Broadcom Stock Surges as Chipmaker Touts AI Revenue Growth

Major U.S. equities indexes staged an afternoon rally to end with daily gains, wrapping up a turbulent trading week in which investors fixated on shifting trade policies.

The partial recovery on Friday came after the latest labor market data showed that the U.S. economy added 151,000 jobs in February, up from the prior month but below economists’ expectations.

The S&P 500 advanced 0.6% on Friday. The Dow closed 0.5%, while the Nasdaq was up 0.7%. Despite the uptick heading into the weekend, all three market gauges ended solidly in negative territory for the full week.

The top performance in the S&P 500 on Friday belonged to shares of Broadcom (AVGO), which surged 8.6% after the chipmaker topped quarterly sales and profit forecasts. The semiconductor firm highlighted strength in its artificial intelligence (AI) business. Broadcom’s revenue guidance for the current quarter also came in ahead of consensus estimates, with the company anticipating continued strength in AI processing units and data center connectivity solutions.

Shares of Skyworks Solutions (SWKS), a manufacturer of wireless connectivity chips for smartphones, tablets, and other devices, jumped 8.5%. The move higher came despite a class-action lawsuit alleging that the company misled investors regarding its revenue outlook. Skyworks shares plunged a month ago after the chipmaker predicted a slowdown in mobile revenue driven by decreasing business from Apple (AAPL), its largest customer.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) agreed to a $10 billion buyout deal with private equity firm Sycamore Partners, and shares of the drugstore operator popped 7.5% higher. Sycamore said it would pay $11.45 per share for the pharmacy chain, approximately 8% higher than Thursday’s closing price. The transaction to take the company private follows a difficult period for Walgreens, which announced plans in October to close around 1,200 underperforming locations.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) shares plummeted 12.0%, losing the most of any S&P 500 stock after the IT services provider issued lower-than-expected quarterly and full-year profit guidance. The maker of data center equipment indicated that pricing pressure on its traditional servers could strain near-term sales growth and announced cost-cutting plans that include reducing staff by around 5%.

Shares of Costco Wholesale (COST) dropped 6.1% after the membership warehouse club operator reported mixed financial results for its fiscal second quarter. Although revenue exceeded forecasts, boosted by higher traffic in stores and online, net income fell shy of expectations, reflecting increased merchandise costs.

Cooper Companies (COO) missed quarterly sales estimates, and shares of the consumer medical equipment maker fell 6.6%. The company reported soft revenues in its CooperVision business in the Asia-Pacific region as well as its CooperSurgical fertility business. Stifel analysts trimmed their price target on Cooper Companies stock but maintained their “buy” rating.