US close: Nvidia drags tech stocks lower as results underwhelm

26th Feb 2026 21:57

(Sharecast News) - US stock finished mostly lower on Thursday, with a sharp plunge in the share price of tech behemoth Nvidia weighing heavily on the Nasdaq as record quarterly results from the company failed to excite investors.

The Dow ended just 0.03% up, propped up by decent gains from Salesforce, while the S&P 500 fell 0.54% and the Nasdaq tanked 1.18%.

Investors gave Nvidia a lukewarm response on Thursday, despite forecast-busting results at the chip making giant. The company, whose highly sought semi-conductors are being used to power expansion into AI data centres, posted record fourth-quarter revenue of $68.1bn, up 73% higher than a year earlier and ahead of expectations of $66bn, leading the company to raise sales first-quarter guidance to $78bn from $73bn.

Despite the top-line beat, the stock dropped 5.5% by the close. "Overall, the initial reaction to Nvidia's results suggest that investors are still unwilling to chase a higher trend in tech stocks right now, even after Nvidia's stunning earnings report," said XTB research director Kathleen Brooks.

Brooks said the results "did not generate much reason for disappointment, but even so, some investors may have hoped that CEO Jensen Huang would boost sales pipeline estimates for this year above $500bn".

Sector peers AMD, TSMC and Broadcom fell 3%, while heavyweights Amazon.com, Microsoft and Alphabet also slipped.

Salesforce shares rose 4% after the software group topped both revenue and profit forecasts with its fourth-quarter results, while FY27 guidance came in broadly in line with exepctations.

Warner Bros Discovery also posted quarterly numbers, reporting fourth‑quarter revenue of $9.5bn, down 6% year‑on‑year but ahead of expectations, and a 49% narrowed net loss of $252m. The owner of HBO and CNN, which is at the centre of a bidding war with Netflix and Paramount Skydance, finished Thursday's session slightly lower.

Heading the other way was JM Smucker after the American food and beverage group appointed two new boardmembers following "constructive engagement" with activist investor Elliott Investment Management. Shares, up 9%, were also helped by third-quarter results which came in ahead of forecasts, with net sales up 7% year-on-year at $2.34bn.

On the macro front, Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at an accelerated pace in the week ended 21 February, according to the Department of Labor, pointing to a still‑stable labour market, with low levels of firing offsetting slower hiring

Initial jobless claims rose by 4,000 to 212,000, coming in below expectations of 215,000 and remaining well under the averages seen over the past two years, while continuing claims, a proxy for overall unemployment, fell by 31,000 to 1.83m - one of the lowest readings in around ten months. The four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, came to 220,250 - an increase of 750 from the previous week's upwardly revised average.

In other news, the governor of the Federal Reserve, Stephen Miran, said that four interest-rate reductions - equal to one percentage point in total - would be appropriate in 2026. "I'd rather get them sooner than later," he said.

Dow Jones - Risers

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $200.30 4.03%

American Express Co. (AXP) $335.90 2.52%

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $243.33 1.88%

Visa Inc. (V) $316.93 1.19%

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $306.76 0.93%

Nike Inc. (NKE) $64.10 0.87%

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $286.86 0.87%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $929.80 0.83%

Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $306.05 0.49%

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $105.62 0.48%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $45.46 -3.03%

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $119.73 -2.58%

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $751.20 -1.78%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $379.33 -1.30%

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $78.10 -1.29%

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $243.56 -0.69%

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $48.99 -0.69%

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $272.95 -0.47%

Boeing Co. (BA) $229.56 -0.41%

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $29.92 -0.40%

S&P 500 - Risers

J. M. Smucker Co. (SJM) $116.23 8.82%

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (BFH) $79.21 8.31%

Accenture Plc (ACN) $206.69 8.29%

Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $217.94 6.97%

Teleflex Inc. (TFX) $119.33 6.37%

Humana Inc. (HUM) $187.30 6.12%

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $64.97 5.94%

MGM Resorts International (MGM) $37.55 5.79%

Nasdaq Inc (NDAQ) $88.59 5.48%

IQVIA Holdings Inc. (IQV) $171.31 5.39%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Universal Health Services Inc. (UHS) $205.10 -11.44%

Ipg Photonics Corp. (IPGP) $129.47 -6.76%

Corning Inc. (GLW) $150.34 -6.31%

Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $185.41 -5.59%

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $184.89 -5.46%

Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $426.00 -5.16%

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $375.72 -4.87%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $239.07 -4.17%

Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $45.53 -3.78%

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (JEF) $48.79 -3.41%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $217.94 6.97%

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $64.97 5.94%

American Airlines Group (AAL) $13.94 4.65%

Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $127.41 4.55%

Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $139.11 4.48%

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $228.22 4.09%

Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $233.45 3.84%

Paychex Inc. (PAYX) $94.48 3.56%

Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $202.64 3.48%

Intuit Inc. (INTU) $394.42 3.46%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $125.15 -5.65%

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $184.89 -5.46%

Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $426.00 -5.16%

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $375.72 -4.87%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $239.07 -4.17%

Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $1,463.80 -4.11%

Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $45.53 -3.78%

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $415.56 -3.13%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $45.46 -3.03%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $282.25 -2.99%