Happy Thursday, the market fell after the morning macro data showed that the U.S. trade deficit rose instead of shrinking. Almost a year of record tariffs diddn't effect imports, and the U.S. shipped in just $2B less than the year before, but at a much higher cost.

In terms of AI taking over everything and replacing all stocks, the fears are subsiding, as recent reports from names like Figma show there is plenty of revenue out there for companies that help people use AI tools to use software. Perma-tech bull Dan Ives said in a note that prices on stocks like Crowdstrike, Palo Alto Networks, and Zscaler, were looking great for buying opportunities after the rout.

In oil news, the U.S. gave the Iranians 10 days to respond to nuclear deals, or else. Speaking at the inaugural Board of Peace meeting, Trump said things will get ugly. It’s the largest U.S. buildup of military forces since the 2003 invasion of Iraq to the Gulf and more are on the way. The buildup follows Israeli strikes on Iranian leaders in response to violent Houthi rebels, and a U.S. strike that effectively ended talks. The potential for war sent oil prices higher, fanned by recent anti-regime protests in Iran that were brutally put down.

The warning comes just one day after the arrest of Prince Andrew, 66, for his connection and appearance in the Epstein files. He is the first royal to face arrest since King Charles I at the end of the English Civil War 400 years ago.

After the bell, Applovin was up after an unconfirmed rumor that it may work with OpenAI on monotizing Chatgpt.

The iBuying pioneer Opendoor continues to battle a sluggish residential real estate market as high-interest rates stifle transaction volumes. **$OPEN ( ▲ 7.53% ) reported a fourth-quarter loss of $1.26 per share on revenue of $736B, way above the $595 million consensus** and the meme stock shot up 13%. ** CORRECTION

The Opendoor 2.0 strategy is focused on reducing operational burn through AI-driven pricing. Management expects a path to breakeven by the end of 2026, though macro data shows pending home sales inthe U.S. are at a record low, dating back to 2001. Despite the current headwinds, the firm’s $1.1 billion in unrestricted cash provides a buffer.

GRAIL Inc. Early Detection Scale-Up Beats Estimates 🧬: The multi-cancer early detection leader reported a narrower-than-expected loss as it continues to commercialize its Galleri blood test. $GRAL posted a loss of $2.44 per share, significantly better than the $3.18 loss projected by analysts, on revenue of $43.6 million. The stock tanked 45%+ the lowest sinking stinker in the post market.

Michael Burry finally did it: he launched a ‘forensic audit’ of Palantir's latest 10-K filing, alleging aggressive revenue recognition and "channel stuffing" as the stock sits 32% below its November peak.

The "Big Short" investor wrote in his newsletter Cassandra Unchained in the wee hours of the morning, arguing that the firm is a consulting company wearing the disguise of a software company. In today’s economy, software is a mean word, but it’s what kept PLTR trading at a 1000X forward revenue multiple at its peak just a couple of months ago.

Burry alleges the firm’s accounts receivable outgrowing revenue for nine of the last 12 quarters signals a company booking sales faster than it collects cash. SaaS firms usually have steady, predictable income from subscriptions, but Burry said Palantir's looks uneven, with big ups in some quarters and downs in others – suggesting that the company is likely billing for custom work, not software.

Burry remains committed to his short position, with a "landing area" as low as $50–$60. PLTR’s valuation remains extreme at 99.6 times next 12-month earnings, roughly five times the S&P 500 average. While Palantir reported high adjusted operating margins of 57% in the fourth quarter, Burry argues these figures would collapse if the company utilized the same accounting standards as IT consultants like Accenture.

Burry first disclosed a short position in Palantir in November 2025. According to disclosures from his hedge fund, Scion Asset Management, he held approximately 50,000 put contracts on Palantir (along with 10,000 on Nvidia) as of the end of the third quarter of 2025.

As for CEO Alex Karp, he is still going viral, this time not for playing with a sword, but for celebrating his firm’s military operation support during its Feb 2nd earnings call.

The U.S. trade deficit just got BIGGER instead of smaller, almost a year of tariffs diddn't effect how much we import at all. It was one of the largest full-year deficits since 1960, according to the Commerce Department.

December’s 32.6% deficit expansion defied economist forecasts of a contraction and climbed to -$70B, as imports jumped 3.6% to $357.6 billion. While the full-year deficit of $901.5 billion was technically a 0.2% decrease from 2024, the underlying goods gap widened 2.1% to an all-time high.

On top of that a bombshell report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found this week that American businesses and consumers paid nearly 90% of the costs from the 2025 tariff wave. Despite administration claims that foreign exporters would "eat" the costs, researchers found that international suppliers barely lowered their prices. U.S. footed the $264 billion bill in total tariff revenue.

White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett slammed the paper as "partisan" and "embarrassing," even suggesting the researchers should be disciplined. Neel Kashkari, Minneapolis Fed President, said threatening Fed workers for crunching the numbers correctly was just another attempt to cut back on Fed independence.

The real outlook on tariffs hinges on SCOTUS, which is expected to rule as early as tomorrow on the legality of the IEEPA-based "reciprocal" tariffs that pushed average effective rates to 13.5%. Of course, with the prospect of taking away Trump’s most prized executive action in the past year, then having to sit in the House next week and get a full blast of Trump speak, some Fintwit nerds have said there is no way SCOTUS is deciding tariffs before the Feb 24th State of the Union.

$WMT ( ▼ 1.51% ) earnings were a big story, but it’s not the biggest retailer anymore.

The stock climbed after delivering a powerhouse Q4. Revenue exceeded $190 billion with a 24% explosion in global eCommerce sales, but it was not enough to keep the crown for most retail sales revenue. 👑

Don’t miss a story! Follow @StocktwitsNews for a live feed in real time. ✍️ 

Macro: S&P Global Manufacturing PMI, S&P Global Services PMI, 30-Year Bond Auction, Michigan Consumer Sentiment. 📊

Pre-Market Earnings: $AU, $WU, $PPL. ☀️

After-Market Earnings: $WBD. 🌙

P.S. You can listen to all of these earnings calls on Stocktwits.

📈 Supreme Court ruling looms on Trump's most sweeping duties

🕊 Trump touts peace while threatening war with Iran

😨 Trump says world has 10 days to see if Iran deal reached

🏠 Mortgage rates drop to lowest level in nearly 4 years

🛖 US pending home sales fell to record low in January

📺 Michael Burry Targets Palantir Again, Flags ‘Nefarious’ Accounting And CEO Alex Karp’s $17M Jet Bill

🦉 Blue Owl Limits Investor Withdrawals, Stirring Private Credit Concerns

🐴 US stocks are off to their worst start versus the global market since 1995

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