Something worth understanding happened this week. Broadcom beat expectations and guided to record numbers, and the stock fell 12%. Ciena grew revenue 40% and raised its full year outlook, and it dropped over 10%. Lululemon cut guidance and was punished too.

So how can good results and bad results both get sold? The answer is expectations. A share price already reflects what the market assumes will happen, so when a company is priced for perfection, simply being very good is not enough, because very good was already in the price. The bar, in other words, was invisible.

This is not a reason to panic, and it is not a reason to celebrate. It is a reminder that what matters is not whether results are good, but whether they beat what was already expected. That said, the evidence on what comes next is mixed. Generally, when even strong reports get sold across a whole sector, it suggests sentiment was stretched, not that the businesses are broken. Worth keeping in mind before reading too much into a single day.