Markets closed after a turbulent week, marked by some political relief and shakeups in the tech, retail, and consumer sectors.
- The S&P 500 closed 0.08% up this week, barely retaining its gains caused by significant market disruptions on Thursday and Friday.
- The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, which slipped as much as 500 points on Thursday, closed 0.5% lower this week, due to disappointments in the tech sector and skepticism surrounding AI overvaluation.
- The DJIA, despite market volatility throughout the week, which even saw a 700-point decline on one day, managed a modest 0.3% gain this week.
- However, the small-cap index, the Russell 2000, suffered the most, declining 1.8% this week.
What were the major government news stories this week?
The government finally reopened on November 12, after an extended period of 43 days, to the great relief of government employees who had feared going into the holiday season without paychecks.
Reports suggest that back pay should start rolling in the coming week.
However, the ripple effects of the shutdown are expected to last longer, with flight schedules likely to remain disrupted for a few more weeks as air traffic controllers return to work and airports adjust their staffing.
There will be some relief from tariffs as President Donald Trump has issued a rollback on beef, coffee, tea, tropical fruits, fruit juices, cocoa, oranges, and tomatoes, targeting increasing complaints over rising grocery bills.
BBC, the British public broadcaster, is under scrutiny over its BBC Panorama edit, where it edited parts of clips from President Trump’s Jan 6 speech. While the broadcaster has apologized to Trump over the unfair edit, President Trump is determined to sue the broadcaster for $1 billion.
The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) is a publicly funded British broadcasting company; therefore, a legal fight for defamation would result in significant public expenditure, placing it in a highly unfavorable position.
Stocks swing over bidding wars and acquisitions
There were some major news events in the media and tech sectors this week.
The earlier dispute between Alphabet’s (GOOGL) YouTube TV and Disney (DIS) has finally been resolved, putting YouTube subscribers out of their misery after they suffered a content blackout for over two weeks.
YouTube subscribers received an apology email from the company, clarifying that the media moguls have reached a deal and that subscribers can again access Disney channels, including ABC and ESPN, along with any previous recordings in their library.
While Disney stock declined 1.6% at the close on Friday, it was trading higher after hours. Alphabet’s stock was up more than 4% after hours.
In a separate bidding war for Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), Netflix, Comcast, and Paramount Skydance are preparing bids, according to a WSJ report.
The stocks of Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Skydance rose by 4% and 2%, respectively, following the news on Friday. In comparison, Netflix and Comcast’s stocks declined by 3.6% and 1.6% respectively.
Some notable acquisition reports were also unveiled this week, including pharmaceutical company Merck (MRK) agreeing to acquire Cidara Therapeutics, a drugmaker known for pioneering an antiviral drug against the flu. The takeover is valued at $9.2 billion, according to a report by The Financial Times.
Cidara emerged as a top gainer on Friday, recording a 52-week high on November 14 after a monumental 105% surge in its stock price.
Topgolf (MODG), a recreational golf provider operating in a controlled environment, is looking to go private, according to a WSJ report, and is in talks with private equity firm Leonard Green. The news sent its stock up 6% recording a new high.
The stocks that remained in news for either their earnings and related stock movement or analyst upgrades were Cisco, DoorDash, and StubHub.
Nvidia, Baidu, Klarna, Home Depot, Paolo Alto, Walmart, and BJ’s Wholesale to announce earnings in the coming week.
Cisco reports gains with AI infrastructure
The stock of technology company Cisco Systems (CSCO) recorded a 9.7% gain this week, following a strong Q1 2026 earnings report on November 12, which noted a dramatic acceleration in infrastructure demand.
More Wall Street:
The company reported 13% year-over-year growth in product orders, with $1.3 billion in AI-related orders. With strong top and bottom-line growth, Cisco reported an 8% year-over-year gain in revenue, reaching $14.9 billion, along with GAAP EPS (earnings per share) of $0.72, up 6% yoy.
The widespread demand for our technologies highlights the critical role of secure networking and the value of our portfolio as customers move quickly to unlock the potential of AI.
Chuck Robbins,
Chair and CEO, Cisco
Cisco, which recorded a 17% stock gain this quarter, noted the highest revenue growth in the Americas, with 9% year-over-year growth.
With such strong performance, all major Wall Street firms increased their price target on the company.
- UBS increased its price target to $90 from $88, maintaining a Buy rating, citing the high AI demand as a driver.
- Everscore ISI raised its price target to $80 from $74, maintaining an In-Line rating following its strong quarter, with revenue and EPS ahead of expectations.
- Morgan Stanley increased the price target to $82 from $77, keeping an Overweight rating, noting that the real surprise came from its AI orders.
Cisco even increased its future guidance and now expects $3 billion in AI revenue for FY26.
Our relevance in AI continues to build, and we have a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar campus refresh opportunity starting to ramp, with strong demand for our refreshed networking products. Looking ahead, you can expect a continued focus on profitable growth, capital returns, and strategic investments to capture the significant opportunities ahead.
Mark Patterson
CFO, Cisco
DoorDash expands beyond food delivery
After a strong Q3 performance and noting increased expenditure on AI in the future, DoorDash (DASH) is already delivering on some of its promises.
While the stock of the on-demand delivery platform took a massive hit due to its future expenditures, an analyst upgrade and new robotics expansion have helped it partially plug the gap.
The stock of DoorDash, which rose 6% on Friday, recorded a 1.3% gain this week, bringing its year-to-date gain to 23%.
On November 13, DoorDash announced a partnership with Old Navy, a division of GAP, to offer on-demand delivery for shoppers nationwide.
As one of the first major apparel retailers on our platform – with more than 1,000 stores across the U.S. – we’re bringing Old Navy to tens of millions of active users on DoorDash.”
Lee Brown
Chief Revenue Officer, DoorDash
The announcement, which comes in time for the holidays, signals a strategic expansion of DoorDash into the instant retail category.
DoorDash also announced an expansion of its existing partnership with Coco Robotics into Miami, adding to its existing deployments in Los Angeles and Chicago.
Coco Robotics, an autonomous delivery company, has already completed 500,000 zero-emission deliveries and is on track to deploy more than 10,000 robots in 2026.
Through DoorDash Labs, we’re advancing autonomous solutions that help us serve even more consumers and merchants with new, innovative delivery options.
Harrison Shih
Head of Product for DoorDash Labs
Wall Street is more optimistic about the long-term efficiency gains expected from robotics and operational automation.
Wedbush upgraded DoorDash to Outperform from Neutral, with a $260 price target, citing that the company has maintained a leading competitive position in the US food and delivery market.
StubHub falters on guidance
StubHub (STUB), a global online ticket marketplace that connects sellers and buyers, recorded one of its worst stock performances on Friday.
Its stock plummeted 20%, a 52-week low for this new publicly traded company. The decline occurred following management’s decision to hold back on Q4 guidance and forecasts in its Q3 2025 results, which were reported on November 13.
While StubHub reported solid earnings, with $2.4 billion in Gross Merchandise Sales (GMV) up 11% year-over-year and revenue of $468 million, up 8% year-over-year, its misstep in offering forecasts cost its stock price.
The quarter also included a $1.29 billion net loss, primarily due to a one-time $1.4 billion stock-based compensation expense associated with its September 2025 IPO.
It was also able to repay $750 million of debt from the IPO proceeds.
Our debut quarter as a public company underscores the strength and resilience of our global marketplace. We delivered double-digit GMS growth, expanded market share, and significantly strengthened our balance sheet – all while advancing our long-term strategy to make live entertainment more accessible for fans everywhere.
Eric Baker
Founder, Chairman, and CEO, StubHub.
However, major analysts cut their price targets but maintained either Buy or Outperform ratings on the share, reflecting confidence in StubHub’s long-term success.
TD Cowen lowered its price target to $25 from $28, maintaining a Buy rating, citing a lack of Q4 guidance as the reason.
Wedbush was surprised at StubHub’s decision not to offer any guidance and lowered its price to $22 from $25, while keeping an Outperform rating.
Everscore ISI analyst Mark Mahaney noted that the lack of Q4 guidance was “unexpected and contributed to a significant market reaction,” finding it “disappointing” and lowered the firm’s price target to $27 from $29, but maintained an Outperform rating, as reported by TheFly.
About the author
Stocks Writer, The Street
Aparajita Chatterjee writes about stocks making big moves during the trading day and on the week and daily closing updates on the major market indexes, including the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite. She previously interned at The Long Island Press and Dan’s Papers, where she reported on government policies, covered the primaries, and wrote about small businesses. Aparajita’s passion is research and finding the story behind the numbers. You can reach out to [email protected] with your tips and suggestions.
