Key Points Palantir sold off with the software sector, which appeared to suffer from a rotation into chip stocks. Investors may also be taking profits on the first trading day of the year to delay capital gains taxes after Palantir's monster 2025. Negative news for Tesla also may be affecting Palantir's price action at the edges today. 10 stocks we like better than Palantir Technologies › Shares of AI software giant Palantir (NASDAQ: PLTR) plunged on Friday, falling 5.9% as of 1:41 PM EDT. There wasn't any company-specific news for Palantir today, but a combination of related factors led to the stock's big slump to start the new year. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue » Software rotation, profit-taking, and Elon Musk may be culprits The overall software sector fell on Friday, so Palantir certainly wasn't alone in its decline. The across-the-board declines in software stocks, combined with an unusually strong day for semiconductor stocks, point to a big rotation among technology investors today. In addition to that apparent rotation, Palantir may also be seeing a round of profit-taking on the first trading day of the new year. The stock was up 138% in 2025, as the company delivered a series of earnings reports that consistently exceeded expectations, with quarterly growth accelerating between 40% and 60% every quarter. Investors may have been waiting to sell the stock until the new year in order to defer capital gains tax payments until April of 2027. So, that mere technical factor could be playing a part in the sell-off today. Meanwhile, Palantir may be suffering somewhat from its association with Elon Musk. Musk and Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel are close friends, dating back to their days as early founders of PayPal. Elon Musk's Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) reported fourth quarter deliveries of 418,227 vehicles today, which was well short of the 440,907 vehicle count that ...

Why Palantir Fell Hard To Start 2026 Nasdaq

What would a “normal” economy look like in 2026? For starters, many investors would like to see the recent sector rotation continue. That would allow growth to expand beyond the tech sector, and specifically, beyond stocks that are part of the artificial intelligence (AI) trade. It's been a fun ride for the most part. However, putting the Magnificent 7 stocks aside, many of these stocks weren’t trading on fundamentals. In too many cases, profitability is years away, if it ever happens, and many of these companies are generating little to no revenue. Sector rotation will put fundamentals back on the front burner. In that case, one sector that is likely to be under scrutiny is travel and leisure. Despite concerns about consumer health, travel demand has remained strong. This could tie in nicely to the idea that many of these stocks will revert to their historical averages in terms of earnings growth. Earnings growth is the single best predictor of stock price growth. But with the economy being anything but normal in the last five years, it’s been difficult for buy-and-hold investors to stick with companies in a mature growth phase. It’s also been difficult for traders to stay long in stocks. However, a more normal outlook for earnings could change that risk dynamic for investors and traders alike. Here are three names to watch. Carnival Cruise Lines: Normalization Could Drive Earnings Recovery If you owned shares of Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL) five years ago, you would be thrilled to have achieved a share price gain of over 41%. CCL stock cratered in 2020. Then, its revenge travel rebound was halted by consumers facing pressure from inflation and interest rates. The stock is still down sharply from its pre-pandemic levels, but earnings growth is a key reason to believe that the turnaround has legs. Over the last five years, Carnival has posted negative average annual earnings per share (EPS) growth of about 19%. But 2024 marked a return to profitability, and the ...

Rep. Massie Blasts Trump's Iran Warning: "We Have Problems At Home" First it was over the White House's Venezuela policy, but now conservative and contrarian libertarian-leaning firebrand Rep. Thomas Massie is lashing out at President Trump over his fresh Iran warning and ultimatum. Amid the nearly weeklong economic and anti-government protests in Iran, Trump added fuel to the fire on Friday, stating on Truth Social that if Iran shoots and "violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue ." Massie and Trump have frequently clashed over the past year. File image This sounded to many like threat of regime change in another Middle East capital - though Trump might be thinking of other 'options' such as more sanctions and efforts to further isolate the Islamic Republic on the world stage. Massie on Friday in response listed three points as a counter to and critique of Trump: "We have problems at home and shouldn’t be wasting military resources on another country’s internal affairs," Massie wrote on X. He said that second, "Military strikes on Iran require Congressional authorization." He followed with the final criticism of, "This threat isn’t about freedom of speech in Iran; it’s about the dollar, oil, and Israel " - while reposting Trump's original message. Massie has long been a thorn in the side of Trump's latest foreign policy adventures, and the Republican from Kentucky along with Sen. Rand Paul has a significant following among Trump's MAGA base. He indeed gives voice to the growing viewpoint that Trump should stick to his campaign promises and not allow the United States military to be the "police force of the world" . Journalist Glenn Greenwald has meanwhile also called out Trump for not being 'America First' enough, while highlighting Massie's commentary... In case you're wondering why three fanatically pro-Israel oligarchs (Miriam Adelson, Paul Singer and John Paulson) are single-handedly fund...

A 19-year-old college freshman has been identified as one of the hikers whose remains were found on California’s Mount Baldy on Monday. The San Bernardino county sheriff announced this week that Marcus Alexander Muench Casanova, a resident of Seal Beach, California, was discovered along a mountain trail known as the Devil’s Backbone. The sheriffs’ department said they responded to reports of a hiker who had fallen “approximately 500 feet”, and that his “friend and hiking companion hiked to an area with cellular service and provided GPS coordinates to assist rescuers”. Rescue crews arrived on foot but a helicopter airlift was inhibited due to “severe winds”. An air medic was eventually lowered down and confirmed Casanova was deceased, the department said. Two other hikers were also found dead, but have yet to be identified, and Casanova’s cause of death has not been determined by the county coroner. Mount Baldy, which rises more than 10,000ft and sits just east of Los Angeles, is a popular hiking spot that is also known for treacherous conditions, particularly in the winter. Casanova was a student at Santa Clara University in the San Francisco Bay Area, according to a statement his family made to KABC, and is described by his loved ones as “an avid sailor and outdoorsman”. “We are destroyed by the loss of our beloved Marcus. He was a graduate of Los Alamitos High, a freshman at Santa Clara University’s business school, and an avid sailor and outdoorsman … It is difficult to explain the pain and anguish we are going through and ask for privacy as we try to find our way,” the statement continues. Beginning on Thursday, the US Forest Service announced that seven trails on Mount Baldy, including the Devil’s Backbone, will be closed until next Wednesday for the safety of the public. The deaths occurred near where the actor Julian Sands died three years ago. Sands, who starred in A Room With a View and Leaving Las Vegas, was reported missing after setting off on a solo hik...

The BYD Sea Lion 7 is on display at the Tokyo Auto Salon 2025 at Makuhari messe in Chiba-Prefecture, Japan, in January. BYD delivered more cars in 2025 than Tesla. File Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Chinese electric car maker BYD surpassed Tesla in annual sales in 2025. BYD said it sold 2.26 million battery electric vehicles in 2025, a boost of 28% year over year, the company said in a statement Thursday. BYD's total deliveries from BEVs and plug-in hybrids were about 4.6 million vehicles. Tesla sold 1.64 million vehicles in 2025, which is about an 8% decline from 2024, the company announced Friday. It's the company's second-straight annual drop. Tesla CEO Elon Musk once laughed at BYD cars in an interview on Bloomberg TV in 2011. He said, "I don't think they have a great product," CNBC reported Musk said. Musk spent the first half of 2025 working for the federal government in the administration of President Donald Trump as the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency. He left in May amid a fight with Trump. In November, Tesla shareholders approved a new pay package for Musk.The firm said 75% of shareholders with voting rights backed Musk's 10-year pay deal, which could net him $1 trillion over that time by boosting his stake in Tesla by more than 423 million shares. Though shares dropped significantly in the first quarter of 2025, they are back on track with an all-time closing high of $489.88 last month, after Musk said it had been testing driverless vehicles in Austin, Texas.

Key Points SCHH charges a much lower expense ratio but offers a smaller dividend yield compared to RWR. RWR edges out SCHH on five-year total returns and has a slightly shallower historical drawdown. Both funds concentrate on U.S. real estate and have similar top holdings, but their fund sizes differ meaningfully. These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires › Schwab U.S. REIT ETF (NYSEMKT:SCHH) stands out for its lower cost and larger asset base, while the State Street SPDR Dow Jones REIT ETF (NYSEMKT:RWR) delivers a higher yield and has outperformed slightly over the past five years. Both SCHH and RWR are designed to provide investors with exposure to U.S. real estate investment trusts (REITs), but they employ different approaches in terms of cost, performance, and fund size. This comparison highlights where each ETF may appeal, especially for those weighing total returns, risk, and income focus in U.S. REITs. Snapshot (cost & size) Metric SCHH RWR Issuer Schwab SPDR Expense ratio 0.07% 0.25% 1-yr return (as of 2026-1-2) 2.2% 3.2% Dividend yield 3.03% 3.87% Beta 1.16 1.18 AUM $8.5 billion $1.7 billion Beta measures price volatility relative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year weekly returns. The one-year return represents total return over the trailing 12 months. SCHH is notably more affordable in fees, charging just 0.07% versus RWR's 0.25%, which could appeal to cost-conscious investors. RWR, on the other hand, offers a higher dividend yield of 3.87% compared to SCHH's 3.03%, potentially attracting those who prioritize income. Performance & risk comparison Metric SCHH RWR Max drawdown (5-year) (33.3%) (32.6%) Growth of $1,000 over 5 years $1,263 $1,359 What's inside RWR focuses exclusively on U.S. real estate, holding 102 REITs as of late 2025. Its largest positions are Prologis Inc. (NYSE:PLD), Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL), and Simon Property Group Inc. (NYSE:SPG), with the top two accounting for nearly 20% of the portfolio. The fund has...

Two recently raised analyst price targets for Amazon may be right on the money. As the books close on 2025, what's top of mind among investors is which stocks will deliver strong returns in 2026. In terms of "Magnificent Seven" stocks, all eyes may be on how Nvidia or Microsoft perform from here. But another Magnificent Seven component you may want to take a closer look at is Amazon (AMZN 1.90%). Based on the latest major sell-search research published on the e-commerce and cloud computing giant, shares may be in for a moderately strong rally over the next 12 months. With this in mind, let's take a closer look and see how this plays into Amazon price predictions for 2026. Amazon analysts raise their respective price targets As one of the world's largest companies by market cap, Amazon receives heavy coverage from the sell-side analyst community. Since the start of December alone, analysts at two firms, Wells Fargo and Oppenheimer, have each issued ratings updates. At Wells Fargo, analyst Ken Gawrelski reiterated his "overweight" rating on Amazon, raising his price target from $292 to $295 per share. Analysts at Oppenheimer also reiterated their "outperform" rating, raising their price target from $290 to $305 per share. Advertisement Expand NASDAQ : AMZN Amazon Today's Change ( -1.90 %) $ -4.38 Current Price $ 226.44 Key Data Points Market Cap $2.5T Day's Range $ 224.70 - $ 235.45 52wk Range $ 161.38 - $ 258.60 Volume 2M Avg Vol 45M Gross Margin 50.05 % Averaging out these two price targets results in a price target of around $300 per share. And $300 per share is a nice, round number. Split-adjusted, hitting it would also represent a new share price milestone. Better yet, besides these two factors, there's something else about $300 per share: Hitting it is perfectly attainable within the next 12 months. One reason why there's a clear path to $300 per share Yes, when it comes to share price appreciation, it's typically several factors, working together, that drive a ...

Intel’s cheaper CPUs now challenge AMD’s high end pricing logic Performance gaps shrink as AMD charges more for modest desktop gains Power efficiency and cost pressure reshape high end CPU value I’ve already written about Intel quietly taking control of the low end of the desktop CPU market, where chips priced around $200 now offer performance that used to sit far higher up the stack. However, making things even more uncomfortable for AMD is the fact that a similar pattern is creeping into the high end, where Team Red’s pricing no longer stretches as far as it once did. A comparison between AMD’s Ryzen 9 7950X and Intel’s Core Ultra 7 265KF shows why. On paper, the Ryzen part looks comfortably dominant with 16 cores and 32 threads, while Intel’s chip tops out at 20 threads using a mix of performance and efficiency cores. Benchmark results, however, tell a less dramatic - and far more interesting - story. AMD ahead... marginally The Ryzen 9 7950X scores around 62,260 in PassMark’s CPU Mark, while the Core Ultra 7 265KF lands at roughly 58,734. That puts AMD ahead, but not by much, especially considering the hardware and pricing differences. Single-thread performance narrows the gap far further. Intel’s processor scores about 4,926, slightly ahead of the Ryzen 9 7950X at roughly 4,876, which matters for everyday desktop workloads that don’t scale cleanly across dozens of threads. Pricing makes the situation harder to defend. The Core Ultra 7 265KF sells for about $270 on Amazon, while the Ryzen 9 7950X can be found selling for a far pricier $501 over on B&H. Paying almost twice as much for a single-digit percentage lead in aggregate benchmarks shifts the value argument away from core counts and toward efficiency. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf...

Key Points Analysts at Wells Fargo and Oppenheimer raised their bullish price targets for Amazon to $295 and $305 per share, respectively. This averages out to $300 per share, a price target that's definitely within the realm of possibility. There may be a path for Amazon shares to reach far higher prices between now and December 2026. 10 stocks we like better than Amazon › As the books close on 2025, what's top of mind among investors is which stocks will deliver strong returns in 2026. In terms of "Magnificent Seven" stocks, all eyes may be on how Nvidia or Microsoft perform from here. But another Magnificent Seven component you may want to take a closer look at is Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN). Based on the latest major sell-search research published on the e-commerce and cloud computing giant, shares may be in for a moderately strong rally over the next 12 months. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue » With this in mind, let's take a closer look and see how this plays into Amazon price predictions for 2026. Amazon analysts raise their respective price targets As one of the world's largest companies by market cap, Amazon receives heavy coverage from the sell-side analyst community. Since the start of December alone, analysts at two firms, Wells Fargo and Oppenheimer, have each issued ratings updates. At Wells Fargo, analyst Ken Gawrelski reiterated his "overweight" rating on Amazon, raising his price target from $292 to $295 per share. Analysts at Oppenheimer also reiterated their "outperform" rating, raising their price target from $290 to $305 per share. Averaging out these two price targets results in a price target of around $300 per share. And $300 per share is a nice, round number. Split-adjusted, hitting it would also represent a new share price milestone. Better yet, besides these two factors, there's something else about $300 per share: Hitting it is perfectly attaina...

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Tesla Inc. (TSLA, Financials) delivered 418,227 vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2025, which was less than the 423,000 that analysts had expected. This was a 16% reduction from the previous year. The total number of units delivered for the whole year was 1,636,129.The drop comes after a big rise in the first half of the year, when people hurried to take advantage of the $7,500 U.S. EV tax credit, which ended at the end of September. Demand dropped a lot in the fourth quarter, even as manufacturing remained and reached 434,358 cars for the quarter.The Model 3 and Model Y lines made up most of the deliveries in Q4, with over 406,000 units. Investors are worried about demand patterns and margin pressure as Tesla's inventory builds up going into 2026.On January 28, the firm will announce its fourth quarter profits. Investors will want to know about changes in pricing strategy, inventory levels, and production plans.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Tesla Inc. (TSLA, Financials) delivered 418,227 vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2025, which was less than the 423,000 that analysts had expected. This was a 16% reduction from the previous year. The total number of units delivered for the whole year was 1,636,129.The drop comes after a big rise in the first half of the year, when people hurried to take advantage of the $7,500 U.S. EV tax credit, which ended at the end of September. Demand dropped a lot in the fourth quarter, even as manufacturing remained and reached 434,358 cars for the quarter.The Model 3 and Model Y lines made up most of the deliveries in Q4, with over 406,000 units. Investors are worried about demand patterns and margin pressure as Tesla's inventory builds up going into 2026.On January 28, the firm will announce its fourth quarter profits. Investors will want to know about changes in pricing strategy, inventory levels, and production plans.

Tesla Inc. (TSLA, Financials) delivered 418,227 vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2025, which was less than the 423,000 that analysts had expected. This was a 16% reduction from the previous year. The total number of units delivered for the whole year was 1,636,129. The drop comes after a big rise in the first half of the year, when people hurried to take advantage of the $7,500 U.S. EV tax credit, which ended at the end of September. Demand dropped a lot in the fourth quarter, even as manufacturing remained and reached 434,358 cars for the quarter. The Model 3 and Model Y lines made up most of the deliveries in Q4, with over 406,000 units. Investors are worried about demand patterns and margin pressure as Tesla's inventory builds up going into 2026. On January 28, the firm will announce its fourth quarter profits. Investors will want to know about changes in pricing strategy, inventory levels, and production plans.

Key Points Wealth Advisors of Iowa increased its USMC holding by 144,585 shares during the third quarter. The overall position increased by an estimated $10.21 million in value. As of September 30, the fund reported holding 207,662 USMC shares valued at $14.16 million. These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires › Wealth Advisors of Iowa, an independent financial planning company, disclosed a substantial increase in its stake in the Principal U.S. Mega-Cap ETF (NASDAQ:USMC) during the third quarter, adding 144,585 shares, according to an SEC filing dated November 14. What Happened According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dated November 14, Wealth Advisors of Iowa increased its stake in the Principal U.S. Mega-Cap ETF (NASDAQ:USMC) by 144,585 shares. The total position value rose to $14.16 million, up from the prior quarter, with the stake now representing 4.82% of the fund’s reportable U.S. equity assets. What Else to Know Top holdings after the filing: NASDAQ: JEPQ: $34.37 million (11.7% of AUM) NYSEMKT: RSP: $28.30 million (9.6% of AUM) NYSEMKT: EFAV: $26.19 million (8.9% of AUM) NYSEMKT: SPYM: $25.13 million (8.6% of AUM) NYSEMKT: SPYV: $21.13 million (7.2% of AUM) As of Friday, shares of USMC were priced at $67.77, up about 13% over the past year and slightly underperforming the S&P 500, which is up about 16.5% in the same period. ETF Overview Metric Value AUM $3.3 billion Price (as of Friday) $67.77 Yield 0.80% ETF Snapshot USMCv's investment strategy focuses on allocating at least 80% of assets to equity securities of U.S. mega-cap companies, targeting firms in the top 50th percentile of the S&P 500 by market capitalization. The portfolio is composed primarily of large, established U.S. companies, providing broad exposure to the mega-cap segment of the U.S. equity market. The fund operates as an exchange-traded fund (ETF) aiming for efficient access to large-cap equity performance. The Principal U.S. Mega-Cap ETF (US...

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Micron (NASDAQ:MU) shares jumped about 8% on Friday as institutional buyers stepped in after a New Year's Eve pullback. Analysts said booming AI-related demand for both NAND flash and DRAM is driving renewed investor interest and prompting valuation model revisions. Investors are betting on continued data-center buildout and a faster shift from hard drives to solid-state drives, trends that could lift Micron's memory revenue into early 2026. Trading volume has picked up and technical sentiment signals point to a buy, market data show. Micron's strong 2025 performance and positioning in AI memory has led some firms to refresh forecasts and raise targets. Analysts caution margins may fluctuate with pricing, but many expect secular demand to support growth into 2026. Risks remain, including cyclical memory pricing and geopolitics that may affect chip supply chains. Still, portfolio managers say the company's exposure to data-center AI workloads makes it a top pick among memory suppliers. Micron (NASDAQ:MU) will remain a closely watched name as investors weigh AI demand, cloud spending and inventory cycles.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) shares climbed about 5% on Friday as analysts grew more upbeat about the company's earnings power. Wall Street sees booming AI-related demand for high-performance computing and data-center memory as a key growth driver. New Ryzen and EPYC processors, along with refreshed AI accelerators, are strengthening AMD's product mix. Tighter graphics-memory supply has supported higher GPU prices, helping margins, analysts say. Several brokerages have fine-tuned price targets and lifted estimates in recent sessions. Trading activity and technical signals point to strong buy sentiment, while AMD's market cap tops hundreds of billions, reflecting investor optimism. Many analysts expect memory revenue to remain strong into early 2026 as data centers shift from hard drives to faster SSDs, supporting long-term demand. Analysts and investors will watch upcoming earnings, product rollouts and chip supply dynamics for signs that AI demand is sustainable into 2026.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) shares climbed about 5% on Friday as analysts grew more upbeat about the company's earnings power. Wall Street sees booming AI-related demand for high-performance computing and data-center memory as a key growth driver. New Ryzen and EPYC processors, along with refreshed AI accelerators, are strengthening AMD's product mix. Tighter graphics-memory supply has supported higher GPU prices, helping margins, analysts say. Several brokerages have fine-tuned price targets and lifted estimates in recent sessions. Trading activity and technical signals point to strong buy sentiment, while AMD's market cap tops hundreds of billions, reflecting investor optimism. Many analysts expect memory revenue to remain strong into early 2026 as data centers shift from hard drives to faster SSDs, supporting long-term demand. Analysts and investors will watch upcoming earnings, product rollouts and chip supply dynamics for signs that AI demand is sustainable into 2026.

Advanced Micro Devices AMD shares climbed about 5% on Friday as analysts grew more upbeat about the company's earnings power. Wall Street sees booming AI-related demand for high-performance computing and data-center memory as a key growth driver. New Ryzen and EPYC processors, along with refreshed AI accelerators, are strengthening AMD's product mix. Tighter graphics-memory supply has supported higher GPU prices, helping margins, analysts say. Several brokerages have fine-tuned price targets and lifted estimates in recent sessions. Trading activity and technical signals point to strong buy sentiment, while AMD's market cap tops hundreds of billions, reflecting investor optimism. Many analysts expect memory revenue to remain strong into early 2026 as data centers shift from hard drives to faster SSDs, supporting long-term demand. Analysts and investors will watch upcoming earnings, product rollouts and chip supply dynamics for signs that AI demand is sustainable into 2026.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) shares climbed about 5% on Friday as analysts grew more upbeat about the company's earnings power. Wall Street sees booming AI-related demand for high-performance computing and data-center memory as a key growth driver. New Ryzen and EPYC processors, along with refreshed AI accelerators, are strengthening AMD's product mix. Tighter graphics-memory supply has supported higher GPU prices, helping margins, analysts say. Several brokerages have fine-tuned price targets and lifted estimates in recent sessions. Trading activity and technical signals point to strong buy sentiment, while AMD's market cap tops hundreds of billions, reflecting investor optimism. Many analysts expect memory revenue to remain strong into early 2026 as data centers shift from hard drives to faster SSDs, supporting long-term demand. Analysts and investors will watch upcoming earnings, product rollouts and chip supply dynamics for signs that AI demand is sustainable into 2026.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC) shares rose about 5% on Friday as U.S. stocks are firmer to start 2026, as heavyweight chip names stabilized after late-2025 declines. Investors are probing Intel's (NASDAQ:INTC) manufacturing roadmap and its ability to translate process gains into steadier earnings and foundry wins. A key focus is Panther Lake, Intel's next laptop processor on the 18A node, which is central to rebuilding its manufacturing edge. The foundry narrative is mixed. Reuters reported Nvidia tested Intel's 18A process but did not proceed, while Intel said 18A work is progressing and seeing interest in its 14A technologies. Nvidia's (NASDAQ:NVDA) $5 billion purchase of Intel shares underscores high-profile partnerships that may bolster confidence. Traders will watch Intel's quarterly update and data on manufacturing yields, with estimating earnings date of Jan. 29. Competition from Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) is a benchmark for Intel's progress. Near-term moves in Intel stock are likely to track chip-sector sentiment and macro data that shifts rate-cut expectations.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC) shares rose about 5% on Friday as U.S. stocks are firmer to start 2026, as heavyweight chip names stabilized after late-2025 declines. Investors are probing Intel's (NASDAQ:INTC) manufacturing roadmap and its ability to translate process gains into steadier earnings and foundry wins. A key focus is Panther Lake, Intel's next laptop processor on the 18A node, which is central to rebuilding its manufacturing edge. The foundry narrative is mixed. Reuters reported Nvidia tested Intel's 18A process but did not proceed, while Intel said 18A work is progressing and seeing interest in its 14A technologies. Nvidia's (NASDAQ:NVDA) $5 billion purchase of Intel shares underscores high-profile partnerships that may bolster confidence. Traders will watch Intel's quarterly update and data on manufacturing yields, with estimating earnings date of Jan. 29. Competition from Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) is a benchmark for Intel's progress. Near-term moves in Intel stock are likely to track chip-sector sentiment and macro data that shifts rate-cut expectations.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC) shares rose about 5% on Friday as U.S. stocks are firmer to start 2026, as heavyweight chip names stabilized after late-2025 declines. Investors are probing Intel's (NASDAQ:INTC) manufacturing roadmap and its ability to translate process gains into steadier earnings and foundry wins. A key focus is Panther Lake, Intel's next laptop processor on the 18A node, which is central to rebuilding its manufacturing edge. The foundry narrative is mixed. Reuters reported Nvidia tested Intel's 18A process but did not proceed, while Intel said 18A work is progressing and seeing interest in its 14A technologies. Nvidia's (NASDAQ:NVDA) $5 billion purchase of Intel shares underscores high-profile partnerships that may bolster confidence. Traders will watch Intel's quarterly update and data on manufacturing yields, with estimating earnings date of Jan. 29. Competition from Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) is a benchmark for Intel's progress. Near-term moves in Intel stock are likely to track chip-sector sentiment and macro data that shifts rate-cut expectations.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Chinese AI chipmaker and Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA)-peer Biren Technology made a splash in Hong Kong, with its shares jumping more than 100% on their first day of trading. The stock priced at HK$19.60 but opened at HK$35.70 and briefly climbed to HK$42.88 before easing back. Even after cooling off, Biren was still trading around HK$33.88 later in the session, giving early investors a strong win. The company raised about HK$5.58B, or roughly $717M, by selling close to 285M shares. Demand was intense. The retail portion of the IPO was oversubscribed more than 2,300 times, while institutional demand came in nearly 26 times covered. That enthusiasm reflects China's push to build homegrown AI chip alternatives as U.S. export restrictions tighten. Founded in 2019 by former executives from SenseTime, Nvidia, and Huawei, Biren is positioning itself as part of that domestic tech push. The debut shows investor appetite for China-based AI hardware remains very much alive.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. After a couple of bruising years, Cathie Wood finally had something to celebrate in 2025. ARK Invests funds didnt just bounce back, they beat the broader market by a wide margin, and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) was still right at the center of it all. ARKs best-performing funds were the ones tied to space and robotics, both up around 48%, while the flagship ARK Innovation ETF jumped roughly 35%. Even ARKs weaker products managed to outpace major indexes, which is a big shift from recent years when the strategy was under constant pressure. Tesla remained ARKs largest holding, worth about $1.22B, even though Wood trimmed the position during the year. Roku and Shopify stayed near the top, while ARK quietly rotated into biotech and AI-driven healthcare names and moved away from fintech and metaverse bets. The bigger change was under the hood. Technology overtook healthcare as ARKs largest sector, showing Wood is leaning back into growth. For ARK investors, 2025 didnt feel like luck. It felt like a long-awaited payoff.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. 2025 ended up being a tale of two tech trades. Chips ripped higher, while most enterprise software names barely got going. Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR) was the big exception. The semiconductor-heavy SOX index jumped about 44% during the year, but software lagged badly. The IGV software ETF gained just 6%, and several big-name players finished in the red. ServiceNow fell 27%, Salesforce slid 20%, and Workday dropped 16%, even as all three spent the year pitching new AI features. Palantir told a completely different story. The stock surged 138% in 2025 as the company kept locking in multi-year deals with government agencies and commercial customers. Revenue growth stayed strong throughout the year, running between roughly 40% and 60% quarter after quarter. A few cybersecurity names managed solid gains, but Palantir clearly stood apart. In a year when AI hype didn't always translate into results, Palantir showed what real demand can look like.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is quietly easing off its Vision Pro push as it becomes clear the headset hasn't caught on with consumers the way Apple once hoped. According to the Financial Times, Apple has scaled back both production and marketing for Vision Pro. Data from IDC shows Apple's manufacturing partner, Luxshare, stopped producing the device early last year after shipping about 390K units in 2024. Even during the key holiday quarter, Apple is expected to ship only around 45K units in Q4 2025, a sharp slowdown. Apple has also pulled back on digital advertising in markets like the U.S. and U.K. and didn't expand Vision Pro sales beyond the 13 countries where it's already available. At $3,499, the headset is widely seen as too expensive, with users also citing comfort issues, limited apps, and short battery life. Apple did roll out an upgraded M5 version and is expected to introduce a cheaper model, but Vision Pro's struggles mirror a broader trend. The global VR headset market shrank 14% last year, and even Meta has scaled back promotion of its much cheaper Quest devices.