WSJ What’s News - What’s News in Markets: Robinhood Social, AI Oracle, Paramount Bid

Episode Date: September 13, 2025

Why did Robinhood go social? And how did AI help Oracle make up for its lackluster earnings results? Plus, will Paramount make a bid for Warner? Host Francesca Fontana discusses the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them. Sign up for the WSJ's free Markets A.M. newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Viking, committed to exploring the world in comfort. Journey through the heart of Europe on an elegant Viking longship with thoughtful service, cultural enrichment, and all-inclusive fares. Discover more at Viking.com. Hey listeners, it's Saturday, September 13th. I'm Francesca Fontana for the Wall Street Journal, and this is What's News and Markets, our look at the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them. Let's get to it. Well, the stock market had a record-breaking week this week, fueled by renewed optimism about the AI boom and growing confidence in interest rate cuts on the horizon.

What records were broken, you may ask? Well, let's go through the latest hot streak. Monday, the NASDAQ hit a new record. Tuesday, for the first time this year, all three major benchmarks closed at an all-time high. Wednesday, a breakneck rally and shares of software giant Oracle helped power the S&P. to another record, and I'll come back to what was fueling that rally in a second. Thursday, the Dow surpassed 46,000 for the first time on record. And not for nothing, the SMP and NASDAQ both closed at all-time highs, too.

And on Friday, the NASDAQ notched another record close, the 25th of 2025. On a weekly basis, the S&P 500 gained 1.6%. The Dow rose about 1%, and the NASDAQ and the NASDAQ 2% higher. First up in our individual movers of the week, let's talk Robin Hood, the online retail brokerage and soon social media player. Yes, Robin Hood is launching its own social media network for its investors, Robin Hood Social. And this platform will feature a feed of short posts like X or Reddit, where users can post verified trades. The trend behind this move is something that we've been seeing for a while in the day.

digital age that we find ourselves in. Individual investors, building communities online, and sometimes banding together to make big bets. A beta version of Robin Hood Social will roll out to roughly 10,000 users in the first quarter of 2026, the company said. And a wider launch date is TBD. Before we get to how the stock reacted on Wednesday, I also want to note that the stock had a big rally Monday on the previous week's news that Robin Hood is set to join the

S&P 500 this month. 16%. Hot dog. If I could whistle, now is when I would do it. Anyway, back to Wednesday. Robin Hood shares lost 0.9%, but on the week, notched a gain of roughly 14%. Let's circle back to Oracle, whose announcement of major artificial intelligence contracts more than made up for its lackluster earnings results. In its latest quarterly report, the company forecasts huge gains in cloud infrastructure sales. Oracle had signed contracts with three different customers in its latest quarter and added $317 billion in future contract revenue. And the Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI was one of those new customers, signing a $300 billion deal.

And as I mentioned earlier, this news drove a massive rally in Oracle's shares. The stock surged 36% of it. on Wednesday, increasing Chairman Larry Ellison's wealth by more than $100 billion. And that brings him in range of Elon Musk, who holds the title as the world's richest person. And on the week, Oracle shares gained roughly 26%. Okay, I'm going to play a little game of six degrees of separation here in transitioning to the last stock. So speaking of Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison, his son. One, David Ellison runs Skydance Media, which has merged with Paramount to become Paramount Skydance.

And that entertainment giant is apparently preparing to put in a bid for fellow entertainment giant Warner Brothers Discovery. Small world, right? Anyway, the journal reported Thursday that Paramount is preparing this majority cash bid for Warner. And that's a bid for the entire company. I have to clarify this because last year, Warner announced its plans to split into two divisions. One focused on cable TV, the other on streaming and studios. The journal also reported that the bid for Warner, backed by the Ellison family, hasn't been submitted yet, and to be sure, the plans could still fall apart. But that didn't stop Warner's stock from a total blockbuster rally.

It shares jumped 29% on Thursday, and on a weekly basis, the stock jumped 56%. And now you know what's news in markets this week. You can read about more stocks that moved on the week's news in the score. My column in the Wall Street Journal's Exchange section. Today's show was produced by Rodney Davis with supervising producer Michael Cosmetis. I'm Francesca Fontana. Have a great weekend. This message comes from Viking, committed to exploring the world in comfort.

Journey through the heart of Europe on an elegant Viking long ship with thoughtful service, destination-focused dining, and cultural enrichment. on board and on shore. And every Viking voyage is all-inclusive with no children and no casinos. Discover more at viking.com.