Stocks Waver Amid US-Iran Uncertainty as Strong Season Wraps

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US stock futures wavered early Friday as the world awaited an update on US-Iran peace talks.

Stocks rebounded on Thursday after Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Iranian media signaled progress on negotiations between the US and Iran for a peace deal.

However, clear sticking points remain.

Futures attached to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F), the benchmark S&P 500 (ES=F), and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) rose around 0.3%. The S&P 500 is vying for the index's longest streak of weekly wins since 2023.

Markets started the week on a down note, with concerns of persistent inflation stoking worries about Federal Reserve rate hikes. Since reports of movement on US-Iran talks picked up on Wednesday, however, investors have had reason to believe a primary source of rising prices could be resolved soon.

On Friday, the University of Michigan’s latest readings on consumer sentiment and inflation expectations will offer fresh insight into how much price pressures are rising as the war drags on.

Earnings season also continues to wrap up, with major government contractor Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH) reporting its results before the bell. Yahoo Finance reports.

🚘 NIO Profit Surprise Fails to Lift Shares

NIO Inc. ADRs traded lower in Friday’s early premarket, despite the Chinese EV maker reporting a strong first-quarter revenue jump and offering an improved delivery forecast.

Shares traded at $5.29 as of 6:03 a.m. EDT, a drop of 5.5% from Thursday’s close at $5.60, MarketScreener data showed. NYSE regular trading had not opened yet; its main hours run 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. The exchange’s 2026 calendar marks Memorial Day as Monday, May 25, not Friday.

NIO’s move stands out as the company’s profit turnaround remains unproven. Investors are watching to see if a slate of more expensive models can defend margins while China’s EV market gets busier and expenses climb.

NIO reported it delivered 83,465 vehicles in the first quarter, up 98.3% from the same period last year. That figure includes 58,543 vehicles from its NIO brand, 13,339 ONVO vehicles, and 11,583 FIREFLY models. Total revenue rose 112.2% to RMB25.53 billion, or $3.70 billion. Vehicle margin increased to 18.8%, up from 10.2% in last year’s first quarter. TechStock reports.

🏛️ Quantum Stocks Rally on $2 Billion Washington Move; QBTS, RGTI, INFQ Surge

D-Wave Quantum, Rigetti Computing, and Infleqtion shares all jumped more than 30% on Thursday as traders reacted to fresh U.S. government funding tied to quantum tech. D-Wave ended up 33.37% at $25.74, Rigetti added 30.57% at $22.04, and Infleqtion gained 31.48% to close at $14.70. IBM and GlobalFoundries moved higher, too.

Commerce is shifting from research grants to action, signing nine letters of intent tied to $2.013 billion in CHIPS Act incentives. These aren’t final awards, but the department said it would get minority, non-controlling equity stakes in each business.

Markets head into a quieter period before the long weekend. U.S. stocks trade normal hours Friday, but bonds close early. Both are shut Monday for Memorial Day. TechStock reports.

🖥️ WhiteFiber Stock Rips 22% on $160 Million AI Deal. The Test Comes in July

WhiteFiber Inc. shares surged on Thursday after the AI infrastructure company said it signed a five-year agreement to provide compute capacity for an investment-grade technology customer in the Paris region, giving investors a fresh contract to price into a small but closely watched AI data-center name. The stock closed at $29.55, up 22.2%, and Google Finance showed it at $33.31 in after-hours trade.

The move mattered because WhiteFiber’s story, like much of the AI infrastructure trade, is less about a single data center and more about whether the company can turn power, GPUs and signed customers into recurring revenue. AI compute infrastructure means the GPU-heavy servers, networking, cooling and data-center capacity used to run artificial-intelligence workloads at scale.

WhiteFiber said the contract has a total value of more than $160 million over five years, will use advanced NVIDIA GPU systems and is expected to begin service in July 2026. The customer was not named. TechStock reports.

🧑‍💼 Why is Workday Stock Soaring Friday?

Workday reported first-quarter earnings of $2.66 per share, beating analyst estimates of $2.51, according to Benzinga Pro data. Revenue rose to $2.54 billion, ahead of the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion.

Adjusted operating income increased to $809 million, resulting in a 31.8% operating margin. Operating cash flow climbed 52% year over year to $696 million, while free cash flow increased 46% to $616 million. Benzinga reports.

🤝 WhiteFiber Locks In $160 Million AI Deal, Stock Soars

WhiteFiber Inc. (NASDAQ:WYFI) stock rose Friday after the company announced a five-year AI compute infrastructure agreement valued at more than $160 million with an investment-grade technology customer.

The deployment, located in the Paris region, will use advanced NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) GPU systems and is expected to begin service in July 2026.

The company said the project will be funded through customer prepayments, including 12 months of advance service fees, and project-level financing expected to close in June 2026.

CEO Sam Tabar said the deal highlights strong global demand for high-performance AI infrastructure and expands WhiteFiber's cloud footprint into Europe. Benzinga reports.

(All pricing and percent gains are based on Early Pre-Market from 4:00 AM to 7:00 AM ET). Stock Analysis reports.

1) PCLA: PicoCELA Inc.

Total gain: +4.23 (188.00%)

2) AKTX: Akari Therapeutics, Plc

Total gain: +4.04 (78.60%)

3) MTVA: MetaVia Inc.

Total gain: +2.110 (73.52%)

4) LFS: Leifras Co., Ltd.

Total gain: +0.905 (48.27%)

5) MRM: MEDIROM Healthcare Technologies Inc.

Total gain: +0.275 (28.21%)

The closing price of the top three market percent gainers trading near or above $3 on May 21.

(All pricing and percent gains are based on regular market trading hours from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM ET)
Stock Analysis reports.

1) NAKA: Nakamoto Inc.

Total gain: +6.47 (4,095.06%)

The company today announced that it will be hosting BFC in NYC - the first dedicated institutional Bitcoin symposium - in New York City. Taking place June 26, 2026, at The Glasshouse in Manhattan, the event is presented by Metaplanet and hosted by BFC. BusinessWire reports.

2) UBXG: U-BX Technology Ltd.

Total gain: +3.110 (2,711.68%)

The company announced that it has resolved to effect a reverse stock split of the Company’s class A ordinary shares and class B ordinary shares and has determined the ratio to be 1-for-25. At the Company’s annual meeting of shareholders held on November 4, 2025, the Company’s shareholders approved a reverse stock split at a ratio of not less than 1-for-2 and not more than 1-for-250 and granted the Company’s Board of Directors the authority to determine the exact split ratio.

On May 12, 2026, the Company’s Board of Directors determined the ratio to be 1-for-25. U-BX’s class A ordinary shares will begin trading on an adjusted basis giving effect to the reverse stock split on May 22, 2026 under the existing ticker symbol “UBXG”. The new CUSIP number of the Company’s class A ordinary shares will be G9161K120. GlobeNewswire reports.

3) IPW: iPower Inc.

Total gain: +3.453 (595.31%)

The company announced that it will effect a 1-for-8 reverse stock split of its issued and outstanding common stock.

The reverse stock split will become effective at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on May 22, 2026, and the Company’s common stock will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis on The Nasdaq Capital Market at the market open on May 22, 2026 under the existing ticker symbol “IPW.” GlobeNewswire reports.

(Estimate and Actual numbers represent Earnings Per Share in US Dollars)

SY
So-Young Intl
Q1 2026

Before Market Open
Estimate: N/A
Actual: N/A

BAH
Booz Allen Hamilton
Q4 2026

Before Market Open
Estimate: 1.330
Actual: N/A

GSL
Global Ship Lease
Q1 2026

Before Market Open
Estimate: 2.400
Actual: N/A

“Trading doesn’t just reveal your character, it also builds it.”

– Yvan Byeajee

Sourced in: Berkshire Hathaway letters.