OVERVIEW
The Weekend Rip: May 4th, 2025
Bloom Flowers GIF - tenor
It was a ripping week for the market, and software tech earnings paved the way for an extended S&P 500 winning streak. Stocks regained their post-Liberation Day losses this week, and news from the White House and abroad says trade talks may start soon between the U.S., Europe, Canada, and China. The FOMC is meeting this week and deciding rates on Wednesday, and though the market is pricing in a low chance of a rate cut, we’ll have to wait and see.
If April taught us anything, it’s that one tweet can change everything. Let’s hope that April showers bring May… stock.. flowers?
Let's recap and prep you for the week ahead.
What Happened?
◀️ On Monday, the market began the week with a climb, but tech lagged behind a big earnings week. Nvidia dropped after reports that Huawei is ramping up AI chip production. Meanwhile, IBM climbed on a $150B U.S. investment, boosting domestic semiconductor innovation.
🌏️ On Tuesday, stocks climbed as tech rebounded and fintech earnings surprised to the upside. SoFi reported strong growth, raising revenue guidance, while Hims & Hers surged 23% on weight-loss drug news. Amazon’s tariff tracker controversy led to a direct call from Trump to Bezos. Meanwhile, the White House eased auto tariffs for U.S. manufacturers, while macro numbers showed the U.S. trade deficit hitting a record -$161.99B.
⚡️ On Wednesday, markets started the day in the red after Q1 GDP data showed the first contraction in U.S. growth since 2023. Trump blamed Biden, but stocks rallied by the close, so whose market is it? Meta and Microsoft posted strong earnings, with cloud and AI driving growth, and billions of dollars more in capex this year. Macro pressure persisted, with the PCE index holding steady at 2.3%, but a revised 2.7% prior reading complicated inflation outlooks.
🐂 On Thursday, markets extended their winning streak as Microsoft and Meta’s AI spending spree kept tech momentum alive. Apple and Amazon’s forward guidance fell flat, and investors clearly like software sales more than imported hardware during tariffs. Tesla board drama surfaced with reports of Musk’s potential ouster, though executives quickly denied the claims.
😢 On Friday, the S&P 500 extended its winning streak to nine sessions, marking its best run since 2004. Tech resilience and Q1 earnings buoyed markets as consumer demand stayed strong despite concerns over future price hikes. Trade talks stirred optimism. So far, the U.S. and China have quietly reduced tariffs by 25% and signaled interest in negotiations. Meanwhile, Berkshire Hathaway prepared for its annual meeting.
🧓 On Saturday, the oracle of Omahaw said he would step down at the end of the year, and hoped the board would replace him with vice chair and Berkshire Veteran Greg Abel. On the way out, Buffett said trade should not be a weapon, and warned that if the U.S. targets its neighbors, everyone will be worse off. Berkshire grew its cash pile even larger, to $347.7B, and the stock hit a record valuation of $1.7T.
🤩 This week's Stocks Top 25 showed outperformance vs. the indexes.
Here are the closing prices:
S&P 500 | 5,687 | +2.92% |
Nasdaq | 17,978 | +3.42% |
Russell 2000 | 2,021 | +3.22% |
Dow Jones | 41,317 | +3.00% |
THE BRIEF
Need a concise summary of what's going on this week? Look no further. Here’s a rundown of this week’s earnings and economic data.
Economic Calendar
It’s a busy week of economic data, with all eyes on the FOMC rate cut decision and monetary policy meeting this week, culminating in Wednesday’s press conference with Chair Jerome Powell.
In addition to the above, check out this week's complete list of economic releases.
Earnings This Week
Earnings season is booming, baby, with over 838 stocks reporting this week.
Above is a quick summary. Check out the full Stocks earnings calendar for the other names reporting this week.