U.S. equity futures displayed a mixed tone early Thursday, a day after the main averages halted a three-day slide that had been driven by rising Treasury yields amid renewed U.S.-Iran hostilities. S&P 500 futures were up 0.1%, Dow futures rose 0.2%, and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.1% as markets opened into the new trading day.
Several corporate reports dominated premarket activity, producing sharp moves in individual stocks.
Snowflake drew the most attention, with shares jumping more than 23% in premarket trading after the cloud-data company reported second-quarter results that exceeded expectations and raised its full-year outlook. The company posted adjusted earnings of $0.62 per share, above consensus estimates of $0.45. Revenue increased 35% year-over-year to $1.55 billion, while product revenue rose 37% to $1.49 billion, marking a third consecutive quarter of accelerating product growth.
Snowflake also lifted its fiscal 2027 product revenue guidance to $6.07 billion, up from the prior projection of $5.84 billion.
Five Below also saw meaningful gains, with shares climbing about 4% after the retailer reported a fiscal second quarter that beat expectations across key metrics. Adjusted earnings per share were $1.68, compared with estimates of $1.33. Net sales increased 22.9% to $1.26 billion, and comparable sales grew 14.1% — the company’s fifth straight quarter of double-digit comparable-store growth. Management raised full-year sales guidance to a range of $5.63 billion to $5.71 billion and authorized a new $600 million share buyback program.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise shares fell nearly 3% despite posting a quarter that beat expectations and raising guidance for fiscal 2026 and 2027. The company reported adjusted earnings of $1.11 per share on revenue of $12.21 billion, topping estimates of $0.92 and $11.93 billion, respectively. Investors focused on ongoing supply constraints even as HPE expanded its collaboration with Oracle, granting Oracle an option to purchase HPE common stock and extending Juniper networking services across Oracle’s data centers. CEO Antonio Neri said AI is "becoming a multi-year growth driver" for the company.
Broadcom shares dipped around 3% after management forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $34.8 billion, below estimates of $35.05 billion. The decline was partly offset by long-term projections from CEO Hock Tan, who said revenue would rise to $115 billion in fiscal 2027 and then double to $230 billion in fiscal 2028. Broadcom also forecast fourth-quarter AI chip sales of $21.7 billion, a figure described in the report as slightly above analysts' estimates.
Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical plunged more than 44% after announcing that its drug apazunersen did not meet the primary endpoint in a late-stage trial for Angelman syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder. The company said the therapy produced no meaningful improvement in cognitive ability or overall development compared with placebo and that it is reviewing the future of the program.
Overall, the morning’s activity reflected a bifurcated market: a handful of companies delivered results that materially exceeded expectations and were rewarded with sharp premarket gains, while other companies encountering supply issues, conservative quarterly forecasts, or clinical setbacks saw steep declines.
Below are concise takeaways and considerations for market participants.
- Earnings leadership: Snowflake and Five Below led moves higher after delivering beats and raising guidance or capital-return plans.
- Supply and execution concerns: HPE’s results were solid on the numbers yet shares fell on supply constraint commentary and investor focus on operational friction.
- Clinical and product risk: Ultragenyx’s failed trial represents a significant program setback, reflected in the stock’s sharp decline.
Market participants will continue parsing quarterly disclosures and management commentary for signals on revenue durability, supply-chain normalization, AI-related demand, and the outlook for capital returns. The premarket moves underscore how company-level outcomes can drive pronounced stock dispersion even as broader futures show only modest changes.