A wave of better-than-expected corporate earnings powered the U.S. stock market to fresh highs Thursday, propelling the Dow Jones Industrial Average back above the 50,000 mark for the first time since military conflict with Iran erupted in the Middle East. The resurgence, fueled by voracious demand for artificial intelligence technologies, sent the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to their own records and offered investors a potent counterpoint to lingering economic headwinds.
Cisco Systems delivered the session’s most dramatic spark. The networking giant’s stock leaped 13.4% — its best single-day performance in nearly 15 years — after it reported quarterly profit and revenue that exceeded Wall Street forecasts and issued a current-quarter outlook well above consensus. “We saw very strong, broad-based demand for our products,” CEO Chuck Robbins said, reflecting the torrent of spending by big technology firms ramping up their AI infrastructure.
The AI frenzy also supercharged the public debut of Cerebras Systems. The AI processor company raised $5.55 billion in its initial public offering, and its shares rocketed 68.1% in their first day of trading on the Nasdaq, highlighting the intensity of investor appetite for companies at the frontier of artificial intelligence.
“Corporate earnings reported so far this season have reinforced that this is still an AI-led market, but one where the impact is broadening quickly,” said Gargi Pal Chaudhuri, chief investment and portfolio strategist at BlackRock. “What started with a handful of companies is now driving earnings growth across semiconductors, infrastructure, and even parts of the industrial economy.”
Outside the tech orbit, a trio of consumer-oriented stocks also rallied after delivering better-than-expected profits. StubHub Holdings gained 13.7%, Viking Holdings added 5.5%, and Yeti Holdings rose 6.2%. The gains, from businesses selling concert tickets, river cruises, and insulated drinkware, suggested that many U.S. households are still willing to spend on non-essentials despite surveys showing broad pessimism about the economy.
Broader spending data painted a mixed picture. A Commerce Department report released Thursday showed that overall retail sales fell short of economist projections last month, weighed down partly by high gasoline prices. But when fuel and automobile sales are stripped out, the shortfall was less severe. Separately, the Labor Department reported an uptick in new claims for unemployment benefits, though the level remains low by historical standards.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note edged up to 4.47% from 4.46% late Wednesday, largely steady after the economic reports.
The market rally unfolded against a tense geopolitical backdrop. Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, settled at $105.72 a barrel — far above the roughly $70 per barrel that prevailed before the Iran war closed the Strait of Hormuz, keeping tankers bottled up in the Persian Gulf. In Beijing, President Donald Trump met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, fueling speculation that Washington may press Beijing to use its economic leverage with Iran to reopen the vital shipping lane. Stocks in Shanghai fell 1.5% on the day, while Hong Kong was flat. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 1%, but South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.8% to a record, buoyed by AI-linked shares. European indexes broadly advanced.
The S&P 500 rose 56.99 points, or 0.8%, to close at 7,501.24. The Dow added 370.26 points, or 0.7%, to finish at 50,063.46. The Nasdaq composite climbed 232.88 points, or 0.9%, to 26,635.22.