Happy Friday afternoon to everyone on The Street. Here's a snapshot of where markets ended the trading session, plus tomorrow's trade idea delivered to you today.

• 🟩 | US stocks rose today, locking in their best week since November, as investors celebrated Q4 earnings and a couple of cool inflation prints.

• 📈 | One Notable Gainer: Intel’s stock popped more than 9% on a report that a mystery buyer is weighing a complete acquisition of the embattled chipmaker.

• 📉 | One Notable Decliner: Shares of Novo Nordisk shed over 5% after its weight-loss drugs Wegovy and Ozempic were revealed to be included in the next round of Medicare drug price negotiations.

Sponsored by Banzai International

This Micro-Float Stock Just Hit Its Floor. It Might Not Stay There For Long.

After weeks of “bottoming out”, one overlooked micro-float NASDAQ stock just hit its 52-week low. But potential catalysts on the horizon could make this the best discount that investors will get.

Banzai International (BNZI) is a SaaS company developing an AI-powered marketing technology platform to help businesses of all sizes grow. Lately, it’s been on a buying spree, scooping up two video product startups in December alone. 

But despite the substantial investments, the pay-off could come sooner than later. In Q3, the Banzai beat the consensus EPS estimate by a whopping $1.82 per share. If it turns a surprise profit in Q4, the stock could take off.

A potential double bottom and bullish crossing signal on MACD also suggest Banzai may be due for a turnaround. Plus, management’s bullish Bitcoin buying strategy — which recently earned it a spotlight from the New York Times — could position it well under the coming Trump administration. 

Like most small caps, Banzai has had a tough start to 2025. But that might just mean this is the best deal you’ll get.

MARKET MOVERS

Schlumberger, J.B. Hunt, Tesla

SLB (+6.1%) SLB boosts dividend and buybacks, but warns of oil oversupply (Reuters)

JBHT (-7.4%) J.B. Hunt’s Fourth-Quarter Revenue Falls Despite Higher Volumes (WSJ)

TSLA (+3.1%) Tesla Stock Needs Another Catalyst. 2 Could Be Coming. (Barron’s)

STT (-2.9%) State Street Drops 3% Despite Blowout Earnings (YF)

TFC (+5.9%) Truist Financial scores Q4 earnings beat on strong NII, investment banking and trading income (SeekingAlpha)

OVERHEARD ON THE STREET

CNBC: The TikTok ban was upheld by the Supreme Court, although President-elect Donald Trump could still opt not to enforce it.

Bloomberg: Trump plans to designate cryptocurrency as a national priority through an executive order that could create a crypto advisory council.

WSJ: The Trump administration also appears poised to bypass Congress on tariffs and border issues.

AP: Apple is suspending its AI news summary feature in the beta version of iOS 18.3, which was delivering inaccurate alerts to some iPhone users.

Reuters: Federal regulators sued PepsiCo for offering exclusive discounts to Walmart, claiming it drove up consumer prices by disadvantaging other retailers.

TOMORROW’S TRADE IDEA, TODAY

The Clock Is Ticking for TikTok. That Might Be Good For These Stocks.

The End Is Near

Today, the US Supreme Court officially upheld the looming federal ban on TikTok. Barring an act of God (or once and future President Donald Trump) the social media giant is preparing to shut down its US operations on Sunday. 

That’s bad news for China-based parent company ByteDance. But it could be a catalyst for several US companies, according to Morgan Stanley (MS).

Analyst Brian Nowak believes that Meta Platforms (META) will likely be the biggest beneficiary, while advertising software firm AppLovin (APP) could see gains as well.

Meta Platforms

Nowak believes that Meta’s strong user base, data, and distribution position it to benefit the most from a TikTok shutdown.

The Facebook- and Instagram-owner already commands a massive share of the digital ads space. With one more major player off the board, that market share stands to grow even larger.

The analyst projected that this development could add as much as 9% to Meta’s 2026 EPS estimates. According to Nowak, for every 10% of TikTok user-time Meta captures, it could add up to $0.60 to the firm’s EPS outlook.

AppLovin

The analyst is also bullish on AppLovin, one of the best-performing stocks of 2024.

Shares of the mobile game publisher gained a staggering 740% over the past 12 months. Now, Nowak believes a TikTok ban will only serve to increase the ramp for the company to grow its advertisers and spend per advertiser. With plenty of momentum, AppLovin’s run might just be getting started.

The clock is ticking for TikTok. If it can’t find a solution in the 11th hour, remember the old adage: nature abhors a vacuum. And these companies could step up to fill the void it leaves behind.

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ON OUR RADAR

CNBC: The SEC fined Vanguard for more than $100M to settle charges related to inadequate disclosures about target date retirement funds.

BI: Amazon is changing how it tracks employee data, offering more flexibility and less detailed monitoring of office hours as it mandates five days a week in the office.

Reuters: Argentina achieved its first budget surplus in 14 years in 2024, with a 1.76T peso surplus, marking a victory for President Javier Milei.

WSJ: Trump's inauguration will be moved indoors due to a forecasted Arctic blast.

CNN: US TikTok users are flocking to another Chinese social media platform, RedNote — where they are encountering China’s censorship for the first time.

THURSDAY’S POLL RESULTS

Are you bullish or bearish on CBRE Group (CBRE) over the next 12 months?

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🐂 Bullish

🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜⬜ 🐻 Bearish

Last Words From Our Sponsors

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