Mid-Morning Look: May 12, 2026

Mid-Morning Look

Tuesday, May 12, 2026

U.S. stocks traded lower overnight following another jump in oil prices, as the situation in the Middle East worsens, along with a further rise in Treasury yields on inflation fears and a cautious call from a notable Wall Street figure on technology weighed on stocks prices slightly, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq coming into the day at record highs. Michael Burry, the investor made Famous in The Big Short, warned on Substack that the Nasdaq 100 Index is headed toward a dramatic reversal after a “parabolic” surge that has driven technology valuations to unsustainable heights. Burry said the market resembles the peak of the dot-com bubble just before it burst, citing in particular the steep jump in chip stocks that has pushed up the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index. Then this morning, April inflation data came in “hot” as CPI rose 0.6% MoM, in line with estimates with inflation pressures heavily concentrated in a few categories as energy contributed 0.27% to headline CPI, led by gasoline (+5.4%), shelter added another 0.21% and food contributed 0.07% (core CPI came in above consensus estimates – more below). Between CPI, the Iran situation and the nonstop rally in tech stocks over the last few weeks, markets are softer on the day. US President Trump described the ceasefire as being on “life support”, after Iran’s counter proposal to the US offer to end the conflict was rejected outright by Trump. Trump claimed that in its formal response, Iran had reneged on a previous verbal agreement to allow the transfer of its enriched uranium to the US, with Iran now only said to be offering the transfer of some of its supplies to a 3rd country. Trump also reiterated his belief of internal divisions within Iran’s leadership, claiming moderate factions were seeking to end the war, but were being blocked by hardline groups.

• U.S. April real earnings all private workers -0.2% vs Mar -0.9% (prev -0.9%), U.S. CPI energy +3.8%, gasoline +5.4%, new vehicles -0.2% and CPI food +0.5%, housing +0.7%, owners’ equivalent Rent of primary residence +0.5%.

• Broadlines and hardlines earnings preview at Citigroup noting the sector has lagged YTD (down -8% vs S&P 500’s +8% gain) on macro fears and the implications of higher gas prices. The firm said the stock debate now is how much is weaker consumer spending priced in. Looking at Q1, Citi stills expect most to report results in-line to slightly above the Street and says nearly all should maintain full year guidance (OLLI is lone ne negative standout). Citi upgraded LOW to Buy and new Top 5 Picks – ORLY, HD, AZO, LOW .
• In Chemicals: CE was upgraded to Overweight at JP Morgan on valuation saying its share price has moved lower (14%) from almost $69 last week versus the market, which is 2% higher. There was some disappointment with expected growth in Celanese’s free cash flow Generation, in addition to lower tensions around the conflict in Iran. TROX was downgraded to Sell at Goldman Sachs saying TiO2 fundamentals are skewing more to the downside for which TROX is the most exposed to out of the TiO2 names.
• AI Sector: OpenAI reaches new deal w/ MSFT, may save $97B through 2030; the co’s initially had an agreement in which OAI would give MSFT 20% of its rev, or as much as $135B through 2030, but the new agreement caps the rev-sharing payments at $38B – The Information reported. In Data center infrastructure, CLSK shares fell as Q2 revenue fell 25% Y/y to $136.4M and net loss widened to -$378.3M from -$138.8M Y/y citing lower Bitcoin mining revenue and higher costs; says is focused on commercializing Ai/HPC-applicable assets and expanding digital infrastructure.

• HLIT +7%; shares jumped after beat and raised EPS guidance while only trimming the full-year sales outlook slightly; sees 2026 revenue $475M-$495M, total revenue consensus $465.73M; in the video infrastructure space, getting more profitable on slightly lower revs.
• Q +2%; on earnings as Q1 adj EPS $1.08 vs. consensus $0.92 on revs $1.32B vs. consensus $1.27B; raises FY26 adjusted EPS view to $3.80-$4.14 from $3.55-$3.95 (est. $3.81) and boosts FY26 revenue view to $5.225B-$5.375B from $4.97B-$5.17B, vs. consensus $5.12B.
• SE +11%; on results as Q1 revs $7.1B vs. consensus $6.41B and says on track to deliver 2026 guidance.
• VPG +22%; shares jumped after results as Q1 revs rose 17.6% y/y to $84.3M topped consensus $77M on better profit citing strong Sensors segment demand and higher sales across markets as Sensors segment bookings grew 29% sequentially and revenue rose 23% y/y; guides Q2 revenue $85M-$90M, vs. consensus $79.17M.
• WEN +11%; Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Management is seeking investor backing for a bid to take fast-food chain Wendy’s private, The Financial Times’ reports. Trian has held discussions with outside investors, including in the Middle East, about funding a potential takeover of Wendy’s https://tinyurl.com/y3ws4je8
• ZBRA +14%; shares jumped on results and guidance as Q1 EPS/sales $4.75/$1.49B topped consensus of $4.25/$1.48B while raised 2026 sales growth view to 10%-14%, up from prior forecast of 9%-13% growth and said it expects Q2 sales growth of 14%-17% vs. consensus expected 13.7% growth.

• CLSK -9%; shares fell as Q2 revenue fell 25% Y/y to $136.4M and net loss widened to -$378.3M from -$138.8M Y/y citing lower Bitcoin mining revenue and higher costs; says is focused on commercializing Ai/HPC-applicable assets and expanding digital infrastructure.
• GME -2%; after EBAY rejected its $56B takeover bid, citing doubts over the deal’s financing; the Board concluded that GameStop proposal is neither “credible nor attractive” and is confident that Co, under its current management team, is well-positioned to continue to drive sustainable growth
• GTLB -11%; said that it intends to restructure the Company over the coming weeks, which would include a voluntary separation window and that the forthcoming cuts would be finalized by June 1 and intends to reduce the number of countries it serves by up to 30%.
• GTM -34%; shares tumbled after the company cut its full-year revenue forecast as now sees forecast to $1.185B-$1.20B, from prior view of $1.24B-$1.267B, which followed narrow Q1 EPS/rev beat, and restructuring (roughly a 20% RIF, or ~600 employees), prompting analyst downgrades at BTIG and Canaccord to Hold from Buy.
• HIMS -14%; shares fell after reported mixed Q1 results, with both revenue and adjusted EBITDA coming in modestly below expectations; Q1 revs $608M vs. est. $617M; raises year revs to $2.8B-$3B from prior $2.7B-$2.9B but cuts FY adj EBITDA to $275M-$350M from prior $300M-$375M and vs. est. $322.8M.
• ONON -5%; Q1 sales better at CHF 831.9M vs. est. CHF 822.47M and Q1 ADJ EBITDA margin up 21% vs est. 18% while reiterates full-year 2026 constant currency net sales growth guidance; raises 2026 gross profit margin guidance to at least 64.5% and sees FY adj EBITDA margin 19.5% to 20% vs est. 18.81%.
• PSIX -33%; shares tumbled after reported Q1 revenue and income that fell short of analyst estimates and declined to give full-year guidance, citing variability in order timing and market conditions.
• UAA -18%; Q4 revs $1.2B vs. consensus of $1.167B but shares fell as forecast another annual revenue decline and expects profit well below estimates; now sees year op income $140M-$160M and adj EPS $0.08-$0.12, below consensus of $0.23 and sales expected to fall vs. consensus for rise of 1.6% to $5.05B.
• VOD -7%; shares fell after reports FY26 adj earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization after leases of 11.4B euros ($13.4B) at top end of guidance, but margin falls to 28.1% from 29.2%; said Germany organic FY adj EBITDA down 3.3%.