S&P 500’s Wild Ride: Paramount & Netflix Tumble, Microchip Technology Soars on Stellar Outlook

The market's mood swings are on full display today.

Streaming Stumbles

Paramount and Netflix are taking a hit. Investors are hitting pause, questioning the sustainability of subscriber growth and content costs in an overcrowded field. It's a classic case of high expectations meeting harsh reality—a familiar tune in tech.

The Chip Champ

Meanwhile, Microchip Technology is surging. The driver? A strong guidance that cut through the market noise and signaled robust demand. The company didn't just meet expectations; it bypassed them, proving that in a shaky market, concrete forecasts still hold power.

It's a split-screen reality: one sector facing a reckoning, another riding a wave of confidence. Just another day where the market's 'efficient' pricing looks more like a high-stakes guessing game—fueled by equal parts data and delusion.

Key Takeaways

• A chipmaker got a boost from strong guidance on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025, while the ongoing saga around the takeover of a rival weighed on a pair of entertainment giants.
• Microchip Technology raised its quarterly sales and profit forecasts, and shares of the semiconductor company soared.
  
• Shares of Paramount Skydance and Netflix dropped as Warner Bros. Discovery reportedly neared a decision on their respective buyout offers.

A semiconductor Maker increased its quarterly forecast, with strong bookings suggesting a recovery in several key end markets, and its shares led the S&P 500 higher. Meanwhile, two major media players came under pressure as a rival evaluated their competing buyout offers.

Major U.S. equities indexes gained ground in the midweek trading session as soft private-sector payroll data increased expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut this month. The Dow jumped X.X%, the S&P 500 added X.X%, and the Nasdaq gained X.X%. For more coverage from Investopedia on the day's market moves, see here.

Shares of Microchip Technology (MCHP) surged 12.2%, posting the S&P 500's strongest daily performance. The maker of microcontrollers and other semiconductors raised its quarterly forecast for net sales and adjusted earnings per share, highlighting strong bookings activity and an improving backlog. Shares of fellow chipmakers ON Semiconductor (ON) and NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) ROSE 11% and 5.7%, respectively.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) shares added 6.9% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to "overweight" from "equal weight" and lifted its price target. Analysts pointed to growing Optimism around Vertex's pipeline of kidney treatments, with data from Phase 3 clinical trials of two experimental drugs, Pove and Inaxaplin, anticipated next year.

Shares of Delta Airlines (DAL) rose 3.6% after it warned that the government shutdown, which disrupted air traffic across the country, likely cost the carrier about $200 million in pre-tax profit in the current quarter. However, the company also said that demand in the current quarter is strong and is expected to remain so into next year. Shares of competitor United Airlines (UAL) rose 3.9% on Wednesday.

Shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE), a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on life sciences properties, plunged 10.1% to suffer the steepest loss of any S&P 500 stock Wednesday. The MOVE lower came after the firm's guidance for 2026 funds from operations, a key profitability metric for REITs, fell short of consensus expectations. The REIT also announced a 45% cut to its quarterly dividend.

Sandisk (SNDK) shares fell 5.3%. Following massive year-to-date gains for the stock, bolstered by optimism for the memory card and data storage provider's AI opportunity, Sandisk joined the S&P 500 on Nov. 28. However, the stock has been trending lower since its debut.

Shares of Paramount Skydance (PSKY) and Netflix (NFLX) fell 7.3% and 4.9%, respectively, as investors weighed their competing offers to buy Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). Netflix reportedly made a mostly cash offer for the company's film and streaming assets. Paramount is reportedly exploring a contingency plan to bypass the board and take an offer directly to WBD shareholders. WBD shares edged 0.2% higher.