AI Panic Spreads, Health Insurers Crack & Retail Keeps Buying | The Weekly Wrap

This weekly wrap covers mixed consumer data, AI-driven market fears, and health insurance sector challenges. The lower-end consumer is struggling, while the upper end remains resilient, potentially influenced by upcoming refund checks. AI concerns have spread beyond software, impacting insurance brokers, retail brokers, real estate, and logistics stocks. Molina's poor results indicate widespread issues in health insurance, beyond just UnitedHealth, with significant earnings declines expected. Earnings reports from Apollo, S&P Global, T-Mobile, Robinhood, Coinbase, Cisco, and Arista are reviewed, highlighting the impact of AI and market competition. A mailbag segment discusses portfolio risk management using beta and compares investment theses for Charter Communications and PayPal, favoring Charter due to PayPal's competitive disadvantages.