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Opening Bell
9:35 am
Wall Street is shaking off geopolitical jitters as the S&P 500 and the Dow both climbed Tuesday. Sentiment remains fragile as Brent crude futures topped $101 following reports that Israeli airstrikes killed Iran’s security chief, Ali Larijani. While energy markets react to the potential for further escalation, equity investors are focused on President Trump’s efforts to form a naval coalition to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Despite the green indices, market veterans warn that a weakening labor market and “higher-for-longer” energy costs are mounting threats to the broader growth narrative.
Amazon’s AI Powers Ultra-Fast Delivery Rollout
8:00 am — AMZN -0.30%, WMT -0.31% in pre-market trading
Amazon (AMZN +1.08%) is escalating its logistics war with Walmart (WMT 0.10%) by launching one-hour and three-hour delivery across more than 2,000 U.S. cities and towns. This Tuesday morning rollout covers 90,000 high-frequency items, from electronics to toilet paper, leveraging new specialized “work stations” within its existing same-day fulfillment hubs. While the move aims to boost shopping frequency, it comes with a steep price tag: Prime members must pay a $9.99 surcharge for 60-minute delivery, a shift from Amazon’s traditional “free with Prime” speed model. By monetizing ultra-fast fulfillment, Amazon is attempting to turn its massive infrastructure into a high-margin service that can fend off Walmart’s growing “Express Delivery” network.
- Monetizing the Minutes: The new tiered fee structure ($9.99 for 1-hour, $4.99 for 3-hour) signals a strategic move to cover the high variable costs of last-mile logistics without eroding overall Prime margins.
- Operational Overhaul: To hit these windows, Amazon is deploying predictive AI to pre-position inventory in smaller urban facilities, effectively turning its same-day hubs into high-velocity local storefronts.
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This Morning’s Breakfast News
7:30 am — NVDA +0.32%, UBER +2.46% in pre-market trading
Nvidia (NVDA 0.67%) closed 1.6% higher yesterday after sharing detailed progress on a host of key projects at GTC (GPU Technology Conference), including self-driving cars from Uber (UBER +5.41%) and more progress on AI software for the OpenClaw platform.
- Nvidia-powered autonomous fleet to roll out in 2027: A clear timeline was provided on taking the joint project with Uber to market, with Los Angeles and San Francisco identified as testing cities before expanding to 28 cities across four continents.
- NemoClaw platform launch boosts OpenClaw security: NemoClaw provides more privacy and security controls for customers using AI software, allowing self-evolving AI agents to be more scalable and trusted going forward.
Cellebrite’s AI Cuts Case Work to Minutes
7:15 am — CLBT unchanged in pre-market trading
Cellebrite (CLBT +3.06%) has announced early access to Genesis, a new agentic AI investigative platform designed to accelerate digital investigations for law enforcement agencies.
- AI-Powered Investigation Tool: According to Cellebrite, Genesis can convert investigative tasks from weeks to minutes using a conversation-like interface that analyzes mobile extractions, call detail records, documents, messages, images, and video.
- Targeting Public Safety Agencies: The platform is powered by Cellebrite’s AI intelligence layer built from decades of evidence analysis, aimed at helping resource-constrained agencies reinvigorate cold cases and strengthen investigations into narcotics, human trafficking, and crimes against children.
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ICYMI: Monday’s Scoreboard
6:30 am — EXEL unchanged in pre-market trading
Exelixis (EXEL +2.41%) was the subject of the latest Scoreboard video.
Storage Over Sedans: Tesla Shifts Focus
6:00 am — TSLA -0.37% in pre-market trading
Tesla (TSLA +0.58%) and South Korea’s LG Energy Solution have finalized a $4.3 billion agreement to construct a massive lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery factory in Lansing, Michigan. Confirmed by the U.S. government on Monday, the deal repurposes a former GM site to produce prismatic cells specifically for Tesla’s “Megapack 3” utility-scale storage systems. This strategic pivot allows Tesla to bypass heavy tariffs on Chinese-made batteries while scaling its fastest-growing segment–energy storage–which saw deployments hit a record 14.2 GWh in Q4 2025. By anchoring production in Michigan, Tesla gains a tariff-free, domestic supply chain that ensures its energy division can maintain 20%+ growth even as its automotive arm faces a cyclical slowdown.
- Supply Chain Sovereignty: The Lansing facility, slated for a 2027 ramp-up, ends Tesla’s heavy reliance on Chinese giant CATL for LFP chemistry, a move that secures federal tax credits for its commercial and residential energy buyers.
- Storage Over Sedans: With 2025 energy revenue jumping 27% to $12.8 billion, this multi-year deal provides the revenue visibility needed to offset current headwinds in the traditional EV market.
Rocket Acquisitions Running Ahead of Plan
5:15 am — RKT -0.34% in pre-market trading
By Buck Hartzell
Rocket‘s (RKT +2.78%) Q4 25 results were fueled by lower rates. They generated $2.4 billion in adj revenue and $0.11 in diluted EPS. They did $50 billion in loan volume in Q4 25 as rates moved toward 6%. The last time they did that volume was Q2 22 and it took twice as many people. The acquisitions of Mr. Cooper and Redfin are ahead of schedule and they inked a big partnership with Compass (COMP +3.53%), adding 340,000 agents to Redfin’s network. Rocket is built for the cycle as their servicing biz generates $5 billion in cash when rates are high. As rates drop, refinance activity kicks in. We are due for a strong spring season!
Today’s Change
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Before the Opening Bell
5:00 am
Stock futures for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are retreating Tuesday morning as the “AI glow” from Nvidia (NVDA 0.67%) is eclipsed by a hawkish Federal Reserve. Despite Jensen Huang’s staggering forecast of $1 trillion in chip sales by 2027, broader sentiment is buckling under a 99.1% probability that the Fed will hold interest rates steady on Wednesday. Traders are increasingly wary that the recent spike in Brent crude to $103 per barrel–fueled by escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran–is embedding inflation into the economy. This energy shock is complicating the Fed’s “dot plot” projections, leading investors to dump futures as they price out any realistic chance of a rate cut before the fourth quarter.
- Nvidia’s Narrow Rally: While the “Vera Rubin” chip announcement initially buoyed tech, the rally failed to broaden out to the rest of the market, leaving index futures vulnerable to the drag of the energy and industrial sectors.
- The Fed’s Inflation Trap: With the Consumer Price Index (CPI) showing signs of stickiness due to war-related fuel costs, futures traders are bracing for a Fed statement that may signal “higher for longer,” a scenario that traditionally punishes high-multiple growth stocks.
This article was created using Large Language Models (LLMs) based on The Motley Fool’s insights and investing approach. It has been reviewed by our AI quality control systems. Since LLMs cannot (currently) own stocks, it has no positions in any of the stocks mentioned. Buck Hartzell has positions in Rocket Companies. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Cellebrite, Exelixis, Nvidia, Rocket Companies, Tesla, Uber Technologies, and Walmart. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
