Stock Focus Report – Market Analysis for February 12, 2026

Thursday delivered a proper market drubbing, with the S&P 500 shedding 108 points (-1.57%) to close at 6,832.75. Tech bore the brunt of the pain as the Nasdaq tumbled 469 points (-2.03%), while the Dow Jones dropped 664 points (-1.33%) to 49,456.77. Even crypto couldn’t catch a break, with Bitcoin sliding 2.81% to $65,564.

The selling pressure wasn’t exactly mysterious. Coinbase (COIN) suffered a service disruption affecting customer transactions—perfect timing given their earnings report drops Thursday. Meanwhile, Google parent Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) faced fresh headwinds as the EU launched yet another antitrust investigation, this time into search ad pricing manipulation. When your mega-cap tech leaders stumble, the whole market tends to follow them down the stairs.

Treasury yields inched higher across the board, with the 10-year adding 3 basis points to 4.10%, suggesting bond traders aren’t exactly fleeing to safety. The dollar strengthened to 96.92, up 0.12 points, as investors rotated out of risk assets and into greenbacks.

Tech’s rough day went beyond just regulatory troubles. Apple (AAPL) dropped $13.77 to $261.73, while AppLovin (APP) got absolutely demolished, plunging $89.90 to $366.91—a staggering 19.7% decline that suggests serious concerns about advertising technology stocks. DoorDash (DASH) fell $14.33 as investors questioned growth valuations across the gig economy.

Not everything bled red, though. Fastly (FSLY) surged $6.73 to $16.04, and Crocs (CROX) jumped $15.73 to $98.46, proving selective opportunities still exist. The real winner might be Eli Lilly (LLY), which disclosed a $1.5 billion pre-launch stockpile of its oral weight-loss drug ahead of an expected FDA decision in April. That’s some serious confidence in regulatory approval.

Elsewhere, FedEx (FDX) projected strong Q3 earnings from an “exceptional” holiday season and outlined revenue targets of $98 billion by fiscal 2029. Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz (MBGAF, MBGYY) recalled nearly 11,900 U.S. vehicles over battery fire risks—never ideal for a luxury automaker trying to compete in the EV transition. The one bright economic spot? Jobless claims fell to 227,000 from 232,000, suggesting the labor market remains resilient despite market turbulence.

Today’s sentiment felt like investors finally woke up to the regulatory risks that have been lurking in plain sight. Alphabet facing another EU antitrust probe isn’t shocking—Brussels has been taking swings at big tech for years—but it’s a reminder that regulatory overhead isn’t priced in as heavily as it should be. Add Palo Alto Networks (PANW) reportedly avoiding linking China to a massive cyberespionage campaign due to retaliation fears, and you’ve got a market questioning geopolitical stability.

The Coinbase disruption ahead of earnings crystallizes crypto’s ongoing reliability problem. When your platform goes down just as you’re about to report results, it doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in operational excellence. The broader crypto selloff, with Bitcoin down nearly 3%, suggests traders are getting nervous about both the infrastructure and regulatory environment.

What’s interesting is the divergence between market action and economic data. Jobless claims improving should theoretically support equity prices, but instead we’re seeing rotation and risk-off behavior. That disconnect suggests investors are worried about valuation compression rather than economic fundamentals—a subtle but important distinction that could define the coming weeks.

Thursday’s selloff wasn’t panic selling—it was recalibration. Markets had been pricing in perfection for tech giants, assuming regulatory scrutiny would remain background noise and operational hiccups would be quickly forgiven. Today reminded everyone that neither assumption is safe.

The Eli Lilly stockpile story deserves attention as potentially the biggest long-term winner from today’s news. Betting $1.5 billion on pre-launch inventory suggests either supreme confidence in FDA approval or a spectacular miscalculation. Given weight-loss drugs are printing money for pharmaceutical companies, the former seems more likely. April’s FDA decision just became a major calendar event.

Looking ahead, Coinbase’s Thursday earnings will be fascinating given today’s platform issues. Can they blame the disruption on overwhelming demand, or will it expose infrastructure weaknesses? Beyond that, watch whether tech’s regulatory troubles deepen or fade as just another cost of doing business. The FedEx optimism suggests consumer spending remains healthy, but with the Nasdaq down 2% and mega-cap tech struggling, investors clearly aren’t convinced the good times can continue at current valuations. Sometimes the market’s job is to remind us that even great companies can be overpriced.