The stock market stood its ground on Wednesday, with all major indices eking out gains as President Donald Trump softened trade restrictions for three large automakers, reviving hopes that the trade war may not be as bad as it seemed.
The Dow Jones grew 1.14 percent, the S&P 500 rose by 1.12 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1.46 percent.
On Wednesday, the White House granted three large automakers a one-month exemption from tariffs after a call with the president, sending their share prices higher during the session.
Ten firms, however, bucked an overall optimism, recording modest declines during the past trading session. In this article, we have listed the 10 names and detailed the reasons behind their performance.
To come up with Wednesday’s worst performers, we considered only the stocks with $2 billion in market capitalization and $5 million in daily trading volume.
Stock market reports printed on a sheet of paper. Photo by RDNE Stock Project on Pexels
10. Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)
Patterson-UTI dropped to a new all-time low on Wednesday, touching the $7.07 share price before gaining momentum towards the close to end the day just down by 2.8 percent at $7.30 apiece.
Despite posting net losses last year, PTEN, an oil and gas drilling services company, still received an optimistic outlook from Zacks Research late last month.
According to the investment firm, the oil and gas company is expected to earn up to $0.04 per share for the second quarter of fiscal year 2026, higher than the $0.02 estimate.
For the full year, however, Zacks expects earnings per share to settle at -$0.10.
In its latest earnings release, PTEN swung to a $51.58 million net loss attributable to shareholders in the last quarter of 2024, a reversal from the $61.95 million net income in the same period a year earlier.
It also dived to a net loss of $968 million last year from a $246.3-million net income in 2023.
9. AppLovin Corp. (NASDAQ:APP)
AppLovin decreased by 2.82 percent on Wednesday to finish at $318 apiece as investor sentiment was dampened by a potential class action lawsuit over allegations that APP created the false impression that its digital ad platform would more efficiently match advertisements to mobile games in addition to expanding into web-based marketing and e-commerce.
According to shareholder law firm Robbins Geller Rudman & Dow LLP in a statement on Wednesday, in truth, APP was exploiting advertising data from Meta Platforms and using manipulative practices that forced unwanted apps on customers via a “backdoor installation scheme” that inaccurately inflated installation numbers, and, in turn, its profit figures.
The law firm furthered that APP was utilizing manipulative practices to artificially inflate their own ad click-through and app download rates, such as by having ads click on themselves or utilizing design gimmicks to trigger forced shadow downloads, erroneously inflating installation numbers and, in turn, its profit figures, the complaint alleges.
Robbins Geller invited shareholders who lost money from their investment in APP to lead as plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit.
8. Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)
Fifth Third Bancorp dropped its share prices by 2.83 percent on Wednesday to finish at $40.45 each, already entering the oversold territory.
According to a report on the Nasdaq website, FITB entered the oversold territory on Wednesday.
A stock is considered to be oversold if its relative strength index falls below 30. As of the last trading session, FITB’s RSI fell to 29.5.
In other news, FITB was recently listed on the 2025 Forbes America’s Best Banks List for the second consecutive year.
Forbes America’s Best Banks List considers 11 metrics measuring growth, credit quality, and profitability for the 12 months ending September 30, 2024, as well as stock performance in the 23 months through January 10, 2025.
“It’s an honor to be included on Forbes’ list of America’s Best Banks,” said Jamie Leonard, chief operating officer at FITB. “For 166.7 years, we have continued to strive for excellence and commit to keeping our customers at the center of everything we do. This award demonstrates our dedication to providing high-level service and innovative solutions to our customers every day.”
7. The Campbell’s Company (NASDAQ:CPB)
The Campbell’s Company declined by 2.85 percent on Wednesday to finish at $39.18 apiece as investor sentiment was weighed down by its pessimistic outlook for the second half of the year.
“Given the softness in some of our snacking categories, the anticipated sequential top-line improvement did not materialize during the quarter, and we now have a more muted second-half expectation,” said CPB CEO Mick Beekhuizen.
In the last three months ending January 26, 2025, CPB saw net income drop by 15 percent to $173 million from $203 million in the same period a year earlier despite net sales growing by 9 percent to $2.685 billion from $2.456 billion year-on-year.
In the first half of the fiscal year alone, net income declined by 10.5 percent to $391 million from $437 million while net sales grew 10 percent to $5.457 billion from $4.974 billion year-on-year.
6. Box Inc. (NYSE:BOX)
Box Inc. saw its share prices decline by 3.23 percent on Wednesday to finish at $32.39 each as investor sentiment was dragged down by a possible pressure on foreign exchange that could impact its profit.
In a conference call, BOX Chief Executive Officer Aaron Levie said that the company’s billings were affected by a much larger-than-expected headwind from unfavorable currency exchange rates.
BOX said that billings, or receivables from its customers, rose by 5 percent in the last quarter of 2024 to $398.6 million.
In the same quarter, BOX saw net profit almost double to $194 million from $99.2 million in the same period a year earlier.
The company also underscored its ongoing investments in Artificial Intelligence, saying that BOX is “entering one of the biggest shifts in business, driven by AI.”
5. Hercules Capital Inc. (NYSE:HTGC)
Hercules Capital extended its losing streak for a third straight day on Wednesday, shedding 4.41 percent to finish at $19.09 apiece over the lack of catalyst to spark buying appetite, while investors also digest the potential impact of the ongoing trade war on its business.
HTGC, a specialty finance company providing loans to venture capital-backed companies, could be indirectly affected by any potential disruption in early growth stage companies it is invested in, and in turn affect its profitability.
In the fourth quarter of 2024, HTGC saw net investment income drop by 5.69 percent to $81.1 million from $86 million in the same period a year earlier, while net investment income for full-year 2024 rose by 7 percent to $325.8 million from $304 million year-on-year.
4. Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE:VLO)
Valero Energy dropped its share prices by 4.58 percent on Wednesday to finish at $121.76 apiece as investors repositioned their portfolios to minimize risks from its potential exposure to the ongoing trade war between the US and Canada.
VLO, one of the largest companies producing fuels and petrochemical products, owns and operates refineries in the US, Canada, and UK.
Just this week, President Donald Trump officially imposed a 10-percent tariff on Canadian energy imports as well as 25-percent tariffs on all Canadian goods.
VLO is expected to release its next earnings performance in April, where investors will be looking out for cues on its outlook for the year.
It is forecast to book earnings per share of $0.72 or an 81.15-percent decline from the same period a year earlier.
Meanwhile, analysts expect revenues to settle at $28.75 billion, or a 9.48-percent decline from the same period a year ago.
3. CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD)
CrowdStrike saw its share prices decline by 6.34 percent on Wednesday to close at $365.44 apiece following disappointing earnings results in the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2025.
In the latest quarter ending January 31, 2025, CRWD swung to a net loss of $92 million from a $53.7 million net income in the same period a year earlier, while revenues grew by 25 percent to $1.058 billion from $845 million year-on-year.
The company also registered a net loss of $16.6 million in fiscal year 2025, a reversal from the $90.6 million net income registered a year earlier, while revenues grew by 29 percent to $3.95 billion from $3.05 billion in the same comparable period.
2. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)
Abercrombie declined for a third straight day on Wednesday, dropping 9.24 percent to finish at $87.23 apiece following the release of its latest earnings performance where it guided a weaker-than-expected outlook for the business.
According to ANF, it now expects net sales to grow by 3 to 5 percent this year as compared with the 6.77 percent Wall Street analysts expected. It would also represent a slow growth from the 14 percent in net sales clocked in 2024.
“We expect the first half will be adversely impacted by higher year-over-year freight costs and more normalized carryover inventory selling, and the second half will benefit from expected lower freight than last year,” said ANF CFO Robert Ball in an investors call, adding that the company’s outlook includes current tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico but not “other potential incremental tariffs.”
1. Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd. (NASDAQ:CRDO)
Credo Technology fell by 13.97 percent on Wednesday to close at $46.73 apiece as investors sold off following the release of its earnings performance for the third quarter of fiscal year 2025.
While CRDO posted impressive earnings performance during the latest quarter, investors have already factored in higher income prior to the release given its growth in AI infrastructure and strong customer base, with Amazon, Tesla, and Microsoft to support its future potential.
In the third quarter of fiscal year 2025, CRDO said net income soared by 7,250 percent to $29.4 million from $428,000 in the same period a year earlier, while revenues increased by 154 percent to $135 million from $53.1 million year-on-year.
In the first nine months of the year alone, the company swung to a net income of $15.6 million from a net loss of $17.89 million year-on-year. Revenues also doubled to $266.7 million from $132 million.
While we acknowledge the potential of CRDO as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than CRDO but trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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