U.S. stock futures were fluctuating on Wednesday after Tuesday’s lower close. Futures of major benchmark indices were mixed.

Investors interpreted the latest batch of corporate earnings as solid but not spectacular, offering a convenient excuse to take profits after strong year-to-date rallies.

Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR), one of the poster children of this year’s AI-fueled rally, slumped around 8% despite easily beating Wall Street estimates and raising its full-year guidance.

President Donald Trump‘s legal authority to impose his most sweeping duties faces a key test at the Supreme Court today. Justices will hear arguments in a case whose decision could have significant reverberations for the global economy.

The 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.08% and the two-year bond was at 3.58%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 70.1% likelihood of the Federal Reserve cutting the current interest rates during its December meeting.

Futures	Change (+/-)
Dow Jones	0.06%
S&P 500	-0.10%
Nasdaq 100	-0.22%
Russell 2000	0.11%

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, fell in premarket on Wednesday. The SPY was down 0.16% at $674.13, while the QQQ declined 0.34% to $617.15, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Stocks In Focus

Advanced Micro Devices

• Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) fell 2.81% in premarket on Wednesday despite better-than-expected financial results for the third quarter. It said it expects fourth-quarter revenue of approximately $9.6 billion, plus or minus $300 million.

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that AMD maintains a stronger price trend over the short, medium, and long terms, with a poor value ranking. Additional performance details are available here.

Qualcomm

• Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) was 0.42% lower ahead of its earnings scheduled to be released after the closing bell. Analysts expect it to report earnings of $2.87 per share on revenue of $10.77 billion.

• QCOM maintained a stronger price trend over the short, medium, and long terms, with a solid growth ranking. Additional performance details, as per Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, are available here.

Robinhood Markets

• Robinhood Markets Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD) was 0.66% higher as analysts expect it to report earnings of $0.53 per share on the revenue of $1.21 billion after the closing bell.

• It maintained a stronger price trend over the long, short, and medium terms, with a poor value ranking. Additional performance details, as per Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, are available here.

Pinterest

• Pinterest Inc. (NYSE:PINS) tumbled 18.90% as it posted downbeat earnings for the third quarter with revenue of $1.05 billion, in line with analysts’ estimates. The idea discovery platform company’s adjusted earnings of 38 cents per share missed analyst estimates of 42 cents per share.

• PINS maintains a weaker price trend over the short, medium and long term, with a poor quality ranking. Additional information is available here.

McDonald’s

• McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE:MCD) slipped 0.36% before it is expected to report earnings of $3.33 per share on revenue of $7.09 billion before the opening bell.

• MCD maintained a weaker price trend over short, medium, and long terms, with a strong growth ranking. Additional performance details, as per Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, are available here.

Cues From Last Session

Sectors posting the biggest losses on Tuesday included communication services, consumer discretionary, and information technology, leading most S&P 500 sectors to close on a negative note.

Index	Performance (+/-)	Value
Nasdaq Composite	-2.04%	23,348.64
S&P 500	-1.17%	6,771.55
Dow Jones	-0.53%	47,085.24
Russell 2000	-1.78%	2,427.34

Insights From Analysts

BlackRock maintains a positive, overweight outlook on U.S. stocks, identifying the artificial intelligence theme as a powerful market driver. The firm’s “Weekly commentary” highlights that recent “solid tech earnings” show “how the AI buildout remains a key equity driver.”

This is evidenced by mega-cap tech firms like Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:META), and Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) significantly upping their capex spending on AI infrastructure, a trend BlackRock expects to continue.

This optimistic equity stance is “supported by Federal Reserve rate cuts.” While the Fed signaled a pause, BlackRock’s view is, “we think it will likely cut again,” likely in December. The rationale is that a “softening labor market gives the Fed space to cut.”

Economically, BlackRock anticipates “a notable slowing of activity without recession,” a scenario that it believes should support U.S. stocks. While acknowledging that “policy-driven volatility and supply-side constraints are pressuring growth,” the firm ultimately believes the powerful AI mega-force will continue to support corporate earnings.

BlackRock’s tactical view concludes that U.S. valuations are backed by “stronger earnings and profitability relative to other developed markets.”

See Also: How to Trade Futures

Upcoming Economic Data

Here’s what investors will be keeping an eye on Wednesday;

• October’s ADP employment data will be out by 8:15 a.m., S&P final U.S. services PMI by 9:45 a.m., and October’s ISM services data by 10:00 a.m. ET.

Commodities, Gold, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets

Crude oil futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 0.18% to hover around $60.67 per barrel.

Gold Spot US Dollar rose 1.31% to hover around $3,983.52 per ounce. Its last record high stood at $4,381.6 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.09% lower at the 100.1370 level.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 1.92% lower at $101,947.22 per coin.

Asian markets closed lower on Wednesday, except China’s CSI 300 index. South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225, Australia’s ASX 200, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, and India’s NIFTY 50 indices fell. European markets were also lower in early trade.

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Photo courtesy: Shutterstock

Restaurant giant McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) could show the importance of value meals and new product launches when the company announces third-quarter financial results on Wednesday before market open.

• See what the experts say about MCD stock here.

Here are the earnings estimates, analyst ratings and key items to watch ahead of the quarterly results.

Earnings Estimates: Analysts expect McDonald’s to report third-quarter revenue of $7.09 billion, up from $6.87 billion in last year’s third quarter, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

The company has beaten analyst estimates for revenue in six of the last 10 quarters, including the most recently reported second quarter.

Analysts expect McDonald’s to report third-quarter earnings per share of $3.33, up from $3.23 in last year’s third quarter.

The company has beaten analyst estimates for earnings per share in two straight quarters and in eight of the past 10 quarters overall.

Read Also: Top Stocks With Earnings This Week: Joby, IonQ, AMD and More

What Analysts Are Saying: Analysts have been mostly lowering their price targets on McDonald’s stock ahead of the quarterly results.

Here are recent analyst ratings on McDonald’s and their price targets:

• Mizuho: Initiated with Neutral rating, with price target of $300
• BTIG: Maintained Neutral rating, with no price target
• Barclays: Maintained Overweight rating, raised price target from $360 to $362
• Citigroup: Maintained Buy rating, lowered price target from $381 to $375
• Wells Fargo: Maintained Overweight rating, lowered price target from $350 to $340

Key Items to Watch: A report from Placer.ai shows McDonald’s having fewer visits during the third quarter, which could impact the company’s revenue and earnings per share.

The report says McDonald’s suffered a 3.5% year-over-year decline in visits in the third quarter, with same store visits down 4% year-over-year in the quarter.

After seeing better quick service restaurant (QSR) visitor figures in the second quarter, the report shows visits declined 1.8% in July, 4.4% in August and 4.4% in September on a year-over-year basis. That compares to QSR industry average declines of 1%, 2.9% and 3.1%, respectively, for July, August and September.

Placer.ai says the QSR category is seeing headwinds like inflation, shifts in consumer behavior, growth of weight-loss drugs and value-menu fatigue.

“McDonald’s has not been immune from these challenges,” the report said.

Recall that McDonald’s second quarter included strength from a collaboration with “A Minecraft Movie” with the Minecraft Meal highlighted as helping boost sales and traffic in April. The company reported U.S. comparable sales were up 2.5% year-over-year in the second quarter, which was good news after U.S. comp sales were down 3.6% year-over-year in the first quarter.

The good news for McDonald’s and its investors could be a hopeful return to growth in the fourth quarter, potentially helped by the return of extra value meals in September and the return of Monopoly for the first time since 2014.

More than 30 menu items are eligible for Monopoly game pieces during the promotion, which began on Oct. 6. The game features digital game pieces and physical game pieces with a focus on getting users to sign up for the loyalty app.

“Our fans have been clamoring for the return of MONOPOLY at McDonald’s, and we’re thrilled to bring it back with a modern, digital spin,” McDonald’s USA Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer Alyssa Buetikofer said. “The game is a core memory for so many customers, and we’re excited that those memories can now be shared across generations.”

McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski highlighted just how important the loyalty program is for future sales growth during the company’s second-quarter earnings call.

“Roughly a quarter of our business in the U.S. is on our loyalty program,” Kempczinski said, as reported by CNN.

The McDonald’s CEO quantified the importance by saying non-loyalty U.S. customers visit McDonald’s 10.5 times a year on average. Rewards members average 26 visits to McDonald’s restaurants per year, more than double non-loyalty members, as reported by Customer Experience.

“Getting more and more consumers to be in our loyalty program — that’s how we’re going to drive this business, because it’s going to be frequency-led growth.”  

The company had around 185 million global loyalty members at the end of the second quarter, with a goal to have 250 million active loyalty members by the end of 2027.

While the third-quarter results may not be great for McDonald’s, a hope could be that value meals and Monopoly could factor into strong fourth-quarter guidance and the Monopoly game could grow the loyalty base to help boost return visits going forward.

MCD Price Action: McDonald’s stock closed down 0.66% to $296.37 on Monday versus a 52-week trading range of $276.53 to $326.32. McDonald’s shares are up 2.24% year-to-date in 2025.

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As 2026 approaches, tech behemoth Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is gearing up for a critical year filled with significant product launches and potential executive changes, all while grappling with regulatory and tariff-related challenges.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, in his latest “Power On” report revealed that Apple is poised to unveil a comprehensive artificial intelligence strategy and penetrate new markets such as smart home devices and foldable smartphones.

The company is also bracing for potential executive turnover and a pivotal year on the regulatory front.

Despite the looming threat of tariffs, Apple has skillfully navigated the 2025 trade policies of President Donald Trump, absorbing only a few billion dollars in tariff-related hits. However, the risk of a more significant impact next year is real.

Apple is also projected to start the year strong, with a holiday-quarter revenue growth of 10% to 12%, translating to $137 billion to $139 billion in sales. This could potentially mark the company’s first-ever $140 billion quarter.

As Apple nears its 50th anniversary on April 1, 2026, the company is expected to commemorate the milestone with significant new hardware products, including the iPhone 17e, an entry-level iPad with the A18 chip, and an iPad Air with the M4 processor.

Also Read: Apple Inc. To Boost iPad Pro Performance With Vapor Chamber Integration

In addition, the company plans to launch its first smart display in both speaker-base and wall-mounted versions, signifying the commencement of Apple’s smart home strategy. This release will coincide with Apple’s push to upgrade its AI offerings via the new Siri voice assistant.

Despite the promising sales forecast, the journey ahead is fraught with challenges. Apple is betting heavily on the new Siri, but there’s no guarantee users will embrace it. If major leadership changes occur, it could reshape Apple’s product strategy.

The year 2026 is shaping up to be a pivotal one for Apple. The company’s ambitious plans to expand into new markets and upgrade its AI offerings underscore its commitment to innovation.

However, potential executive changes and regulatory challenges could disrupt these plans. Furthermore, the company’s ability to navigate tariff-related challenges will be crucial in maintaining its financial performance.

As such, the stakes are high for Apple as it gears up for a year filled with both opportunities and challenges.

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Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) shares are trading lower on Friday after the company reported its third-quarter financial results.

• CL shares are near support zones. Stay ahead of the curve here

The consumer products giant reported third-quarter adjusted earnings per share of 91 cents, beating the analyst consensus estimate of 89 cents.

Quarterly sales of $5.131 billion were in line with the Street view. Net sales rose 2% in the latest period.

Also Read: Palantir Sues Ex-Employees Over Alleged Theft Of AI Secrets, Claims’ Copycat’ Startup Used Its ‘Crown Jewels’

Organic sales grew 0.4%, reflecting a 0.8% drag from winding down private label pet products.

The company maintained its lead in toothpaste, holding a 41.2% global market share year-to-date. It also remained at the top in manual toothbrushes, with a 32.4% worldwide share over the same period.

“As we transition to our new 2030 strategy and deploy our previously announced Strategic Growth and Productivity Program, we are well positioned to reaccelerate growth despite uncertainty in global markets and lower worldwide category growth,” said Noel Wallace, Chairman and President and Chief Executive Officer.

Metrics 

North America’s organic sales slumped 0.5% year over year, while those in Latin America jumped 1.7%. Organic sales in Europe gained 1.2% in the quarter under review.

GAAP gross profit margin slipped 170 basis points to 59.4% in the quarter. The base business gross profit margin fell 190 basis points, ending at 59.4%.

Operating profit in the quarter under review was $1.059 billion, compared with $1.065 billion a year ago. The operating profit margin was 20.6% compared with 21.2% in the same period last year.

The company exited the quarter with cash and equivalents worth $1.279 billion. Inventories totaled $2.109 billion.

Colgate-Palmolive reported operating cash flow of $2.745 billion for the nine months ended Sept. 30, versus $2.838 billion a year earlier.

Outlook

Colgate expects 2025 results to reflect current spot rates and finalized tariffs as of Oct. 29, 2025.

The toothpaste maker expects Net sales to rise by a low single digit, with a slight drag from foreign exchange.

Organic sales growth is now 1%–2%, including a ~70 basis points hit from exiting private-label pet sales.

On a GAAP basis, the gross margin is expected to track roughly in line with the 60.1% year-to-date level.

CL Price Action: Colgate-Palmolive shares were down 1.48% at $75.37 at the time of publication on Friday. The stock is trading near its 52-week low of $75.38, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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Photo by EDSON DE SOUZA NASCIMENTO via Shutterstock

Shell Plc (NYSE:SHEL) shares are trading slightly higher on Thursday. The company posted mixed third-quarter fiscal 2025 results.

Details

Adjusted earnings per American Depositary Share came in at $1.86, ahead of the $1.71 consensus estimate.

However, revenue fell short at $68.15 billion, compared with analysts’ forecast of $72.81 billion.

Also Read: Ukrainian Strike Forces Chevron And Shell To Slash Production In Kazakhstan

Total adjusted earnings reached $5.4 billion, led by higher trading and optimisation margins, increased sales volumes, and favourable taxes.

Shell generated $12.21 billion in cash flow from operations during the quarter.

Segment Performance

Integrated Gas production rose 2% quarter over quarter to 934,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, while LNG liquefaction volumes edged up 8% sequentially to 7.29 million metric tons.

Realized liquids prices further dipped to $58 per barrel from $60 per barrel and gas prices rose slightly to $7.30 from $7.20 per thousand standard cubic feet.

Marketing sales volumes remained broadly flat sequentially at 2.82 million barrels per day.

Mobility segment output rose slightly to 2.06 million b/d and Lubricants increased to 88,000 b/d, while Sectors & Decarbonisation fell to 681,000 b/d.

Share Buyback & Dividend

Total shareholder distributions stood at $5.7 billion, including $3.6 billion of repurchases and $2.1 billion in cash dividends in the quarter.

Shell stated the start of $3.5 billion share buyback programme, which is expected to be completed before the announcement of fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 results.

The company declared a third-quarter dividend of $0.3580 per share, payable on December 18 to shareholders of record as of November 14, 2025.

At the end of the quarter, net debt stood at $41.2 billion, down from $43.2 billion in the second quarter, with gearing falling to 18.8% from 19.1% in the previous quarter.

Outlook

The company expects Integrated Gas production of 920 – 980 thousand boe/d and LNG liquefaction volumes of 7.4 – 8.0 million tons in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Upstream volumes are projected at 1.77 to 1.97 million boe/d, while Marketing volumes should range from 2.5 to 3.0 million b/d.

Refinery utilization is forecast between 87%-95%, and Chemicals plant utilization is expected to fall between 71%-79% in the quarter.

Full-year 2025 capital expenditures remain guided at $20 billion to $22 billion.

Price Action: SHEL shares were trading higher by 0.36% to $75.82 premarket at last check Thursday.

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Image via Shutterstock

Visa Inc‘s (NYSE:V) fourth-quarter results have drawn a clear line in the payments sand. JPMorgan analyst Tien-Tsin Huang says the data shows Visa widening its lead. Global travel is rebounding, fueling a surge in high-margin cross-border transactions — a segment Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA) may struggle to keep pace with. The two networks’ three-year, 90% KPI correlation is beginning to break.

• Track Visa stock here.

Visa’s Global Volumes Stay Hot

Visa’s fourth quarter print left little doubt about momentum: U.S. payment volumes rose 7.6%, global volumes climbed 8.8%, and cross-border payments surged 12% — all sequential improvements. Revenue came in at $10.7 billion, up 11% FXN and 10% organically, beating both guidance and JPMorgan estimates, while adjusted EPS hit $2.98, up 10% year-on-year.

Huang sees this as evidence that Visa’s growth engine is still firing smoothly, aided by stable 66.8% margins and a clean commercial volume rebound. Visa may be edging ahead in cross-border and total volume growth as 2025 unfolds.

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Mastercard Faces Tougher Comps

While Mastercard is still delivering strong underlying trends, Huang flags that its year-over-year comparisons are turning steeper. After lapping prior pricing gains and large client wins (like Citizens debit and Capital One), Mastercard’s organic growth could start to compress in the second half of 2025.

The analyst also points to potential portfolio shifts, including a possible Apple Card move to JPMorgan, which could temporarily dent U.S. volume optics.

Why It Matters

Huang’s call is clear: stay overweight Visa. Both networks benefit from resilient spending and stable macro trends, but Visa’s “cleaner comps” and steadier execution give it the upper hand as the divergence begins.

Huang’s base case implies 15–20% upside for Visa stock — and while Mastercard remains a quality hold, this round of the cross-border game goes decisively to Visa.

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Image created using artificial intelligence via DALL-E.

PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) stock gained on Tuesday after it announced an OpenAI collaboration, upbeat third-quarter 2025 results, and the initiation of a dividend plan.

• PPL is in a favorable position. See the full breakdown here

The Venmo parent reported a quarterly revenue growth of 7% year-over-year to $8.42 billion, topping the analyst consensus estimate of $8.23 billion. 

The adjusted EPS was $1.34, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $1.20.

Also Read: PayPal Expands Honey With AI Shopping Tools To Turn Searches Into Purchases

Transaction Metrics And Margins

Total payment volumes rose by 8% year-over-year, reaching $458.1 billion in the quarter. However, payment transactions declined by 5%, totaling 6.3 billion.

On a trailing 12-month basis, the number of payment transactions per active account decreased by 6%, averaging $57.6.

The total number of active accounts increased by 1%, reaching 438 million. Sequentially, active accounts rose by 0.1%, or 0.3 million accounts.

The operating margin improved by 33 basis points to 18.1%. The adjusted operating margin decreased by 19 basis points to 18.6%.

The company generated a quarterly operating cash flow of $2 billion, free cash flow of $1.7 billion, and an adjusted free cash flow of $2.3 billion.

PayPal held $14.4 billion in cash and equivalents as of September 30, with $11.4 billion in debt.

Dividend

PayPal’s Board of Directors approved the launch of a quarterly cash dividend program. It declared an initial dividend of 14 cents per share. The dividend is payable on December 10, 2025, to shareholders of record as of November 19, 2025.

The payout represents roughly 10% of PayPal’s adjusted net income.

PayPal CEO Alex Chriss said the company achieved another strong quarter and raised its guidance as growth accelerated across branded checkout, payment services, and Venmo.

OpenAI Deal

He stated that PayPal has returned to sustained growth and remains on track to deliver 6%–7% transaction margin dollar growth in 2025, excluding interest on customer balances. Chriss emphasized that PayPal is preparing for an AI-driven future through partnerships with Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google, OpenAI, and Perplexity.

On Tuesday, PayPal also announced plans to adopt the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP) to expand payments and shopping capabilities within ChatGPT.

The move will enable millions of ChatGPT users to complete instant checkouts using PayPal, while PayPal will process payments for merchants through OpenAI’s Instant Checkout system.

Through this partnership, PayPal will integrate its wallet features—including multiple payment methods, buyer and seller protections, and post-purchase services such as tracking and dispute resolution—into ChatGPT’s commerce experience. It will also manage card payments using its delegated payments API.

Beyond commerce, PayPal is deepening its AI collaboration with OpenAI by deploying ChatGPT Enterprise for its 24,000 employees, enabling developers with Codex, and expanding internal use of OpenAI APIs to accelerate innovation and improve customer experiences.

Outlook

PayPal expects a fourth-quarter adjusted EPS of $1.27 to $1.31, compared to the analyst consensus estimate of $1.31.

PayPal expects a full-year 2025 adjusted EPS of $5.35-$5.39 (up from prior forecast of $5.15-$5.30). Current analysts estimate an EPS of $5.24.

PYPL Price Action: PayPal Holdings shares were up 16.68% at $81.97 during premarket trading on Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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Photo Courtesy BigTunaOnline via Shutterstock

President Donald Trump has retracted his decision to initiate a law-enforcement “surge” in San Francisco. This change comes after engaging in discussions with San Francisco’s Mayor Daniel Lurie and CEOs of prominent tech companies in the Bay Area, including Nvidia and Salesforce.

Key influencers in these discussions were Nvidia Inc. (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang, Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CEO Marc Benioff, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

These executives arranged a 25-minute call between Lurie and Trump on Wednesday night, during which they highlighted the potential adverse effects of a troop deployment on both the local and national economy, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Trump had earlier shown interest in deploying the National Guard to San Francisco, mirroring actions taken in cities like Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Memphis.

However, post the discussions, Trump declared on Thursday that he had decided against a federal law-enforcement surge in San Francisco.

Also Read: Here’s How Sam Altman Quietly Replaced Elon Musk as Donald Trump’s Go-To AI Advisor

Mayor Lurie, a Democrat and first-time officeholder, has been concentrating on collaborating with business leaders to stimulate the recovery of the city’s downtown core.

His strategy when dealing with the Trump administration, which includes representatives from the Bay Area tech industry, has been to steer clear of open conflict.

With no additional context or background information provided, the significance of this decision can only be speculated upon. However, it’s clear that the intervention of influential tech CEOs played a crucial role in this reversal.

Their concerns about the potential economic impact of a troop deployment evidently resonated with the administration, leading to a change in course.

This incident underscores the power and influence of tech companies in shaping policy decisions, particularly in regions where they hold significant economic sway.

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Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT), the world’s leading supplier of equipment, software, and services for manufacturing semiconductor chips, flat-panel displays, and solar products, announced on October 23 a plan to reduce its global workforce by approximately 4%.

Strategic Rationale

Following the news, the stock slipped in the premarket session on Friday. The workforce reduction is framed as a strategic move to reposition the company for future growth by enhancing productivity and competitiveness.

In an email to employees, CEO Gary Dickerson attributed the action to evolving business needs, stating that “automation, digitalization, and geographic shifts are redefining the company’s workforce needs.”

Also Read: Applied Materials Partners With GlobalFoundries To Accelerate Photonics

He continued, explaining that this coordinated action will accelerate the company’s existing plans to build higher-velocity teams, adopt new technologies, and simplify its organizational structure.

Financial Impact of Restructuring

Affected employees began receiving notifications on the same day. The company expects to incur one-time charges between $160 million and $180 million, primarily for severance and termination benefits.

The majority of these charges are slated for recognition in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, with the plan anticipated to be fully completed by the first quarter of fiscal 2026.

Strong Market Performance Fueled by AI

The restructuring comes as the semiconductor giant rides the surging wave of demand for AI infrastructure. Applied Materials’ stock has delivered impressive year-to-date returns, gaining over 40%, significantly outpacing the Nasdaq 100 index’s over 19% return. This performance is largely backed by the global movement toward AI integration across the data center and cloud space.

To capitalize on this momentum and enhance the performance of chips powering artificial intelligence, Applied Materials has launched a new suite of advanced semiconductor manufacturing systems.

Broader Tech Industry Context and Parallel Layoffs

Applied Materials is not alone in its corporate rationalization. Major technology firms, including Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META), and Google parent Alphabet, Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG), have been executing significant job cuts, in the hundreds and thousands, concurrently with aggressive investments in AI technology to unlock future value.

For instance, Meta confirmed on Wednesday that it is eliminating approximately 600 positions within its AI division to streamline operations.

This move is part of a broader restructuring following CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s reported dissatisfaction with Meta’s recent AI progress, despite the company recently investing billions in Scale AI, hiring a new Chief AI Officer, and creating a new “Superintelligence Lab” to accelerate its AI development.

Price Action: AMAT stock was trading lower by 0.68% to $226.91 premarket at last check Friday.

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Photo via Shutterstock

Bitcoin is back above $109,00 ahead of Friday’s CPI release, despite net outflows from Spot ETFs.

Spot BTC ETFs saw a $101.3 million outflow, while Spot ETH ETFs recorded $18.8 million outflows. Total crypto liquidations hit $499.29 million, affecting 139,320 traders, and Bitcoin dominance jumped 1.4% to 59.1% in a single day.

Bitcoin Stuck, Key Levels Hold Importance

Daan Crypto Trades noted Bitcoin is rangebound between $107,000–$111,000, with thin trading volume causing sharp swings.

A break above $111,000 could open the door for further upside, while holding $107,000 support remains crucial.

Ted Pillows highlighted Ethereum bounced off key support but shows lingering weakness. Until it reclaims $4,100 with strong institutional inflows, most pumps are likely to be retraced.

For Solana, Daan explains it is consolidating around its Daily 200MA/EMA, forming lower highs and higher lows post-October 10 volatility.

Key levels are $170–$175 support and $195–$200 resistance; the next move will depend on which side breaks.

Cryptocurrency	Ticker	Price
Bitcoin	(CRYPTO: BTC)	$109,655.48
Ethereum	(CRYPTO: ETH)	$3,903.10
Solana	(CRYPTO: SOL)	$188.87
XRP	(CRYPTO: XRP)	$2.41

Broadly tracking the crypto market, the meme coin cap rose 0.1% to $61.97 billion in 24 hours. AI-themed meme coins led with 1.6% gains, while Solana-based meme coins dropped 1.8%.

While Dogecoin remains “crazy cheap” under $0.2 according to trader GalaxyBTC, Shiba Inu burn rates surged 2,690%, showing strong token deflation activity.

Cryptocurrency	Ticker	Price
Dogecoin	(CRYPTO: DOGE)	$0.1958
Shiba Inu	(CRYPTO: SHIB)	$0.00001003

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Image: Shutterstock