With investors on edge over who will thrive — and who could lose — in the coming AI economy, a pair of stock reactions today suggest a tentative recalibration.

Catch up quick: Nvidia, which makes the chips powering AI, reported blockbuster earnings yesterday. Even that wasn't enough: The stock fell over 5% today.

• Salesforce — battered by AI anxiety for much of the past year — eased fears that AI will decimate traditional software, at least for a day. Shares rose 4%.

"This is not our first SaaSpocalypse," Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said on last night's earnings call, recalling similar fears in 2020. "We made it through that ... and we're going to make it through this one as well."

Zoom in: Salesforce didn't blow the doors off with Q4 results, but it did give investors a better-than-expected forecast for long-term revenue.

• Its Agentforce AI product generated $800 million in recurring revenue in the quarter, up from $500 million previously.

On the flip side is Nvidia. Its stock drop wasn't about a miss. It was about an increasingly high bar to impress investors. Infrastructure is already priced for acceleration.

Between the lines: Today's moves reflect a broader short-term investor rotation out of semiconductors and into software.

Yes, but: It's a sharp one-day move — but far from a trend change, Jefferies analyst Jeffrey Favuzza noted today. Long-only investors aren't ready to declare an "all clear" for software just yet, he wrote.

Reality check: Over the past 12 months, Nvidia shares are up over 40%, while Salesforce is down 35%.

• And the potentially dramatic impact of AI on a tech workforce was seen in Jack Dorsey's announcement today that he will cut 40% of Block's workforce, citing emerging tools that make it easier to do the company's work.

What we're watching: More software earnings ahead.

• The question now isn't whether AI wins — but whether SaaS can capture its share of the spoils.

Warner Bros. Discovery's board today said that Paramount Skydance's revised bid of $31 per share is superior to its deal with Netflix, Axios' Christine Wang writes.

• That disclosure gave Netflix four business days to respond, but it just announced that it was declining to match the Paramount bid.

What Netflix said: "The transaction we negotiated would have created shareholder value with a clear path to regulatory approval," co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters said in a statement. "However, we've always been disciplined, and at the price required to match Paramount Skydance's latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive."

• "This transaction was always a 'nice to have' at the right price, not a 'must have' at any price."

The bottom line: Paramount appears to have won the fight for WBD if it obtains all the necessary approvals.

Go deeper

🍕Papa John's plans to close 300 locations by the end of 2027. The pizza chain is also revamping its menu as it remains mired in a slump. (WSJ)

🎰 Caesars Entertainment is weighing takeover offers from several potential bidders, as well as a possible management-led buyout. (FT)

🦈 United Parks and Resorts — which owns SeaWorld and Busch Gardens — posted its sixth straight revenue decline. CEO Marc Swanson said 2025 "did not meet our expectations" as attendance fell 2.6%. (Bloomberg)

💼 eBay is cutting 6% of its workforce, or about 800 positions. The move comes after the company announced the acquisition of secondhand clothing site Depop. (CNBC)

🚗 Stellantis posted a $26 billion loss after a crushing blow from its lost bet on EVs. It's the first-ever full-year loss for the company since it was formed as the combination of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Peugeot owner PSA Group. (Detroit News)

🚙 State Farm, the nation's largest auto insurer, has lowered insurance rates and is issuing an average dividend of $100 per vehicle to policyholders. (Axios)

Puma is betting on a new $260 pair of sneakers to help run the company out of a sales slump.

👟 State of play: The sports apparel brand today called 2026 a "transition year" after a 13.1% decline in sales in 2025.

• Key to the German company's turnaround hopes is its new Puma x Hyrox Deviate Nitro Elite 4 racing kicks, which debuted last week.

Zoom in: The shoes contain premium cushioning foam "for maximum energy return," plus a carbon fiber layer to improve propulsion.

💭 Nathan's thought bubble: Partnering with Hyrox, a popular indoor fitness race, is a sensible tie-in that could help Puma attract serious athletes who have gravitated to the company's competitors.