Core Viewpoint - The technology sector has significantly increased share buyback activities, with S&P 500 tech companies spending $253 billion on buybacks in 2024, representing nearly 27% of total buyback spending across all sectors [1]. Group 1: Company Buyback Announcements - KLA announced a $5 billion increase to its share buyback authorization, bringing its total buyback capacity to just under $5.5 billion, which is nearly 6% of its market capitalization [4]. - Dell Technologies revealed a $10 billion increase to its share repurchase authorization, which is approximately 15% of its $66 billion market cap [6][7]. - Alphabet announced a substantial $70 billion share buyback program, which represents about 3.5% of its market cap of around $2 trillion [10][11]. Group 2: Dividend Increases - KLA increased its quarterly dividend by almost 12%, with an indicated yield of around 1.1% [5]. - Dell Technologies announced an 18% increase to its quarterly dividend, now just under $0.53 per share, yielding around 2.2% [8]. - Alphabet's dividend increase was modest at 5%, with a quarterly dividend of $0.21, resulting in a yield of just over 0.5% [12]. Group 3: Market Sentiment and Analyst Ratings - KLA is recognized as a leader in chip inspection and metrology equipment, with a MarketRank of 93rd percentile and a moderate buy rating [3]. - Dell Technologies holds a MarketRank of 100th percentile, indicating strong market sentiment with a projected earnings growth of 17.75% [7]. - Alphabet has a MarketRank of 80th percentile, with a moderate buy rating and projected earnings growth of 14.94% [11].

Core Viewpoint - Onto Innovation (ONTO) is anticipated to report a year-over-year increase in earnings and revenues for the quarter ended March 2025, with earnings expected to be $1.47 per share, reflecting a 24.6% increase, and revenues projected at $264.96 million, up 15.8% from the previous year [1][3]. Earnings Expectations - The upcoming earnings report is scheduled for May 8, and the stock may rise if the reported figures exceed expectations, while a miss could lead to a decline [2]. - The consensus EPS estimate has been revised down by 1.07% over the last 30 days, indicating a reassessment by analysts [4]. Earnings Surprise Prediction - The Zacks Earnings ESP model compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that recent estimate revisions may provide more accurate insights into the company's earnings potential [5][6]. - A negative Earnings ESP of -1.09% indicates that analysts have become bearish on Onto Innovation's earnings prospects, compounded by a Zacks Rank of 4, making it challenging to predict an earnings beat [10][11]. Historical Performance - Onto Innovation has a history of beating consensus EPS estimates, having done so in the last four quarters, including a surprise of +8.63% in the last reported quarter [12][13]. Conclusion - Despite the historical performance of beating estimates, Onto Innovation does not currently appear to be a strong candidate for an earnings beat, and investors should consider other factors before making investment decisions [14][16].

Core Viewpoint - ASML's stock experienced a significant decline despite reporting better-than-expected Q1 earnings, primarily due to macroeconomic and geopolitical pressures impacting investor sentiment [1][4]. Financial Performance - ASML reported earnings of 6 euros per share on sales of 7.74 billion euros, exceeding market expectations by 0.20 euros per share, although revenue fell short by approximately 40 million euros [3]. - Year-over-year, sales increased by 46%, and the company maintained its full-year sales guidance between 30 billion euros and 35 billion euros, with a gross margin forecast of 51% to 53% [3]. Market Reactions - The stock price fell by 7% during trading, with a peak decline of 8.6%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite also experienced declines of 2.2% and 3.1%, respectively [1][2]. - The bearish market reaction was influenced by new tariffs on Chinese goods and expanded export restrictions on processors from Nvidia and AMD [5][6]. Macroeconomic Context - The Trump administration announced an increase in tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to 245%, contributing to market uncertainty [5]. - Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell indicated that the Fed is unlikely to cut interest rates soon, as the effects of new tariffs on inflation and economic growth need to be assessed [6].

Group 1: Share Buyback Programs - Several major firms have announced significant new share buyback programs as Q1 2025 concludes, with three stocks having buyback capacity of 8% or more of their market capitalizations [1] - Applied Materials has authorized a $10 billion share buyback program, bringing its total buyback capacity to $17.6 billion, which is nearly 14% of its $126 billion market capitalization [1] - Churchill Downs has approved a $500 million share repurchase program, resulting in a total buyback capacity of $626 million, approximately 8% of its $8 billion market capitalization [6] - DICK'S Sporting Goods announced a $3 billion share buyback program, giving it a total buyback capacity of approximately $3.51 billion, equal to 22% of its nearly $16 billion market capitalization [11][12] Group 2: Dividend Increases - Applied Materials announced a significant dividend increase of 15%, raising the payment to $0.46 per share, with a yield of 1.2% [4] - DICK'S Sporting Goods also raised its dividend by 10%, planning to pay a total of $4.85 over the next four quarters, resulting in a dividend yield of 2.5% [14] Group 3: Financial Performance and Metrics - Applied Materials has repurchased $4.4 billion worth of shares over the last four quarters, but the timing of these purchases was not optimal as the current share price is 19% lower than the average repurchase price of $192 [2][3] - Churchill Downs has repurchased $216 million worth of shares in the last 12 months, which is moderately above its average repurchase pace of $187 million over the past decade [7] - DICK'S Sporting Goods spent $268 million on share buybacks in fiscal 2024, below its average annual buyback pace of $430 million over the past 10 years, with the current share price being 8% lower than the average price paid for shares [13]