Intel Exploded, IBM Crashed, and I Couldn't
Sleep Last Night — Here's Everything That
Happened on Wall Street Today
Category: US Stock Market | Wall Street News | Stock Market News Reading Time: 8 minutes
I'll be honest with you.
Last night I went to bed with my phone face up on the nightstand. Which I never do. I always flip it over so I can actually sleep.
But last night was different. Intel had just posted earnings after market close. The number came in way better than anyone expected. And I was lying there in the dark, staring at the ceiling, genuinely curious about what the morning was going to look like.
Because here's the thing about earnings season. It's not just numbers on a spreadsheet. It's the moment when the entire Stock Market stops guessing and starts knowing. Every quarter, all these big companies have to come out and tell the truth. Revenue. Profits. Guidance. No more hype. No more analyst projections. Just the actual reality of how business went.
And this week? The reality was all over the place.
Some companies shocked everyone in the best possible way. Some disappointed so badly that billions of dollars evaporated in a single afternoon. And somewhere in the middle of all that chaos, the US Stock Market is trying to figure out what story to tell going into next week.
Let me walk you through everything that happened. I'll keep it simple. I'll keep it honest. And I'll tell you what I actually think it means for regular people who are watching their portfolios, their retirement accounts, or just trying to understand what's going on with their money.
The Intel Story Is Bigger Than Just One Stock
Let's start here because honestly this is the story that defined the last 24 hours of Wall Street News.
Intel jumped 15% after hours last night. Fifteen percent. In one session. After the close.
Now if you don't follow Nasdaq Stocks closely, you might be thinking — okay, so one chip company had a good quarter, who cares?
But here's why it matters way more than just one company.
Intel has been the underdog story for a while now. A few years ago, everyone was writing Intel off. The AI revolution was happening and Nvidia was getting all the attention, all the money, all the headlines. Intel felt like that kid in high school who used to be really popular but slowly got overshadowed by someone cooler.
And then last night, Intel came out and basically said — hey, we're still here. Revenues grew 7% year over year. Earnings per share came in at 29 cents, way above what analysts expected. And the outlook the company gave for the coming quarters? Solid. Not flashy, but solid.
The market loved it.
And what happens when the market loves an Intel earnings report? The whole chip sector starts moving. AI Stocks get a tailwind. The entire conversation shifts from "is this AI rally running out of steam?" to "wait, maybe there really are multiple winners in this race."
That's the real significance of what Intel did last night. It didn't just help Intel shareholders. It gave the whole tech sector a shot of confidence going into what's about to be the biggest week of earnings season.
Texas Instruments Did Something That Hasn't Happened Since 2000
Okay so while we're talking about chips, I have to mention Texas Instruments because this one genuinely surprised me.
TXN surged over 19% yesterday. In a single trading session.
I've been following the US Stock Market for years and I can tell you — a 19% single day move in a large, established company like Texas Instruments is not normal. That's the kind of move you see in small speculative stocks. Not in a company that's been around for decades and is a fixture in the Dow Jones and S&P 500 universe.
The last time Texas Instruments had a day this good was October 2000. Think about what was happening in October 2000. The dot-com bubble was bursting. The world was watching the US presidential election. And somewhere in the middle of all that, TXN somehow had a massive single-day rally.
And now, 25 years later, it happened again.
What drove it? Strong earnings. Clear guidance. And a chip market that is hungry for any sign that demand is holding up. Because when AI Stocks and semiconductor companies keep posting good numbers, it validates the entire thesis that the world is genuinely spending more on computing power — and that spending is real, not just projected.
For anyone watching Stock Market Trends, this is actually meaningful data. It's not just a fun fact that TXN had its best day since 2000. It's a signal that institutional investors — the people who move markets — are very serious about this AI infrastructure build-out being real.
Now Let's Talk About the Other Side. The Painful Side.
I don't want to just tell you the good stuff. That would be dishonest.
Because yesterday was also a brutal day for some stocks. And the people who owned them went through something genuinely stressful.
IBM dropped more than 8%.
Now here's what makes this complicated. IBM actually beat expectations. Revenue was fine. Earnings per share was fine. By the most basic definition, they had a good quarter.
So why did the stock fall 8%?
Because of what IBM didn't say. They didn't raise their guidance for the full year. In a market that's expecting AI to drive massive growth, keeping guidance flat is basically a disappointment. Investors weren't just judging the last quarter. They were judging whether IBM's AI future looks as bright as everyone hoped. And the unchanged guidance made some people nervous that maybe it doesn't.
That's the cruel reality of earnings season in the Stock Market Analysis world. It's not always about whether you did well. It's about whether you did well enough compared to what people were expecting. Sometimes you can beat estimates and still fall. Sometimes you can miss estimates and still rise. The market is always trading the future, not the past.
ServiceNow had an even rougher day. Down almost 18%.
That one hurt to watch. ServiceNow is a cloud software company that has been one of the more exciting growth stories in Tech Stocks over the last few years. But yesterday they reported that subscription revenue growth was slowing. And they pointed to the Middle East conflict — the ongoing US-Iran situation — as a reason some business customers were pulling back on spending.
Think about that for a second. A war happening halfway around the world is affecting how much companies are willing to spend on software subscriptions in America. That's how connected everything is right now. Geopolitics doesn't stay in its lane. It bleeds into earnings. Into Tech Stocks. Into your portfolio. Into everything.
Today's Earnings — What's Reporting Friday Morning
So that was yesterday. What about today, April 24?
Today is a lighter day for earnings — about 36 companies total reporting. But some of them are really important for understanding where the US Economy is heading.
Procter & Gamble is the one I'm watching most closely.
I've written about P&G before. This company makes the things you can't stop buying — toothpaste, laundry detergent, toilet paper, shampoo. It doesn't matter if there's a war. It doesn't matter if oil prices are high. People keep buying this stuff. Which makes P&G one of the most reliable temperature checks on the American consumer that exists.
If P&G reports strong numbers today, it means people are still spending normally on household basics. If they show any weakness — if they're seeing customers trade down to cheaper brands, or buying less — that's a warning sign about the health of the American household budget.
Given everything that's been happening with gas prices eating into consumer spending this year, I'm genuinely curious what P&G's numbers are going to show. The data will matter a lot for how the S&P 500 News conversation plays out over the weekend.
HCA Healthcare is also reporting today. Hospital companies are interesting to watch because they give you a read on healthcare spending, insurance dynamics, and labor costs — all things that have been under pressure.
Norfolk Southern, the railroad company, will tell us something about how goods are actually moving across America. Railroads are one of the oldest and most reliable economic indicators there is. When railroads are busy, the economy is moving. When they slow down, something is cooling off.
And Intel — even though their actual report came out last night — their stock will be trading actively today as investors decide whether that after-hours surge holds up during regular market hours.
The Oil Price Problem That Won't Go Away
Here's the thing that's quietly making everything harder right now.
Oil prices jumped hard yesterday. WTI crude crossed $96.50 per barrel. Brent crude went above $105. Those are numbers that make economists nervous and energy investors excited at the same time.
The trigger was a report that Iran's parliament speaker resigned from the negotiating team with the United States. That's a bad sign for anyone hoping the conflict wraps up soon. And when hope for a quick resolution drops, oil prices spike. Because the Strait of Hormuz — one of the most important oil shipping routes in the world — is still not fully operating normally.
For everyday Americans, higher oil prices mean higher gas prices. And higher gas prices are already eating into household budgets in a way that's affecting everything from restaurant spending to retail sales.
For Wall Street, higher oil costs mean higher business expenses across almost every industry. Airlines, shipping companies, manufacturers, retailers — they all get squeezed when oil goes up. And squeezed companies either cut costs, raise prices, or accept lower profits. None of those options are great for stock prices.
American Airlines actually reported yesterday and beat their quarterly numbers. But they cut their full year earnings forecast because of rising fuel costs. That tells you everything. The business performed fine. But the future looks harder because of oil. And the market cares way more about the future than the past.
The Big Picture — How Is Earnings Season Actually Going?
Let me zoom out and give you the honest overall picture of this earnings season.
It's actually going pretty well. Better than a lot of people expected given all the uncertainty around the Iran war, oil prices, and the general nervousness that's been hanging over the US Stock Market for a few months.
Out of the 87 S&P 500 companies that have reported so far, 81% have beaten earnings estimates. And 76% have topped revenue expectations. Those are strong numbers. Above average for a typical earnings season.
And globally, money is flowing into stocks. Weekly inflows into global equity funds just hit a 17-month high. Investors put nearly $49 billion into equity funds in a single week. That kind of number tells you that despite all the geopolitical noise, there is still a lot of confidence in the market — especially around AI infrastructure and tech.
But — and this is a real but — the oil price situation is a genuine risk. One social media post. One escalation. One piece of bad news from the Middle East. And all that optimism can reverse very quickly. The market has shown that multiple times this year already.
Next Week Is Going to Be Massive
If you think this week was eventful, just wait.
Next week is when the real heavyweights report. Microsoft. Amazon. Alphabet. Meta. These are four of the most valuable companies in the world. And they're all going to tell us in the same week whether the AI spending boom is as real as everyone hopes.
Microsoft will show us whether businesses are actually paying for Copilot and other AI tools. Amazon will show us whether AWS cloud growth is accelerating. Alphabet will tell us whether Google's AI investments are paying off in search and advertising revenue. And Meta will show whether their AI-driven advertising business is still printing money.
If those four companies all report strong numbers and raise guidance, the Nasdaq Stocks conversation is going to get very exciting very fast. The market could push to new highs.
If one or two of them disappoint — especially if they say something cautious about the AI spending outlook — the pullback could be significant.
Also watch Visa, Coca-Cola, Starbucks, and Spotify reporting next week. Those companies will give us a read on consumer spending that's almost as useful as what P&G tells us today.
I'll be watching all of it. And honestly I'll probably have my phone face up on the nightstand again next Tuesday night.
What Should You Actually Do Right Now
I'm not here to tell you what to buy or sell. That's not what this is. But let me share what I'm personally thinking as someone who watches this stuff every day.
The smart move right now is to not overreact in either direction.
If you got excited watching Intel and TXN surge and you're thinking about loading up on chip stocks — take a breath. Those moves were big. Pullbacks after big moves are common. Don't chase.
If you're nervous about IBM dropping 8% and ServiceNow dropping 18% and you're thinking about getting out of Tech Stocks — also take a breath. One earnings report doesn't define a company's next five years. Both IBM and ServiceNow have real businesses with real revenue. A single disappointing guidance number doesn't mean the story is over.
The investors who consistently do well in the US Stock Market are the ones who stay calm on the exciting days and the scary days. They zoom out. They ask — five years from now, does this matter? And most of the time, the answer is no.
Stay diversified. Keep watching. And don't let any single day's Wall Street News make you do something you'll regret next month.
One Last Thing
My friend Arjun texted me this morning — same guy I mentioned at the beginning who was asking about Intel.
He said: "I just checked my portfolio. I'm up because of the chip stocks I already owned. Should I add more?"
I told him: let the dust settle. Intel's move is real. The earnings beat is real. But a 15% after-hours pop needs time to find its true level in regular trading. Watch it for a day or two. Understand what you're buying and why. Then decide.
He said "okay" and went back to his chai.
That's honestly the most human, most sensible approach to any market moment. Get excited. Stay curious. But don't let the excitement make the decision for you.
The US Stock Market will always have another moment. Another Intel. Another Texas Instruments. Another day that makes you feel like you need to do something right now.
Most of the time, the right thing to do is just watch a little longer.
DISCLAIMER:
This blog post is written for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing written here should be taken as financial advice, investment advice, or a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, security, or financial product. All information about stock movements, earnings results, and market data is based on publicly available sources at the time of writing and is subject to change. Individual stocks mentioned including Intel, IBM, Texas Instruments, ServiceNow, Procter & Gamble, American Airlines, and others are discussed for educational context only. Investing in the US Stock Market, AI Stocks, Nasdaq Stocks, or any financial market carries significant risk including the possible loss of your entire investment. Past performance of any stock or market does not guarantee future results. Always do your own research and speak with a licensed financial professional before making any investment decision. The author takes no responsibility for financial decisions made based on information in this article.
Post a Comment