Dell, Ulta Shares Drop; Autodesk Stock Soars

Major U.S. equities indexes retreated from recent highs as investors digested fresh economic data ahead of the three-day Labor Day weekend.

Friday’s move lower came after the latest Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report—a gauge of inflation closely monitored by the Federal Reserve—showed a month-over-month uptick in “core” PCE inflation in July.

The S&P 500 and the Dow declined 0.2% and 0.6%, after closing Thursday at record levels. Underperformance from the technology sector weighed on the Nasdaq, which fell 1.2%. Read Investopedia’s full daily markets coverage here.

Shares of Dell Technologies (DELL) tumbled 8.9%, suffering the heaviest daily loss of any stock in the S&P 500. Although strong demand related to artificial intelligence helped the maker of personal computers, servers, and other IT hardware topped second-quarter sales and profit estimates, Dell’s guidance for third-quarter earnings per share came in below consensus estimates.

Ulta Beauty (ULTA) shares dropped 7.1%. The decline reversed solid gains posted by the stock in the prior session. The cosmetics retailer late yesterday posted stronger-than-expected sales and profits for the second quarter and boosted its full-year revenue guidance. Ulta faces continued uncertainty related to potential tariff impacts.

Although many stocks with exposure to AI initially gained ground in the wake of the latest earnings report from AI semiconductor giant Nvidia (NVDA), the rally lost steam on Friday. Shares of Oracle (ORCL), the enterprise software firm that has recently announced major investments in AI and cloud infrastructure, slipped 5.9%, while shares of AI-focused server manufacturer Super Micro Computer (SMCI) ended 5.5% lower.

Autodesk (ADSK) shares bucked the downward pressure on the broader tech sector and software industries, jumping 9.1% to log the S&P 500’s top performance. The engineering and design software provider topped second-quarter sales and adjusted profit estimates and lifted its full-year forecasts. Demand for its design software for AI data centers helped underpin the performance.

Shares of Cooper Cos. (COO), a medical device maker focused vision care and surgical products, advanced 4.4%. With the move higher heading into the holiday weekend, Cooper stock clawed back a portion of the heavy losses posted Thursday after the company missed quarterly revenue estimates and lowered its full-year sales forecast.

J.M. Smucker (SJM) stock also staged a recovery on Friday from a post-earnings swoon suffered earlier in the week, adding 3.6%. The maker of its namesake fruit spreads as well as the Hostess snack cake brand reported a loss for its fiscal first quarter and noted that tariffs were having a negative impact on its coffee business. On its earnings call, the company said it anticipates additional price hikes as it navigates tariff-related cost pressure.