Alain’s Holdings

Symbol	Name	Price	Change	Change %
VOO	Vanguard S&P 500 ETF	649.19	−4.71	−0.72%
QQQ	Invesco QQQ Trust	650.81	+1.70	+0.26%
XIU.TO	iShares S&P/TSX 60 ETF	49.95	+0.07	+0.14%
VRT	Vertiv Holdings Co.	321.41	+16.27	+5.33%

Note: VRT’s big jump is driven by a strong Q1 earnings beat and raised full-year guidance.

The S&P 500 closed down 0.41% at 7,108.40, after earlier touching a new all-time intraday high.
The Nasdaq Composite declined 0.89% to finish at 24,438.50 — it too had briefly scored a new record intraday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 179.71 points, or 0.36%, to settle at 49,310.32.

The Big Story: Software Selloff & Iran War Jitters

Two forces drove the day’s losses: a brutal rout in enterprise software sparked by earnings from IBM and ServiceNow, and renewed geopolitical anxiety as U.S.-Iran peace talks continued to stall.

Brent crude futures climbed back above $105 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate topped $96, as Iran and the U.S. failed to meet for further peace talks, marking oil’s fourth consecutive day of gains.

“It’s a balancing act right now,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth. “For most of the earnings reporting season, there had been a shift in focus from the macro concerns about geopolitics to micro reporting on a company-by-company basis, which was a positive. But there’s just so long that we can ignore some of the headlines coming out of the conflict.”

Earnings: The Winners and Losers

ServiceNow (NOW) — Down ~17%: ServiceNow reported Q1 earnings and revenue that topped Wall Street expectations, but shares tumbled more than 18% as the integration of recently acquired Armis weighed on its outlook. Investors are increasingly worried that AI allows companies to build proprietary tools rather than pay high subscription fees, and ServiceNow also flagged delays in Middle East deals due to the ongoing conflict.

IBM (IBM) — Down ~8–10%: IBM stock plummeted more than 10% at the open, as Q1 results failed to calm investor anxiety over AI’s impact on the infrastructure and software giant. Software sales grew more than expected, but revenue in the consulting segment came in shy of estimates. Revenue growth slowed to 9%, down from 12.2% in the previous quarter, with the critical software segment also showing signs of cooling. The company maintained its full-year guidance — holding steady rather than raising it — which disappointed investors.

The Contagion: The IBM and ServiceNow selloff triggered a broad rout across enterprise software, with Salesforce falling 4.5%, Oracle shedding 3%, Intuit losing 2.9%, Adobe declining 2.3%, Palo Alto Networks slipping 2.1%, and Palantir easing 1.6%.

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Texas Instruments (TXN) — Up ~19%: Texas Instruments soared over 19% after reporting strong quarterly earnings — its best single-day performance since 2000. The result offered a counterpoint to the software gloom and reinforced confidence in the semiconductor cycle.

United Rentals (URI) — Up ~24%: United Rentals surged roughly 23.7% to $993.22 — the top performer in the S&P 500 — after posting adjusted EPS of $9.71 for Q1, well above the $8.95 estimate, and total revenue of $3.98 billion, topping the $3.87 billion consensus. The company raised its full-year revenue outlook to $16.9–$17.4 billion.

Vertiv Holdings Co (VRT) — Up 5.44%: VRT’s big jump is driven by a strong Q1 earnings beat and raised full-year guidance.

Comcast (CMCSA): Shares of Comcast climbed after the media company beat Q1 earnings and revenue forecasts.

American Airlines (AAL): American Airlines beat quarterly forecasts but cut its 2026 earnings outlook due to rising oil prices stemming from the U.S.-Iran conflict.

Tesla (TSLA): Tesla shares fell around 2–3% on Thursday, as investors digested its Wednesday earnings report alongside news that the company now expects capital expenditures to exceed $25 billion in 2026, up from the roughly $20 billion outlook issued last quarter.

PMI Data: Economy Still Expanding

U.S. business activity picked up in April, according to S&P Global’s flash PMI data. The flash composite PMI rose to 52.0, signaling modest expansion. The manufacturing sector led the gains with a PMI of 54.0, beating expectations of 52.5, while the services PMI came in at 51.3, above the 50.6 consensus forecast.

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Looking Ahead

With “Super Week” arriving next Wednesday, all eyes turn to Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta — the remaining Magnificent Seven heavyweights reporting earnings. The software sector’s credibility will be on the line after today’s punishing session for IBM and ServiceNow.

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