Shares in Alphabet, the parent company of Google, saw a modest pre-market rise of over 1% on Tuesday despite China’s announcement of an anti-trust probe into the tech giant. This move came shortly after the U.S. imposed 10% tariffs on China, heightening trade tensions. Additionally, China’s finance ministry announced new tariffs on U.S. coal, liquefied natural gas, and crude oil.
While analysts, including Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics, suggest these actions could be delayed or reversed before taking effect, the heightened trade tensions add further uncertainty to the market. Despite the probe, Alphabet’s shares remain resilient, with the company set to report its fourth-quarter earnings later in the day.
Tesla (TSLA):
Tesla’s stock fell over 5% on Monday, dragged down by broader declines in the auto sector after President Trump imposed tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico, and China. While Tesla does not manufacture vehicles in these regions, its reliance on parts from them contributed to the drop.
Despite this setback, Tesla’s shares gained back over 1% in pre-market trading on Tuesday, driven by data showing rising sales of its Cybertruck model in California. Tesla remains up 104% over the past year, despite a disappointing earnings report last week, and CEO Elon Musk’s announcement that paid, unsupervised full self-driving would be coming to Austin, Texas by June.
Palantir (PLTR):
Shares of data analytics firm Palantir soared nearly 23% in pre-market trading following the release of its fourth-quarter earnings, which exceeded analyst expectations. The company reported a revenue of $827.5 million, surpassing estimates, and adjusted earnings of $0.14 per share, beating expectations of $0.11.
Palantir also offered strong guidance for 2025, with first-quarter revenue expected to be between $858 million and $862 million, and annual revenue forecast between $3.741 billion and $3.757 billion. Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Matt Britzman praised the company’s performance, calling Palantir the “Michael Jordan of AI stocks,” but warned investors to brace for potential volatility due to its high valuation.
Super Micro Computer Inc. (SMCI):
Shares in server manufacturer Super Micro Computer rose 9% in pre-market trading following the company’s announcement that it would release its second-quarter business update on February 11.
After facing a turbulent year, including allegations of accounting manipulation and delays in its annual report, Super Micro expects net sales in the range of $5.5 billion to $6.1 billion for the second quarter, with net income per share projected to be between $0.48 and $0.58.
Vodafone (VOD.L):
Vodafone’s shares took a nearly 7% hit on Tuesday following a warning about a slowdown in its German business. While the company reported a 5% rise in group revenue to €9.8 billion for the third quarter, service revenue in Germany fell 6.4%, largely due to changes in the country’s TV laws.
Despite the challenging outlook, Vodafone maintained its guidance for fiscal year 2025, expecting to deliver adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and after-lease expenses of €11 billion. The company also announced a share repurchase program of up to €480 million and is set to finalize its merger with Three in the coming months. However, analysts like Russ Mould of AJ Bell remain cautious, focusing on the continued challenges facing the German market and questioning Vodafone’s long-term growth strategy.
