to snap a four-session skid.

Bullish Stock Drops on Higher-Than-Expected Expenses Outlook

1 hr 58 min ago

Bullish (BLSH) investors are not so bullish about its fourth-quarter expenses projection.

Shares of the cryptocurrency exchange dropped more than 5% Wednesday morning after the Peter Thiel-backed firm said it sees current-quarter adjusted operating expenses of $48.0 million to $50.0 million. Analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha had expected $46.6 million.

Bullish, which also operates the CoinDesk crypto information site, reported mixed third-quarter results, with adjusted revenue of $76.5 million topping analysts’ expectations but digital asset sales of $41.6 billion coming up short of consensus.

Bullish shares have lost nearly half their value since their August IPO.

La-Z-Boy Stock Soars After Furniture Retailer Unexpectedly Delivers Sales Growth Despite ‘Choppy Landscape’

3 hr 43 min ago

La-Z-Boy (LZB) shares ended trading yesterday having lost nearly a third of their value in 2025. They look poised to significantly pare their yearly declines today.

Shares of the Monroe, Mich.-based furniture maker soared 11% in premarket trading Wednesday, a day after the company unexpectedly posted a year-over-year sales increase in its fiscal 2026 second quarter.

La-Z-Boy reported Q2 sales of $522.5 million. Although up just 0.3% from a year ago, analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha had expected a slight decline. Wholesale segment sales increased 2%.

“We were pleased to deliver modest sales growth, particularly in our Wholesale segment where we also again delivered margin expansion, continuing to create our own momentum in what remains a choppy landscape,” CEO Melinda Whittington said.

Adjusted profit of $0.71 per share easily topped analysts’ consensus forecast of $0.53.

“We are proactively taking steps to optimize our portfolio,” Whittington added. “We have announced plans to exit our non-core wholesale casegoods and upholstery businesses in the back half of the fiscal year, announced the proposed closure of our U.K. manufacturing facility, and strategically realigned our commercial leadership and corporate staffing to enhance operating efficiency.”

La-Z-Boy shares entered the day down 32% this year. 

Peter Thiel’s Hedge Fund Dumped Nvidia Shares Just Before Its Big Earnings Report

4 hr 36 min ago

While everybody is watching for Nvidia’s earnings report tomorrow, a few big investors have already taken their chips off the table.

Thiel Macro, tech titan Peter Thiel’s hedge fund, revealed in a regulatory filing late last week that it sold its entire stake in the AI bellwether during the third quarter. The 537,742 shares the firm held heading into the quarter would have been worth approximately $100 million at the end of September.

While people may sell assets for all sorts of reasons, Thiel joins a growing list of heavy hitters whose Nvidia (NVDA) moves have lately raised eyebrows on Wall Street. Japanese investment firm SoftBank revealed last week that it sold its entire Nvidia stake in October, raising about $5.8 billion. (Executives said the position was liquidated to fund investments in another AI darling, OpenAI.)

Others have outright bet against Nvidia. Scion Asset Management, run by Michael Burry, the hedge fund manager of “The Big Short” fame, revealed earlier this month that it sold short Nvidia shares valued at $186 million in the third quarter. (Scion also had a short bet against Palantir (PLTR), the data analytics firm Thiel founded in 2003, valued at more than $900 million at the end of the quarter.)

Some on Wall Street are increasingly worried that the AI boom is actually an AI bubble. They point to elevated stock valuations, uncertainty about AI’s revenue potential, and a series of circular deals between vendors and customers as causes for concern. AI bulls contend that valuations are modest compared with the Dotcom Bubble, to which the current investment cycle is frequently compared, and remind skeptics that AI investment is being driven by hugely profitable tech businesses.

Read the full article here.

–Colin Laidley

Stock Futures Tick Higher Ahead of Nvidia Earnings

5 hr 9 min ago

Futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.1% higher.

S&P 500 futures advanced 0.3%.

Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.4%.