US stock market crashes today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq down today. The US stock market faced a significant retreat during Thursday’s mid-morning session, driven by a sharp selloff in megacap technology shares and escalating fears of military conflict in the Middle East. As of 10:41 AM EST, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite plummeted 2.21%, shedding 527.24 points to reach 23,330.21. This downward pressure was mirrored across broader indices, with the S&P 500 dropping 1.21% to 6,893.47 and the Dow Jones Industrial ...

微软（MSFT）周四早盘下跌11.8%。该公司第二季度营收813亿美元，每股收益5.16美元，云业务实现 515亿美元里程碑，但股价因疲软的运营利润率指引和上升的AI资本支出（本季度375亿美元）而下 滑。 责任编辑：张俊 SF065 微软（MSFT）周四早盘下跌11.8%。该公司第二季度营收813亿美元，每股收益5.16美元，云业务实现 515亿美元里程碑，但股价因疲软的运营利润率指引和上升的AI资本支出（本季度375亿美元）而下 滑。 责任编辑：张俊 SF065 ...

Microsoft stock (NASDAQ: MSFT) plunged over 11% on Thursday despite beating Wall Street on revenue and earnings in the second quarter. The sharp sell-off came despite a record surge in AI capital spen... ...

Core Insights - The article emphasizes the importance of generating alpha through independent investment strategies, focusing on sectors with perceived potential against the S&P 500 [1] Investment Approach - The company employs a generalist approach, analyzing various sectors as long as there is perceived alpha potential [1] - The typical holding period for investments ranges from a few quarters to multiple years [1] Research Methodology - The company builds and maintains spreadsheets that track historical financial data, key metrics, guidance trends, and performance indicators [1] - In addition to company filings, the company monitors relevant industry news and reports, as well as other analysts' coverage [1] - During significant events, such as CEO changes, the company conducts in-depth research on the leader's background and performance history [1] Valuation Techniques - The company rarely utilizes DCF models for long-term projections, believing they offer limited value [1] - Instead, the focus is on assessing company performance and the outlook on five key drivers of DCF valuation: revenues, costs and margins, cash flow conversion, capital expenditures, and interest rates [1] - For companies with high multiples, reverse DCF analysis is conducted to understand implied growth rates [1]

Shares of Microsoft are down 11.7% in Thursday trading after the company reported fiscal second-quarter results that beat Wall Street estimates but failed to satisfy investor expectations around Azure cloud growth and AI infrastructure spending. ...

Market Overview - The S&P 500 edged up by less than 0.1% and is near its all-time high set earlier this week [4][6] - The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 162 points, or 0.3% [4][6] - The Nasdaq composite slipped 0.6%, impacted by losses in large technology stocks [4][6] Company Performance - Microsoft shares fell 10.4% despite reporting stronger-than-expected profit and revenue, as investors were concerned about rising capital expenditure and growth in its Azure cloud business [4][6] - Meta Platforms' stock jumped 8.6% after beating profit expectations, indicating continued heavy investment in AI [4][6] - Tesla traded lower by 0.7% after initially positive results, with CEO Elon Musk urging investors to focus on long-term projects [4][6] - IBM rose 7.1% after exceeding profit and revenue forecasts [5][6] - Southwest Airlines surged 9.7% despite missing profit estimates, driven by a strong outlook for 2026 due to operational changes [5][6] - ServiceNow slid 9.2% even after delivering better-than-expected quarterly profits, as investors trimmed positions following a strong run earlier in the year [5][6] Commodity and Currency Trends - Gold prices increased by 4.5% to $5,579 an ounce, marking a gain of over 25% this year and roughly doubling over the past 12 months [5][6] - The US dollar weakened slightly against major currencies, continuing a broader downtrend [5][6] - Treasury yields remained steady, with the 10-year yield holding at 4.26% [5][6] Economic Context - Markets are digesting the Federal Reserve's decision to pause further interest-rate cuts after three reductions late last year, as inflation remains above the 2% target [5][6] - Stock markets rose across much of Europe and Asia, with South Korea's Kospi gaining 1% to another record, aided by strong advances in chipmaker SK Hynix [5][6]

Core Insights - Tech giants Meta Platforms Inc and Microsoft Corp reported strong earnings results, but their stock movements diverged sharply in the market [1] Group 1: Meta Platforms Inc (META) - META's stock rose by 7.7% to $719.96, reaching its highest level since October and on track for its largest single-day percentage gain since July [2] - The company announced better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and revenue, along with an increase in current-quarter sales guidance [2] - META plans to nearly double its AI spending by 2026, indicating a strong commitment to technology investment [2] Group 2: Microsoft Corp (MSFT) - MSFT's stock fell by 11.3% to $427.01, marking its lowest level since May 2025 and potentially its worst single-day percentage loss since the Covid-19 crash [3] - Despite reporting better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter results, the stock is negatively impacted by higher capital spending and slower growth in cloud computing [3] - A soft operating margin outlook is also contributing to the downward pressure on MSFT shares [3] Group 3: Options Activity - Both META and MSFT are experiencing significantly higher trading volumes in the options market [4] - The most popular options for META are the weekly 1/30 750-strike call, while for MSFT, it is the March 435 call, with new positions being opened for both [4]

This story was originally published on CIO Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily CIO Dive newsletter. Dive Brief:  Microsoft’s capital expenditures reached $37.5 billion for the period ending Dec. 31, 2025, with roughly two-thirds going to GPUs and CPUs as “customer demand continues to exceed our supply,” Microsoft EVP and CFO Amy Hood said during the company’s Q2 2026 earnings call on Wednesday. Remaining spend was allocated to assets including large data center sites.  W ...

Industry Overview - Software stocks are experiencing a significant sell-off, with the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) dropping approximately 5% in morning trading, marking its largest one-day decline since last April [2] - The ETF is now down about 21% from its recent high, indicating that the software industry has entered bear-market territory [2] Company Performance - ServiceNow reported fourth-quarter earnings that exceeded Wall Street expectations, yet its shares fell more than 11% on the day of the announcement [2] - Analysts from Morgan Stanley commented that while ServiceNow's performance was good, it was not sufficient to change the negative narrative surrounding incumbent application vendors [3] Market Sentiment - Investor concerns regarding the potential impact of artificial intelligence on traditional software business models are overshadowing positive earnings reports [3] - The sell-off has also affected major tech companies, with Microsoft experiencing a 10% decline after reporting a slowdown in cloud growth and providing softer-than-expected guidance for operating margins [4]

It's a tale of two different megacaps so far this earnings season when it comes to artificial intelligence.Meta Platforms surged after showing signs that investments in AI is boosting the bottom line, while Microsoft shares dropped as the company struggled to justify recent spending plans to investors and showed a slowdown in its cloud segment. The money flowing into AI and new technology has been a major source of debate on Wall Street as investors increasingly want to see that companies are reaping reward ...