Stocks Rise After Benign Inflation Data; Major Indexes Post February Losses

The Biggest S&P 500 Movers on Friday

February 28, 2025 05:07 PM EST

Advancers:

• AES (AES) led the S&P 500 higher, climbing 11.7% after it posted quarterly earnings that beat expectations and offered a strong current-year profit outlook. The energy provider said AI data centers and new manufacturing plants were helping to drive demand. The company also said it was working to onshore its supply chain for solar panels, batteries, and other equipment to reduce tariff risks. 
• Edison International (EIX) shares rose 6% after the company said that California’s Wildfire Insurance Fund may help shield the electric utility’s balance sheet following the deadly January wildfires there. 
• Erie Indemnity (ERIE) jumped 5.7% after the insurer posted earnings that exceeded analyst expectations due to strong growth in operating and investment income. Management fee revenue from policy issuance and renewals also jumped, though commission expenses also grew.
• Monster Beverage (MNST) shares rose 5.3% after the energy drink maker narrowly beat revenue growth projections. Executives said that the company was in a position to compete with rival Celsius Holdings (CELH), which recently acquired its fast-growing competitor Alani Nu. 

Decliners:

• Nvidia-partner NetApp (NTAP) led S&P 500 decliners, falling 15.6% after the data storage provider’s revenue missed forecasts and its outlook weakened as sales growth slowed.
• HP (HPQ) shares slid 6.8% on jitters over tariffs on China. The computer maker said it expects tariffs to increase costs, contributing to its soft earnings outlook. Though, the company said that efforts to diversify its supply chain would result in most of its U.S. products being made outside of China by the end of the year.
• Dell (DELL) shares fell 4.7% after its quarterly sales and full-year outlook came in lower than expected. The computer maker posted stronger-than-expected earnings amid strong server revenue driven by AI demand, with some analysts seeing underlying strength in the company. The decline comes amid a broader tech slump that abated somewhat Friday.

–Terry Lane

Nvidia Stock Finds Support From Cautious Dip-Buyers

February 28, 2025 03:17 PM EST

Nvidia (NVDA) shares were up slightly in late trading Friday, suggesting the stock found some support from dip-buyers after yesterday’s sell-off. 

Nvidia stock was up about 1.2% in recent trading after tumbling 8.5% yesterday. Nvidia on Wednesday reported better-than-expected quarterly results, but Wall Street demonstrated on Thursday that’s no longer enough from its favorite AI stock. Nvidia beat revenue estimates by the smallest amount in two years, underwhelming investors who have grown accustomed to gargantuan beats from the AI chip leader.

The results failed to revive the ailing AI rally. High-flying, richly-priced stocks like Palantir (PLTR), Applovin (APP), and Vistra (VST), which all soared last year on enthusiasm about their AI-fueled growth, have dropped sharply in the last week as investors have grown cautious amid a slew of economic and political concerns. Even Friday, after a promising print of the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure, all three stocks slumped at the open. (Applovin and Vistra have since followed Nvidia stock higher.) 

AI stocks have also been weighed down this month by lingering concerns about the impact of Chinese start-up DeepSeek’s R1 reasoning model, which its developers say operates at a far lower cost than comparable U.S. models. R1’s success and efficiency raised concerns among investors that U.S. hyperscalers and other AI developers could scale back their spending on Nvidia’s most advanced technology. 

Major tech companies have since reiterated their commitment to spending hundreds of billions on AI infrastructure in the coming years, but that hasn’t pulled Nvidia and other chip stocks out of their funk. 

–Colin Laidley

Dell Falls on Soft Sales Outlook—Why Analysts Remain Bullish

February 28, 2025 02:28 PM EST

Dell (DELL) shares dropped Friday, a day after the company’s quarterly sales and full-year outlook disappointed. Analysts said it could be an opportunity to buy the dip. 

“Buy any weakness in Dell shares,” UBS analysts told clients Friday, and suggested Dell’s soft revenue forecast could have been anticipated, given near-term headwinds from unfavorable market conditions.

Dell projected fiscal 2026 revenue of $101 billion to $105 billion, with the midpoint below the analyst consensus of $103.81 billion compiled by Visible Alpha.

UBS lowered its price target slightly to $150 from $158, though even at that level, it would represent a nearly 50% gain from Friday’s intraday price around $102. Dell shares were down about 6% and have lost…