All three major US stock indexes were sharply lower in late-morning trading, with the Nasdaq Composite down by more than 4% and entering correction territory, as investors sold shares of artificial intelligence and data center companies after the Democrats took control of both the Senate and the House in Tuesday's midterm elections.
The Nasdaq Composite was down about 4.3% at 11:50 am ET, and down over 10% from its recent high on Oct. 6.
Qualcomm (QCOM) reported fiscal Q4 adjusted earnings late Wednesday of $2.17 per diluted share, down from $3.00 a year earlier but above the FactSet consensus analyst estimate of $2.16. Fiscal Q4 revenue was $10.32 billion, down from $11.27 billion a year ago but above the FactSet consensus of $10.12 billion. For fiscal Q1, Qualcomm expects adjusted EPS of $2.15 to $2.35 on revenue of $10.4 billion to $11.2 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet expect $2.2 and $10.49 billion, respectively. Qualcomm shares were down 12.1% around midday.
Apple (AAPL) has kicked off an investment-grade bond sale in seven tranches, with maturities ranging from two to 10 years, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing a person familiar with the matter. The initial price talk for the longest tenor is for a spread of 0.8 percentage point over Treasuries, the report said, citing the person. The tech giant is looking to raise up to $7 billion from the offering, Bloomberg reported later Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. No final decision on the size of the offering has been made, and it could change depending on investor demand, the people reportedly said. Apple shares were down 1.1%.
AppLovin (APP) reported Q3 diluted EPS late Wednesday of $4.30, up from $2.45 a year earlier and above the FactSet consensus of $4.03. Third-quarter revenue was $2.18 billion, up from $1.41 billion a year ago and above the FactSet consensus of $2.07 billion. For Q4, the company expects revenue of $2.37 billion to $2.40 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $2.25 billion. AppLovin shares were up 28.9%.
Micron Technology (MU) has paused construction of its planned memory chip plant in Taiwan's Taoyuan City amid a prolonged labor dispute and uncertainty surrounding its agreement with a local union, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. Micron had budgeted for up to $4.5 billion for the high-bandwidth memory and DRAM plant, which was expected to begin operations in 2028, the report said. Micron shares were down 11.0%.
Microsoft (MSFT) declined an option to extend a contract at a Texas data center with Nscale because the site was in need of regulatory approvals for an energy connection, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing a person familiar with the matter. Under a deal struck in late 2025, Nscale agreed to provide Microsoft with 240 megawatts of computing capacity at the Texas site with an option to add 700 megawatts, the report said. Microsoft is also tightening oversight of some data center projects from Nebius Group (NBIS), IREN (IREN) and Nscale, as the neocloud companies deal with delays, regulatory issues and high costs, Bloomberg reported separately on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. Microsoft shares were down 2.4%, while Nebius and IREN shares were down 13.3% and 13.5%, respectively.
Wendy's (WEN) said Thursday its committee of independent directors unanimously rejected the unsolicited, non-binding proposal from a group of investors led by Trian Fund Management to acquire all of the common stock of the company that it doesn't already own for $7.35 per share in cash. Wendy's shares were down 0.3%.
Price: 152.81, Change: -20.38, Percent Change: -11.77
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