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The Daily Brief · Tuesday · August 04, 2026

PLTR +29.5% on Q2 earnings beat leads chip sector rally

Palantir closed at $162.66 after raising its full-year outlook; SpaceX reported $7.8B in quarterly revenue; six chip names gained 5% or more.
PLTR +29.5% on Q2 earnings beat leads chip sector rally — editorial illustration

Tuesday's session delivered a concentrated earnings-driven rally across the chip and AI complex. Six names on the desk's slate closed with gains of 5% or more. The macro frame held steady: the 10-year Treasury at 4.70%, the VIX at 15.9 — conditions that posed no structural barrier to risk.

$PLTR +29.5% on Q2 earnings beat and raised full-year forecast

Palantir was the session's headline print. The company beat on Q2 revenue and earnings, then raised its full-year outlook. The stock closed at $162.66 — its largest single-session gain in years. Short sellers absorbed an estimated $3 billion in mark-to-market losses by end of day, per S3 data. The beat was not marginal: it was large enough to collapse the short case, at least for one session.

$SPCX +9.4% on first post-IPO earnings; $7.8B in quarterly revenue

SpaceX reported $7.8 billion in quarterly revenue in its inaugural public-company earnings print, beating Wall Street's consensus and narrowing its net loss. CEO Elon Musk outlined a path to $1 trillion in annual revenue, with 2029 as the optimistic case and 2030 as the base. The stock gained 9.4% on the session but retreated during the live conference call — the headline beat held; forward commentary invited more scrutiny.

$AMD +7.0% on Q2 data center beat; after-hours move reverses part of the gain

Advanced Micro Devices beat on Q2 revenue and earnings, with data center AI as the primary driver. The stock added 7.0% on the day. After the close, AMD fell in extended trading; the beat was characterized as modest relative to the valuation the stock carries, and Q3 guidance — above consensus but not decisively so — left investors wanting a wider margin.

Chip basket: $INTC +10.8%, $QCOM +7.3%, $AVGO +6.6%, $AMAT +5.5%

Intel posted the sharpest move in the broader basket at +10.8%. A company-specific note accompanied the sector bid: Intel's EMIB packaging yields are improving, with a long-rumored Google TPU co-manufacturing arrangement appearing closer. Qualcomm added 7.3%, Broadcom 6.6%, and Applied Materials 5.5%; no discrete single-name catalyst attached to any of the three in the day's news flow — each moved with the sector.

What we set aside

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) was examined and produced no filings or substantive news within the reporting window. No insider transactions or material corporate events cleared the filings gate today.

The desk is watching $AMD's Wednesday open and whether $SPCX can hold its post-earnings gap once the conference call commentary is fully priced in.

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