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GitLab falls on workforce reduction plan tied to “agentic era”

It can be pretty jarring, and it certainly makes for an uncomfortable internal vibe, when stocks soar after a company announces a swath of job cuts. Fewer employees mean lower costs, and likely stronger earnings for shareholders.

But in the age of AI, the markets reaction to a round of layoffs has become less predictable. If investors already rate your company an AI winner, or even if its seen to have the potential to benefit from AI, the market tends to reward AI-linked job cuts in a “wow, youre so efficient and innovative” kind of way (see: Block, Coinbase, and Snap). But if theres even a whiff of AI threatening your business, AI-related job cuts are seemingly interpreted as an admission of weakness — which is exactly the case for GitLab this morning.

Shares in the company are down nearly 9% in premarket trading Tuesday after the software development platform announced a restructuring plan amid what CEO Bill Staples called the “agentic era.”

In a memo to employees and investors, Staples said the company is planning a “workforce reduction” as part of a restructuring it expects to finalize on or before June 1. The plan includes reducing its country footprint by up to 30%, removing up to three layers of management in some functions, reorganizing R&D into roughly 60 smaller teams, and using AI agents to automate internal reviews, approvals, and handoffs. The company did not specify how many jobs would be affected.

Staples said the process will happen “openly,” including a voluntary separation window.

GitLab sells a software development platform that helps companies manage code from planning and review to testing, security, and release — a workflow AI agents are beginning to automate.

The company reaffirmed its Q1 and full-year fiscal 2027 guidance, adding that the final scope and financial impact of the restructuring will be shared on its June 2 earnings call, after approval by the board.

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

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Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

  • Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

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