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Lucy Brewster

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The semiconductor giant rose 3.25% today after reporting a 

, despite the collateral damage of the ongoing trade war.

Nvidia reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.81, up 33% from last year and higher than the $0.73 expected.

Revenue came in at $44.06 billion—a record high, and a 69% increase from the same period last year, beating Wall Street projections of $43.3 billion.

But guidance came in below forecasts due to an estimated $8 billion loss from export restrictions to China.

This earnings announcement was a pivotal one for Nvidia. Sure, the chipmaker has climbed 21% over the past 12 months, but it’s only up 0.64% this year as trade war tensions jostled the Magnificent Seven. Nvidia found itself square in the crosshairs of the tariff tit-for-tat between the US and China after the White House slapped 

Investors were worried that would take a big bite out of profits, but it only cost the company $4.5 billion in excess inventory last quarter and cut potential sales by just $2.5 billion—far better than analysts feared, illustrating the company’s resilience with or without access to the Chinese market.

Other highlights included revenue from data centers—those massively expensive hardware projects 

—jumping 73% year-over-year to $39.1 billion.

“Global demand for Nvidia’s AI infrastructure is incredibly strong,” said Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang 

Nvidia’s glow could cast a flattering light on the rest of the semiconductor industry. Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), SK Hynix, and Micron ended today in the green. Companies that have business directly with Nvidia, such as Super Micro Computer and Vertiv, 

, although shares of both ended the day in the red.

Beyond hardware, the bullish news could implicate the broader AI trade, too.

“It's hard to be pessimistic about AI when it appears to be emerging as an area of national security for leading countries worldwide,” Morningstar equity analyst Brian Colello wrote in a note today.

Demand for hardware indicates demand for software, too, argued Wedbush analyst Dan Ives: “The AI Revolution is progressing from the chip phase to the software (use case) and infrastructure names that will benefit front and center,” he explained.

Test

Nvidia earnings bolstered chip stocks, AI trade alive and well

Chinese tariffs were no match for the semiconductor king.

Nvidia saves the day yet again

Judy Dutton

Abercrombie & Fitch, a brand infamous for its shirtless male models in the early aughts, may have actually managed to claw its way back to popularity all over again.

Shares surged 14.67% on Wednesday after the preppy apparel purveyor surpassed Wall Street’s expectations on both top and bottom lines in the first quarter, with 

 of $1.10 billion—up about 8% from $1.02 billion a year earlier.

Hollister, ANF’s younger, hipper offshoot, led the recovery with 22% growth, achieving its best first-quarter net sales in history. Meanwhile, the Abercrombie brand declined 4%, although it may simply be settling down after its sizable 31% sales growth last year. Earnings per share also easily surpassed expectations at $1.59 versus $1.39.

Abercrombie seems to be regaining the momentum it built over the past two years, when shares surged by over 

—before plummeting 50% on the news of President Trump’s tariffs. The company expects levies to take a $50 million toll on earnings this year, but management forecasts net sales will rise 3% to 6% for the rest of the fiscal year, though they did cut EPS estimates.

Abercrombie’s recent rally shows that tariffs haven’t completely killed the apparel industry quite yet. True, American Eagle is down 35% year to date, Nike has sunk 16%, and Lululemon is 15% lower than where it started in 2025. So, what is Abercrombie doing right?

“Abercrombie’s surge, despite slashing profit guidance, is a fascinating case study in how markets are pricing resilience over near-term headwinds,” said Aether Holding CEO Nicolas Lin. “What’s particularly impressive is their supply chain agility. Reducing China exposure from 30% to low single digits while maintaining margins shows operational excellence that most retailers lack.”

In addition to dispersing its supply chain to other countries, the brand has bent over backward to become relevant to young consumers. “The company ditched its moody mall-era baggage: Out went the shirtless greeters and exclusionary ethos; in came inclusive sizing and quiet confidence for shoppers who now prefer oat milk to Axe body spray,” explained Chief Investment Officer at Running Point Capital Advisors Michael Ashley Schulman.

But some are skeptical whether Abercrombie fever will remain this high—at least when it comes to the stock.

“The rally feels overdone from a risk/reward perspective,” said Lin. “When a stock jumps on objectively challenging news—EPS guidance cut by roughly 10%, operating margins compressed 150-200 basis points—it typically signals short covering rather than new fundamental conviction.”

Tariffs will also continue to play a role in the retailer’s future. If Trump’s tariffs on Vietnam, Cambodia, and India go into effect, that could destroy margins or raise prices and kill demand, no matter how cute those Hollister printed jeans may be.

Abercrombie & Fitch soared on earnings

The struggling retailer popped after posting record net sales last quarter.

Is Abercrombie & Fitch cool again?

Tesla just pulled off a bigger upset than the Knicks beating the Celtics in the playoffs: Despite reporting a brutal 

 last month, the company ended the day up 6.94%.

One reason? President Trump announced over the weekend that 50% tariffs on the EU will be 

, driving a market-wide surge. But perhaps an even more significant catalyst for Tesla was the prospect of 

 CEO Elon Musk returning to the driver’s seat full-time, after 

 that he is “back to spending 24/7 at work.”

Musk is more directly intertwined with Tesla’s success than your average CEO. “2025 started off as a dark chapter for Musk and Tesla as Elon's role in the Trump Administration and DOGE created a life of its own which created brand damage and a black cloud over the story,” wrote Wedbush analyst and Tesla bull Dan Ives in a recent note. “But importantly those days are in the rear-view mirror as we are now seeing a recommitted Musk leading Tesla as CEO into this autonomous and robotics future ahead with his days in the White House now essentially over.”

But like the Knicks, one upset doesn’t make a champion, and Tesla still faces an array of 

. Let’s not forget that a carmaker needs to actually sell cars, and Tesla has only sold 61,320 of them in Europe through April, a 

 consumer animosity regarding Musk’s foray into politics is partially responsible.

 out of China, BYD, is putting its foot on the gas. Last week, 

 in European sales for the first time ever, despite facing a higher tariff rate. Chinese EVs have the advantage of being cheaper: BYD’s Qin L costs roughly 

 Tesla’s Model 3. Over the weekend, BYD slashed prices even further, sending shares of its Chinese EV competitors 

 may hinge on the EV-maker entering a whole new AI arena, argued Ives, who has a $500 price target on the stock. (Keep in mind, the average analyst 

 is $308, about% lower than where shares trade today).

“We believe the vast majority of valuation upside looking ahead for Tesla is centered around the success of its autonomous vision taking hold, with a key June launch in Austin the beginning of this next era of growth for Musk and Tesla,” he wrote. “We believe Tesla remains the most undervalued AI play in the market today.”

Surprise, surprise: All roads lead to AI.—

Elon Musk is back at Tesla, but is it too late?

Tesla is under siege while Chinese competitor BYD cuts prices. 

Can Tesla make a U-turn?

We already talked about travel stocks taking a hit, but what about the places where you stay on a vacation?

Over the past few months, consumers have been wary of splashing out on big discretionary expenses—like trips—due to fear of a recession and a tariff-induced economic slowdown.

Last month, Goldman Sachs officially noted that the broad consumer downturn had made its way to hotels, 

 for the entire industry. Analyst Lizzie Dove downgraded Hyatt Hotels from “neutral” to “sell” and lowered both Hilton Worldwide and Marriott International from “buy” to “neutral.”

Dove explained she now expects hotels’ average revenue per available room to only grow 0.4% in 2025, compared to her previous expectation of 1.4%. However, Goldman upgraded Choice Hotels from “sell” to “buy” in the same note, due to the company’s resilient business model and healthy balance sheet.

Yet not all analysts are as pessimistic about the industry. In fact, last week, Jefferies 

 Marriott and Hilton, arguing that asset-light businesses are set to fare better during an economic downturn.

In an overview of all analysts covering the stock provided by the Wall Street Journal, Marriott has an “overweight” rating, Hilton has an “overweight” rating, and Hyatt has an “overweight” rating.

If you’d rather not invest in boring old hotels and focus your attention on casinos, proceed with caution. While a tariff ceasefire between the US and China is good news, Asian gambling hot spot Macau has been caught in the crossfire. Many major American casino operators have a presence in the special administrative region that once boosted their bottom lines but now might weigh them down.

That’s likely why Bank of America analysts are so bullish on Wynn Resorts. They 

 from “neutral” to “buy” earlier this month and raised its price target up to $100 on the news that Wynn is moving to the United Arab Emirates and opening Wynn Al Marjan Island, which would be the first major casino resort in the Middle East. Geographic diversification is an asset that can’t be ignored these days.

The entire hotel industry got a major boost when the US and China worked out a tariff deal, signaling that the industry may fare better as Americans get some of their economic optimism back.

However, the steep drop in US tourism could be a strong headwind: The US is on its way to losing $12 billion in travel revenue this year, according to data from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).

Maybe this is a good year to go camping instead.—

Hotel stocks are getting hit by consumer spending slowdown

But one casino stock has big expansion plans that could push profits into the stratosphere.

What's going on with hotel stocks?

An already tumultuous year for UnitedHealth Group just got even rockier.

Shares sank 17.79% today after CEO Andrew Witty announced he is 

 from his role for personal reasons, shocking investors. Chairman Stephen Hemsley will be taking over as chief executive.

That wasn’t the only bad news: The insurance giant also suspended its 2025 forecast due to higher medical costs that are handicapping the company.

Other insurers fell into the red today, including CVS Health, Humana, Cigna, and Elevance Health.

Witty, who took the role of CEO in 2021, has led the insurance giant through a remarkably shaky period over the last few months.

UnitedHealth Group shares crashed over 20% in a single day after it revealed disappointing earnings and cut its fiscal forecast in April, both due to higher-than-expected Medicare costs. It was the company’s first earnings miss since 2008, and roughly 

 has been wiped out in the weeks afterward.

Before enduring the stock’s worst day of trading in 26 years, UnitedHealth Group was already facing fierce backlash after UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was killed last December. Thompson’s death has shed a harsh spotlight on UnitedHealth Group’s business practices.

Patients weren’t the only people pissed off: A group of shareholders just 

 against UnitedHealth Group, accusing it of not adjusting its 2025 net earnings forecast to account for how Thompson’s death would impact the company.

Thompson’s death has also cost the company in other ways: UnitedHealth Group spent 

 for executives last year after the slaying.

Turning the clock back even further, one of UnitedHealth Group’s subsidiaries, Change Healthcare, was hit with a major cyberattack in February 2024. This January, UnitedHealth disclosed 

 than originally thought: The private data of over half of the US population was stolen, and the attack cost UnitedHealth Group $3.1 billion.

And if all that wasn’t enough, President Trump’s pharmaceutical industry executive order yesterday will likely be 

 for the company's recovery—not to mention the potential pharma tariffs that have yet to be rolled out.

The only silver lining to all this is that Hemsley is a veteran of UnitedHealth Group who ran the company from 2006 to 2017. Looks like he’ll need every minute of that experience to help the largest health insurer in the country recover.—

UnitedHealth stock sinks on CEO's sudden departure

The largest health insurer in the US plummeted on unexpected news.

UnitedHealth is on life support

Americans may be cutting back their spending on fancy restaurants and Venice vacations, but one convenience they apparently can’t resist is a Lyft.

Lyft’s shares were lifted 28.08% on news of a record-busting quarter: Ride volume 

 16% year over year to 218.4 million, surpassing forecasts of 215.1 million. Meanwhile, gross bookings also topped expectations, rising 13% annually to $4.16 billion, notching the company’s 16th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth.

Although the ridesharing app’s first-quarter revenue of $1.45 billion fell just shy of the expected $1.46 billion, the company defied grim forecasts on the earnings front, posting EPS of $0.01, higher than the anticipated loss of $0.02 and far better than its $0.08 loss during the same quarter last year.

As for widespread fears that passengers might curb their rideshare spending amid an iffy economy, CEO David Risher doesn’t seem worried in the slightest. “The consumer demand is absolutely there,” he explained.

Lyft has faced an uphill battle of late, including a skirmish with activist investor Engine Capital, which had been pushing for changes amid concerns over its stock price and strategic positioning. But this stakeholder withdrew its campaign on Friday after Lyft boosted its share buyback plan from $500 million to $750 million.

“A $750 million buyback is like 10% of the total market cap, which highlights an opportunity for investors,” noted Eric Clark, portfolio manager of the Rational Dynamic Brands Fund.

The news was enough to convince Goldman Sachs analyst Eric Sheridan to 

 the stock rating from “neutral” to “buy” with a $20 price target.

To top it off, Lyft seems to be gaining ground on alpha dog Uber. Although the industry giant has cornered around 

 versus Lyft’s 25%, Uber stock dropped in the wake of a mixed Q1 report earlier this week, with its $11.53 billion in revenue falling short of $11.62 estimates.

Still, Uber does have a head start in terms of robotaxis, having inked deals with Google’s Waymo, which is already picking up 250,000 US passengers per week. Lyft has signed on with Mobileye to launch its own fleet as soon as 2026, but it's clearly got some catching up to do.

Lyft soared to record high after earnings

The ridesharing app had a great quarter, and management isn't worried about a spending slowdown.

Is ridesharing recession-proof?

Your Dasher is on the way with your burrito, and is bringing along some news, too: Food delivery services are going global.

DoorDash announced today it was making not one, but 

 in order to simultaneously expand its reach into over 40 countries and up its tech game. It plans to purchase the London-based delivery platform Deliveroo for about $3.9 billion, and is also buying hospitality software company SevenRooms for $1.2 billion.

The news should be good for shareholders: DoorDash and Deliveroo have roughly 50 million monthly active users combined, while SevenRooms’ restaurant reservation platform could give DoorDash insight into customer trends and habits.

Yet DoorDash stock sank 7.44% today, after the company announced it 

These deals are happening amid an M&A drought. In fact, the number of M&A deals across the world fell to their lowest level in 20 years in April, 

. Companies and bankers alike are skittish given the ongoing questions about how President Trump’s tariffs could shape the global finance landscape.

But analysts have noted that despite the wider downturn, the food delivery service industry is 

well-positioned for further consolidation

 because it can be tough for smaller players to grow, especially amid inflation and a consumer downturn. That’s why appetizing apps around the globe have been quietly merging while the rest of the M&A market lags: Dutch tech firm Prosus NV purchased Amsterdam-based Just Eat Takeaway for about $4.3 billion in February, while Wonder Group acquired Grubhub for $650 million in January.

Oh, and by the way: Earlier today Uber announced it’s acquiring an 

 delivery platform Turkiye GO in a deal worth roughly $700 million.

Besides missing revenue forecasts, would-be investors should be aware that there’s a complication for DoorDash: Amazon has been 16% stakeholder in Deliveroo since 2020. Since then, Amazon hasn’t seen any profits from the deal, so the tech firm now has to decide 

That being said, analysts are still largely bullish on DoorDash. The consensus rating among analysts who cover it is “overweight” 

And they’re even more positive about Uber, for that matter: The consensus rating is an 