January 29th Pre-Market

Good morning.

Markets are chewing through a heavy batch of tech earnings and trying to figure out what it all means.

Meta proved AI can actually print money while Microsoft hit some speed bumps in cloud, we're finally seeing who can turn the hype into real revenue.

Let's dig in...

Today's Big Picture

1. Meta Jumps 9%. Microsoft Drops 6%. Same AI Bet, Opposite Results.

Meta posted $59.9 billion in revenue and guided Q1 to $53.5-56.5 billion. Wall Street expected $51.4 billion. Stock's up 9%. Microsoft beat on revenue ($81.3B) and earnings ($4.14 vs $3.97). Cloud growth is slowing. Margin guidance came in soft.

Both are pouring money into AI. One's getting paid for it. The other's still waiting.

2. Gold Tops $5,500. Wall Street Says $6,000 Is Coming.

Gold hit $5,556 this morning. Silver cracked $120. Copper's at $14,000 a ton. All records. Investors dumped $89 billion into gold ETFs last year the most ever. Central banks actually slowed their buying by 21%, but retail made up the difference. Total gold demand hit 5,002 metric tons. Another record.

3. Oil Jumps to September Highs on Iran Strike Reports

Brent hit $69 a barrel this morning. That's the highest since September.

The catalyst: reports that Trump is weighing new strikes on Iran. No confirmation yet. But oil doesn't wait for confirmation.

Market Overview

Today’s Sponsor

Elon Musk: "The Only Thing That Can Solve It"

In a bombshell interview, Elon Musk declared that AI and robotics are "the only thing" that can solve America's $38 trillion debt crisis.

He predicts it will happen within three years. One Wall Street veteran has identified a single fund at the center of this AI buildout - and you can get in for less than $20.

See what Musk didn't tell you

Stock Spotlight

Alphabet $GOOGL ( ▼ 0.53% ) 
shut down web domains running a malware attack on millions of Android phones.

IBM $IBM ( ▲ 1.33% ) 
beat on earnings ($4.52 vs $4.32 expected) and revenue ($19.69B vs $19.23B). CEO says AI implementation is driving demand. Stock up 9%.

Intel $INTC ( ▲ 1.12% ) 
partnered with Nvidia $NVDA on chips for 2028. The deal helps Intel hit government chip production targets.

Caterpillar $CAT ( ▲ 2.53% ) 
crushed estimates—> $5.26 EPS vs $4.68 expected. Power and energy sales jumped 23%, driven by AI data center demand. Stock up 5%.

Southwest $LUV ( ▲ 0.47% ) 
guided 2026 profit to $4+ per share. Wall Street expected $3.19. The turnaround plan (including assigned seating) is working faster than anyone thought. Stock up 6%.

Meta $META ( ▼ 0.2% ) 
posted $59.9B in revenue…a record. Q1 guidance came in way above expectations. Zuckerberg says AI ad targeting is just getting started.

Whirlpool $WHR ( ▼ 1.96% ) 
missed earnings and cut guidance. Black Friday discounting got ugly. They're cutting $200M in costs to offset tariffs. Stock down 11%.

What to Watch

Greenland Talks:

U.S. and Danish officials are back at the table working on a deal for Greenland. Could unlock mining access and change Arctic defense.

Open AI Closes $50 Billion Round:

Watch for signatures on Open AI's funding round with Microsoft  and Nvidia . Sets the bar for AI valuations across the board.

SpaceX IPO Talk Heats Up SpaceX:

might go public mid year at a $1.5 trillion valuation. Would be the largest IPO in history.

Apple Reports Tonight:

Apple 
drops earnings after the bell. iPhone upgrade cycles will tell us how consumers are really doing. China sales are assumed to be better than the last model.

Lockheed and Mastercard Report Today:

Lockheed Martin $LMT ( ▲ 2.23% ) and Mastercard $MA ( ▼ 1.49% ) both report today. One window into defense budgets, another into how much people are actually spending.

Thanks for reading 🙂

- John

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