Shesa's Weekend Stock Market Updates - 6|26|26

Welcome to my weekend updates

The U.S. stock market had a positive week overall for the week ending Friday, April 24, 2026, with major indexes showing resilience amid easing geopolitical tensions, including ceasefire extensions and hopes for U.S. and Iran talks.  We saw strong performance in Semiconductor stocks fueled by Intel's solid earnings report. Overall,  for the week, Nasdaq: Up 1.5% (closed at 24,837), led by Semiconductor stock - INTC, AMD, TSM, NVDA, ARM etc. The S&P 500 was up about 0.6% (closed at 7,165) but Dow Jones was down -0.4% (closed at 49,231). Oil closed around $95 a barrel. This week we will see marathon of tech giants report earnings and that may determine the next market move. Meanwhile, the negotiation between U.S and Iran over the weekend was cancelled, so no further progress.

Other News
  • Apple (AAPL) names John Ternus CEO, replacing Tim Cook, who becomes chairman effective September 1. 2026
  • SpaceX said on last Tuesday that the company has struck a deal with artificial intelligence startup Cursor and has the rights to acquire it for $60 billion later this year, or to pay $10 billion for work they are doing together
  • Nvidia (NVDA) went past $5 trillion market capitalization
  • U.S. importers, ranging from Target to Walmart, are due more than $160 billion in tariff refunds following a February Supreme Court decision.
Earnings Last Week
Tesla (TSLA)
  • Earnings per share: 0.41 vs. 0.37  expected
  • Revenue: $22.39 billion vs. $22.64 billion, up 16% YOY
  • Gross margin: 21.1%, Gross Profit: up 50%
  • Free cash flow: $1.44B
My view: Many believe Tesla’s Q1 2026 earnings were “bad” or a disappointment. It was not great but it’s one of the biggest EV seller in the world. Having said that, I don’t invest in Tesla for its car sales. I invest in the future of Tesla (FSD, CyberCab, RoboTaxi, Optimus). If an investor has 2-3 years time horizon then it may be one of the best growth stock in my view. But the stock is highly volatile, so it must be invested in a phased manner and hedge a little bit.

Lam Research (LRCX) Q3 2026 Earnings (reported April 22, 2026):
• EPS: $1.47 actual vs. $1.35–$1.37 expected (beat)
• Revenue: $5.84 billion vs. $5.70–$5.78 billion expected (beat)
Guidance (for Q4 2026): Revenue $6.60 billion ± $400 million vs. $6.1 billion (in-line)

My view: Semiconductor sector is hot and LRCX is delivering. This company has not missed earnings for last 14-15 quarters. It deserves credit. 

Intel (INTC)
Revenue: $13.6 billion vs. $12.36–12.42 billion
EPS: $0.29 vs. $0.01 
Guidance: Revenue: $13.8 billion - $14.8 billion vs. $13.11 billion 

My view: This was a massive outperformance. The results were driven by stronger-than-expected demand, particularly in areas tied to AI and computing. Intel retaking its Dot Com 25 year highs after its Q1 earnings report. I didn’t have Intel except a little bit of option. But the company has turned the corner. So, I may add it on pullback.

Economic News this week
Tue, 4/28: Consumer confidence
Wed, 4/29: FOMC interest-rate decision => Don't expect any change
Thu, 4/30 GDP (Q1), PCE index
Fri, 5/1: ISM Manufacturing

Earnings this week
This week will be one of the most busy week for earnings. Most of the tech giants are slated to release earnings as follows. Note: All the earnings are expected to come after the close of market on the given date.
  • MON, 4/27: AMD
  • TUE, 4/28: HOOD
  • WED, 4/29: META, GOOG, AMZN, MSFT, NBIS, CVNA.
  • THU, 4/30: AAPL, AMZN
I am optimistic about the earnings, particularly from AMD, META, NBIS, GOOG. We will see how it goes.

Stocks to watch
AMD, NVDA, META, GOOG, NBIS, TSLA, MSFT, AMZN, AAPL, SOXL, INTC, MU, TSM, AVGO, CRWV, APLD

WhatsApp Poll and What to Expect? 
This week we will see almost all the tech giants reporting their earnings except Nvidia. So, these earnings and their guidance will be key for the future market direction. I did a poll about the earnings and what to expect. About 60% of the participants feel that earnings would be good but market has gone up too fast, so better to be watchful. I do agree with this view. 

Here is my view. I think earnings should be good but we have to watch for the guidance. The market has the momentum and so also the AI related stocks. With that said, market went up too much too fast surprising many investors. These days market takes sudden turn either up or down. Hence, some caution is warranted. In my view, one should remain invested but keep taking some profits as opportunities arise. The semiconductor sector is coming with solid earnings and money is moving there. The fear of missing out (FOMO) is seen in the market. But we have to be careful about irrational exuberance. I remain optimistic about the market and it may potentially go up further if earnings are good. But I do not want to get carried away and better to be watchful. Mr. market may wait for the earnings and then determine the next move.. Have a god evening!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Post

Shesa's weekend stock market updates - 3|29|26

Welcome to the weekend updates T he US stock market continue to be extremely volatile and painful for the investors. As the U.S, Israel & Iran war continues the stock market are becoming more and more chaotic. Mainly the energy sector (Oil & Gas) are doing well  and some of the defensive stocks in industrial and material are doing OK. All other stocks have/had terrible time.  As a matter of fact, last week we saw another blood bath in the market S&P 500 was down -2.1% , Nasdaq dropped -3.2%, Dow declined -1.7% . Nasdaq and DOW are already in the correction territory. Nasdaq is down almost about -13% and DOW down -10.6% . S&P 500 is at the door step of correction territory. The stock markets have  fifth straight losing week amid US-Iran conflict headlines. The  Early relief rally on ceasefire hopes faded as tensions escalated, oil went past $100. The Markets remain headline-driven.  In order to protect from the downturn and...
Read more

Shesa's APRIL 2026 Investment Blog

 By Shesa Nayak Welcome to Shesa’s investment Blog!  U.S Stock Market Update The stock market declined for five consecutive weeks before turning into green last week. Both Nasdaq and Dow were already in the correction territory . But last Tuesday and Wednesday market had a relief rally with the hope that a ceasefire is on the card for the U.S - Iran war. President Trump indicated that U.S. forces might exit Iran within two to three weeks. So, we saw some good bounce in the stock market. But it’s difficult to predict how far sustainable that would be. The oil prices have now gone up to $112 a barrel . Yesterday President Trump stated that if Iran does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours , “all hell will break loose” upon them. It’s difficult to predict president’s remark. The market is in chaos and we know that market does not like uncertainty. Most of the time market goes on news and sentiment these days . So, we will have to wait and see how the market reacts on...
Read more

Shesa's Weekend Stock Market Updates - 4|12|26

Welcome to my weekend's update After weeks of doldrum last week, the U.S. stock market had its  strongest weekly gains since November , driven by relief over a fragile two-week ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran contingent on reopening the Strait of Hormuz). Over the weekend, negotiation went on between U.S and Iran in Islamabad headed by vice president JD Vance. The Oil prices which is key driver of the inflation fell from about $115 to $95. This brought some relief for the investors.  Overall, last week marked a strong rebound, with the Nasdaq exiting correction territory. Markets remain sensitive to developments in the ceasefire and upcoming earnings season. Volatility could persist next week depending on geopolitical updates, economic data and Q1 earnings results.  All the indexes were up handsomely, particularly Wednesday was huge. S&P 500 : Up 3.6% for the week, closing at 6,816.89 Dow Jones : Up 3%, closing at 47,916.57  Nasdaq Composite : ...
Read more