Market reactions to a packed earnings schedule produced pronounced winners and losers this week, with several household names registering sizeable share-price swings as investors digested results and forward-looking commentary.
Intel
Intel opened the week with gains but surrendered those advances by Friday, falling more than 17% as of 13:30 ET after management issued guidance that failed to meet investor expectations. The chipmaker reported a net loss of $333 million for the final three months of its fiscal year, a shortfall that exceeded Wall Street forecasts. Looking ahead, Intel said it expects to report a first-quarter loss of $0.21 per share.
Company executives pointed to supply shortages stemming from surging data center demand - demand tied to the chips that underpin advanced artificial intelligence models - as a material factor affecting performance. The combination of a stretched recent rally and the weaker outlook prompted one analyst to flag the pullback.
Benchmark analyst Cody Acree wrote: "After gaining 150% over the TTM and nearly 50% since Jan 2, we believe Intel’s shares were poised for a pull-back in all but the most optimistic of scenarios, and while the company delivered a respectable upside to December expectations, its disappointing Q1 outlook provided more than enough reason for traders to sell shares aggressively."
Abbott
Abbott Laboratories shares slid sharply on Thursday, losing more than 10%, and the stock fell a further 2.3% into Friday, leaving the week-to-date decline at roughly 13.8%. Investors reacted to an earnings report that missed revenue expectations; the company said nutrition sales dropped 8.9%, a decline it attributed to lower volumes and strategic pricing actions aimed at restoring future volume growth. Management's guidance also disappointed the market.
Piper Sandler analyst Adam Maeder summarized the results, saying: "The majority of the top-miss driven by the Nutrition business. Medtech growth of +10.4% ex-fx was nothing to thumb your nose at, though bears will pick on the Q4 diabetes number, which came in lighter than we/Street modeled. The FY26 revenue guide was below expectations driven entirely by nutrition (from what we can tell)."
Qiagen
Qiagen was among this week’s stronger performers, rising more than 13% over the past week after a surge of just over 16% on Tuesday. The move followed a Bloomberg report that the diagnostics firm is exploring strategic alternatives, including a possible sale, amid renewed takeover interest.
The market reacted favorably to the prospect of strategic action, lifting the shares significantly during the week.
SanDisk and Memory Names
SanDisk continued its recent run, adding approximately 11.4% over the week as demand for memory products showed no signs of abating. The jump in SanDisk shares echoed strength across the memory sector, with other names such as Micron, Western Digital and Seagate Technology also registering notable gains over the period.
AMD
Advanced Micro Devices recorded a solid weekly advance, rising about 9.7% as investors continued to price in robust artificial intelligence-related demand. In a note midweek, KeyBac analyst John Vinh reiterated an Overweight rating and said the firm expects AMD to deliver stronger results and elevated guidance when it reports earnings, "driven largely by robust server CPU demand momentum and latest generation (Turin) strength."
Looking ahead
With earnings season ramping up, the market is likely to remain sensitive to company-specific guidance and to demand signals from data centers and memory end markets. Traders and investors will be watching upcoming reports closely for confirmation that recent strength in AI computing and memory demand translates into sustained revenue and margin improvements.
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