Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index sputtered, then sunk 1.25% to $5,101.21. The broad market lost momentum, partly due to profit-taking ahead of important economic data coming out Friday. Wall Street’s major indexes retreated from record highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.55%) shed nearly 250 points.
Many stocks started strong but only 34% of NYSE stocks and 29% of Nasdaq components finished with gains. Ride-hailing firms Lyft (Nasdaq: LYFT) and Uber (NYSE: UBER) declined 10.09 and 9.6%, respectively. Waymo of Google parent Alphabet (Nasdaq: GOOGL) announced plans to expand its robotaxi services in Miami next year and launch a taxi fleet in 2026.
Defense Contractors Stocks Fall
On the GovCon Index, decliners outnumbered gainers; most are high-priced defense contractors stocks. AeroVironment (Nasdaq: AVAV) tumbled 15.88% to lead 22 decliners, while Palantir Technologies (Nasdaq: PLTR) topped seven gainers with +2.89%. Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) was flat.
Defense technology company AeroVironment presented its Q2 fiscal 2025 results Thursday. In the three months ending Oct. 26, 2024, total revenue increased 4.2% year-over-year to $188.45 million, while net income dropped 57.7% to $7.54 million compared to Q2 fiscal 2024. Market analysts say lower drone sales to Ukraine impacted earnings.
AI stock Palantir Technologies bucked the downtrend due to a new business development. Another defense tech company, Shield AI, plans to expand its work with the software and data analytics firm. The partners will develop large-scale command and control of autonomous uncrewed systems to address the most critical defense challenges.
Science Applications International Corporation (NYSE: SAIC) declined 2.53% despite reporting 4% and 14% year-over-year revenue and profit increases in Q3 fiscal 2025. Toni Townes-Whitley, SAIC’s CEO said, “We are accelerating the velocity and volume of our business development and now expect to exceed $25B in submissions this year compared to our prior target of $22B.”
Hiring Rebound
The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the November jobs report on Friday. Market analysts expect a sharp increase in post-hurricane and end of a labor strike. According to consensus estimates from Bloomberg, nonfarm payrolls will rebound and the unemployment rate will stay at 4.1%.
Market Summary
| Index | Price | Net Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| GovCon Index Daily Average | 5,101.21 | -63.86 | -1.25% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 44,765.71 | -248.33 | -0.55% |
| NASDAQ | 19,700.26 | -34.86 | -0.18% |
Top 5 GovCon Index Daily Percentage Performers
| Symbol | Price | Net Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| PLTR | 71.87 | 2.02 | 2.89% |
| VVX | 60.25 | 0.35 | 0.58% |
| CACI | 456.15 | 2.15 | 0.47% |
| TTEK | 42.94 | 0.14 | 0.33% |
| GIB | 113.39 | 0.36 | 0.32% |
Top 5 GovCon Index Daily Net Performers
| Symbol | Price | Net Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| CACI | 456.15 | 2.15 | 0.47% |
| PLTR | 71.87 | 2.02 | 2.89% |
| CW | 380.19 | 1.01 | 0.27% |
| GIB | 113.39 | 0.36 | 0.32% |
| VVX | 60.25 | 0.35 | 0.58% |
Top 5 GovCon Index Daily Percentage Decliners
| Symbol | Price | Net Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| AVAV | 165.62 | -31.27 | -15.88% |
| MRCY | 38.37 | -1.32 | -3.33% |
| SAIC | 120.78 | -3.13 | -2.53% |
| KTOS | 27.3 | -0.65 | -2.33% |
| TXT | 83.11 | -1.96 | -2.30% |
