Stocks showed marked after-hours volatility as corporate reports and outlooks landed. Alphabet (GOOGL) shares slid about 1% despite delivering what the company characterized as solid quarterly results. The broader reaction centered on Alphabet's 2026 capital spending projection, which management said is expected to be in a range of $175 to $185 billion - substantially higher than the estimate of $119.5 billion. The outsized CapEx outlook buoyed chip-related names, with Broadcom (AVGO), NVIDIA (NVDA) and other semiconductor stocks moving higher following the announcement.
Social media operator Snap (SNAP) climbed roughly 7% after the company reported results largely in line with consensus. Snap said fourth-quarter revenue rose 10% year-over-year to $1,716 million, a performance that met market expectations and appeared to underpin the after-hours gain.
By contrast, Qualcomm (QCOM) shares fell sharply, down around 9% after the company issued guidance that disappointed investors. Qualcomm's chief executive, Cristiano Amon, attributed the entirety of the forecast shortfall to a memory chip shortage affecting the company's smartphone customers, a supply-side issue the company identified as the driver of its weaker outlook.
Consumer beauty company e.l.f. Beauty (ELF) was a standout mover to the upside, jumping about 15% after reporting a blowout quarter and issuing guidance that management said comfortably exceeded analysts' estimates.
Arm Holdings (ARM) declined approximately 7% even though its quarter matched analyst estimates, reflecting investor sensitivity to other dynamics beyond the headline numbers.
Logistics automation firm Symbotic (SYM) rose close to 9% in after-hours trade after providing forward revenue expectations for the fiscal second quarter of 2026. Symbotic said it anticipates Q2 2026 revenue in a range of $650-670 million, above the consensus figure of $638 million.
These after-hours moves show a market responding both to large forward-looking capital commitments and to supply-chain constraints called out by individual firms. The range of reactions - from significant gains in some chip and automation names to steep declines in a major mobile chipmaker - highlights uneven investor responses to guidance and supply considerations across sectors.