Market volatility intensified midday as quarterly reports and outlooks from a range of companies produced outsized moves. Uber Technologies fell about 7% after offering fourth-quarter adjusted EBITDA guidance that slightly undershot Street expectations, while Norwegian Cruise Line plunged roughly 14% on a revenue shortfall even as adjusted earnings beat. Chipboard and electronics supplier Sanmina surged more than 16% after beating fiscal fourth-quarter estimates and issuing a stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings forecast. Palantir Technologies dropped about 7% despite reporting fourth-quarter beats and raising revenue guidance.

Uber’s stock reaction turned on guidance rather than its recent top-line beat. Third-quarter revenue came in at $13.47 billion, above the $13.28 billion analysts had expected, according to LSEG. But management’s Q4 adjusted EBITDA range of $2.41 billion to $2.51 billion was centered at $2.46 billion — a hair below the $2.47 billion FactSet consensus — and the lower bound likely focused investor attention on margin pressure and the company’s profitability cadence. For markets increasingly keyed to earnings quality, even a narrow miss on consensus for an adjusted-profit metric can translate into outsized share-price moves for high-turnover technology and mobility names.

Palantir presents the opposite paradox: the company beat fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue estimates and raised its current-quarter and full-year revenue guidance, yet its shares fell roughly 7% midday. That pattern underscores how elevated expectations can leave little room for incremental disappointment, and how sentiment-driven flows in growth and AI-adjacent stocks can overwhelm fundamentally positive news if investors are reassessing valuations or rotating into laggards.

In the industrial and supply-chain space, Sanmina’s jump signals renewed investor appetite for companies showing concrete demand resilience. The electronic and optical manufacturer’s fiscal fourth-quarter outperformance and upbeat first-quarter outlook suggest a firming of orders in parts of the technology supply chain that had been cyclical. Market participants often reward visibility into near-term demand, particularly when macro uncertainty persists.

Norwegian Cruise Line’s steep decline after reporting third-quarter revenue of $2.94 billion — missing the $3.02 billion FactSet consensus — illustrates the sensitivity of consumer-discretionary, travel-related businesses to booking trends and pricing. The company did post adjusted earnings above expectations, which speaks to cost control or favorable onboard revenue, but the revenue shortfall raises questions about demand trends for discretionary travel in the current macro environment.

Taken together, the moves reflect broader market dynamics in this earnings season: investors are parsing not just beats and misses but the quality of earnings and the clarity of forward guidance. With central bank policy still a key variable for rates, credit conditions and consumer spending, businesses with prominent exposure to discretionary demand — mobility, travel, leisure — face sharper scrutiny. Meanwhile, enterprise software and tech firms remain vulnerable to swings in expectations even after reporting positive results. As quarters progress, markets are likely to continue rewarding companies that combine sustainable margin expansion with convincing forward visibility, and punishing those whose guidance introduces even modest doubts about future profit trajectories.