Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages continue their steady advance. 

Palo Alto Networks (PANW 153.90, -9.60, -5.87%) is sharply lower after reporting its Q2 (Jan) results last night. The company beat Q2 EPS and revenue expectations, with revenue rising 14.9% year-over-year to $2.59 billion. However, guidance was mixed. For Q3, revenue of $2.941-2.945 billion was above expectations, but EPS of $0.78-0.80 was below, and for FY26, PANW raised revenue to $11.28-11.31 billion but lowered EPS to $3.65-3.70, also below expectations. While the top-line outlook is surging from the CyberArk and Chronosphere deals, the downside EPS guide implies margin pressure from integration-related costs and higher input costs, which are weighing on the stock.

Meanwhile, Analog Devices (ADI 347.53, +10.02, +2.97%) is trading nicely following its impressive Q1 (Jan) report this morning and its announcement of an 11% dividend increase. Q1 EPS was a nice bounce back after a very narrow beat in Q4 (Oct). The stock had run around 40% since the Q4 report/guidance, which made us a bit nervous heading into this print given elevated sentiment and the risk of a pullback on any misstep. However, ADI delivered across the board.