5 Things to Watch on
February 12, 2026

Markets are up more than +0.4% despite a jobs report that came in much stronger than expected yesterday, tempering hopes for near-term rate cuts. However, significant downward revisions to prior 2025 data suggest the labor market has been softer than headline prints initially implied. The Dow snapped a three-day winning streak, and attention now shifts to Friday’s CPI report, where a cooler inflation reading would reinforce the “growth without overheating” narrative.

McDonald’s (MCD) is up over +1% in premarket trading after topping Q4 expectations, with EPS of $3.12 beating estimates and operating income up +10%. Global comparable sales swung sharply higher, led by a +6.8% increase in the U.S. driven by strong traffic and value-focused promotions, while international markets also posted solid gains. Analysts credit MCD's value pricing, promotional strategy, loyalty app engagement, and operational execution as key differentiators versus peers like Chipotle (CMG), reinforcing its position as a resilient blue-chip core holding in the value-oriented consumer space.

Cisco (CSCO) is down over -7% in premarket trading after reporting what analysts described as solid results and guidance, but highlighting near-term gross margin pressure. While revenue guidance of +9.5% YoY topped expectations and AI-related orders accelerated to $2.1B in the quarter, a roughly +400% YoY surge in memory prices and a higher hardware mix weighed on margins. Investors appear focused on cost headwinds and limited near-term EPS upside despite optimism around AI-driven networking demand into FY26 and FY27.

AppLovin (APP) is down over -8% in premarket trading even after posting a powerful quarter with +66% YoY revenue growth to $1.7B and robust profitability. Management highlighted AI-driven advances and record new customer commitments, but investors appear focused on competitive risks, near-term execution questions around e-commerce and self-service offerings, and slower sequential growth expectations into Q1. That said, the market was skeptical about how quickly APP can sustain expansion in the face of rising competition, triggering the sell-off.

Nebius (NBIS) is down over -1% in premarket trading after reporting Q4 results that, while showing revenue up +547% YoY to $227.7M, came in below expectations and featured a widening net loss. Investors weighed the sharp increase in spending and continued profitability pressure against strong forward indicators, including $1.3B in ARR ahead of guidance and aggressive plans to scale power capacity toward 800MW to 1GW by end-2026. Despite rapid expansion and AI-driven demand, the market reaction suggests concerns around execution risk and near-term losses are tempering enthusiasm.