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December 21, 2025

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Tech Weekly: Micron Rises on Latest Results, Trump Media Jumps on TAE Merger

Investing 4 Mins Read

We also break down next week’s catalysts to watch to help you prepare for the week ahead.

In this article:

    This week’s tech sector performance

    US stocks advanced this week amid key economic data releases, with tech leading gains after Micron Technology’s (NASDAQ:MU) results release and easing artificial intelligence (AI) sector pressures.

    The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) rose 0.02 percent on the week, closing Friday (December 19) at 6,834.5.

    However, tech stock losses earlier in the week kept gains in check. The Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) lost 0.1 percent for the week to close at 23,307.62 on Friday.

    3 tech stocks moving markets this week

    1. Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU)

    Micron Technology reported earnings for its first fiscal quarter of 2026 on Thursday (December 18), showing strong results driven by surging high-bandwidth memory sales for AI data centers

    Revenue reached US$13.64 billion, up 93 percent from last year and higher than the company’s September revenue projection of US$12.8 billion. Adjusted earnings per share were US$4.78, beating estimates of US$3.95. The company generated strong free cashflow and declared a US$0.115 per share dividend payable on January 14, 2026.

    Looking ahead, Micron adjusted its profit guidance for the upcoming quarter to US$8.42 per share, higher than Wall Street’s US$4.78 consensus, due to continued AI boom momentum.

    Investors responded to the results by sending Micron shares up 10 percent post-earnings. Momentum carried into Friday’s trading session, spilling over into other tech stocks, which have come under pressure in recent weeks over lofty valuations and funding concerns. The company ended the week 0.58 percent higher.

    2. Trump Media & Technology Group (NASDAQ:DJT)

    Trump Media & Technology Group rose nearly 30 percent before Thursday’s opening bell after the company announced plans to merge with fusion power company TAE Technologies.

    The all-stock deal is reportedly valued at more than US$6 billion. Devin Nunes, chair and chief executive of Trump Media, and Dr. Michl Binderbauer, CEO and director at TAE, are set to serve as co-CEOs.

    TAE is a private company with backing from Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and other companies. The merger is slated to create one of the first publicly traded nuclear fusion companies. “We’re taking a big step forward toward a revolutionary technology that will cement America’s global energy dominance for generations,“ Nunes said.

    Shares of Trump Media closed the week with a gain of 39.53 percent.

    3. Oracle (NYSE:ORCL)

    Oracle shares dropped 5.4 percent on Wednesday (December 17) after a Financial Times report claimed data center investor Blue Owl Capital pulled out of a US$10 billion financing round for one of the AI data centers Oracle is constructing for OpenAI in Michigan. Talks reportedly stalled due to concerns over project delays, tougher debt terms, Oracle’s rising debt load and lease arrangements, per sources cited by the news outlet.

    Oracle disputed the report’s implications, stating that Michigan negotiations are “on schedule” without Blue Owl.

    The company said its project development partner, Related Digital, has chosen “the best equity partner from a competitive group of options, which in this instance was not Blue Owl.” Still, the company finished the week with its share price ahead by 2.18 percent as tech stocks staged an end-of-year comeback.

    Oracle, Micron Technology and Trump Media performance, December 15 to 19, 2025.

    Chart via Google Finance.

    Top tech news of the week

                Tech ETF performance

                Tech exchange-traded funds (ETFs) track baskets of major tech stocks, meaning their performance helps investors gauge the overall performance of the niches they cover.

                This week, the iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) declined by 0.94 percent, while the Invesco PHLX Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXQ) saw a loss of 0.66 percent.

                The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SMH) also decreased by 0.61 percent.

                Tech news to watch next week

                Markets will be closed mid-week next week, with low trading volumes likely keeping movement calm.

                Watch for year-end selling in tech stocks, a potential rotation into safer sectors and light data like factory orders and home sales reports. Any comments on future interest rates could move markets somehwat, but expect mostly flat trading unless big news like policy changes breaks through.

                Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

                This post appeared first on investingnews.com

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                Politics

                FBI Director Kash Patel says bureau ramping up AI to counter domestic, global threats

                Politics 2 Mins Read

                FBI Director Kash Patel said Saturday the agency is ramping up its use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to counter domestic and international threats.

                In a post on X, Patel said the FBI has been advancing its technology, calling AI a ‘key component’ of its strategy to respond to threats and stay ‘ahead of the game.’

                ‘FBI has been working on key technology advances to keep us ahead of the game and respond to an always changing threat environment both domestically and on the world stage,’ Patel wrote. ‘Artificial intelligence is a key component of this.

                ‘We’ve been working on an AI project to assist our investigators and analysts in the national security space — staying ahead of bad actors and adversaries who seek to do us harm.’

                Patel added that FBI leadership has established a ‘technology working group’ led by outgoing Deputy Director Dan Bongino to ensure the agency’s tools ‘evolve with the mission.’

                ‘These are investments that will pay dividends for America’s national security for decades to come,’ Patel said.

                A spokesperson for the FBI told Fox News Digital it had nothing further to add beyond Patel’s X post.

                The FBI uses AI for tools such as vehicle recognition, voice-language identification, speech-to-text analysis and video analytics, according to the agency’s website.

                Earlier this week, Bongino announced he would leave the bureau in January after speculation rose about his departure.

                ‘I will be leaving my position with the FBI in January,’ Bongino wrote in an X post Wednesday. ‘I want to thank President [Donald] Trump, AG [Pam] Bondi, and Director Patel for the opportunity to serve with purpose. Most importantly, I want to thank you, my fellow Americans, for the privilege to serve you. God bless America, and all those who defend Her.’

                This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

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                Business

                Trump Media to merge with nuclear fusion company

                Business 2 Mins Read

                Trump Media & Technology will merge with a fusion power company in an all-stock deal that the companies said Thursday is valued at more than $6 billion.

                Devin Nunes, the Republican congressman who resigned in 2021 to become the CEO of Trump Media, will be co-CEO of the new company with TAE Technologies CEO Michl Binderbauer.

                Shares of Trump Media & Technology, the parent company of President Donald Trump’s Truth Social media platform, have tumbled 70% this year but jumped 20% before the opening bell Thursday.

                TAE is a private company and the merger with Trump Media would create one of the first publicly traded nuclear fusion companies.

                “We’re taking a big step forward toward a revolutionary technology that will cement America’s global energy dominance for generations,” Nunes said in a prepared statement.

                TAE focuses on nuclear fusion, a technology that combines two light atomic nuclei to form a single heavier one. It releases enormous amount of energy, a process that occurs on the sun and other stars, according to the United Nation’s International Atomic Energy Agency.

                TAE and Trump Media shareholders will each own approximately 50% of the combined company.

                The companies say the transaction values each TAE common stock at $53.89 per share.

                At closing, Trump Media & Technology Group will be the holding company for Truth Social and TAE, along with its subsidiaries TAE Power Solutions and TAE Life Sciences.

                This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

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