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*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 4:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean. | - Stocks: An early rally petered out by mid-afternoon due to fears that yet another industry is about to get decimated by AI, though the Dow managed to reach a new all-time high as investors rotate out of tech.
- Bonds: A slowdown in US retail sales during December pushed treasury yields lower, though it also raised the likelihood that the Fed will cut interest rates this year.
- Economy: Investors are bracing themselves for the ‘Super Bowl of jobs reports’ tomorrow morning.
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EARNINGS Earnings season is here, and with it comes a batch of newly minted CEOs trying to turn their companies around. Let's take a look at three fresh faces in the C-suite and how each one is trying to kick off a comeback. CVS The pharmacy chain operator beat Q4 expectations on revenue and profit as CEO David Joyner, who took over in late 2024, accelerates a turnaround focused on cost-cutting, leadership changes, and trimming weaker businesses. Some of the fixes are already showing up in earnings. Oak Street Health, the company’s primary-care clinic business, is on track to be more profitable this year after it closed 16 underperforming sites, while CVS’s retail pharmacy segment is benefiting from technology upgrades and the added footprint gained from Rite Aid’s bankruptcy. The insurance business remains a key growth engine, with revenue up more than 10% from a year ago. Looking ahead, the company plans to leave the individual ACA market as potential policy shifts raise uncertainty around the exchange. Shares remained flat today, a sign that the update read more like a progress check than a new catalyst for growth. Kering The luxury group saw comparable sales fall 3% in the fourth quarter, dragged down by Gucci, but it still beat analyst expectations. Kering closed out a bruising 2025, with sales down 10% and recurring operating income down 33%, pressured by the post-pandemic luxury cooldown, as steep price increases have thinned demand—especially in China, once a key growth engine. Management is framing this as early innings as CEO Luca de Meo wraps up his first quarter on the job. He arrived from the auto world with a track record of turnarounds, most notably at Renault. His early playbook is about simplifying and de-risking: Kering is selling its beauty unit to L’Oréal for about $4.8 billion, a move intended to cut net debt and sharpen focus on the core fashion business. The market seems to like the new direction, with the stock up 10.9% today. Target The retail conglomerate is also in reset mode under new CEO Michael Fiddelke, who took the helm this month. He takes over after four years of mostly flat annual revenue and a major cost cut last year that eliminated 1,800 corporate roles. The cost-cutting push isn’t finished. Today, Target announced plans to eliminate roughly 500 roles, about 100 in district-level offices and 400 across supply-chain sites, redirecting savings toward more in-store staffing and expanded guest-experience training. There’s also a leadership reset: Lisa Roath will become chief operating officer and Cara Sylvester will take over as chief merchandising officer, with both changes effective Feb. 15. Whether it’s healthcare, handbags, or household essentials, the message is the same: 2026 is the year of the reset, and investors should watch to see who can actually deliver.—SY | | |
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STOCKS 🟢 What’s up - SoftBank Group jumped 5.69% after its telecom arm raised its full-year profit outlook.
- Harley-Davidson rose 3.99% even though Q4 results and 2026 guidance missed expectations, as investors took some comfort from an upbeat tone by new CEO Artie Starrs.
- Ferrari revved 8% higher as earnings beat forecasts and management delivered solid margin guidance for the year ahead.
- Datadog popped 13.74% after a Q4 beat and stronger-than-expected Q1 revenue outlook reassured investors on growth.
- Industrial machinery company Ichor Holdings rallied 32.72% as robust demand for etch and deposition services (pivotal for making semiconductor chips) powered a Q4 earnings beat.
- Marriott International rose 8.5% on strong Q4 results, driven by international travel demand and continued growth in its loyalty program.
- UniFirst popped 15.1% on reports that the uniform rental company may be acquired by rival Cintas.
 What’s down
- Coca‑Cola fell 1.49% on weaker-than-expected quarterly revenue, its first miss in five years.
- Oil giant BP slid 5.74% after posting Q4 profit in line with expectations and suspending share buybacks as lower crude prices weighed on results.
- Amentum Holdings dropped 12.38% after fiscal Q1 revenue and EBITDA both missed analyst consensus.
- ZoomInfo Technologies shares tumbled 9.43% on weak Q1 EPS guidance that disappointed investors.
- Freelancing platform Upwork fell 19.08% as its first-quarter results and guidance came in well short of expectations.
- Financial services stocks took a hit after a new AI tax-planning tool sparked disruption fears, with Charles Schwab sliding 7.42%, Raymond James Financial falling 8.75%, and Morgan Stanley losing 2.45%.
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STOCK OF THE DAY Spotify is playing the hits, and investors like what they’re hearing. The final quarter of the year is usually a strong one for the Swedish music streaming platform, since it contains the company’s popular “Wrapped” analysis of listeners’ favorite tunes, which always boosts engagement. This year’s edition was its most popular ever, with over 300 million users recapping their listening habits, eliciting over 630 million shares on social media. Clearly, people really wanted to learn their “listening age”: Spotify reported its best quarter ever for net monthly active user (MAU) additions, with 38 million new listeners tuning in. Total MAU rose 11% to 751 million, above expectations, while premium subscribers increased 10% to 290 million. Of course, “Wrapped” wasn’t the only reason Spotify added so many customers last quarter: The company was aggressive about rolling out new features, including audiobooks, music videos, and an array of AI-powered personalization tools. The results speak for themselves: Revenue rose 7% year over year last quarter, while EPS jumped 151%. Shares popped 14.82% today on the strong report, which is great news for shareholders who’ve watched the stock tumble over the last year on fears that revenue growth was slowing. Shares still remain down 17.97% year to date—but Spotify has clearly found its groove.—MR |
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MACRO The “K” may not stand for kryptonite, but our K-shaped economy could be the stock market’s most underrated weakness. This morning, we found out that consumer activity plateaued during the height of the holiday shopping season: - Retail sales came in flat in December, below the 0.4% increase that economists were expecting, and down from the 0.6% jump in November.
- In perhaps even more foreboding news, delinquency rates on loans rose to 4.8% of all outstanding US household debt in Q4, the highest rate since 2017. Data from the New York Fed showed that mortgage payment delinquencies were the biggest driver of rising defaults, and those were primarily from low-income zip codes.
These stats point to a trend economists have been noticing for months: Our economy is being increasingly propped up by the wealthiest among us, while most Americans are stressing about the cost of day-to-day essentials. That’s part of the reason that macro indicators show the economy is broadly keeping calm and carrying on, even though many can’t seem to shake the feeling that the vibes are off. Economists expect the K-shape will get even more pronounced. “Looking ahead to 2026, consumer momentum remains narrow and uneven, increasingly reliant on higher-income households, a greater willingness to borrow, and continued savings drawdowns,” explained EY-Parthenon Chief Economist Gregory Daco in a note today. The many-dollars tree Corporations are chasing where the money is, so much so that even stores known for being bargain-hunting meccas are trying to move into the ritzy part of town. Just look at Dollar Tree, which is hoping to shed its reputation as a cheap alternative to Walmart and cater to richer clientele. Its 9,000th store just opened within walking distance of a Louis Vuitton, and it’s not alone: a greater share of new stores are being built in affluent zip codes than in years past. The big picture: The K-shaped dynamic could have disastrous implications beyond wealth inequality. If the market is relying too heavily on high growth sectors (cough cough, AI) to carry momentum in lieu of a broad, healthy consumer base, it can spur volatility when growth slows and the rest of the market isn’t prepared to pick up the slack. And if the consumer drawdown begins to affect even higher-income Americans, the entire house of cards can come tumbling down all at once.—LB | | |
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CALENDAR Economic reports: Fed speeches continue with Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, but the big news of the day will be the delayed January US jobs report Earnings announcements: Cisco, McDonald's, T-Mobile US, Shopify, AppLovin, Siemens Energy, EssilorLuxottica, NetEase, Vertiv, Heineken, Cisco, Kraft Heinz, Humana, Hilton Worldwide, and Albemarle |
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RECS  Read the inside scoop on how Elon Musk decided to combine xAI and SpaceX in a $1.25 trillion megamerger.
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 Innovator, or con artist? Meet the college dropout who promised investors they’d get rich buying Pier 1 Imports and RadioShack, until everything unraveled.
 Tech stocks are suffering from a crisis of confidence, but these 20 companies have strong fundamentals that will help them endure.
 Gold, silver, platinum, and palladium are slowing, but their rally is far from over. Here’s the smart way to invest in precious metals.
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✢ A Note From iShares by BlackRock Advertiser’s Disclosure: - Source: ETFDb.com. Data as of Jan 22, 2026.
This information must be accompanied or preceded by a current iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF prospectus, which may be obtained by clicking here. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing. The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF is not a commodity pool for purposes of the Commodity Exchange Act. Before making an investment decision, you should carefully consider the risk factors and other information included in the prospectus. Investing involves a high degree of risk, including possible loss of principal. An investment in the Trust is not suitable for all investors, may be deemed speculative and is not intended as a complete investment program. An investment in Shares should be considered only by persons who can bear the risk of total loss associated with an investment in the Trust. Investing in digital assets involves significant risks due to their extreme price volatility and the potential for loss, theft, or compromise of private keys. The value of the shares is closely tied to acceptance, industry developments, and governance changes, making them susceptible to market sentiment. Digital assets represent a new and rapidly evolving industry, and the value of the Shares depends on their acceptance. Changes in the governance of a digital asset network may not receive sufficient support from users and miners, which may negatively affect that digital asset network’s ability to grow and respond to challenges Investing in the Trust comes with risks that could impact the Trust's share value, including large-scale sales by major investors, security threats like breaches and hacking, negative sentiment among speculators, and competition from central bank digital currencies and financial initiatives using blockchain technology. A disruption of the internet or a digital asset network would affect the ability to transfer digital assets and, consequently, would impact their value. There can be no assurance that security procedures designed to protect the Trust’s assets will actually work as designed or prove to be successful in safeguarding the Trust’s assets against all possible sources of theft, loss or damage. This information should not be relied upon as research, investment advice, or a recommendation regarding any products, strategies, or any security in particular. This material is strictly for illustrative, educational, or informational purposes and is subject to change. Shares of the Trust are not deposits or other obligations of or guaranteed by BlackRock, Inc., and its affiliates, and are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency. The sponsor of the Trust is iShares Delaware Trust Sponsor LLC (the “Sponsor”). BlackRock Investments, LLC ("BRIL"), assists in the promotion of the Trust. The Sponsor and BRIL are affiliates of BlackRock, Inc. BlackRock is not affiliated with Morning Brew. BLACKROCK and iSHARES are trademarks of BlackRock, Inc. or its affiliates. All other trademarks are those of their respective owners. [MKTG0226-5159890-EXP0227] |
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