Top Midday Stories: US Adds 151,000 Jobs in February, Below Expectations; Broadcom Fiscal Q1 Earnings Top Estimates

All three major US stock indexes were down in late-morning trading on Friday, as a weaker-than-expected jobs report and ongoing tariff uncertainty rattled investors.The February employment reported showed nonfarm payrolls rose by 151,000, below the 160,000 jobs increase expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg as of 7:10 a.m. ET, while January payrolls saw a downward revision to a 125,000 increase and December payrolls were revised up to a 323,000 increase, for a net downward revision of 2,000 jobs. The unemployment rate rose to 4.1% in February from 4.0% in January, compared with no change expected, while the labor force participation rate declined to 62.4% from 62.6% in the previous month, and the size of the labor force contracted. In company news, Broadcom reported fiscal Q1 non-GAAP earnings late Thursday of $1.60 per diluted share, up from $1.10 a year earlier and above the consensus estimate of analysts surveyed by FactSet calling for $1.51. Fiscal Q1 revenue was $14.92 billion, up from $11.96 billion a year earlier and above the FactSet consensus estimate of $14.62 billion. The company expects fiscal Q2 revenue of about $14.9 billion, above the FactSet consensus estimate of $14.71 billion. Broadcom shares were up 3.0% around midday. Nasdaq's Nasdaq 100 Index fell 0.7% Friday and is now down over 10% from its February record — the threshold representing a technical correction, Bloomberg reported. Separately, Nasdaq has been engaging with regulators, market participants and other stakeholders about enabling 24-hour trading five days per week on the Nasdaq Stock Market, President Tal Cohen said Friday in a post on LinkedIn. Nasdaq shares were down 3.2%. Walgreens Boots Alliance said it reached a definitive agreement late Thursday to be acquired by an entity affiliated with Sycamore Partners for up to $23.7 billion. Walgreens shares were up 7%. Costco Wholesale reported fiscal Q2 net income late Thursday of $4.02 per diluted share, up from $3.92 a year earlier but below the FactSet consensus estimate of $4.11. Fiscal Q2 total revenue was $63.72 billion, up from $58.44 billion in the year-ago period and above the FactSet consensus of $63.11 billion. Costco shares were down 7.0%. Artificial intelligence researchers at Microsoft believe they have achieved a notable milestone in the company's effort to reduce its dependence on OpenAI's technology for most of its AI products, The Information reported Friday, citing someone involved in the effort. Microsoft shares were down 2.5%. Hewlett Packard Enterprise reported Q1 non-GAAP net income late Thursday of $0.49 per diluted share, up from $0.48 a year earlier but below the FactSet consensus of $0.50. First-quarter revenue was $7.85 billion, up from $6.76 billion in the year-ago period and above the FactSet consensus of $7.81 billion. For Q2, the company projects non-GAAP EPS of $0.28 to $0.34 on revenue between $7.2 billion and $7.6 billion. Analysts expect $0.50 and $7.92 billion, respectively. For fiscal 2025, the company expects non-GAAP EPS of $1.70 to $1.90, with revenue growing 7% to 11%. Analysts expect $2.13 per share. Hewlett Packard also plans to reduce its workforce by 5%, or about 2,500 employees, over the next 12 to 18 months, the company said during its earnings call. Hewlett Packard shares were down 16.7%.