Midday Stock Highlights: Notable Movements from Meta Platforms, Kroger, SAIC, PVH, Snowflake, and Others
Meta Platforms: Shares rose 4% as CEO Mark Zuckerberg considers significant cuts to the metaverse group, potentially reducing the workforce by 30% by 2026.
Kroger and PVH Corp.: Kroger's stock fell 6.5% due to disappointing third-quarter revenue, while PVH Corp. dropped 10% after issuing weak fourth-quarter guidance, missing analyst expectations.
Science Applications International and Dollar General: SAIC's shares surged 17% after beating earnings expectations and raising future guidance, while Dollar General's stock rose 11% following an increase in full-year earnings guidance.
Salesforce and UiPath: Salesforce's shares increased 2.5% after raising fourth-quarter revenue guidance, while UiPath's stock soared 20% due to better-than-expected third-quarter results.
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- Strong Earnings: Meta reported a 24% revenue growth in Q4 2025, beating market expectations, although the stock has drifted lower post-earnings, indicating investor concerns over future spending.
- Surge in Capex: The capital expenditure forecast for 2026 has been raised to between $115 billion and $135 billion, nearly doubling the $72.2 billion spent in 2025, leading to a divide among investors regarding the sustainability of this spending plan.
- Robust User Growth: Meta's Family of Apps now boasts 3.58 billion daily active users, representing 43% of the global population, showcasing effective AI application in its advertising business with an 18% increase in ad impressions.
- Strong Profitability: Meta anticipates Q1 2026 revenues between $53.5 billion and $56.5 billion, implying growth rates as high as 34%, and despite spending pressures, the company maintains strong cash flow and profitability metrics.
- Global AI Summit: The Web Summit in Doha attracted over 30,000 founders, investors, and experts, establishing itself as a global hub for AI discussions and showcasing the Middle East's rise in the global AI landscape.
- Innovation Sandbox: Qatar Foundation Chairperson Sheikha Moza bint Nasser described the event as a 'sandbox of innovation,' highlighting AI's potential to empower small businesses and drive economic growth, particularly as large enterprises face implementation challenges.
- Energy and Data Infrastructure: Attendees discussed the resilience of supply chains, energy systems, and data infrastructure amid rising geopolitical tensions, emphasizing the need for governments to ensure supply and diversification of computing capabilities to meet the demands of the information age.
- Investment Opportunities: Qatar's Prime Minister announced an additional $2 billion for the Qatar Investment Authority's Fund of Funds program, bringing total committed capital to $3 billion, supporting 12 regional and international fund managers, reflecting the country's ambition and potential in global AI investments.
- China Market Recovery: Following the Trump administration's ban on Nvidia chip exports to China in April 2025, Nvidia is expected to resume exports, and if first-quarter revenue expectations reach $8 billion, it could lead to unexpected growth, significantly boosting market confidence.
- Surge in AI Giants' Investment: Major clients of Nvidia, including Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta, have announced capital expenditure plans for 2026, with expected spending of $175 billion to $185 billion, $200 billion, and $115 billion to $135 billion respectively, which will drive demand for Nvidia's chips and further solidify its market position.
- New Architecture Driving Growth: Nvidia's upcoming Rubin chip architecture offers significant efficiency improvements over the previous Blackwell generation, requiring only one Rubin chip for every four Blackwell chips for AI model training, which will encourage more companies to upgrade their GPUs, thus driving sustained growth for Nvidia.
- Attractive Stock Valuation: While Nvidia's stock is often deemed expensive, its forward P/E ratio of less than 25 times is near its lowest level in three years, and a projected 20% price increase would bring it to a more reasonable 30 times forward earnings, making it a prime buying opportunity now.
- Report Overview: The U.S. DOJ submitted a six-page report to Congress under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, listing all government officials and politically exposed persons linked to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, highlighting efforts for transparency.
- Record Categories and Privacy: The report outlines nine categories of released records, including flight logs and immunity agreements, while redacting victims' personal information and child sexual abuse materials to protect privacy rights as mandated by the Act.
- Political Controversy and Criticism: The Trump administration faces significant backlash for its handling of the Epstein investigation, with critics arguing that the lack of transparency in document releases has eroded public trust in government.
- List Controversy: The inclusion of hundreds of names in the report has sparked debate, with Rep. Ro Khanna questioning the relevance of deceased figures like Janis Joplin, raising concerns about the accuracy and fairness of the list.
- Market Turmoil Intensifies: Over the past few weeks, global stock markets have experienced significant volatility due to concerns over AI disruption, particularly with software companies like Dassault Systemes facing their largest one-day drop in history, indicating high investor sensitivity to AI impacts.
- Wealth Management Under Pressure: Wealth management firms such as St James's Place and Aberdeen Group have suffered severe losses, reflecting market panic over the potential effects of AI, leading to deep financial setbacks for these companies.
- Analyst Warnings: UBS analysts have cautioned that the AI-driven sell-off signifies a
- Valuations Near Market Average: The Magnificent Seven stocks trade at forward P/E ratios between 22 and 30, aligning closely with the S&P 500's 21.8, indicating that despite their strong performance, they are not overvalued, making them attractive for investors.
- Nvidia's Growth Potential: Nvidia is projected to see a 52% revenue increase in FY 2027, primarily driven by over $500 billion in capital expenditures planned by Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta for data centers in 2026, which will significantly boost orders for its computing units and further accelerate growth.
- Strong Performance from Microsoft: Following its Q2 FY 2026 earnings, Microsoft exceeded expectations with Azure's cloud platform achieving a 39% year-over-year growth, and despite a drop in stock price, this presents an excellent buying opportunity for investors, highlighting its critical role in the AI investment trend.
- Meta's Low Valuation: With a forward P/E of 22.2, Meta is undervalued despite a 22% revenue growth in Q4 2025 and projected growth rates of 25% and 17% for the next two years, suggesting that investors can capitalize on this low valuation to acquire shares of a company expected to outperform the market's typical growth rate.








