Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (-1.2%), Nasdaq Composite (-1.0%), and DJIA (-1.4%) are a touch improved from their worst levels of the morning. While geopolitical developments in Iran and the subsequent spike in oil prices continue to dominate headlines, a few notable companies reported earnings after the close yesterday.

Costco (COST 989.33, +6.76, +0.69%) posted a solid Q2 beat on the bottom line, driven by robust membership momentum, double-digit digital growth, and resilient traffic despite a fluid tariff environment. While total revenue was largely in line with expectations, the company's ability to flex its "pricing authority" allowed it to edge past EPS estimates. Most notably, adjusted comparable sales (excluding gas and FX) grew 6.7%, surpassing the FactSet consensus of 6.3%, signaling that COST continues to capture wallet share even as it laps significant membership fee increases and navigates shifting commodity prices.

The company reinforced its status as the Pricing Authority, delivering a clean EPS beat and top-tier comp sales that outpaced the industry. By being the "first to lower prices and the last to raise them," COST is successfully shielding its membership base from inflationary volatility and tariff-related price spikes.

Meanwhile, Marvell (MRVL 89.20, +13.52, +17.86%) is heading sharply higher following its Q4 (Jan) report, even though the headline results were mostly in line with expectations. The real driver behind the move appears to be very bullish long-term commentary and a strong outlook, particularly for its Data Center segment. Q1 (Apr) guidance also came in well above expectations, helped in part by the recent closings of the Celestial AI and XConn Technologies acquisitions. 

The combination of accelerating bookings, rising cloud CapEx expectations, and strong demand across its data center product portfolio is driving confidence that growth will not only accelerate in FY27 but also remain robust into FY28. In particular, Marvell's interconnect business appears positioned to significantly outpace overall cloud infrastructure spending, highlighting the company's leverage to AI and high-performance data center buildouts