Premarket trading on Thursday saw sharp, stock-specific moves across sectors as investors digested a wave of earnings results and deal news. Alphabet, ServiceNow, Fortinet and Sprouts Farmers Market fell after profit and guidance disappointed, while DoorDash rallied on its planned acquisition of Instacart’s parent. Several other companies—including Microsoft, Eli Lilly and Crocs—benefited from results that beat expectations or came with supportive outlooks.
Key takeaways
- Stocks moved sharply: Alphabet dropped 11% and ServiceNow slid 20%, while Crocs surged nearly 18% and DoorDash rose 7% in premarket.
- Catalysts were earnings, margins and deals: misses in free cash flow, subscription revenue guidance and margins weighed on decliners, while deal premium and stronger revenue drove gainers.
- Investor focus remains on forward momentum: guidance—especially where companies provide quarterly targets—was a major driver of market reaction.
- Execution signals varied by sector: cloud growth helped Microsoft, diabetes drug demand supported Eli Lilly, and enterprise software weaknesses hit ServiceNow.
What drove the biggest premarket moves
Alphabet fell after earnings showed weaker cash generation and revenue misses. The Google parent slid 11% after reporting negative free cash flow of $9.07 billion. Investors also responded to core search revenue of $63.35 billion, which came in below the $64.96 billion estimate cited by LSEG. Total revenue of $127.58 billion also missed LSEG expectations of $128.22 billion.
Caterpillar declined even with a profit-and-revenue beat. Shares fell 9% despite adjusted earnings of $7.20 per share on revenue of $20.68 billion beating LSEG expectations. Analysts said construction-industry sales came in slightly below estimates, underscoring how sensitive the market is to segment-level demand.
DoorDash agreed to buy Instacart’s parent in a stock deal that lifted sentiment. DoorDash rose 7% after announcing it will acquire Maplebear (the Instacart parent) for $65 per share, representing an 11% premium to Maplebear’s closing price on Wednesday. The company also reported a third-quarter revenue and EBITDA beat. Maplebear was up 4.8% before trading was halted.
Eli Lilly gained on strong results for its obesity and diabetes portfolio. The Zepbound and Mounjaro maker rose 4% as adjusted earnings came in at $7.48 per share versus a $6.26 consensus estimate tracked by LSEG. Revenue reached $24.4 billion, topping the $22.61 billion expected by analysts, reinforcing investor confidence in demand for its branded treatments.
Microsoft advanced after solid top-line and bottom-line results, with cloud growth in focus. Shares rose 2% following a fiscal first-quarter beat. Revenue of $92.28 billion exceeded the $90.69 billion expected by LSEG, while adjusted earnings of $4.89 per share topped the $4.73 consensus. Investors also pointed to Azure revenue growth of 48% year over year.
Companies that disappointed or warned
ServiceNow sank after profit missed and guidance signaled limited upside. The enterprise software company fell 20% after third-quarter adjusted profit of $1 per share came in below the LSEG consensus of $1.02. Subscription revenue guidance for the fourth quarter ranged from $4.245 billion to $4.255 billion, with the FactSet consensus at $4.25 billion.
Fortinet dropped sharply as margin came in below expectations. Fortinet slid 25.5% after reporting non-GAAP gross margin of 79.6% for the third quarter versus an 80.1% target cited by LSEG. The company said top- and bottom-line results beat Street expectations, but investors appeared to reward margin precision more than headline beats.
Sprouts Farmers Market fell after multiple lines missed. The grocery chain plunged 23% following third-quarter EPS, revenue and same-store sales that trailed analysts’ consensus estimates, according to FactSet data.
Harley-Davidson declined after a revenue miss despite stronger profitability. Shares fell 5% after revenue of $964.0 million missed the StreetAccount consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. Adjusted EBITDA of $93.9 million topped the FactSet consensus of $78.9 million, but the top-line shortfall was enough to weigh on the stock.
Honeywell was lower despite an outlook raise. Honeywell Aerospace dropped 4% even after lifting full-year guidance for pro forma standalone adjusted earnings per share to $7.85 to $8. The company also announced an initial quarterly cash dividend of 40 cents per share.
Other notable gainers and deal-linked headlines
Marvell and Lumentum reacted to acquisition talk. Lumentum shares jumped 5% after Bloomberg News, citing sources, reported that the data center optics manufacturer was in talks to be acquired by Marvell, with a deal possible as soon as next week. Marvell shares, by contrast, were down more than 11% in premarket trading, reflecting differing expectations for deal terms and timing.
Crocs rallied after earnings beat and guidance strengthened. The footwear company surged nearly 18% after reporting third-quarter earnings of $3.69 per share (excluding items) on revenue of $1.04 billion. Analysts tracked by FactSet expected $3.31 per share on revenue of $1.00 billion. Crocs also issued stronger-than-expected guidance for the current quarter.
eBay gained on better-than-expected results and raised guidance. Shares rose more than 6% as revenue increased 14% to $3.2 billion and gross merchandise volume rose 15%. Investors cited strength from Depop, accelerating GMV, and raised full-year guidance as supporting momentum.
Carvana rose after results and regulatory clarity. The used car retailer climbed 8% after third-quarter revenue and adjusted EBITDA topped Wall Street expectations. Carvana also said the Securities and Exchange Commission closed a previously disclosed investigation and would not take enforcement action.
Norwegian Cruise Line jumped on an earnings beat. The cruise operator rose 9.5% after adjusted earnings of $1.12 per share beat the 93 cents consensus estimate cited by FactSet data. Revenue of $2.95 billion also topped the $2.88 billion anticipated by analysts.
Shell edged higher on profit strength. The oil major rose 3.6% after nearly doubling third-quarter profit from the year prior to $10.81 billion, compared with LSEG expectations from analysts polled for $9.92 billion.
What to watch next
Investors are likely to keep focusing on the next wave of guidance and margin trends as companies translate quarterly results into forward expectations. With more earnings and corporate updates still to come, attention will remain on metrics such as free cash flow, subscription revenue trajectories, gross margin precision and any additional deal headlines that could reprice entire sectors.
