Feb. 12, 2026 at 12:03pm ET
Stock Market Today: Dow Falls 500 Points, With Earnings, AI in Focus
Cisco and AppLovin shares drop sharply; Nasdaq retreats more than 1.5%
Stocks turned lower Thursday as AI concerns came to the surface once again.
The Nasdaq composite led major benchmarks lower with a loss oof more than 1.5%. The Dow industrials retreated below 50000, down about 1.1%, more than 500 points. The S&P 500 dropped abot 1.2%, after ending Wednesday with its smallest change since October.
Markets have been jittery in recent weeks as anxieties over the potential disruption from artificial intelligence spread, knocking shares of software companies, publishers, financial-services firms and others.
Shares in AppLovin slid, even after the advertising software company sought to downplay AI worries as it released earnings. Networking company Cisco Systems also dropped sharply after rising costs overshadowed a rise in demand from hyperscalers.
Applied Materials, which makes equipment for chip production, is expected to report earnings after the closing bell. Results from Airbnb and Coinbase are also due.
International stocks mostly rose, with European and South Korean gauges hitting new records. Treasury yields fell.
Following January's stronger-than-expected jobs report, focus turns to tomorrow's inflation reading, which is expected to show consumer-price growth slowed to an annual pace of 2.5%.
—By Chelsey Dulaney
Crocs shares surged more than 20% Thursday after the footwear company said it had a better-than-expected holiday season as new products boosted demand. Chief Executive Andrew Rees said the results were driven by positive responses to Crocs’ new products, including a new fur-lined clog.
8.4%
That's the percentage decline in home sales for January, the biggest monthly drop since February 2022, according to the National Association of Realtors. The number was affected by snowstorms and high home prices that slowed previous sales momentum.
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↘️ Cisco (CSCO): The networking-equipment company logged higher revenue due to increasing AI hyperscaler demand. Shares fell 9%, however, after a strong run for the stock so far in 2026.
🔎 McDonald's (MCD): The world’s largest burger chain reported stronger-than-expected growth in same-store sales and said its value campaign is paying off. The stock wavered Thursday in early trading.
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↘️ Magnum Ice Cream (NL:MICC): The Ben & Jerry's owner that was spun out of Unilever reported lower 2025 profit. The ice-cream company's shares melted in Amsterdam, where they began trading in December.
↘️ Unilever (UK:ULVR, UL): The maker of Dove soap and Knorr stock cubes said it expects underlying annual sales growth to come in at the lower end of its range due to slower market conditions. Shares inched lower in the Netherlands and the U.K.
Tariffs are dampening America's thirst for Scotch whisky, according to the drink's trade body.
Exports of the famed beverage to the U.S. fell more than 9% by volume last year, the Scotch Whisky Association said Thursday. Exports by value fell 4%, the data showed.
Americans’ taste for low and no-alcohol beers is boosting sales for Bud brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev.
Two of the company’s top beers—Michelob Ultra and Busch Light—are lower alcohol brews, and a source of growth in a struggling industry. AB-InBev’s no-alcohol beer portfolio saw a 34% revenue increase over 2025, while its mainstream beer revenue growth was flat.
In the latest edition of my Markets A.M. newsletter, I look at why professional investors are drawn to century bonds, like those sold by Alphabet this week—and why individual investors might be wise to steer clear. You can sign up for the newsletter here, or read the full article below:
Stocks across Europe and Asia raced to new records on Thursday, as global equities outshine U.S. peers.
A number of European indexes hit intraday highs including France's CAC 40, the Swiss Market Index, the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 and the blue-chip Euro Stoxx 50.
German industrial group Siemens was one of the biggest gainers in Europe. Shares climbed more than 7% after it reported strong growth in its data-center infrastructure and automation businesses.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged higher to notch a new intraday high.
South Korea's Kospi, one of the best-performing indexes over the past year, jumped another 3% to close at a new record. Shares of Samsung rallied after it became the first company to start shipping a new type of advanced memory chip.
Japan's Nikkei 225 was close to flat but the broader Topix notched a new record. Notable gainers included cosmetics heavyweight Shiseido.
437,000 jobs
That's the number of jobs the healthcare sector added in the 12 months through January.
The allied social-assistance sector—which includes jobs such as home health aides—created about 321,000.
These roles buoyed the job market over the past 12 months on their own; all other private-sector jobs combined shrank.
Plus, there were big losses in government jobs following Trump’s federal-workforce cuts.