Mid-Morning Look: May 07, 2026

Mid-Morning Look

Thursday, May 07, 2026

After back-to-back massive rallies for U.S. averages, pushing the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to all-time highs led by strength in industrials, materials and of course technology, markets are mixed with the Nasdaq outperforming as software names (IGV) rebound on better earnings results from DDOG, FTNT, while semis are down slightly after a negative reaction to ARM guidance, but overall the index (SOX) remains up 60% YTD, among the biggest stories this year along with memory and optical stocks. The Dow Jones Industrials and Russell 2000 are down slightly early. Brent crude oil slipped below $100 a barrel, and WTI crude extending an 8% slump in the previous session below $90, as the US and Iran weighed a fresh push to end the war and reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz, with an answer from Iran to the US latest proposal expected today. One of the busiest individual earnings days of the quarter today, with details of some of the biggest movers below. The United States and Iran are edging toward a limited, temporary agreement to halt their war, sources and officials said, with growing optimism that it could pave the way for the narrow waterway. Markets await the monthly nonfarm payroll report tomorrow morning after a better ADP private payroll report yesterday. So far, momentum clearly to the upside with massive spikes in tech sectors and markets on track for a 6^th straight week of gains.

• Weekly Jobless Claims climbed to 200,000 from 190,000 prior week and vs. consensus 205,000; the 4-week moving average fell to 203,250 from 207,750 prior week; continued claims fell to 1.766M from 1.776M the prior week and vs. consensus 1.800M.

• Private Credit: BX cut the value of its private credit fund Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (BXSL) in Q1. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s NAV per share dropped 2.4% to $26.26 in the first quarter at fair value, according to its earnings disclosure. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund had the majority of its investments in software, about 20% of its portfolio in software names at fair value, at the end of March. The fund also declared a 77 cent dividend. It declared a dividend of 80 cents in the fourth quarter. OBDC shares fell after cutting its dividend to 31 cents per share from 36 cents per share.
• In Autos: TSLA China-made EV sales jumped 36% year over year in April, a sixth month of gains, with deliveries of Model 3 and Model Y vehicles built at Tesla’s Shanghai plant totaling 79,478 units. For used cars (CVNA, KMX), the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index (MUVVI) fell to 211.9, reflecting a 1.8% increase for wholesale used-vehicle prices (adjusted for mix, mileage, and seasonality) compared to April 2025. The April index is down 1.6% month over month. The long-term average monthly move for April is an increase of 0.7%
• Restaurants; MCD Q1 global comparable sales +3.8% vs est. +3.95% on better EPS $2.83 vs est. $2.74 and revs $6.52B vs est. $6.47B and Q1 US comparable sales +3.9% vs EST +4.21%; PZZA Q1 revenue fell and missed analyst expectations along with a miss for Q1 EPS as decline mainly due to refranchising and lower North America sales, partly offset by international growth; reiterates 2026 outlook for global system-wide restaurant sales flat to down low single-digits; SHAK shares tumbled after swinging to a quarterly loss and missed revenue estimates, hurt by rising commodity costs and named Michelle Hook as its new CFO, effective May 11; posted an operating loss of $2.6M vs. operating profit of $2.8M y/y and revs of $366.7M missed analysts’ estimate of $371.9M. PTLO downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Guggenheim saying after opening eight new stores planned for 2026, Portillo’s’ development will slow in 2027 to 4-6 additions as it works to get out of existing lease

• ALB +12%; shares advanced after delivered substantial upside to Street margin expectations as cost savings and lithium prices drove operating upside to expectations along with a gain from the Ketjen divestitures; EBITDA ex-1x gains still beat the Street expectations by ~40% for the quarter.
• ATRA +44%; STAT news reported the FDA to reconsider treatment for rare cancer after its surprise rejection. Shares of ATRA surged as the company and Pierre Fabre said they reached an agreement to address agency’s concerns over Ebvallo, a therapy for a rare blood cancer.
• AXON +9%; reported Q1 revenue of $807.3M, up 34% y/y vs. consensus of $778.6M, while adj EBITDA of $201.6M, up 30% y/y topped consensus of $184.9M, and with international revenue growing more than 100% y/y and raised FY26 revenue guidance to an implied range of $3.61B-$3.67B (previously $3.53B- $3.61B),
• CCRN +28%; agreed to a buyout from investment firm Knox Lane for $437M in cash, or $13.25 a share. The companies expect the deal to close in Q3, subject to shareholder approval and regulatory conditions.
• DASH +4%; posted results that came in at the higher end of expectations, underpinned by a new all-time high for MAUs and record sign-ups for DashPass & Wolt+ while the Q2 guide is higher on GOV and in line on AEBITDA (sees Q2 marketplace GOV to be in the range of $32.4B-$33.4B vs. est. $31.8B).
• DDOG +30%; as Q1 adj EPS $0.60 vs. est. $0.51 and revs rose 32% Y/y to $1.00B vs. est. $961.3M; guides Q2 revs $1.07B-$1.08B and FY revs $4.3B-$4.4B vs. est. $4.12B; reported Robust growth of larger customers, with about 4,550 $100k+ ARR customers, up from about 3,770 a year ago (lifts SNOW, TEAM, MDB shares in sympathy).
• FTNT +23%; shares jumped after Q1 results as reported a strong 1Q26 with revenue and EPS beats driven by product and margin outperformance and the updated FY26 outlook was materially better than expected as billings came in at $2,085MM / +30.6% Y/y vs  Street $1,821MM.
• GWW +7%; shares jumped after Q1 revs rose 10% to $4.74B beating estimates and raised 2026 adjusted profit between $44.25-$46.25 per share, above prior forecast of $42.25-$44.75 and said its high-touch solutions unit posted a 10.5% rise in sales in Q1 from a year ago; sees FY sales $19.2B-$19.6B vs. $18.96B.
• HWM +9%; Q1 profit rose 42% to $1.22 topping ests $1.11 and revs +19% y/y to $2.31B above consensus $2.24B and raised its year rev range to $9.58B-$9.73B from prior $9B-$9.2B view and midpoint of year EPS now $4.94 s. prior $4.45 estimate on the back of growth in its commercial aerospace and industrial gas turbine businesses.
• SEZL +22%; reported Q1 earnings ahead of expectations, driven by lower credit loss provisioning, while provision expense as a percentage of GMV was only 1.2%, well-below management’s target of 2.5-3.0% and the co raised its 2026 EPS guide to $5.10 from $4.70 provided prior.
• SITM +27%; shares surged after quarterly beat, with revenue of $113.3M (+0.2% q/q, +88.3% Y/y) coming in +10.8% higher than consensus driven by better than expected demand for Ai data center applications; raised Jun Q revs to $145.0M at the midpoint, or +27.7% q/q, driven again by exceptionally strong CED momentum

• FSLY -34%; shares tumbled after a massive run post earnings; beat on results as Revenue (+20% YoY), Security Revenue (+47% YoY), and Non-GAAP Operating Margin (11.1%) all nicely above consensus and Q2, FY26 guide better as well, while  Network Services revenue of $126.2M missed consensus by ~$3.7M.
• SHAK -27%; shares tumbled after swinging to a quarterly loss and missed revenue estimates, hurt by rising commodity costs and named Michelle Hook as its new CFO, effective May 11; posted an operating loss of $2.6M vs. operating profit of $2.8M y/y and revs of $366.7M missed analysts’ estimate of $371.9M
• SRPT -9%; shares fall after Q1 revs $730.8M was down -$14.1M y/y as revs of $102M for its muscle disorder gene therapy Elevidys, compared to $375M y/y which reflects a lower volume of Elevidys sales due to an updated label that only includes patients who can walk for treatment.
• TPR -9%; reported better Q4 results, but warned for Q4 revenue, expect low teens growth rate at coach, high single-digit decline at Kate Spade; gave mixed guidance as revs better at about $7.95B, compared with its prior forecast of more than $7.75B (est. $7.82B) but sees adj EPS $6.40-$6.45 vs est. $6.52 per share
• TRDA -54%; after reported Cohort 1 data from its Phase 1/2 ELEVATE-44-201 study in DMD, with focus centering around significantly lower AUC ~50% below internal expectations and low single-digit increases in dystrophin below expectations for double-digits.
• WHR -12%; shares tumbled on weak results and guidance as  Q1 revs $3.27B vs. est. $3.44B; suspends common dividend to prioritize debt paydown; cuts FY26 adjusted EPS view to $3.00-$3.50 from about $7.00 (est. $4.73) and lowers FY26 revenue view to about $15B from $15.3B-$15.6B.
• ZTS -21%; shares fell after missing both Q1 EPS and rev estimates driven by US weakness. Mgmt lowers FY EPS guide to $6.85 to $7.00, saw $7 to $7.10. Sees FY revenue $9.68 billion to $9.96 billion, saw $9.83 billion to $10.03 billion. Q1 EPS $1.53 vs $1.61 est. Q1 revs $2.26B vs $2.3B est.