U.S. markets opened to a broad mix of premarket movers after Democrats secured control of both chambers of Congress, reshaping expectations for policy and spending priorities. In trading before the bell, shares of Trump Media fell 11% and several data-center and “neocloud” names declined, while select healthcare, consumer, and software stocks jumped on earnings and guidance.
Key takeaways
- Price move: Trump Media shares dropped 11% premarket, while Novo Nordisk gained over 6% and Duolingo surged 18%.
- Catalyst: For many stocks, the driver was either earnings and outlook updates or investor reassessment tied to the Democratic congressional sweep.
- Key implication: Data-center and related plays faced added uncertainty, while companies with earnings beats and raised guidance were rewarded.
- Market signal: Several guidance-sensitive tech names fell sharply even after meeting parts of their earnings targets, underscoring the market’s focus on forward revenue visibility.
Political backdrop weighs on select tech and infrastructure plays
Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group slid about 11% after Democrats’ decisive midterm results added a potential check on President Donald Trump’s policies. Trump owns 41% of the company, which operates the social media platform Truth Social.
Technology and infrastructure-related stocks also saw weakness. Tesla shares fell nearly 6%, and Elon Musk’s SpaceX-linked exposure—reflected in the article’s summary of SpaceX-related trading—dropped more than 7%. The selloff followed Democrats’ control of the House and Senate, with investors flagging how the election outcome could influence public policy affecting the fast data-center build-out tied to artificial intelligence.
“Neocloud” names moved lower as well. CoreWeave fell about 7%, Iren dropped 6%, and Nebius slipped around 5%. The article said investors expect hurdles for data-center plays, pointing to Democratic victories in Texas and ballots rejecting data-center proposals in different parts of the country.
Earnings and guidance continue to drive the stock picks
Not all the premarket action followed the political narrative—company-specific results also dominated. Novo Nordisk gained more than 6% after reporting earnings of 5.79 Danish kroner (about 63 cents) versus Wall Street expectations of 5.10 kroner (about 55 cents). The company also raised its fiscal 2026 outlook, citing expectations for GLP-1 product sales.
CVS Health slid more than 2% after announcing plans to split into two separate publicly traded companies by the first half of 2028, reversing its prior Aetna acquisition. The proposed separation would separate the company’s retail pharmacy business from other operations.
McDonald’s shares rose about 2% after reporting mixed quarterly results. Adjusted earnings of $3.57 per share exceeded the $3.38 expected by analysts surveyed by LSEG, but revenue of $7.16 billion came in below the $7.29 billion consensus estimate.
Duolingo jumped 18% after posting third-quarter revenue of $309 million, above an LSEG consensus of $303 million. Monthly active users totaled 153 million, beating the 149 million forecast, and the adjusted EBITDA margin also topped expectations.
Alight climbed 22% after raising its full-year 2026 outlook. The company guided revenue to a range of $2.115 billion to $2.125 billion, compared with a FactSet consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. Adjusted EBITDA guidance of $410 million to $420 million also beat the Street’s estimate of $404.4 million.
Tech’s focus on forward outlook hits guidance-sensitive names
Several technology and software stocks moved sharply based on guidance. Skyworks Solutions fell about 11% after its current-quarter outlook disappointed. The company projected adjusted earnings of roughly $1.25 per share and revenue of $1.80 billion to $1.90 billion for the fiscal first quarter, below LSEG consensus estimates of $1.50 per share and $1.99 billion.
Datadog declined 17% after releasing third-quarter results. Although it beat on both the top and bottom lines, its revenue guidance for the fourth quarter came in soft; the company expects revenue of $1.19 billion to $1.20 billion versus a $1.20 billion consensus estimate. The article noted shares had already risen 62% year-to-date.
Freshworks dropped about 10% even with stronger-than-expected third-quarter results and full-year guidance. The company reported adjusted earnings of 22 cents per share on revenue of $245.4 million, slightly above FactSet-expected earnings of 18 cents on revenue of $245.1 million. The stock had recently outperformed, rallying more than 20% over the prior three months.
In contrast, Arista Networks gained 4% after current-quarter guidance topped estimates. Arista forecast fourth-quarter earnings of $1.26 to $1.30 per share on revenue of $3.9 billion to $4.0 billion, compared with LSEG expectations of $1.15 per share and $3.60 billion.
Super Micro Computer rose 2% after beating on both earnings per share and revenue. For fiscal year 2027, the company expects net sales in a range of $72 billion to $82 billion, above an LSEG consensus of $69.17 billion.
Elsewhere, AMD reported little change after stronger-than-expected third-quarter earnings. Adjusted earnings of $2.09 per share topped an LSEG-estimated $1.95, and revenue forecasts for the current quarter were also above expectations.
Other notable movers in the consumer, financial and renewable sectors
Block rallied 9% after reporting third-quarter earnings and revenue above expectations and raising guidance for the full year ending December. Adjusted earnings were $1.13 per share, topping a $1.03 LSEG consensus, while revenue of $6.72 billion exceeded the $6.59 billion consensus.
Avis Budget Group fell about 2% on mixed third-quarter results. The company reported earnings of $5.15 per share, down sharply from $10.11 a year earlier, though revenue of $3.44 billion was slightly ahead of a $3.42 billion FactSet consensus.
In renewable energy, shares moved higher following the Democratic sweep of Congress. The article cited gains of roughly 6% for Sunrun, Nextpower and Plug Power, about 7% for Canadian Solar, and nearly 8% for First Solar.
Amdocs dropped 37% after warning that its revenue could fall as much as 18% in fiscal 2027 due to its dispute with T-Mobile over existing agreements, a completion of an integration project with U.S. Cellular customers, and reduced T-Mobile discretionary spending.
Kraft Heinz added 3% after announcing it would divest its North America coffee business to One Rock Capital Partners. The company also posted third-quarter adjusted earnings of 53 cents per share on revenue of $6.12 billion, beating LSEG expectations of 42 cents on revenue of $6.09 billion.
Looking ahead, investors are likely to focus on how the election outcome translates into policy affecting technology spending—particularly for data centers—and on whether company guidance continues to drive earnings revisions. Upcoming catalysts include more corporate earnings releases and key macro data that can influence rate expectations, alongside further signals from the Federal Reserve.
