Updated: Friday, December 12, 2025 — 6:00 a.m. ET
Focus: U.S. premarket “top losers,” what’s driving the declines, and the key forecasts/analyst takes shaping sentiment this morning.
U.S. stocks are heading into Friday’s session with tech and AI-adjacent names under pressure in premarket trading, as investors continue to debate whether the AI infrastructure buildout is producing returns fast enough to justify the spending. Broadcom (AVGO) is the standout large-cap decliner early Friday after an earnings update that came with fresh margin questions, while Oracle (ORCL) remains a central storyline after a steep selloff tied to higher capital-spending plans and concerns about the payback period for AI data center investments. [1]
Below is a snapshot of notable U.S. premarket losers around 6:00 a.m. ET, followed by the why behind the moves and what investors are watching next.
Notable large-cap premarket losers around 6:00 a.m. ET
Premarket quotes can change quickly (and volume is often thinner than regular-session trading), but several widely followed Nasdaq and S&P 500 names were lower in early trading.
From Investing.com’s premarket “Top Losers” list shortly before 6:00 a.m. ET, notable decliners included: [2]
- Broadcom (AVGO): -5.39% (around $384.45)
- Monolithic Power Systems (MPWR): -2.19% (around $960.01)
- Micron (MU): -1.81% (around $253.77)
- Western Digital (WDC): -1.44% (around $184.50)
- Seagate (STX): -1.39% (around $303.58)
- AMD (AMD): -1.23% (around $218.71)
- Super Micro Computer (SMCI): -1.23% (around $33.60)
- Oracle (ORCL): -1.01% (around $196.85)
- Applied Materials (AMAT): -1.05% (around $267.27)
- Dell (DELL): -0.78% (around $137.52) [3]
Theme so far: semiconductors, AI infrastructure, and data-center supply chain names are clustered on the downside—suggesting a “read-through” trade rather than a wave of unrelated single-stock headlines.
Biggest percentage premarket losers (smaller caps and special situations)
If you broaden the lens beyond mega-caps, the largest percentage drops early Friday are skewed toward smaller, thinly traded stocks—often driven by deal news, financing questions, or low-liquidity volatility.
StockAnalysis.com’s premarket losers list (updated Dec. 12, 2025) showed: [4]
- Applied Therapeutics (APLT): -34.02% (around $0.14)
- ClearOne (CLRO): -18.89% (around $5.10)
- Black Titan (BTTC): -13.83% (around $3.55)
- Brenmiller Energy (BNRG): -13.16% (around $0.83)
- NetClass Technology (NTCL): -12.44% (around $0.71) [5]
In these names, price swings can be exaggerated by limited premarket liquidity, so investors often wait for regular-hours volume to confirm whether a move is “real” or just an early imbalance.
Why Broadcom is down: upbeat revenue outlook, but margins take center stage
Broadcom’s premarket decline is the clearest “headline-driven” move among large caps this morning.
The forecast that helped… and the warning that hurt
Broadcom projected first-quarter revenue of about $19.1 billion, ahead of Wall Street expectations (about $18.27 billion), according to Reuters—typically the kind of outlook that supports a stock. [6]
But investors are zeroing in on profitability: Broadcom also warned that gross margins are expected to dip by roughly 100 basis points sequentially, driven in part by a higher mix of AI-related revenue, which can be more cost-intensive. [7]
AI demand is strong—so why the selloff?
Broadcom’s commentary reinforces a shift underway across AI-linked earnings: markets are increasingly asking not just “How fast is AI revenue growing?” but also “At what margin, and how sustainable is the spending cycle?” Reuters highlighted Broadcom’s growing AI footprint and the investment intensity behind it, even as management pointed to a sizable order backlog for delivery over the next 18 months. [8]
The Wall Street Journal similarly emphasized that despite record revenue and strong AI-driven demand, investors reacted to concerns about future sales trajectory, non-AI trends, and lower margins tied to fast-growing AI chip business lines. [9]
Bottom line for AVGO premarket: the market is treating Broadcom’s update less like a “beat-and-raise” moment and more like a test case for whether AI infrastructure revenue growth comes with margin dilution.
Why Oracle is still in focus: AI spending worries, downgrades, and debt concerns
Even though Oracle is only modestly lower in early premarket quotes, the stock remains a major driver of the morning narrative because of what its latest results implied about AI infrastructure spending—and how investors are valuing that spending. [10]
The catalyst: revenue miss + bigger capex plans
Reuters reported that Oracle’s shares fell sharply Thursday after forecasts missed expectations and the company raised its capital spending outlook—fueling skepticism around how quickly large AI bets will pay off. [11]
Business Insider highlighted that Oracle’s revenue came in below expectations (reported $16.06B vs. $16.21B expected), and that the company signaled it would increase capital expenditures by $15B next year—rekindling fears that Big Tech may be spending too aggressively on AI and cloud infrastructure. [12]
The “AI bubble” framing is back
Reuters also noted that Oracle’s move helped re-ignite broader “AI bubble” talk—pulling down other AI and chip names and drawing attention to the financing burden that can come with hyperscale buildouts. [13]
A Reuters Breakingviews column underscored the “cash burn” angle—contrasting heavy capex with operational cash flow—and argued the market’s AI enthusiasm is showing signs of cooling as investors confront the cost of scaling infrastructure. [14]
What traders are watching next in ORCL: whether today brings additional analyst downgrades, clarifications around capex pacing, and whether Oracle’s AI-driven bookings translate into margin expansion—or just bigger spending.
Why AMD, Micron, Applied Materials, SMCI, Dell, Seagate, and Western Digital are lower
A key feature of Friday’s premarket is that multiple semiconductor and AI-hardware-adjacent names are red at the same time, even without separate overnight headlines for each stock.
That clustering is consistent with a sector read-through from two bellwethers:
- Oracle’s capex-driven selloff (which revived questions about AI ROI and financing) [15]
- Broadcom’s margin message (strong AI demand, but potentially lower profitability mix) [16]
When those stories hit simultaneously, the market often reprices the whole “AI stack”—from chips and wafer tools to server makers and storage—by asking:
- Will AI capex stay strong?
- If it does, who captures the margin?
- If it slows, which parts of the supply chain get hit first?
That’s the backdrop for early declines in AMD, MU, AMAT, SMCI, DELL, STX, and WDC. [17]
Applied Therapeutics plunges: deal terms reset expectations
Among the steepest premarket decliners, Applied Therapeutics (APLT) stands out because there is clear company-specific news: a proposed acquisition.
A Nasdaq-hosted press release stated that Cycle Pharmaceuticals plans to commence a tender offer to acquire Applied Therapeutics for $0.088 per share in cash, plus a non-transferable contingent value right (CVR) tied to potential additional payments based on future sales milestones, with the transaction expected to close in the first quarter of 2026(subject to conditions). [18]
The release also noted the company’s near-term funding sensitivity—stating that absent funding under the related promissory note (or another source), Applied would be unable to continue funding activities for more than a limited number of days, which can amplify investor uncertainty and volatility. [19]
Why that matters for the stock: when a micro-cap agrees to a cash deal at a low headline price (even with CVR structure), the market frequently reprices shares toward the implied deal value—while discounting for closing risk and time to completion.
Oxford Industries and Netskope: post-earnings volatility outside the AI complex
Not all notable losers are in semis.
Oxford Industries (OXM) slides after guidance cut
Oxford Industries (Tommy Bahama, Lilly Pulitzer) fell sharply after results and a significant guidance reduction. Barron’s reported a major cut to its fiscal-year adjusted earnings forecast (down to $2.20–$2.40 per share from $2.80–$3.20) and highlighted an impairment charge tied to the Johnny Was brand, as well as management commentary pointing to a challenging retail environment. [20]
Netskope (NTSK) dips despite a beat
Cybersecurity firm Netskope posted results that beat expectations on loss and revenue and guided slightly above views, yet the stock still slipped in after-hours/pre-market reaction—an example of how newly public stocks can trade on positioning and expectations rather than just “beat vs. miss.” Investors.com reported revenue of $184.2M (+33% YoY)and a smaller-than-expected loss, alongside quarterly guidance near $189M. [21]
Broader market setup: mixed index tone, tech remains the swing factor
Even with pockets of weakness, the broader market backdrop is not uniformly “risk-off.” TipRanks’ premarket dashboard showed U.S. Tech 100 futures down while U.S. 30 futures were roughly flat, reflecting an ongoing rotation dynamic where tech softness can coexist with resilience in other areas of the market. [22]
Overnight macro coverage also pointed to Oracle’s tech shockwave as a key factor shaping sentiment beyond the U.S. open, even as other regions traded more cautiously higher. [23]
What to watch after the opening bell
Here are the catalysts most likely to move “today’s losers” from premarket into the cash session:
- Analyst actions and revised models on Broadcom’s margin outlook and AI revenue mix [24]
- Follow-through in Oracle-related downgrades and credit/debt chatter, and whether the stock stabilizes after Thursday’s drawdown [25]
- Semiconductor group breadth: do the declines stay concentrated in AI/infra names, or broaden across the chip complex? [26]
- Deal-arb behavior in APLT as markets digest timing, conditions, and CVR structure [27]
A quick reminder on premarket “top losers” lists
Premarket leaderboards are useful for spotting what’s in motion—but they come with caveats:
- Liquidity is thinner before the open; some moves reverse quickly.
- Percentage movers skew small-cap, where a small dollar move can produce a large percent swing.
- Many stocks on “top losers” lists have limited verified news at 6:00 a.m. ET, so waiting for regular-hours volume and filings can be prudent for interpretation. [28]
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
References
1. www.investing.com, 2. www.investing.com, 3. www.investing.com, 4. stockanalysis.com, 5. stockanalysis.com, 6. www.reuters.com, 7. www.reuters.com, 8. www.reuters.com, 9. www.wsj.com, 10. www.investing.com, 11. www.reuters.com, 12. www.businessinsider.com, 13. www.reuters.com, 14. www.reuters.com, 15. www.reuters.com, 16. www.reuters.com, 17. www.investing.com, 18. www.nasdaq.com, 19. www.nasdaq.com, 20. www.barrons.com, 21. www.investors.com, 22. www.tipranks.com, 23. www.reuters.com, 24. www.reuters.com, 25. www.reuters.com, 26. www.investing.com, 27. www.nasdaq.com, 28. stockanalysis.com
