Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading. Global pharma stocks — Shares of several vaccine makers declined after President-elect Donald Trump selected prominent vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary on Thursday. Shares of Moderna and Pfizer slipped nearly 9% and 5%, respectively. BioNTech , which helped develop a Covid vaccine with Pfizer, shed 5%, while GSK declined about 2%. Even names such as Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk were lower, with both stocks slipping about 4%, amid concerns that the drug approval process could be slowed. Super Micro Computer — Shares of the embattled server company fell 2% ahead of a Monday deadline that could result in the company being delisted from the Nasdaq. Super Micro is late on filing a year-end report with the Securities and Exchange Commission, putting it on the wrong side of the Nasdaq’s rules. This would be the 11th losing day in the last 13 trading sessions for Super Micro. Alibaba — S hares slipped more than 2% after the Chinese e-commerce giant’s fiscal second-quarter sales fell short of estimates amid a weakening consumer backdrop in China. Alibaba’s revenue of 236.5 billion yuan came out 5% higher year on year but below analysts’ expectations of 238.9 billion yuan, per LSEG. Palantir — Shares jumped 7% after the analytics software provider said it is moving its listing to the Nasdaq Global Select Market from the New York Stock Exchange. Palantir expects to be eligible to join the Nasdaq-100 Index once it makes the switch. Domino’s Pizza , Pool Corp. , Ulta Beauty — Shares of the pizza chain edged up 0.3% after Warren Buffett ‘s Berkshire Hathaway announced a new stake in Domino’s, while Pool Corp. gained almost 2% as the conglomerate purchased a small stake in the swimming pool supplier. Ulta slipped nearly 3% after Berkshire Hathaway revealed in a regulatory filing that it had sold around 97% of its shares, nearly dissolving its position in the beauty retailer. Berkshire had just bought the stock in the second quarter, making Ulta a relatively new bet. AST SpaceMobile – Shares plunged more than 11% on the heels of the company’s weaker-than-expected third-quarter results. AST SpaceMobile reported a loss of $1.10 per share on revenue of $1.1 million. That’s well below the loss of 20 cents per share and $1.8 million in revenue that analysts were expecting, according to FactSet. Applied Materials — The semiconductor equipment manufacturer dropped 8% after providing a softer-than-forecast revenue outlook for the current quarter. Applied Materials told investors to expect $7.15 billion in the first fiscal quarter, less than the estimate of $7.22 billion from analysts polled by LSEG. However, the company beat expectations on both lines in the fourth fiscal quarter and issued positive guidance for adjusted earnings per share. — CNBC’s Sean Conlon, Alex Harring, Jesse Pound, Hakyung Kim and Lisa Han contributed reporting.
Check out the companies making headlines before the bell. Netflix — Shares popped more than 15% after the company announced a top- and bottom-line beat on Tuesday night. The streaming service earned $4.27 per share on $10.25 billion in revenue for the fourth quarter. Analysts surveyed by LSEG had expected earnings of $4.20 per share and revenue of $10.11 billion. Netflix also topped 300 million paid subscribers in the quarter. United Airlines — The airline stock rose 5% after issuing a better-than-expected outlook . United expects to earn 75 cents to $1.25 per share, after adjustments, in the first three months of 2025, which is more than the 54 cents analysts had expected, per LSEG. Trump Media & Technology — The parent company of Truth Social shed 2%, continuing its post-inauguration slide. Shares dropped around 11% on Tuesday. Procter & Gamble — Shares climbed 3% after P & G posted fiscal second-quarter earnings and revenue that topped analysts’ forecasts. The company reported adjusted earnings of $1.88 per share, while analysts had expected $1.86 per share, according to LSEG. Revenue came in at $21.88 billion, beating estimates of $21.54 billion. P & G cited growing demand for household staples. Oracle — Shares surged more than 10% on the back of President Donald Trump’s announcement of project “Stargate” on Tuesday, a joint venture with OpenAI, Oracle and Softbank to invest up to $500 billion in U.S. artificial intelligence infrastructure. Ford — The automaker’s shares slipped nearly 2% after Barclays downgraded shares to equal weight from overweight. The investment bank expects volume headwinds and cost improvement uncertainty will weigh on the stock. Abbott Labs — The health-care stock fell about 2% after fourth-quarter sales of $10.97 billion came in below the $11.03 billion expected by analysts, according to StreetAccount. Sales at its diagnostics division were down slightly year over year. Abbott expects to earn $1.05 to $1.09 per share on an adjusted basis in the first quarter, below the $1.11 per share expected by analysts, according to FactSet. Seagate Technology Holdings — Shares of the data storage company jumped more than 6% the day after it announced strong fiscal second-quarter results. Seagate Technology posted adjusted earnings of $2.03 per share on revenue of $2.33 billion. Analysts surveyed by LSEG had expected per-share earnings of $1.88 on revenue of $2.32 billion. GE Vernova — The energy company moved about 1% higher after reporting fourth-quarter earnings of $1.73 per share, and reiterating its outlook for 2025. Revenue of $10.56 billion, however, fell short of the $10.79 billion expected by analysts polled by LSEG. Travelers — The insurance stock jumped more than 5% after its fourth-quarter results came in well above estimates. Travelers earned $9.15 per share, topping estimates for $6.64 per share, according to LSEG. Revenue of $12.01 billion also beat analysts’ forecasts for $10.84 billion. Textron — Shares shed nearly 4% after the aviation and defense company missed top-line estimates. Textron posted revenue of $3.61 billion in the fourth quarter, while analysts had called for $3.81 billion, per LSEG. Meanwhile, the company posted adjusted earnings of $1.34 per share, which came in a penny above consensus forecasts. Johnson & Johnson — Shares dipped 1.5% after the drugmaker narrowly beat fourth-quarter expectations , driven by strong sales of its cancer treatment. However, the company’s sales forecast for 2025 was slightly lower than analysts were expecting. — CNBC’s Jesse Pound, Michelle Fox and Pia Singh contributed reporting
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said Wednesday the looming tariffs that President Donald Trump is expected to slap on U.S. trading partners could be viewed positively.
Despite fears that the duties could spark a global trade war and reignite inflation domestically, the head of the largest U.S. bank by assets said they could protect American interests and bring trading partners back to the table for better deals for the country, if used correctly.
“If it’s a little inflationary, but it’s good for national security, so be it. I mean, get over it,” Dimon told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin during an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “National security trumps a little bit more inflation.”
Since taking office Monday, Trump has been saber-rattling on tariffs, threatening Monday to impose levies on Mexico and Canada, then expanding the scope Tuesday to China and the European Union. The president told reporters that the EU is treating the U.S. “very, very badly” due to its large annual trade surplus. The U.S. last year ran a $214 billion deficit with the EU through November 2024.
Among the considerations are a 10% tariff on China and 25% on Canada and Mexico as the U.S. looks forward to a review on the tri-party agreement Trump negotiated during his first term. The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement is up for review in July 2026.
Dimon did not get into the details of Trump’s plans, but said it depends on how the duties are implemented. Trump has indicated the tariffs could take effect Feb. 1.
“I look at tariffs, they’re an economic tool, That’s it,” Dimon said. “They’re an economic weapon, depending on how you use it, why you use it, stuff like that. Tariffs are inflationary and not inflationary.”
Trump leveled broad-based tariffs during his first term, during which inflation ran below 2.5% each year. Despite the looming tariff threat, the U.S. dollar has drifted lower this week.
“Tariffs can change the dollar, but the most important thing is growth,” Dimon said.
Check out the companies making headlines in extended trading. Netflix — Shares soared more than 13% after the streaming giant surpassed 300 million paid memberships . Netflix also beat fourth-quarter expectations on the top and bottom lines, and it raised its revenue expectations for the full year 2025. United Airlines — Shares popped more than 3% after United Airlines’ fourth-quarter results came in better than expected. The airline operator posted adjusted earnings of $3.26 per share on revenues of $14.70 billion. Analysts surveyed by LSEG had expected per-share earnings of $3.00 on revenues of $14.47 billion. The company also issued a strong forecast for first-quarter earnings. Interactive Brokers Group — Shares jumped about 3% after the brokerage posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter results. Interactive Brokers reported adjusted earnings of $2.03 per share on revenues of $1.42 billion in the quarter. Analysts surveyed by LSEG had expected per-share earnings of $1.86 on revenues of $1.37 billion. Seagate Technology — Shares gained 1% after Seagate Technology surpassed second-quarter expectations, with adjusted earnings of $2.03 per share on revenues of $2.33 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG had expected per-share earnings of $1.88 on revenues of $2.32 billion. Capital One Financial — Shares dipped 0.5% after Capital One missed fourth-quarter revenue expectations, reporting $10.19 billion compared to the LSEG consensus estimate of $10.21 billion. On the other hand, adjusted earnings of $3.09 per share topped the anticipated $2.82 earnings per share.