Paycom Surges Pre-Market on Strong Earnings While Data Storage Stocks Slide

U.S. stock futures showed little movement Thursday morning as traders weighed fresh developments on the Strait of Hormuz alongside jitters about the endurance of AI-driven spending in tech. While industrial and select software companies experienced gains, semiconductor and data storage sectors saw their shares dip.

Sandisk slipped roughly 9.2% premarket and Western Digital took a heavier hit, down more than 14%, after both firms' quarterly earnings missed the bar set by bullish investor expectations following an AI-related surge earlier this year.

The sobering results have cast doubts on whether demand from the AI infrastructure segment will be strong enough to keep valuations at their lofty levels. Similarly, Oracle lost 2.5% as concerns mounted about its balance sheet, fueled by record-high five-year credit default swap spreads linked to heavy AI-related debt financing.

On the flipside, Paycom Software racked up a 13.1% premarket jump after beating Q2 earnings forecasts significantly. The company posted adjusted earnings per share of $2.78, surpassing estimates by 40 cents, while revenues climbed 10% year-over-year to $531.2 million. Improved profit margins added further fuel to the stock rally.

Aeva Technologies also gained traction, soaring 17.7% on the back of better-than-expected quarterly results and the announcement of plans to broaden its reach into AI data center infrastructure, aiming to diversify beyond automotive applications.

Meanwhile, SurgePays surged an eye-popping 57.5% following news of a new joint venture expanding its prepaid mobile retail footprint. Mangoceuticals saw a 31.9% lift after its merger partner revealed advances in developing a transportable nuclear microreactor.

Some companies ended up on the losing side despite beating earnings numbers. EPAM Systems dropped 9.1% after cutting its full-year revenue growth outlook. Similarly, LegalZoom slid 23% on a reduced revenue projection for the year, citing slackening traffic from Google Search and less efficient paid advertising.

Verra Mobility and Honeywell Aerospace took notable losses in the double digits after revising down their annual guidance, despite some positive quarterly results. Other tech and retail names like Inseego and ThredUp also reported disappointing outlooks, which weighed on their share prices.