Author: Doug Kass

Evidence of a consumer-led slowdown appearing today in the share prices of Lowes ($LOWE) (-$9), Home Depot ($HD) (-$5), Walmart ($WMT) (-$2) and Costco ($COST) (-$11).

Positions: None.

I have to travel this afternoon for a business dinner.

I will be leaving at around 2 p.m. and I won’t be around for the Nvidia ($NVDA) fireworks.

Positions: None.

Upside:

-IMVT +23% (earnings, color)

-POET +15% (Marex Securities Products builds 6% stake in POET)

-TATT +14% (earnings, color)

-EGHT +12% (earnings, guidance)

-RRGB +10% (earnings, guidance)

-IBRX +8.3% (US FDA Accepts sBLA for ANKTIVA Plus BCG in BCG-Unresponsive Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer with Papillary Disease)

-CAVA +7.7% (earnings, guidance)

-AMC +5.1% (CEO Adam Aron bought 250K shares at $1.377/shr)

-MRVL +4.9% (multiple broker price target raises)

-STM +4.5% (Euro semi name strength)

-LPG +3.9% (earnings, color)

-MU +3.9% (momentum amid potential memory chip shortage)

-TJX +3.8% (earnings, guidance)

-VFC +3.4% (earnings, guidance)

-PSNL +3.3% (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Molecular Diagnostic Services Program (MolDX) has expanded coverage for the company’s NeXT Personal minimal residual disease (MRD) test)

-TOL +3.3% (earnings, guidance)

-ASML +2.9% (Euro semi name strength)

-SNDK +2.4% (memory stock strength with rising memory price concerns)

-DMAC +2.3% (announces 75% Enrollment Milestone in ReMEDy2 Phase 2/3 Acute Ischemic Stroke Trial)

Downside:

-VIAV -8.7% (prices 11.1M shares at $45.00/shr)

-NWL -2.6% (Morgan Stanley Cuts NWL to Underweight from Equal Weight, price target: $3.50)

-HAS -2.2% (earnings, guidance)

-LOW -2.1% (earnings, guidance)

Positions: None.

Positions: None.

PIMCO: Hyperscaler spreads over Treasuries have widened, and they’ve widened compared to other investment grade companies as well. While they were about 15% cheaper in early 2025, they’re now 25% more expensive, showing the market is pricing in more risk.

Here’s a look at… pic.twitter.com/upGjshNKGP

— Sonali Basak (@sonalibasak) May 20, 2026

Position: None.

Virginia Governor Vetoes Marijuana Sales Legalization Bill After Lawmakers Rejected Her Amendments – Marijuana Moment

Position: None

Position: None

What many market participants are missing is that the non-AI economy is faring poorly as growth decelerates.

Should the rate of growth in AI capital spending moderate… Katie Bar the Doors.

Slugflation (sluggish growth and persistently high inflation) is here and is not market friendly.

Position: None  

Bonds do not give a flying fuck about political narratives, gamma squeezes, meme stocks, retail or any other ticky tacky loopholes that push stocks higher. It cares about math. And the math is getting ugly very quickly.

📌 my latest, no paywall: https://t.co/ebCdam3gpo pic.twitter.com/eaaJAa65Am

— Quoth the Raven (@QTRResearch) May 19, 2026

Position: None

“The AI Boom will become a story of one of the largest destructions of shareholder value in history.”

– Financial Times 

The consensus of analysts is that AI capital investments will rise by 20% a year for five years while revenues are expected to grow 15% resulting in negative returns. "The AI boom will become a story of one of the largest destructions of shareholder value in history." pic.twitter.com/ofXDQDiR33

— jeffrey lee funk (@jeffreyleefunk) May 20, 2026

Position: None