Tech Earnings Drive Market Moves as Alphabet Nears Nvidia Valuation

Technology shares moved higher in premarket trading as investors digested a wave of corporate earnings that highlighted divergent performance across sectors. Alphabet approached Nvidia as the world's most valuable company with its market capitalization reaching $4.67 trillion compared with Nvidia's $4.79 trillion.

The Google parent has gained on strong artificial intelligence demand and cloud revenue growth. Alphabet's Google Cloud segment posted 63 percent revenue growth in the first quarter. The increase exceeded analyst forecasts and marked the highest rate since the company began reporting the segment separately in 2020.

Investors attributed the performance to demand for AI tools and custom chips that compete directly with offerings from other semiconductor makers. The company's shares have risen about 24 percent this year while Nvidia shares have advanced 7 percent.

Alphabet last held the top valuation spot briefly in February 2016. Its stock traded at about 29 times forward earnings, above both its five-year average and the broader market multiple. DoorDash shares jumped more than 15 percent after the company reported 33 percent year-over-year revenue growth and issued guidance that topped analyst estimates.

The delivery service forecast for current-period order value signaled continued healthy consumer demand both domestically and internationally. McDonald's posted first-quarter earnings per share of $2.83, beating estimates of $2.75, and revenue of $6.52 billion against forecasts of $6.48 billion.

The fast-food chain said larger orders supported results in its U.S. business. Restaurant Brands International also topped Wall Street estimates with its earnings helped by a turnaround at Burger King. Burger King reported a 5.8 percent increase in comparable sales at its U.S. locations.

The gain represented the highest growth in nine quarters and contributed to pressure on competing chains. Several restaurant operators saw varied results with Shake Shack shares falling 18 percent after missing revenue estimates. AMD reported first-quarter revenue that rose 38 percent with data center revenue up 57 percent and record free cash flow.

The company guided for second-quarter revenue of $11.2 billion at the midpoint, implying 46 percent growth. Other chip-related names showed mixed reactions with Arm Holdings shares dropping 8 percent after weak royalty revenue tied to softness in lower-end smartphones.

Fortinet shares gained 15 percent after the cybersecurity firm forecast earnings that beat estimates and raised its full-year revenue outlook with particular strength in hardware. Fluence Energy jumped 31 percent following a narrower-than-expected quarterly loss and an maintained 2026 revenue forecast above consensus.

Conversely, Fastly shares slumped 25 percent after first-quarter results failed to sustain a prior rally. Whirlpool shares fell 18 percent after the appliance maker cut its full-year revenue forecast. Zoetis shares declined 10 percent following a reduction in adjusted earnings-per-share guidance for the year.

Warby Parker gained 7 percent after beating revenue estimates while Celsius Holdings rose 4 percent on an earnings and revenue beat.

Premarket movers reflected broad participation in the technology sector with most of the largest companies posting gains. Albemarle climbed 6 percent after beating sales estimates while Coherent dropped 3 percent on gross margin shortfalls. Sezzle shares rose 15 percent after raising its full-year revenue growth forecast.

The earnings reports come as investors continue to assess the impact of artificial intelligence spending across the technology supply chain. Cloud providers and semiconductor firms have seen varied responses to their results with some demonstrating accelerating growth while others face headwinds in specific end markets such as smartphones.

Alphabet's advance reflects changing sentiment toward companies positioned to benefit from enterprise AI adoption. The firm has emerged as both a major cloud provider and a chip supplier through custom processors that have attracted customers including AI developers.

Its cloud performance has outpaced larger rivals in recent quarters. Nvidia has pulled back from all-time highs reached earlier this year. Reports of slower user and revenue growth at certain AI developers contributed to the moderation in its share price.

The semiconductor leader still commands a valuation well above most global companies. The company recently gained FDA acceptance for a new daily oral HIV treatment. Its shares rose 2.1 percent ahead of the release. Paramount reported first-quarter revenue of $7.3 billion that topped expectations.

The company also highlighted plans to produce 30 films annually following its acquisition of Warner Bros. Other consumer and industrial names including Whirlpool and Shake Shack faced downward pressure after issuing cautious outlooks.