Midday Fly By: Intel reports big beat, Meta to deploy AWS chips

The major averages were mixed near noon following a surge in chip stocks after strong earnings, particularly from Intel. The macro headwind, meanwhile, remains oil and geopolitics. Crude continues to be volatile amid renewed tensions in the Middle East, including shipping disruptions and military activity tied to the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict. Of note, a Pakistani government official told MS NOW that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is anticipated to arrive in Islamabad on Friday and that talks between the U.S. and Iran will likely occur there.

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

1. STOCK NEWS:

• Intel (INTC) reported much better-than-expected Q1 results and provided upbeat Q2 earnings guidance
• Procter & Gamble (PG) reported upbeat Q1 earnings and revenue and maintained its core FY26 earnings outlook
• MaxLinear (MXL) shares soared after its Q1 earnings beat was followed by upgrades at Needham and Roth Capital
• Meta (META) signed an (AMZN) Graviton processors
• Jeanine Pirro, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, said the DOJ will close its investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• Intel (INTC) upgraded to Buy or equivalent ratings at Citi, Evercore ISI and Roth Capital after earnings
• DA Davidson also (AMD) to Buy after the big Intel beat
• Sportradar (SRAD) downgraded to Hold at Jefferies
• Bloomin’ Brands (BLMN) downgraded to Underweight at JPMorgan
• MoffettNathanson (DKNG) and Flutter Entertainment (FLUT) to Neutral amid prediction markets “clouds”

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• Sun Pharmaceutical is set to make a binding offer of $13B for Organon (OGN), The Economic Times reports
• Spruce Point Management announces a long position in Zoom Communications (ZM), saying it sees “material upside potential” in the shares
• Nvidia (NVDA) has yet to sell H200 AI chips to Chinese companies, citing difficulties obtaining permission from the Chinese government faced by potential buyers, Reuters says
• Barclays (BCS) decided not to challenge the Financial Conduct Authority’s motor finance ruling, which could lead to average payouts for drivers of more than GBP 800M, Sky reports
• Tens of thousands of Samsung (SSNLF) workers rallied for a larger share of AI-driven profits, with the union demanding 15% of operating profit versus the company’s offer of 10% plus a 6.2% wage increase, Bloomberg reports

4. MOVERS:

• PagerDuty (PD) gains after a rumor an activist targeting the company was highlighted in Ben Harrington’s buyout-focused Betaville blog
• Newmont (NEM) increases after reporting Q1 results, with EPS and revenue beating consensus
• SAP (SAP) higher in New York after Grupo Santander upgraded the stock to Outperform
• Charter (CHTR) lower after reporting Q1 results, with EPS missing consensus
• Coursera (COUR) falls after reporting Q1 results and provided guidance for Q2 and FY26

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• Gentex (GNTX) reported Q1 results and raised its guidance for FY26
• Moog (MOG.A) reported Q2 results and raised its guidance for FY26, with CEO Pat Roche commenting, “Our teams delivered another outstanding quarter”
• HCA Healthcare (HCA) reported Q1 results, with EPS in-line with consensus
• SLB (SLB) reported Q1 results and increased its guidance for FY26, with CEO Olivier Le Peuch commenting on “a challenging start to the year” amid widespread disruptions in the Middle East 
• Apogee Enterprises (APOG) reported Q4 results, with EPS higher year-over-year

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was down 0.13%, or 62.86, to 49,247.46, the Nasdaq was up 1.47%, or 358.33, to 24,796.84, and the S&P 500 was up 0.74%, or 52.61, to 7,161.01.