Midday Fly By: Dell, HP move in opposite directions after earnings

Stocks are higher near noon as traders lean into the idea that the Federal Reserve is ready to cut rates at the December meeting. A steady slide in Treasury yields and a string of softer economic readings make the case for easing more convincing as retail sales growth has cooled, inflation has lost momentum, and several forward-looking data points point to a slowing consumer.

Housing-related names and consumer-focused companies are benefiting from the drop in yields, but the tech sector is still carrying the weight of stretched valuations. A rotation toward more cyclical and interest-sensitive names is one of the more notable dynamics underneath the light holiday-week tape.

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.

1. STOCK NEWS:

• Dell Technologies (DELL) advanced after the company raised its full-year forecast, helped by growth in AI server shipments
• HP Inc. (HPQ) slid as its initial FY26 EPS outlook was below analysts’ estimates and the company announced plans to reduce headcount by 4,000-6,000 employees
• Deere (DE) shares dipped after the company reported lower fiscal Q4 profit, weighed down by weak margins from its tractors and combine harvesters
• The FAA is probing Amazon (AMZN) after one of its delivery drones in Texas downed an internet cable
• Robinhood (HOOD) announced a joint venture with Susquehanna to acquire MIAXdx, a Commodity Futures Trading Commission-licensed futures exchange venue, from Miami International (MIAX) in a deal applauded by analysts

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• Autodesk (ADSK) (OSCR) upgraded to Overweight at Piper after Miami-Dade deep dive
• Biohaven (BHVN) downgraded to Neutral at UBS
• Craig-Hallum downgraded PagerDuty (PD) to Hold as growth expectations continue to deflate
• Macquarie downgraded Nio (NIO) to Neutral on slower 2026 demand

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• Netflix (NFLX) has begun to ramp up its charm with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and US regulators, which has begun to chip away at Paramount Skydance’s (PSKY) lead in the auction, NY Post says
• Optimum Communications (OPTU) has filed an antitrust lawsuit against a group of investors, including Apollo Global (APO) and Ares Management (ARES), accusing them of working together to shut the telecommunications company out of the U.S. credit market, WSJ reports
• The U.S. government announced it has negotiated a 71% discount on Novo Nordisk’s (NVO) Ozempic and Wegovy drugs for patients in Medicare, Bloomberg says
• While Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk has spent much of the year focused on robotics pursuits and winning shareholder approval of his pay package, the outlook for the company’s main business of selling cars is darkening, Reuters reports
• Dominion (D) is expected to benefit from several long-term initiatives in the states that it serves, and after years of negative returns, shares look cheap, providing a buying opportunity, Barron’s says

4. MOVERS:

• Urban Outfitters (URBN) increases after reporting Q3 results, with CEO Richard Hayne highlighting “record revenues, profits, and earnings per share for the quarter”
• Petco (WOOF) higher after reporting quarterly results and providing guidance for FY25
• Cipher Mining (CIFR) gains after announcing the redemption of all outstanding warrants
• Hive Digital (HIVE) lower after entering an equity distribution agreement for up to $300M of shares
• Zscaler (ZS) and Workday (WDAY) falls after reporting quarterly results

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE: 

• Ambarella (AMBA) reported Q3 results, with EPS and revenue beating consensus
• NetApp (NTAP) reported Q2 results and raised its guidance for FY26, with CEO George Kurian commenting, “we delivered an outstanding second quarter”
• Nutanix (NTNX) reported Q1 results and cut its guidance for FY26
• Federal Signal (FSS) raised its guidance for FY25
• Li Auto (LI) reported Q3 results and provided guidance for Q4

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was up 0.89%, or 419.76, to 47,532.21, the Nasdaq was up 1.01%, or 233.04, to 23,258.64, and the S&P 500 was up 0.93%, or 62.67, to 6,828.55.