Midday Fly By: Paramount wins Warner bidding, Amazon to invest $5oB in OpenAI

The major averages were broadly lower near noon as investors grapple with pressure from renewed AI sentiment worries and tech-sector volatility. The Nasdaq looks particularly fragile, tracking toward what would be its steepest monthly fall in over a year if current levels hold.

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Beyond tech, risk sentiment is cautious across the broader market following the January producer price index release, which points to hotter-than-expected inflation in inputs.

Looking to commodities, gold and oil were both sharply higher, ending the week with notable gains overall.

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

1. STOCK NEWS:

• Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) determined that Paramount’s (PSKY) revised takeover bid constitutes a “superior proposal,” and Netflix (NFLX) declined to raise its offer for the company
• OpenAI announced(AMZN) agreeing to invest $50B in the ChatGPT maker
• Dell Technologies (DELL) reported upbeat Q4 results, raised its dividend, and added $10B to its share repurchase program
• Block (XYZ) reported mixed quarterly results but said it would cut over 40% of its workforce
• Brink’s (BCO)(NATL) in a cash and stock transaction valued at $6.6B

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• Block (XYZ) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley
• Duolingo (DUOL) was downgraded to Neutral or equivalent ratings by at least six firms after earnings
• Celsius (CELH) double upgraded to Buy from Underperform at BofA
• Sunrun (RUN) downgraded to Hold at Jefferies and to Sell at GLJ Research
• UBS (PLTR) to Buy with shares down 35% from peak

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• Apple (AAPL) is in discussions with ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank as it looks to introduce its Apple Pay service in India mid-2026, Bloomberg says
• Caesars Entertainment (CZR) is considering takeover offers, including a bid from Texas billionaire Tilman Fertitta, FT says
• OpenAI has hired Meta (META) AI researcher Ruoming Pang, who joined Meta from Apple (AAPL) about seven months ago for a pay package reportedly worth more than $200M over several years, The Information reports
• Amazon’s (AMZN) chief AI scientist Peter DeSantis believes the company can use in-house chips to develop AI models more cheaply, WSJ says
• Meta Platforms (META) has inked an agreement to rent Google’s (GOOGL) AI semiconductors, known as tensor processing units, to work on new AI models, The Information reports

4. MOVERS:

• Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) increases after reporting Q4 results and providing guidance for Q1
• Arlo Technologies (ARLO) gains after reporting Q4 results and providing guidance for Q1 and FY26
• Figs (FIGS) and Rocket Pharmaceuticals (RCKT) higher in New York after reporting quarterly results
• Sunrun (RUN) falls after reporting Q4 results, with EPS and revenue beating consensus
• Par Technology (PAR) and Progyny (PGNY) lower after reporting Q4 results

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• NIQ Global (NIQ) reported Q4 results, with CEO Jim Peck commenting, “Q4 exceeded expectations and capped a defining year for NIQ”
• inTEST (INTT) reported Q4 results, with EPS missing consensus
• Carter’s (CRI) reported Q4 results and provided guidance for FY26 and Q1
• Docebo (DCBO) reported Q4 results, with CEO Alessio Artuffo commenting, “Q4 was one of Docebo’s strongest quarters on record”
• Globalstar (GSAT) reported Q4 results and provided guidance for FY26

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was down 1.16%, or 577.27, to 48,921.93, the Nasdaq was down 0.82%, or 188.74, to 22,689.65, and the S&P 500 was down 0.56%, or 38.84, to 6,870.02.