Key insights
- Google and Meta are facing downward pressure after a landmark verdict holding them liable for harm to a minor, potentially impacting their legal immunity and balance sheets. Rising crude oil prices due to Middle East tensions are also adding to market volatility. Braze (BRZE) showed positive results, but the overall market sentiment is leaning negative due to legal and geopolitical concerns.
📌 Top story -- scroll down for more updates
10:35 am -- GOOG -1.3%, META -4.2%
Alphabet (GOOG 1.99%) and Meta Platforms (META 6.36%) faced a sharp reversal Thursday after a Los Angeles jury found YouTube and Facebook liable for harm to a minor. The $3 million compensatory damage award marks a first-of-its-kind verdict, potentially stripping away the broad legal immunity social media platforms have historically enjoyed. This legal reckoning comes at a vulnerable time for the sector, as investors weigh the cost of increased moderation and potential algorithm overhauls against the backdrop of an already volatile market.
The Liability Floodgates: This ruling sets a precedent that could trigger thousands of similar lawsuits, transforming platform safety from a PR concern into a recurring balance sheet liability.
Algorithmic Accountability: If courts continue to hold platforms responsible for automated content delivery, both firms may be forced to choose between lower user engagement and escalating legal settlements.
10:25 am
By Emily Flippen, CFATeam Rule Breakers
As tensions continue to rise in the Middle East this week, investors may be asking fair questions about what the second-order impacts may be from the war in Iran. While no one can claim to know what will happen with the conflict, one thing is clear: with Brent crude swinging between $100 and $120 a barrel over the past few weeks, gas prices are likely to stay high for the foreseeable future. And high gas prices have sizable implications for more than just energy companies.
9:40 am -- BRZE +4.4%
By Tim BeyersTeam Rule Breakers
Shares of Braze (BRZE +7.29%) soared close to 20% yesterday on better-than-expected top line results and a promising forecast. And yet more improvements are needed if this company is to deliver for shareholders over the long term.Let's start with the good news. Revenue jumped 27.9% to $205.2 million, beating expectations of $198.22 million, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Cash from operations roughly doubled over the full fiscal year, to $71.4 million. Braze is starting to build some financial muscle.Trouble is there's a lot more work to do. Building a real-time messaging platform for marketing and customer engagement isn't cheap. Operating losses widened in both the fourth quarter and the full fiscal year.Rising R&D expense (+34%) contributed heavily to those losses. Getting customers to commit was costly too. Braze earned $3.24 in fresh revenue for every incremental $1 of investment in sales and marketing in fiscal 2026, down 6.4% from $3.46 in fiscal 2025.Reversing that trend permanently is key to generating the cash flows that will power the returns shareholders crave.
9:35 am
The Dow fell 233 points Thursday as Brent crude futures jumped 4% to over $106, erasing recent optimism. Market volatility spiked after President Trump warned Iranian negotiators to "get serious" before a looming five-day deadline, stating there would be "no turning back." While the S&P 500 and Nasdaq shed 0.8% and 1.2%, respectively, Gulf nations issued a joint condemnation of strikes on energy infrastructure, further tightening global supply. Investors are currently weighing whether Iran's public rejection of U.S. proposals is a "smokescreen" or a genuine signal of prolonged conflict that could keep West Texas Intermediate above $93.