Investopedia Markets News (all except PF)

• Dell Technologies shares popped Wednesday after the PC maker hiked its full-year outlook.
• Executives said they see Dell's AI momentum accelerating.

Dell Technologies (DELL) shares jumped Wednesday after the PC maker hiked its outlook, pointing to a boost from AI-driven demand.

The shares were up nearly 6% in recent trading, making Dell one of the best-performing stocks in the S&P 500 Wednesday. (Read our daily markets coverage here.)

Chief Operating Officer Jeff Clarke said “AI momentum is accelerating in the second half of the year, leading to record AI server orders of $12.3 billion and an unprecedented $30 billion in orders year to date.”

Dell boosted its full-year revenue forecast to $111.2 billion to $112.2 billion, up from $105 billion to $109 billion previously. It now sees adjusted earnings per share of $9.92 at the midpoint, compared to an earlier forecast of $9.55. Both the revenue and profit projections topped analysts' estimates compiled by Visible Alpha.

Dell's big stock gains on signs of AI momentum could point to renewed confidence in the flagging AI trade, as well as Dell's place as a beneficiary of the AI boom.

Dell posted adjusted EPS of $2.59 for the third quarter, up 17% from a year ago and above analysts' forecasts, though its revenue at $27 billion was slightly below expectations.

With Wednesday's gains, shares of Dell are up about 17% for 2025.

• The retail brokerage is launching a new derivatives exchange in a bid to expand its prediction markets offerings.
• Robinhood's stock has more than tripled year-to-date, making it one of the top gainers in the S&P 500.

Robinhood's latest venture raises the prediction-markets stakes.

The U.S. brokerage made popular by offering slices of stocks to retail investors is launching a futures and derivatives exchange in a bid to expand its prediction markets business. Robinhood (HOOD) announced Tuesday that the exchange will be managed by a joint venture with market maker Susquehanna International Group.

Its shares were up 10% as of Wednesday afternoon, solidifying Robinhood's position among the top gainers within the benchmark S&P 500.

Robinhood built its business on catering to individual investors, starting with fractional shares of stocks and, more recently, offering banking and mortgage services to some of its more active users. As its business grows, the brokerage appears to be stepping into position to woo bigger customers.

Robinhood aims to be a one-stop shop for trading in stocks, crypto, and events contracts as well as banking and mortgage services. While it faces fierce competition in rivals like Polymarket, which yesterday announced receiving a regulatory nod to resume U.S. operations, Robinhood could also attract partners that want to get into the events-markets action but don't have the infrastructure to do so.

Robinhood's new venture comes with an acquisition—a 90% stake in MIAXdx, a CFTC-licensed derivatives clearing house; the deal is expected to close in the first quarter of next year. Miami International Holdings (MIAX) will retain the remaining shares. The company said its new exchange would serve its derivatives business and other futures commission merchant platforms.

A Robinhood spokesperson said its derivatives business "plans to continue to partner with multiple DCM/DCO partners," referencing the entities where derivatives contracts are executed and settled. "There will be no changes in the short term" for that business's customers, the spokesperson said. Robinhood offers some of its event contracts through Kalshi, another dominant player in predictions markets.

"Prediction markets are really on fire," Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev said during the company's third-quarter earnings call earlier this month, according to a transcript provided by AlphaSense. Robinhood has doubled volume in that business every quarter since it launched roughly a year ago, according to the company, reaching 2.3 billion contracts in the third quarter.

• The "One Big, Beautiful Bill" will restrict the amount of federal student loans available to college students next year. Students may have to take out riskier private loans to cover the rest of their schooling.
• The average medical graduate student will not be able to take out enough federal loans for the cost of their school and will likely have to take out tens of thousands of dollars in private loans.
• Some families who take out Parent PLUS loans will have to use private loans, which typically have higher interest rates and will cost them almost $5,000 more in interest during repayment.

Borrowers will be restricted in the amount of federal student loans they can take out, which could lead to more students—especially those pursuing a medical degree—taking out private loans.

The "One Big, Beautiful Bill" generally lowers the amount of federal money that college students can borrow starting in the 2026-27 academic year. Students may need to bridge the gap between the amount of money they can borrow and the cost of school.

Some advocates and experts say borrowers will be forced to take out private loans to cover the costs.

Private student loans can be harder to pay off as they do not qualify for federal forgiveness programs, and the companies that offer them have proportionally more complaints than federal loan servicers. Many private loans also have higher interest rates than their federal counterparts, making repayment more expensive.

“Proponents of these lending caps argue that by limiting federal aid, schools will be forced to lower decades-worth of price hikes. However, data has shown that this is simply not the case," Aissa Canchola Bañez, policy director at Protect Borrowers, a loan borrower advocacy group, said in a Senate hearing last week. "Instead, students and families will be simply pushed into more expensive, riskier, predatory, private student loan debt."

Congress's "One Big, Beautiful Bill" lowers the existing $138,500 aggregate loan limit for non-professional graduate students to $100,000. According to the most recent National Center for Education Statistics report, the average non-professional borrower with a master's degree holds $80,550 in student debt after adjusting for inflation.

The bill did increase the cap for graduate students pursuing a "professional" degree, such as medical and law students. Professional graduate students will be able to take up to $200,000 in student loans over their educational career.

However, the increased cap for professional students still won't be enough to cover the average cost of medical school. The average student who completed medical school holds $232,100 in student debt, according to the NCES.

Previously, graduate students could take out Grad PLUS loans to cover the remainder of their cost of attendance, but since the bill eliminated this loan program after July 1, 2026, advocates say more medical students will have to use private loans.

Private loans will end up costing students far more in interest. For example, Federal Student Aid set the interest rate for a Grad PLUS loan during the 2025-26 academic year at 8.94%. Comparatively, the interest rate for private student loans varies, ranging as high as 17.88%, according to loan marketplace Credible.

The bill also introduces an annual limit on Parent PLUS loans, which parents use to help their undergraduate students afford college. Previously, the limit was set at the cost of attendance at the student's school, but starting next year, parents can only take out $20,000 a year.

Parent PLUS loans will also have an aggregate cap of $65,000, which most parents will not reach. However, 17.1% of Parent PLUS borrowers in 2020 borrowed more $65,000, according to the NCES.

The bill also allows higher education institutions to restrict the amount of federal loans their students can take if they deem their degree program more likely to default once they graduate. Some students in fields like education or public service may be limited in the amount of loans they can take out, but experts say it is unlikely to affect a large number of students.

Major U.S. equities indexes climbed Thursday afternoon ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday amid renewed optimism about a Federal Reserve rate cut next month. The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all rose close to 1%.

Robinhood Markets (HOOD) shares soared nearly 10% to lead gains on the S&P 500 as the online trading site moved to expand its presence in prediction markets by purchasing LedgerX in partnership with Susquehanna International Group.

Dell Technologies (DELL) shares popped close to 7% after the PC maker hiked its outlook and said demand for its artificial intelligence products is soaring.

Shares of Petco Health and Wellness (WOOF) jumped 18% as the pet products retailer reported a surprise profit and raised its outlook, citing its transformation efforts.

Workday (WDAY) was the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500, with shares down 9% amid concerns about subscription revenue at the provider of human resources software.

Shares of Deere & Company (DE) tumbled 5% after the manufacturer of large farm and construction equipment gave a weak forecast and warned of difficult market conditions.

HP (HPQ) shares sank 2% as the PC maker announced a cost-cutting plan that includes layoffs and gave a weak outlook as it faced higher costs from U.S. tariffs.

Crude oil futures slid, and gold prices climbed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was little changed. The U.S. dollar was higher versus the yen, but lost ground to the euro and pound. Trading in most major cryptocurrencies was mixed.

• HP announced a restructuring plan that will involve 4,000 to 6,000 layoffs, as it aims for savings of about $1 billion by fiscal 2028.
• The computer maker's latest quarterly results topped estimates, but its profit outlook was lower than expected.

Computer and printer maker HP's (HPQ) stock slid Wednesday, a day after the company announced a major cost-cutting plan that includes layoffs.

The company said it aims to eliminate between 4,000 and 6,000 roles as part of its efforts to save $1 billion over the next three fiscal years. For HP, which said it had about 58,000 employees in its latest annual filing, the cuts could represent up to 10% of its workforce.

Meanwhile, CEO Enrique Lores told investors during Tuesday's earnings call that the company plans to continue investing in AI-related initiatives as it sees "a significant opportunity to embed AI into HP to accelerate product innovation, improve customer satisfaction, and boost productivity," according to a transcript provided by AlphaSense.

The move makes HP the latest tech company to announce layoffs despite business looking solid in its latest quarter, highlighting what could be growing trend. A number of tech giants, including Amazon (AMZN) and Microsoft (MSFT), have also undertaken layoffs in recent months, while ramping up their AI efforts.

The flurry of recent layoffs could point to growing pressure on tech companies to make cuts where they can to help support their spending on AI, while some may be expecting the technology could reduce the need for some roles over time.

HP reported better revenue than expected at $14.6 billion for the fiscal fourth quarter. Its adjusted earnings per share of $0.93 was also slightly above analysts' expectations compiled by Visible Alpha.

The company's profit outlook of $2.90 to $3.20 in EPS for fiscal 2026, however, came in below the analyst consensus.

HP shares were down about 2% in recent trading, bring their year-to-date losses close to 27%.

• Trump gets to nominate a replacement for Jerome Powell, whose term expires in May, and who has resisted Trump's demands for steep rate cuts.
• Kevin Hassett, the front-runner to become the next chair of the Federal Reserve, is likely to push the central bank to lower interest rates.
  
• Several unanswered questions hang over a possible Hassett nomination, including who on the FOMC he would replace.
  

Kevin Hassett, the reported frontrunner to take over as Federal Reserve chair in May, has a recent track record of advocating for the central bank lowering interest rates.

Hassett is the leading candidate to replace Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell when his term ends in May, Bloomberg reported this week. President Donald Trump is expected to announce his choice for the Fed chair nominee in the coming weeks.

Hassett is a top economic advisor to Trump, currently serving as Director of the National Economic Council. In recent media interviews, Hassett has criticized the current leadership of the Fed for not lowering interest rates quickly enough, aligning with his current boss's views.

The central bank has already cut interest rates by a quarter-point at each of its last two meetings, and is now expected to do so again at its next meeting in December. However, the 12 officials who vote on policy are divided about whether to keep rates higher for longer to push down inflation that's still running above the Fed's target of a 2% annual rate, or to lower them to help boost the ailing job market.

The Fed has not been cutting rates fast enough for Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to fire Powell before his term expires, and has said his pick for Fed chair would be someone who would lower rates. Going by Hassett's recent public comments, it is clear where he stands on the debate.

Hassett would almost certainly push the Fed to lower interest rates, potentially heating up the economy at the risk of stoking inflation.

In an interview with Yahoo Finance this week, Hassett said the bank should be cutting interest rates despite an uptick in job growth in September, accused Powell of having "partisan" motivations for his monetary policy decisions, and said the next Fed chair needed to "clean house."

In other recent interviews, he has fiercely defended Trump's economic policies, including his controversial tariffs, and said he believes inflation will fall to around 1% next year while economic growth surges.

Lower interest rates would reduce borrowing costs on short-term loans and potentially provide a boost to the economy. But some economists and Fed officials worry that cutting too steeply could boost inflation, especially with Trump's tariffs already pushing up prices.

Hassett's nomination would raise several questions about the future of the central bank and its independence from White House control. He would still have to be confirmed by the Senate to take the post.

It's also unclear who on the 12-member FOMC he would replace, since, unlike other candidates Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller, he is not on the board already. Although Powell would no longer chair the Fed's board of governors, his term as a rank-and-file board member does not expire until 2028, and he could choose to stay on. Powell has declined to answer questions about whether he will step down in May.

A seat could also open up for Hassett if the Supreme Court allows Trump to remove sitting board member Lisa Cook. A third possibility is that he could take the place of fellow Trump nominee and rate-cut advocate Stephen Miran, whose term ends in January 2026.

There is also the possibility of an unprecedented power split, as reported by Fortune, in which Powell could remain the chair of the FOMC while Hassett serves as chair of the Fed's board of governors. Those are technically two different positions, and the FOMC chair is voted on by the board itself, which has traditionally selected the Fed board chair as its own chair, but isn't required to by law.

• Deere & Company is warning that tough market conditions, partially attributable to tariffs, will continue into next year.
• The manufacturer of big farm and construction equipment gave a full-year outlook below forecasts.
• The news offset better-than-expected profit and sales figures for the fiscal fourth quarter.

Shares of Deere & Company (DE) fell Wednesday morning after the maker of large farm and construction equipment gave a weak forecast and warned that “difficult market conditions” will continue for a while longer.

In the company’s fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 earnings report, CEO John May said “ongoing margin pressures from tariffs and persistent challenges in the large ag sector remain.” He added that Deere believes “ 2026 will mark the bottom of the large ag cycle.”

The company predicts next year’s net income will be in a range of $4.00 billion to $4.75 billion. Analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha were looking for $5.19 billion.

The outlook offset a strong fourth quarter. Deere reported earnings per share of $3.93, with revenue up 11% to $12.39 billion. Both exceeded the Visible Alpha estimates.

The Production & Precision Agriculture division posted a sales gain of 10% to $4.74 billion. Sales grew 7% to $2.46 billion at the Small Agriculture & Turf unit, and they soared 27% to $3.38 billion at the Construction & Forestry segment.

However, for fiscal 2026 Deere sees Production & Precision Agriculture sales falling 5% to 10%. They expect them to rise about 10% at both Small Agriculture & Turf and Construction & Forestry.

Deere shares were down 4% in recent trading. The stock has gained about 13% so far in 2025, slightly lagging the performance of the benchmark S&P 500 index.

• Americans are expected to spend some $78 billion between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, according to Salesforce, and retailers are jockeying for their business.
• A number of consumers want to spend less on the holidays than last year, but total retail sales are expected to crack $1 trillion for the first time, the National Retail Federation said.

Let the cash registers ring.

Retailers are working hard to beckon Americans on Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Companies are rolling out digital wishlists, running sweepstakes, and setting up elaborate in-store displays. Nordstrom’s flagship Seattle store will feature funhouse-style mirrors and digital palm readings, and Bloomingdale’s will wrap its Manhattan headquarters in a jumbo Burberry scarf.

Millions of Americans are expected to browse and buy between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, though many started their holiday shopping early this year. Online sales this Friday may total $18 billion, according to estimates from Salesforce, which provides software to retailers. The five-day "cyber week"—from Thanksgiving to Monday—may bring $78 billion in sales, Salesforce said.

The National Retail Federation expects holiday-season spending to crack $1 trillion for the first time. But the 3.7% to 4.2% year-over-year increase NRF is expecting comes as inflation is trending near 2.7%. and consumer confidence is sliding. Some surveys show Americans aim to spend less this year and, by some accounts, even affluent Americans may be experiencing fatigue.

Holiday spending is important for retailers, as well as the general economy; consumer spending accounts for some two-thirds of the U.S. economy. How successful the season is has implications for other sectors.

The stakes are high for merchants and brands. About 40% of retail sales are concentrated in the final quarter of the year. Many big-box stores say they've been reducing prices on food and other staples—and will be running sales as usual. (Here's Investopedia's take on ways to save.)

"We know consumers remain cautious," Target (TGT) Chief Commercial Officer Rick Gomez said on a conference call this month, according to a transcript made available by AlphaSense. "They want to celebrate with loved ones without overspending." Urban Outfitters (URBN) Richard Hayne said this week that its customers appeared to be "waiting a bit longer this year to make their purchases until seasonal promotions began."

Target is rolling out collectibles for kids, and adults, such as Major League Baseball and Women's National Basketball Association trading cards. It's also stocking "exclusive" Lego sets and a Barbie inspired by the home decor guru Joanna Gaines, Gomez said.

Many retailers are touting Pokémon drops, from Best Buy (BBY) to Sam's Club, and otherwise preparing for a jump in web traffic. Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS) is promoting digital wish lists, it said on a recent conference call, while Kohl's (KSS) invites users to enter a sweepstakes.

TJX Cos. (TJX) is trying to generate hype by refreshing its merchandise online and in TJMaxx, Marshall's and HomeGoods stores “multiple times a week throughout the holiday season,” CEO Ernie Hermann said on a conference call this month.

“We believe this differentiates us from many other major retailers as our ever-changing mix of merchandise allows shoppers to see a new assortment every time they visit," Hermann said.

Others are playing up the unusual nature of new releases—or recently revisited classics. Yum Brands' (YUM) Taco Bell is teaming up with Abercrombie & Fitch's (ANF) Hollister on a limited-edition clothing line.

Walmart's (WMT) Sam's Club is promoting a more traditional product. "I don't know if you all know, but Mahjong is the new Pickleball," CEO Chris Nicholas said on a conference call last month. "Go out and invest in that."

News of the day for Nov. 26, 2025

Stock futures are ticking higher as the market looks to extend its winning streak to three straight days; markets will be closed tomorrow for the Thanksgiving holiday and will have an abbreviated trading session on Friday; Nvidia has responded to reports that Google's AI chips are being considered by other tech giants; HP plans to reduce the size of its workforce; and Urban Outfitters shares are soaring after the retailer reported solid earnings and made encouraging comments about its outlook for the holiday season. Here's what you need to know today.

Stock futures are pointing to a slightly higher open for major indexes this morning after two consecutive days of solid gains. Stocks have rallied this week—after falling sharply last week amid concerns about the AI trade—as investors have grown more optimistic that the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates at its next policy meeting in two weeks. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.1% recently, while those linked to the benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-focused Nasdaq added 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively. Gold futures were up 0.7% at $4,170 an ounce, gaining ground for the fourth straight day, while crude oil futures fell slightly to around $58 per barrel. Bitcoin was trading at $86,500 recently, down from an overnight high of just above $88,000. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which affects borrowing costs on all sorts of loans, was at 4.02%, up from 4.00% at yesterday's close.

Traders will be able to take a breather this week after the recent stretch of volatile trading. U.S. stock and bond markets will be closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday, and will have shortened trading schedules on Friday, closing at 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively. After that, the next market holidays come towards the end of the year with the same shortened trading hours as Black Friday on Dec. 24, and no activity on Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

Nvidia (NVDA) stock sank Tuesday and is down slightly in premarket trading Wednesday after a report suggested that its chipmaking dominance in the AI sector could be in question. A report from tech news outlet The Information said that Meta Platforms (META) is considering using AI chips made by Alphabet (GOOGL) unit Google, which is a market that Nvidia has dominated for the last several years. Nvidia responded to the report Tuesday, saying on social media that the company is "delighted by Google’s success — they’ve made great advances in AI and we continue to supply to Google." However, Nvidia said its products are still "a generation ahead of the industry" and are more flexible and powerful than Google's chips.

Shares of HP (HPQ) are down this morning after the computer and printer maker released its quarterly results and unveiled a major cost-cutting initiative. After Tuesday's closing bell, HP reported revenue and profit that topped Wall Street expectations, but issued disappointing guiance, while announcing a restructuring plan aimed at saving $1 billion over the next three years. HP said it will cut between 4,000 and 6,000 jobs, up to nearly 10% of its workforce. The company said the cost-cutting effort is aimed at driving "customer satisfaction, product innovation, and productivity through artificial intelligence adoption and enablement." HP shares were down more than 2% in recent premarket trading.

Urban Outfitters (URBN) shares are soaring Wednesday after the clothing retailer topped estimates in its latest earnings report. Sales came in at $1.53 billion while earnings per share were $1.28, each above the analyst consensus. In its earnings call after the bell Tuesday, CEO Richard Hayne said that November sales have been "robust," noting that the company has noticed a "slight shift in consumers' behavior," according to a transcript from AlphaSense. "We believe customers were waiting a bit longer this year to make their purchases until seasonal promotions began," Hayne said, "And we successfully met this shift with strong results in our early holiday events." Urban Outfitters shares were up 15% in premarket trading after jumping 10% Tuesday.

• Expiring pandemic-era ACA subsidies could lead to a sharp rise in premiums in 2026, leaving millions to pay more or lose coverage.
• Lawmakers are weighing extensions, new restrictions, or HSA-based alternatives as competing Republican and White House proposals reshape the debate over health care costs.
  

President Donald Trump has long promised to replace Affordable Care Act with a better system—and he now has less than a month to put it in place before millions have their health insurance premiums skyrocket.

Americans have until Dec. 15 to enroll or renew coverage in Affordable Care Act health insurance plans for coverage starting Jan. 1, and have until Jan. 15 to enroll or change coverage for the year. As it stands, pandemic-era subsidies for these plans are set to expire at the end of the year, which will sharply increase premiums.

Trump and Republican lawmakers must now decide whether to overhaul the health care system, a proposal he first made more than a decade ago during his first presidential campaign. They could also extend the subsidies as Democrats have demanded, or allow health insurance premiums to rise dramatically.

The subsidies were the flashpoint in the record-setting government shutdown that ended this month. The government could be shut down again if the two sides cannot agree on the subsidies by Jan. 30.

The stakes are high for the 24 million people enrolled in ACA plans. Between annual premium increases and the expiration of the subsidies, premiums are set to more than double in 2026, according to an analysis by KFF, a health care research group. If the subsidies are not extended, 2.2 million people will become uninsured, according to the Congressional Budget Office's estimate in 2024.

Last week, Trump used social media to sketch his latest proposal for overhauling the health care system.

"The only healthcare I will support or approve is sending the money directly back to the people, with nothing going to the big, fat, rich insurance companies," Trump wrote in an all-caps post on social media. "The people will be allowed to negotiate and buy their own, much better, insurance."

While Trump has not released details of that plan, the White House is currently working on a proposal that would extend the current ACA subsidies while restricting people making more than 700% of the federal poverty line from receiving them. It would also require minimum payments on some currently free plans, according to reporting by several news outlets.

Removing $0 premium plans could cause many people to go uninsured, Mark Meiselbach, a health economist and professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, wrote in an email.

"This would likely lead to large reductions in enrollment," he wrote. "Prior work has found that there is a big difference between $0 vs. even $1, primarily due to transaction costs (e.g., having a credit card on file, paying premiums on time, etc). Those losing coverage would likely be younger and lower-income."

Relatively few people would be affected by the new restriction on people with higher incomes. Still, it could take subsidies away from some who live in expensive states, he wrote.

Two Republican senators—Rick Scott of Florida and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana proposed bills along the lines of Trump's social media post.

Scott's would allow states to replace premium subsidies with contributions to tax-advantaged health savings accounts, which beneficiaries could use to purchase health insurance or pay for services outright.

Cassidy's plan is narrower and would leave much of the ACA in place, but convert the expiring subsidies into HSA contributions that could be used to pay for health care expenses from providers, but not premiums.

Some health care experts said the shift to HSAs could offer beneficiaries more flexibility, but could undermine the system as a whole. Health insurance companies rely on payments from younger, healthier people with few health care costs to cover the higher costs incurred by those who are older and sicker.

"The one who knows that they don't really have any health care needs right now, they might opt to just take that money and not purchase health insurance and go off the exchange, which then leaves the people on the exchange the sickest, which is going to drive up premiums," Meiselbach said.

The Senators' proposals "present trade-offs, generally benefiting people who are currently healthy at the expense of people who have expensive health conditions," Larry Levitt and Cynthia Cox, policy researchers at KFF, wrote in a blog post analyzing the proposals.