ALCO shares surged 19.22% in a single day after the company announced mass layoffs, a move seen by investors as a strategic effort to cut costs and improve margins. Meanwhile, RPRX climbed 12% following a series of shareholder-friendly announcements, including a new acquisition plan, a 5% dividend increase, and a $3 billion stock buyback. TZUP also made headlines, jumping 7.5% after revealing plans to purchase $1 million in Bitcoin, signaling its shift toward digital asset investments and exciting the market.

Foxconn and Taiwan Semiconductor Results Refuel AI Trade

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Taiwan's Foxconn, the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer and Apple's primary iPhone assembler, reported record-high revenue for the fourth quarter, surpassing expectations. Revenue surged 15.2% to 2.13 trillion New Taiwan dollars ($64.72 billion). The growth was driven by strong demand for AI servers, boosting the performance of its cloud and networking products division, which serves major clients like AI chipmaker Nvidia.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world's largest contract chipmaker, reported fourth-quarter 2024 revenue of T$868.42 billion ($26.36 billion), surpassing market forecasts and achieving its own expectations. This represents a 34.4% year-on-year growth, significantly higher than the $19.62 billion recorded in the same period last year. TSMC benefited from strong demand for artificial intelligence chips, from clients such as Apple and Nvidia, which helped offset declining demand for consumer electronics.

The positively results, paired with Microsoft's announcement they would be putting $80 billion into new AI-focused data centers, sent Nvidia and other AI-linked stocks like Vertiv (VRT) and DELL higher.

Zuckerberg's Content Moderation Retraction Signals New Era for Social Media

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CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience, where he criticized the Biden administration’s handling of content moderation during the pandemic, stating officials pressured Meta to take down posts critical of vaccines, including satire. He announced the elimination of its third-party fact-checking program in favor of a community-based moderation system, similar to Elon Musk’s approach with X. Additionally, Meta appointed UFC President Dana White, a known Trump ally, to its board of directors, further cementing its ties with the incoming administration.

The implications are far reaching. Left-leaning media outlets - including Facebook - had the market share of viewership for many years prior. This provided support for democratic-led policies for two decades. But the tides have shifted. Right-leaning Fox News now commands a 69% market share of news viewers. Elon Musk's X now enables free flow of information, and while the platform alleges no bias, Elon Musk's 200M+ followers enables him to shape exposure to content and ideas more heavily favored by conservatives.

With Facebook and Instagram now following X's approach, the media landscape is shaping up to be much more supportive of the republican agenda: smaller government, lower taxes, decreased regulation, strict immigration policies, higher spending on defense, lower spending on social welfare programs, fewer incentives for renewable energy technology, and less involvement in foreign wars. As the policies unfold, we'll be picking out the beneficiaries for our Level 2 members.

Quantum Stocks Plunge After Nvidia CEO's Comments

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Quantum computing stocks took a sharp dive following Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s remarks at the company’s analyst day stating, “Useful quantum computers are likely 15-30 years away.” His comments cast doubt on the sector’s immediate viability, triggering a market selloff. IonQ shares dropped 39%, Rigetti fell 45%, and D-Wave Quantum plummeted 43%. The Defiance Quantum & AI ETF also declined 4%.

The selloff follows a surge in quantum stocks spurred by Google’s recent Willow chip breakthrough. Investors, initially drawn by the technology’s transformative potential, may now reassess timelines and valuations.

Palantir Sinks 11% Following 350% Run

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Palantir (PLTR) stock plunged 11% last week. The drop was amplified by Morgan Stanley’s “underweight” rating and a $60 price target, citing overvaluation concerns after Palantir’s 350% surge in 2024. The downgrade highlighted a lack of substantial revenue growth despite the stock’s inflated multiple.

Getty Images Acquires Shutterstock in $3.7 Billion Deal

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Getty Images announced its acquisition of Shutterstock, creating a $3.7 billion visual content powerhouse. This merger aims to strengthen their collective portfolios in still imagery, video, music, and 3D assets. Amid rising competition from AI-generated visuals, the companies plan to streamline operations, promising annual cost synergies of $150–$200 million. Getty CEO Craig Peters will lead the combined entity, which will operate under the Getty Images name and continue trading on the NYSE as "GETY." Shutterstock shares surged over 30% following the news, while Getty saw a 58% gain. The deal signals a strategic move to adapt to evolving technological and market dynamics.

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