In midday trading, several companies experienced notable stock movements, with some rising significantly while others faced declines.
Wingstop saw shares soar approximately 13% after the chicken wing chain provided an optimistic outlook. The company anticipates flat to low-single-digit domestic same-store sales growth for fiscal 2026. Despite a 5.8% decline in same-store sales year-over-year in the fourth quarter, this performance exceeded analysts’ forecasts, which anticipated a steeper drop of 6.7%.
Moody’s shares climbed 6% after the credit-ratings and research firm reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the fourth quarter. Adjusted earnings reached $3.64 per share, surpassing analysts’ expectations of $3.43. Revenue totaled $1.89 billion, exceeding the $1.86 billion consensus estimate. Moody’s also provided a positive full-year earnings forecast, projecting adjusted earnings between $16.40 and $17 per share.
Madison Square Garden Sports shares experienced a 13% increase following the announcement of plans to consider a spinoff of its New York Knicks NBA franchise from its New York Rangers NHL team, potentially creating two distinct publicly traded entities.
Garmin’s stock rose by 11%, driven by robust fourth-quarter earnings and a strong forecast for 2026, fueled by increased demand for fitness products. The company also announced a dividend increase and a $500 million stock buyback program.
Insulet, the manufacturer of insulin monitoring devices, saw its shares rise 6% after reporting fourth-quarter results that surpassed expectations, attributed to record new customer starts for its Omnipod 5 product. The company anticipates revenue growth of 20% to 22% for 2026 and plans to repurchase $350 million in stock.
On the downside, Republic Services shares fell 5% after the waste management firm’s earnings and revenue forecast for 2026 missed expectations due to a slowdown in demand for environmental solutions. The company projected adjusted earnings between $7.20 and $7.28 per share, falling short of analysts’ anticipations.
Charles River’s stock declined by 4% as its 2026 revenue forecast disappointed investors, with analysts noting the company’s struggles to generate organic revenue growth in the second half of the year.
Chipmaker Nvidia’s shares increased by 2% as Meta announced an expanded partnership involving the use of millions of Nvidia’s AI chips for its data center construction.
Palo Alto Networks experienced a 5% drop in shares following a weaker-than-expected earnings forecast for the upcoming quarter, projecting adjusted earnings between 78 and 80 cents per share, compared to an expectation of 92 cents from analysts.
Cadence Design Systems saw a 9% rise in shares, as the computational software company provided an earnings forecast in line with expectations and reported a record backlog for 2025.
Caesars Entertainment shares climbed 13% after the casino operator beat fourth-quarter revenue estimates, reporting $2.92 billion, surpassing the expected $2.89 billion. Adjusted EBITDA for Caesars Digital was reported at $85 million, compared to $20 million the previous year.
Conversely, Axcelis Technologies faced a sharp 15% decline after offering lower-than-expected guidance for its first-quarter results, projecting earnings of 71 cents per share against an anticipated $1.01. The company also revised revenue expectations down to $195 million.
Palantir’s shares rose by 4% following an upgrade from analysts, who pointed out improved valuations and strong growth potential due to increasing government and commercial demand.
Finally, Global Payments experienced a remarkable 15% stock increase after the payments technology company provided a more favorable than expected financial outlook. The firm forecasts earnings between $13.80 and $14 per share for 2026, surpassing the consensus estimate of $13.58 per share, while also achieving higher-than-expected revenue and earnings for the fourth quarter.
