By Francesca Fontana

The Score is a weekly review of the biggest stock moves and the news that drove them.

UnitedHealth

UnitedHealth shares took a nosedive Thursday after slashing its annual outlook.

The healthcare conglomerate posted quarterly earnings that fell short of Wall Street's expectations and substantially downgraded its projected results for 2025.

UnitedHealth -- parent of the largest U.S. health insurer -- cited higher-than-expected medical costs in its Medicare business, an issue that has affected the entire industry over the past year but had previously not been as significant at UnitedHealth.

The disappointing results are a rare stumble by a company known for delivering a steady stream of increased earnings and better-than-projected financial performance.

The insurance bellwether's unexpected financial woes prompted steep declines in share prices across the insurance industry. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 1.3% Thursday; UnitedHealth's share price has an outsize effect on the price-weighted Dow index.

UnitedHealth shares plummeted 22% Thursday.

Apple

Apple and other personal-tech makers got some relief from the tariff drama.

Late on April 11, the Trump administration reprieved PCs, memory chips, smartphones and other electronics from the president's latest tariffs on electronics imported from China.

According to the guidance published by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 20 categories of products are exempt from the tariffs Trump imposed in his April 2 executive order. For Apple, the levies would have substantially increased its costs because its supply chain is heavily reliant on China.

Apple shares rose 4.1% Monday. Dell Technologies shares gained 4%, and HP shares added 2.6%

Eli Lilly

Drugmakers are vying for the lead in the weight-loss pill race.

Pharmaceutical companies -- including Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, which currently dominate the obesity market -- have been testing pills that could help people lose weight.

On Thursday, Eli Lilly's daily pill called orforglipron met its goals in a trial, helping people with diabetes lower their blood sugar. The results are the first from several studies of the pill expected this year.

The market for weight-loss drugs has been on fire, and analysts say it could reach $100 billion by the end of the decade.

Earlier in the week, Pfizer said that it is halting development of its experimental weight-loss pill, danuglipro. The company said it reviewed clinical data and a study subject developed a liver injury that might have been caused by the drug.

Eli Lilly shares surged 14% Thursday.

Netflix

Netflix is aiming to join the $1 trillion club.

The streaming giant's ambitious goals include achieving the milestone market capitalization and doubling its revenue to about $80 billion by 2030, The Wall Street Journal reported late Monday. Netflix has a market capitalization of more than $400 billion.

Netflix has boosted its performance in recent years by raising prices, limiting password sharing and starting an ad business. So far, the company hasn't been vulnerable to the worst of the market tumult related to President Trump's tariffs.

Late Thursday the company also reported a record quarterly profit. U.S. stock and bond markets were closed the following day for Good Friday.

Netflix shares gained 4.8% Tuesday.

Nvidia

The once-bright outlook for chip makers is getting darker, thanks to Trump's trade war.

Artificial-intelligence chip giant Nvidia warned late Tuesday that it will take a $5.5 billion charge after the U.S. said it would need a license to export its less-powerful H20 processors to China and other countries.

The U.S. government confirmed the restrictions, and said it had put similar curbs on rival AMD.

On Wednesday, industry bellwether ASML also reported weaker-than-expected orders for its chip-making machines and warned about tariff-related disruption.

Nvidia shares dropped 6.9% Wednesday.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services

The growing trade war is causing turmoil in the shipping industry.

The trucking and logistics company J.B. Hunt Transport Services on Tuesday posted an 8% drop in net earnings in the first quarter. The transportation bellwether blamed slower demand from retailers caused by uncertainty over tariffs.

J.B. Hunt's results mark the first major earnings report for a freight operator since President Trump began rolling out aggressive new levies. Over the past two years, the U.S. freight market has struggled with weak pricing and what carriers say is an oversupply of trucks.

J.B. Hunt shares sank 7.7% Wednesday.

Our weekly markets news roundup is now part of the WSJ's What's News podcast. Host Francesca Fontana discusses the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them. Check out What's News in Markets at wsj.com/podcasts or wherever you listen.

Write to Francesca Fontana at francesca.fontana@wsj.com.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 18, 2025 17:02 ET (21:02 GMT)

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