International Business Machines Corporation

Software and server company IBM reported revenues and profits above market expectations, but the company's shares fell sharply. Neither a stable outlook nor growth in key segments could dispel investors' concerns about the possible impact of artificial intelligence on its business, Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-04-22/ibm-posts-in-line-software-sales-that-fail-to-shake-ai-concerns?embedded-checkout=true">notes</a>.

IBM's quarterly results beat market expectations. Why did the stock collapse?

Israel and Lebanon will extend the ceasefire for another three weeks, US President Donald Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116456113408853958">said </a>on Truth Social. The parties reached <a href="https://oninvest.com/article/izrail-i-livan-soglasovali-10-dnevnoe-prekrasenie-ogna-tramp">an</a> initial agreement on April 16, at which time it was a truce for 10 days.

Israel and Lebanon will extend truce, Trump announced. This is important for negotiations with Iran

Meta Platforms, Inc.

Meta announced massive layoffs: about 8,000 people - about 10% of its total workforce - will be affected, according to an internal memo HR Director Janelle Gale sent to employees on Thursday, Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-04-23/meta-tells-staff-it-will-cut-10-of-jobs-in-push-for-efficiency">reports</a>. The company will also close 6,000 positions it had planned to fill. "We are doing this to operate more efficiently and to offset other investments," Gale explained in the memo.

Meta has announced it will cut 10% of its staff. What is it freeing up funds for?

Oracle Corporation

Tesla, Inc.

Palantir Technologies Inc.

Microsoft Corporation

ServiceNow, Inc.

On Thursday, the S&amp;P 500 index renewed its intraday historic high, but ended the day in the negative due to news from the Middle East: the publication Axios reported that Iran continued to mine the Strait of Hormuz. Earlier, the US President <a href="https://oninvest.com/article/tramp-porucil-unictozat-suda-razbrasyvausie-miny-v-ormuzskom-prolive-akcii-upali">instructed</a> the Navy to open fire on boats planting mines. This led to a rise in the price of oil. The market was also pulled down by the shares of software developers after the reports of several companies.

Iran mines Strait of Hormuz, oil above $105, software developer stocks collapse

Intel Corporation

In a very short time the situation went from despondency to euphoria, its investor commented on the company's recovery

Intel shares soared 20% after a strong report. It has started to get a return on AI

AI developer OpenAI on Thursday <a href="https://openai.com/index/introducing-gpt-5-5">unveiled</a> a new artificial intelligence model, GPT-5.5, that the company says is better able to handle programming and tasks that require more in-depth research.

OpenAI introduced GPT-5.5 two months after the previous release. What does this mean?

An unidentified trader could earn more than $21,000 at a time on cryptocurrency platform Polymarket by betting on abnormal warming in Paris, The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/unusual-weather-bets-on-polymarket-spur-french-investigation-b799bec8?mod=hp_lead_pos5">reports</a>.

An unidentified trader may have made $21,000 on a bet on abnormal weather in Paris 

U.S. stocks accelerated their decline, with investors focused on reports indicating rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran, MarketWatch <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/livecoverage/s-p-500-nasdaq-dow-jones-record-highs-close-donald-trump-cease-fire-iran-war-no-timeline?mod=home_lead">explains</a>.

The head of Iran's delegation to the talks walked out of it. U.S. indices intensified their decline

Data

Astec Industries, Inc.

Trilogy Metals Inc.

Taylor Devices, Inc.

Aeluma, Inc.

Northeast Community Bancorp, Inc.

Since the start of the year, the small- and mid-cap segment has shown a notable recovery: the Russell 2000 index has gained more than 12%, while the broader S&amp;P 500 is up less than 5%. Volatility remains elevated amid geopolitical uncertainty and turbulence in commodity markets. In this environment, Freedom Finance Global analyst Georgy Timoshin suggests viewing the market through a balance of two factors: economic growth and inflationary pressure. Based on this approach, he has come up with five stocks with solid upside over the next 12 months.

Where to invest $1,000 right now: Five small caps set to rise in next 12 months

Elmet Group

Premarket trading in Elmet Group (ELMT), a&nbsp; has started on the Freedom trading platform. Later on Thursday, the company’s shares will debut on the Nasdaq under the symbol ELMT (Freedom clients: to trade, click on <a href="https://tap.freedom24.com/to/quote/ELMT.US?utm_source=stocks&amp;utm_medium=ELMT.US&amp;utm_campaign=pfu17895694">ELMT</a>).

Elmet Group IPO: Precision components manufacturer debuts on the Nasdaq

Skyworks Solutions, Inc.

Qorvo, Inc.

Barclays has <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/22/buy-these-two-chip-stocks-primed-to-benefit-from-a-foldable-iphone-says-barclays.html">upgraded</a>&nbsp;to "buy" shares of mid-cap semiconductor manufacturers Skyworks Solutions and Qorvo, which could benefit from the release of a foldable iPhone <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-04-07/apple-s-foldable-iphone-remains-on-track-for-september-debut">expected</a>&nbsp;to go on sale in September, the analysts said.

Barclays upgrades two chipmakers on Apple's potential release of foldable iPhone

Canopy Growth Corporation

Tilray Brands, Inc.

Cannabis stocks surged after Axios <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/04/22/trump-marijuana-rule-change">reported </a>that the U.S. Department of Justice could soon move marijuana into a less restrictive classification. An unnamed administration official told the outlet that the shift could come as soon as Wednesday. MarketWatch <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/tilray-and-other-cannabis-stocks-soar-as-trump-is-reportedly-ready-to-reclassify-the-substance-b4e1458d">described</a>&nbsp;the expected decision as the most significant federal reform in the space in decades.

Pot stocks soar as Axios reports imminent U.S. reclassification of cannabis

GitLab Inc.

Now may be the time to buy stock of GitLab, a mid-cap provider of software development tools, <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2026/04/22/everyones-nervous-about-gitlab-thats-exactly-why-y/">argues</a>&nbsp;Motley Fool contributor Geoffrey Seiler. The shares have <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/GTLB/">fallen</a>&nbsp;more than 40% year to date and are now trading at what he calls “insanely low” valuations.

Motley Fool analyst says software maker GitLab 'too cheap to ignore'

Small Caps

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