Breakfast News: First SaaS, Now Finance Hit By AI

Breakfast News: First SaaS, Now Finance Hit By AI

February 11, 2026

Source: Image created by Jester AI.

1. Financial Companies Shaken by AI Tax Tool

Financial services stocks took a dive yesterday in the face of competition from AI-based wealth management, after Altruist announced a new tax planning tool within its Hazel AI platform. It can create tax strategies for clients by analysing 1040s, pay and account statements, and other key data – “within minutes,” says the company.

• “Hazel’s tax planning … expands what a single advisor can handle”: As Altruist CEO Jason Wenk spoke of the benefits yesterday, shares in LPL Financial (LPLA 1.28%) ended the day down 8.3% – after dipping more than 10% at one point. Charles Schwab (SCHW 1.49%) wasn’t far behind with a 7.4% fall.
• “Tax planning is one of the most powerful ways advisors can improve outcomes”: Wenk added it’s slow work, but Hazel’s tax planning turns that round, with the result echoing the fear of traditional software stocks losing ground to AI competition.

2. After-Hours Earnings From Stock Advisor Recs

• Cloudflare (NET +2.26%) – beating the S&P 500 by 149% since 2022’s SA recommendation by Team Hidden Gems – posted a 34% fourth-quarter revenue rise year over year (YoY) after the closing bell. Annual contract value grew nearly 50%, and the company forecasts close to $2.8 billion revenue in 2026. The stock popped 14% in overnight trading.
• Upstart (UPST +0.56%) stock barely moved despite a Q4 revenue rise of 35% YoY, though earnings missed expectations. Executive chairman Dave Girouard highlighted growth in “revenues by 64%, while growing headcount just 18%, a ratio any business would die for.” Upstart is another Team Hidden Gems rec.
• Gilead (GILD 2.90%) – recommended by Team Rule Breakers – dipped 2% this morning after reporting a 5% Q4 revenue rise, though it was already up 24% in the past month. In the earnings call, CEO Daniel O’Day said “on the heels of libdalzi in 2024, and YES2GO in 2025, we are targeting four commercial launches this year,” including a new breast cancer treatment.

3. MAT, MRNA, and HIMS Suffer Big Falls

**Mattel **(MAT +1.33%) is one of the morning’s big fallers, plunging 30% overnight. It follows top- and bottom-line misses in Q3, reported yesterday afternoon, as CEO Ynon Kreiz told CNBC “We don’t see that happening,” when asked about toy manufacturing returning to the U.S.

• No “adequate and well-controlled” trial: The Food and Drug Administration spurned Moderna’s (MRNA 6.07%) application for a seasonal mRNA flu vaccine, saying it didn’t consider the “best-available standard of care in the United States at the time of the study.” The stock fell 9% in pre-market trading.
• “HIMS remains a multi-specialty platform”: Fool analyst Sanmeet Deo added “This is a major valuation reset, but core growth remains intact,” as Hims & Hers (HIMS 3.65%) fell a further 11% yesterday after pulling its Wegovy competitor due to legal threats from Novo Nordisk (NVO +0.03%).

4. Today’s Q4 Results From Popular Fool Stocks

• Shopify (SHOP +2.00%) popped over 10% before the opening bell after beating expectations in a quarter showing strong demand. “2025 was Shopify at full throttle,” said President Harley Finkelstein, as full-year revenue hit $11.6 billion – up 30% from the previous year. There’s a new share repurchase program of up to $2 billion.
• Unity Software (U 0.10%), a Hidden Gems rec, reported a 10% YoY rise in revenue, as the quarter “comfortably exceeded the high-end of our guidance,” in the words of CEO Matt Bromberg. But though a reported net quarterly loss of $89 million was better than the $123 million loss a year prior, the stock dropped around 20% in early trading.
• Viking Therapeutics (VKTX 4.17%) will bring us its year-end figures after market close, following wider Q3 losses from the Rule Breakers rec as the clinical-stage drugs developer ramped up spend on clinical trials in the quarter.

5. Your Take

Hims & Hers is now down 65% over the past six months. The company has a Leadership score of 77/100 on our Hidden Gems Primary Database.

Name another public company going through a sticky period whose leadership you trust to turn fortunes around, and explain why.

Debate with friends and family, or become a member to hear what your fellow Fools are saying!