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US stock futures sank on Friday on the heels of a tech rout, as Block’s (XYZ) surprise shakeup turned the spotlight on AI disruption risks in the wait for the latest update on wholesale inflation.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) led the retreat, down 0.7% or over 350 points. Contracts on the S&P 500 (ES=F) and the Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) both dropped 0.6% on the heels of sharp Nvidia-led (NVDA) closing losses for the tech-heavy indexes.
Wall Street is on course for a downbeat end to a week dogged by worries that AI will wreak havoc on a swathe of service industries — fears that have already hit stocks in sectors like software, wealth management, and real estate.
Those concerns were stoked Thursday when Block said it will cut nearly half its workforce and overhaul operations, given the promise of AI to reshape its business needs.
The fintech’s co-founder Jack Dorsey said he believes “the majority of companies will reach the same conclusion and make similar structural changes” within the next year. Shares of Block (XYZ) jumped about 20% in premarket trading on the news.
Elsewhere in corporate news, Netflix (NFLX) shares rose after the streaming giant abandoned its pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). That left rival Oracle (ORCL)-linked bidder Paramount Skydance (PSKY) to clinch a buy of the Hollywood studio, giving its stock a boost, too.
On the macro front, January’s producer price index is scheduled for release on Friday morning. Economists expect headline wholesale inflation to come in at 0.3% month-on-month, with core PPI — which excludes volatile food and energy prices — also forecast at 0.3%.
Looking further ahead, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B, BRK-A) CEO Greg Abel is expected to publish his first annual shareholder letter on Saturday, after taking over from Warren Buffett. It will come out alongside the conglomerate’s quarterly and 2025 update.
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Anthropic says it won’t agree to Pentagon’s AI demands
Anthropic (ANTH.PVT) CEO Dario Amodei issued a statement Thursday evening, saying his company won’t submit to the Department of Defense’s demands that it be allowed to use its AI technology as it sees fit, within the law.
The Defense Department and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth have threatened to force Anthropic to give the Pentagon full use of its models under the Defense Production Act — or, conversely, declare it a supply chain threat and force other Pentagon vendors who work with the AI company to stop using its software.
“These threats do not change our position: we cannot in good conscience accede to their request,” Amodei said in his statement.
Anthropic and the Pentagon have been in an ongoing standoff about how the DOD will use its Claude AI. The company says that while it already works with the Defense Department, including within the government’s classified networks and by advocating for strong chip export controls to China, it wants assurances that the DOD will not use its models for the mass surveillance of Americans or for fully autonomous weapons.
Duolingo shares sink after issuing poor 2026 guidance
Duolingo Inc (DUOL) shares sank 25% before the bell on Friday after reporting fourth quarter earnings, which beat analyst expectations, but issued disappointing guidance for 2026. The company said it is changing its strategy to prioritize user growth over near-term profitability.
Investing.com reports:
Netflix stock jumps after it drops Warner Bros. deal, leaving Paramount the winner
Netflix (NFLX) has walked away from the battle to buy Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), leaving rival bidder Paramount Skydance (PSKY) free to clinch a $111 billion deal for the storied Hollywood studio.
Shares in Netflix jumped over 8% before the bell on Friday, a sign investors were glad its pursuit had ended. WBD stock fell 2%, while Paramount shares were up 9%.
Bloomberg reports:
Premarket trending tickers: Intuit, NCR, and Rocket Cos
Intuit (INTU) stock fell 3% before the bell on Friday after reporting stronger-than-expected results for its second quarter revenue, but its outlook for the current quarter missed analyst estimates.
NCR Atleos (NATL) stock jumped 15% during premarket trading after Brinks Co (BCO) announced on Thursday that it will acquire NCR in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $6.6 billion.
Rocket Companies, Inc. (RKT) stock rose 7% during premarket hours after quarterly earnings beat analysts estimates.
CoreWeave slides as surging capex, backlog risks overshadow small revenue beat
CoreWeave (CRWV) stock fell 9% before the bell on Friday after announcing that it expects its capital expenditure to double in 2026. The AI cloud computing company said it will spend in order to scale up its AI cloud platform in order to manage the computing power that its customers need.
Reuters reports:
Block stock soars after Jack Dorsey goes all-in on AI, cuts nearly half of workforce
Block (XYZ) shares surged more than 24% in premarket trading after Jack Dorsey announced the payments company would lay off nearly half of its staff. The move was part of a major bet in artificial intelligence that came alongside the release of its fourth quarter earnings report.
“Today we’re making one of the hardest decisions in the history of our company: we’re reducing our organization by nearly half, from over 10,000 people to just under 6,000. that means over 4,000 of you are being asked to leave or entering into consultation,” Dorsey wrote in a post on X on Thursday.
“Something has changed,” Dorsey wrote, framing the decision as a risk intended to position the company for long-term growth. He cited new artificial intelligence tools that can automate work as the reason for the shift, noting that AI is “enabling a new way of working which fundamentally changes what it means to build and run a company.”
In the fourth quarter, Block reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.65, in line with Wall Street estimates. Revenue of $6.25 billion slightly beat expectations of $6.21 billion, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Block also raised its full-year guidance. The company, which supports the CashApp and Square platforms, said it expects gross profit growth of 18% year over year in 2026 and adjusted operating income of $3.20 billion or 26% margin.
Dell stock surges after revenue forecast tops estimates on rising AI server demand
Dell (DELL) forecast fiscal 2027 revenue above Wall Street estimates on Thursday, betting on growing demand for its artificial intelligence-optimized servers. Its shares rose over 12% in premarket trading.
Reuters reports:
Zscaler stock drops on Q2 losses from high expenditure
Reuters reports:
Netflix shares leap 13% after hours after dropping bid for Warner Bros.
Bloomberg reports:
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