While big tech dominates AI headlines, smaller stocks like SoundHound and GitLab show strong potential for outperformance due to their innovative approaches and growth strategies, with SoundHound focusing on voice AI and GitLab on AI-driven software development tools.
Stock futures declined after limited trade agreement details between the US and China, with notable movements in stocks like GitLab, GameStop, Tesla, and others. GitLab beat earnings expectations but issued cautious guidance, leading to a stock drop. Tesla's shares rose on autonomous vehicle developments, while GameStop reported a profit reversal but saw a stock decline. Other companies like Chewy, SailPoint, and Dave & Buster's reported mixed earnings, influencing their stock movements. Oracle is set to release earnings after hours.
Alphabet's venture capital fund, CapitalG, has significantly increased its investments in GitLab and Prime Medicine. GitLab, a code repository management platform, saw Alphabet boost its stake by 269%, making it Alphabet's largest public holding. Prime Medicine, a biotech company focused on gene-editing therapies, had its share count increased by 27%. Both investments are considered risky but have potential for high returns.
GitLab has patched a high-severity XSS vulnerability (CVE-2024-4835) in its VS code editor that could allow unauthenticated attackers to take over user accounts. The company urges immediate updates to versions 17.0.1, 16.11.3, and 16.10.6 for both Community and Enterprise Editions. Additionally, six medium-severity flaws were also addressed, including a CSRF vulnerability and a denial-of-service bug. GitLab accounts are high-value targets due to the sensitive data they host, and previous vulnerabilities have been actively exploited.
GitLab has confirmed the removal of Suyu, a new Nintendo Switch emulator, due to concerns about online harassment and lack of moderation on the platform. Users have expressed frustration over the site's failure to address misogynistic, transphobic, and harassing comments on emulation articles, leading to a decline in engagement and trust in the platform.
Suyu, a fork of the popular Nintendo Switch emulator Yuzu, was taken down from GitLab due to a DMCA takedown notice, likely issued by Nintendo. The project had just released its first build, including various fixes and changes, but now faces uncertainty about its future. The team has moved the repository to a new address, but it remains to be seen if this will allow the project to continue. Meanwhile, the other major Nintendo Switch emulator, Ryujinx, remains unaffected by DMCA takedowns.
GitLab has removed the Suyu fork of the Nintendo Switch emulator Yuzu and disabled the accounts of its developers after receiving a DMCA takedown request, although it's unclear if Nintendo is behind it. The request alleges that Suyu violated DMCA 1201 by circumventing Nintendo's technical protection measures, but Suyu claims it doesn't include the same measures as Yuzu. GitLab's response raises questions about its account disabling policy and the handling of DMCA takedown requests. Suyu has indicated it will be hosted elsewhere after being removed from GitLab.
GitLab's shares dropped 16% after the company forecasted full-year 2025 revenue and profit below Wall Street estimates, citing a cautious spending environment due to an uncertain economy. The company's CFO expects a "less conservative" approach to forecasts as it enters its third year as a public firm. Despite stable growth predictions, the stock is set to lose about $1.9 billion from its market value. GitLab's revenue projections for the first quarter and fiscal year 2025 fell below analysts' expectations, with the company warning that the projection does not include a potential price hike.
Stitch Fix shares slide after missing revenue estimates and reporting wider losses, ThredUp stock dips despite beating revenue estimates, and GitLab plunges in extended hours trading despite topping fourth-quarter earnings estimates, as its full-year guidance falls short of analysts' expectations.
GitLab has issued security updates for its Community and Enterprise Editions to address critical vulnerabilities, including a zero-click account hijacking flaw (CVE-2023-7028) that allows attackers to take over accounts without user interaction. The flaw affects versions 16.1 to 16.7 and could lead to the compromise of proprietary code and sensitive data. Other vulnerabilities include the abuse of Slack/Mattermost integrations and bypassing CODEOWNERS approval. Users are strongly advised to update their installations as soon as possible.
GitLab has released security updates to address two critical vulnerabilities, including one that could lead to account takeover without user interaction. The flaw, tracked as CVE-2023-7028, affects self-managed instances of GitLab Community Edition and Enterprise Edition. Another critical flaw (CVE-2023-5356) was also patched, allowing a user to abuse Slack/Mattermost integrations. Users are advised to upgrade to the patched version as soon as possible and enable 2FA, especially for those with elevated privileges.
The stock market took a pause from its end-of-year rally, with small-cap stocks outperforming while the Nasdaq dropped as investors sold Big Tech shares. Bitcoin reached a 19-month high, surpassing $41,000, and gold reached its highest nominal intraday level ever. GitLab's stock jumped 14% after the company released impressive third-quarter results, marking its first adjusted operating profit since going public. Twilio announced layoffs affecting about 5% of its workforce, primarily in its Data and Applications unit. Moody's downgraded China's government credit ratings outlook to negative due to rising debt risks and lower medium-term economic growth. Nokia shares plunged after losing a major deal with AT&T, which instead partnered with Ericsson on a $14 billion project.
Developer-tools software maker GitLab saw its stock soar by as much as 18% in extended trading after announcing its fiscal third-quarter results, which included its first adjusted operating profit. The company reported earnings of 9 cents per share, adjusted, compared to an expected loss of 1 cent per share, and revenue of $149.7 million, surpassing the expected $141.5 million. GitLab's revenue grew 32% YoY, and it now has 874 customers contributing over $100 million in annual recurring revenue. The company's CEO mentioned that some organizations are transitioning from Microsoft-owned GitHub to GitLab, while smaller customers remain cautious about economic conditions. GitLab also revealed plans for a planning tool for non-technical workers and is in talks with Amazon Web Services for integration.
Dow Jones futures, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures, fell slightly as the stock market rally lost ground due to rising Treasury yields. However, megacaps like Microsoft, Meta Platforms, and Tesla limited the losses. Homebuilders and housing stocks sold off, while energy stocks performed well. Several stocks, including Microsoft, Meta, Tesla, General Electric, and MongoDB, are trading close to buy points. Roku raised its Q3 revenue guidance, and GitLab reported surprise earnings and revenue above expectations.