Technology shares moved after the close as a stream of earnings updates shaped the sentiment for cloud software, data storage and semiconductor equities. Salesforce was marginally lower after guiding for current-quarter revenue between $11.27 billion and $11.35 billion, slightly below the $11.36 billion consensus tracked by LSEG, while the company also raised its full-year earnings guidance and posted a first-quarter beat on both earnings and revenue, according to CNBC.
Nutanix jumped about 3% after reporting fiscal third-quarter results that beat on adjusted earnings and revenue. The company posted a non-GAAP operating margin of 22.3% for the period, topping Analysts’ call for 16.9%. Agilent Technologies surged around 11% after raising its full-year adjusted earnings guidance to a range of $6.00 to $6.10 per share, higher than prior expectations of $5.90 to $6.04. The provider also delivered a second-quarter top- and bottom-line beat. Marvell Technology traded modestly lower despite a brighter near-term outlook, guiding to adjusted earnings of 93 cents per share on revenue of $2.70 billion, above the Street’s roughly 90 cents and $2.60 billion targets. The company also topped expectations for the first quarter on both lines.
Evergreen? Not exactly. Everpure, a cloud and data-storage stock, fell more than 6% after reporting a first-quarter non-GAAP gross margin that was in line with expectations. The company, formerly known as Pure Storage, explained that its first-quarter adjusted earnings and revenue beat still accompanied operating income guidance for the current quarter and full year that exceeded estimates, according to CNBC’s coverage.
Snowflake, a premier cloud-data platform provider, soared about 33% in after-hours trading after unveiling a five-year plan to spend $6 billion with Amazon Web Services. The company also reported first-quarter results that topped expectations, delivering adjusted earnings of 39 cents per share on revenue of $1.39 billion, versus consensus estimates of 32 cents and $1.32 billion, according to LSEG data cited by CNBC.
Synopsys slipped roughly 1% as it disclosed an agreement with activist investor Elliott Investment Management, appointing Jesse Cohn to its board effective June 1. Separately, Synopsys’ second-quarter results topped Wall Street estimates, with adjusted earnings of $3.35 per share on revenue of $2.28 billion, CNBC reported.
Braze plunged about 12% after releasing first-quarter results that were in line with earnings expectations at 10 cents per share, but with a gross margin of 67.4% versus the StreetAccount consensus near 68.8%. The company’s guidance for non-GAAP operating income for the full year came in at $70 million to $74 million, versus the consensus around $71.3 million, CNBC noted.
American Superconductor slid around 10% after guidance for the current quarter suggested adjusted earnings would exceed 17 cents per share, with revenue anticipated above $85 million. That compared with FactSet consensus for about 22 cents a share and $87.1 million in revenue, according to CNBC’s reporting.
NCino jumped about 11% after the financial-institution software specialist lifted its full-year revenue guidance to a range of $642 million to $646 million, up from prior guidance of $639 million to $643 million, CNBC reported.
Key takeaways
- Snowflake — up about 33% in extended trading on a plan to spend $6 billion with AWS over five years, plus better-than-expected first-quarter results (adjusted earnings 39 cents, revenue $1.39 billion). Catalyst: strategic cloud-partnership expansion and improving demand for cloud data platforms. Implication: potential leadership reassertion in cloud-data infrastructure amid AI spending tailwinds.
- Salesforce — shares muted after quarterly beat but revenue guide below consensus and full-year earnings raised. Catalyst: solid quarterly performance offset by modest revenue outlook; implication: earnings resilience but revenue trajectory under scrutiny.
- Agilent Technologies — double-digit rally after raising full-year earnings guidance and beating on both lines in Q2. Catalyst: stronger-than-expected demand for life-science instrumentation; implication: improving visibility for lab equipment suppliers amid healthcare and biotech investment cycles.
- Nutanix — modest gains on a quarterly beat and a notably higher non-GAAP margin. Catalyst: profitability upside underscoring operational discipline; implication: potential for multiple expansion if margins sustain.
- Braze — shares down sharply on margin weakness despite in-line earnings. Catalyst: margin compression relative to expectations; implication: investors pricing in profitability risk for the marketing-automation space.
- Synopsys — slight decline amid board changes tied to Elliott, even as earnings beat. Catalyst: activist activity and governance corporate news; implication: potential near-term volatility around the stock while fundamentals remain solid.
- Everpure — stock down after margin line item; nevertheless, earnings and revenue beats accompanied stronger future guidance. Catalyst: margin compression versus expectations; implication: investors weighing near-term margin headwinds against growth prospects in data-storage markets.
- Marvell Technology — modest dip despite an upbeat long-term outlook. Catalyst: beat on current quarter guidance but stock direction mixed; implication: sensitivity to near-term demand signals in semiconductors as clients adjust capex plans.
What drove the move
The landscape shows a mix of earnings-influenced swings and strategic guidance that resonated differently across subsectors. Snowflake’s sharp advance reflects management’s emphasis on enabling scalable cloud data workloads through a deepening AWS collaboration, highlighted by a multi-year spend plan that investors interpreted as institutional validation of Snowflake’s platform moat. The quarterly results also beat on adjusted earnings and revenue, reinforcing confidence in the company’s ability to monetize data workloads at scale.
Other names benefited from either a beat-and-raise narrative or a margin surprise. Nutanix’s margin outperformance suggests improved cost control and operating leverage within its cloud-infrastructure software stack, while Agilent’s upgrade to full-year earnings guidance points to stronger-than-expected demand for laboratory equipment in a backdrop of ongoing biotech and pharmaceutical activity. In contrast, Braze and American Superconductor faced margin and earnings disappointments, underscoring the sector’s sensitivity to margin discipline and macro demand trajectories in software-as-a-service and energy technologies.
Activist involvement and governance matters also colored sentiment. Synopsys traded modestly lower after disclosing an agreement with Elliott Investment Management that adds Jesse Cohn to its board, even as its quarterly results surpassed Street expectations. The market’s reaction suggests investors are weighing near-term governance changes against ongoing profitability momentum.
Market reaction
Across the group, investors rewarded Snowflake and Agilent with outsized moves, while punishing names with margin concerns or governance headlines. The differential reaction highlights a broader theme for tech and compute plays: the market remains episodic, rewarding clear guidance that translates into durable earnings power and scalable growth, particularly where long-duration contracts and cloud-adjacent monetization sit at the core of the business model.
What analysts are saying
Analysts’ expectations served as the yardstick for several results. Salesforce’s revenue guidance nudged below the latest consensus while earnings guidance was lifted, a combination that triggered a mixed takeaway among observers. For Snowflake, the combination of a big AWS-related expenditure plan and a first-quarter beat reinforced the belief that the company can convert platform growth into sustainable cash-flow expansion, a signal many analysts say could support a higher multiple if execution remains consistent. Synopsys’ results beat, paired with a governance development, suggests a resilient business model despite the potential volatility seen in activist-driven scenarios.
Meanwhile, Braze’s margin miss raised questions about unit economics in marketing software, while American Superconductor’s earnings shortfall underscored the fragility of project-based energy technologies amid a complex demand environment. The group-wide pattern indicates that investors are selectively rewarding companies delivering durable margin expansion and clear long-term growth paths, even as near-term profitability remains a focal point for several peers.
Bigger picture
The trading tape underlines a broader macro backdrop where cloud and data infrastructure spend remains a key driver of equities in the software and semiconductors space. Cloud platforms continue to vie for scale as customers invest in data analytics, AI workloads and related infrastructure, supported by large cloud providers pushing partnerships and capital programs that extend revenue visibility for platform players. At the same time, investors are evaluating how near-term margins will hold up as competition intensifies and as companies invest in growth initiatives that are anticipated to yield longer-term returns.
What to watch next includes upcoming earnings reports from other cloud and data platform names, potential guidance revisions as macro data evolve, and any shifts in cloud-provider capital expenditure plans. Market participants will also be tracking how companies balance top-line growth with margin expansion, and whether the current cycle of strategic partnerships translates into material share-price upside for leaders like Snowflake and peers with durable, AI-driven demand. Data and earnings releases in the coming weeks could reframe the near-term trajectory for several of these names, particularly those whose results imply a clear path to sustained profitability.
Closing observations: investors will continue to weigh guidance against execution and the sustainability of margin enhancements. As the earnings cycle progresses, attention will stay on the balance between growth investments and profitability, and on how macro factors—rates, inflation expectations, and geopolitics—shape demand for cloud-native software, data storage, and chip design tools.
CNBC’s Darla Mercado contributed reporting.
