Ten stocks fell sharply on Wednesday, defying an overall market optimism, as investors digested a flurry of corporate developments, including corporate earnings and outlooks. Of the 10 firms, two dropped to new record lows.
Meanwhile, all Wall Street indices finished in the green, led by Nasdaq, up 1.26 percent, followed by the S&P 500, increasing 0.81 percent, and the Dow Jones jumping 0.63 percent.
In this article, we focus on 10 of the worst-performing companies on Wednesday and detail the reasons behind their drop.
To come up with the list, we focused exclusively on the stocks with a $2 billion market capitalization and 5 million shares in trading volume.
Source: Pexels
10. Dow Inc. (NYSE:DOW)
Dow Inc. dropped its share prices by as much as 4.5 percent in intra-day trading on Wednesday before ending at $30.03 apiece amid the lack of fresh catalysts to boost buying appetite, while investors repositioned portfolios ahead of a dividend payment.
In a notice earlier this month, Dow Inc. (NYSE:DOW) said that it would distribute $0.35 per share to all shareholders on record as of this Friday, February 27, payable on March 13. This marks the 458th consecutive dividend paid by the company or its affiliates since 1912.
The dividends followed its earnings performance last year, which saw a net loss attributable to shareholders of $2.6 billion versus a $1.1 billion net income in 2024, primarily due to a decline in prices and operating rates.
Net sales were also down by 6.9 percent to $39.97 billion from $42.96 billion year-on-year.
In the fourth quarter alone, net loss attributable to shareholders widened by 2,811 percent to $1.5 billion from only $53 million year-on-year, while net sales were lower by 9 percent at $9.46 billion versus $10.4 billion.
9. Lumen Technologies Inc. (NYSE:LUMN)
Lumen Technologies saw its share prices drop by as much as 6.8 percent in intra-day trading on Wednesday before finishing at $7.11 apiece, as an ongoing dispute between artificial intelligence firm Anthropic and the Pentagon spilled over to its stock.
Anthropic, one of Lumen Technologies Inc.’s (NYSE:LUMN) major customers, is currently facing a setback after the Pentagon ordered the company to loosen its rules about how it can use its AI tools, or risk losing its government contract. The AI firm has until Friday, February 27, to fulfill the requirement.
However, Anthropic is refusing to back down over safeguards that prevent technology from being used to conduct US domestic surveillance and to program autonomous weapons that can hit targets without human intervention.
Having recently sealed a multi-year contract with Anthropic to expand its fiber networks across North America, any delay in the development of infrastructure for the AI firm could dampen growth prospects for Lumen Technologies Inc. (NYSE:LUMN), especially as it has just announced the start of its growth strategy after successfully completing its turnaround plan.
“We’ve done what many thought we couldn’t—stabilized the business, strengthened our financial foundation, and earned credibility in the market. Now we’re accelerating from turnaround to growth,” Lumen Technologies Inc. (NYSE:LUMN) CEO Kate Johnson said.
Lumen’s partnership with Anthropic forms part of a $13 billion private connectivity fabric contract sealed recently.
8. Haleon plc (NYSE:HLN)
Haleon dropped its share prices by as much as 7.67 percent on Wednesday to close at $10.43 apiece after missing its revenue growth guidance last year.
In an updated report, Haleon plc (NYSE:HLN) said that it incurred an organic revenue growth of 3 percent, missing its previous outlook of 3.5 percent, primarily dampened by a weakening US consumer environment, coupled with a lower level of cold and flu incidence, which impacted performance particularly in the fourth quarter.
“A normal cold and flu season would have resulted in 40bps higher organic revenue growth for FY 2025,” Haleon plc (NYSE:HLN) said.
Net income attributable to shareholders jumped by 15.6 percent to 1.667 billion pounds from 1.442 billion pounds in 2024, while reported revenues stood at 11.03 billion pounds, lower by 1.8 percent than the 11.2 billion pounds registered a year earlier.
For this year, Haleon plc (NYSE:HLN) is targeting an organic revenue growth of 3 to 5 percent, as well as a high single-digit growth in adjusted operating profit.
It also allocated 500 million pounds in share buybacks this year.
“Looking ahead, we remain confident in our medium-term guidance underpinned by the implementation of our new operating model to drive growth and agility. While the consumer environment remains challenging near-term, we are even more focused on driving category growth and increasing our market outperformance,” CEO Brian McNamara said.
7. Verra Mobility Corp. (NASDAQ:VRRM)
Verra Mobility fell to a new three-year low on Wednesday, as investor sentiment was dampened after missing analyst earnings expectations last year.
At intra-day trading, the stock dropped to its lowest price of $15.58 before paring losses to finish the session just down by 13.52 percent at $16.18 apiece.
In an updated report, Verra Mobility Corp. (NASDAQ:VRRM) said that adjusted earnings per share in the fourth quarter of 2025 ended at $0.30, missing analyst expectations of $0.31.
The company incurred a net income of $18.88 million, reversing a net loss of $66.6 million in the same period a year earlier. Revenues also increased by 16 percent to $257.86 million from $221.5 million.
For the full-year period, Verra Mobility Corp. (NASDAQ:VRRM) said net profit jumped by 335 percent to $136.6 million from $31.4 million in 2024, thanks to goodwill impairment registered during the period.
Revenues, on the other hand, increased by 9 percent to $918 million from $841.68 million year-on-year, driven by strong earnings from services, government solutions, and commercial services.
For this year, Verra Mobility Corp. (NASDAQ:VRRM) is targeting to generate between $1.02 billion and $1.03 billion in revenues, adjusted EBITDA of $405 million to $415 million, and adjusted EPS of $1.32 to $1.38.
6. First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)
First Solar dropped its share prices by 13.61 percent on Wednesday to finish at $210.12 apiece, as investor sentiment was dented by a weak net sales guidance for 2026, versus a double-digit growth reported last year.
According to the company, it is targeting to generate $4.9 billion and $5.2 billion in net sales for full-year 2026, flat to a decline of 5.8 percent from the $5.2 billion registered last year. This compares with a 24-percent jump in 2025 from $4.2 billion in 2024, with growth driven by a 24-percent increase in third-party module volume.
Sales volume is expected to be at 17 GW to 18.2 GW, while adjusted EBITDA is pegged at $2.6 billion to $2.8 billion, higher by 10 to 18.6 percent than the $2.36 billion in 2025.
Meanwhile, First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) also reported an 18.6 percent jump in net income last year, at $1.53 billion, versus $1.29 billion in 2024.
In the fourth quarter alone, net profit increased by 32 percent to $520.88 million from $393 million, while net sales grew by 11.2 percent to $1.68 billion from $1.5 billion, thanks to an increase in the volume of modules sold.
5. GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE:GDDY)
GoDaddy fell to a new two-year low on Wednesday, as investor sentiment was dampened by its dismal earnings performance in full-year 2025.
At intra-day trading, the stock dropped to its lowest price of $73.06 before trimming losses to finish the session just down by 14.28 percent at $79.12 apiece.
In an updated report, GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE:GDDY) said that net profit declined by 6.6 percent to $875 million from $936.9 million, despite revenues jumping by 8.3 percent to $4.95 billion from $4.57 billion.
In the fourth quarter alone, net income surged by 23.4 percent to $245.1 million from $198.6 million, while revenues climbed by 6.8 percent to $1.27 billion from $1.19 billion.
“GoDaddy demonstrated strong performance in 2025, and we are leveraging our domain leadership, global scale and strong fundamentals to lead in the next era of the agentic open internet,” GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE:GDDY) CEO Aman Bhutani said. “We are well equipped to adapt in this dynamic environment and build on our competitive advantages, creating value for our customers.”
For the first quarter of the year, the company is targeting to generate revenues of $1.25 billion to $1.27 billion, or an increase of 4 percent to 5.8 percent from the $1.2 billion in the same period in 2025.
For the full-year 2026, revenues are projected at $5.195 billion to $5.275 billion, or a 4.9 percent to 6.6 percent jump year-on-year.
4. Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO)
Diageo fell by 15.66 percent on Wednesday to close at $86.15 apiece, as investor sentiment was dented by its new chief executive’s dividend cut, as well as a weak outlook for 2026.
In an updated report, Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) said that it would pay a lower-than-usual dividend of 20 cents to its ordinary shareholders, an initiative which it said would help strengthen its balance sheet.
“The Board has taken the difficult decision to reduce the dividend to a more appropriate level, which will accelerate the strengthening of our balance sheet. We are confident that this is the right action which will ensure that Diageo can reinforce its position as the leading international spirits business and drive stronger shareholder value over the coming years,” the company said.
The dividend cut followed a 4 percent lower revenue in the first six months ending December 2025, ending at $10.46 billion versus $10.9 billion in the same period a year earlier.
Net income, on the other hand, inched up by 1.7 percent to $2.1 billion from $2.07 billion.
“Our performance in the first half of fiscal 26 was mixed. Strong performance in Europe, LAC (Latin America and Caribbean) and Africa, was offset by a weakening performance in NAM (North America) and continued weakness in Chinese white spirits in APAC (Asia Pacific). US Spirits performance reflected pressure on disposable income, and competitive pressure from more affordable alternatives addressing a more stretched consumer wallet,” said newly installed CEO Dave Lewis.
“Only several weeks in, I can already see significant opportunities for Diageo to act more decisively to enhance its competitiveness and broaden the portfolio offering, leading to higher growth.”
3. Intuitive Machines Inc. (NASDAQ:LUNR)
Intuitive Machines declined by 15.93 percent on Wednesday to finish at $15.89 apiece as investors disposed of positions amid the dilution potential of its plans to raise $175 million from a share sale.
In a statement on the same day, Intuitive Machines Inc. (NASDAQ:LUNR) said that the strategic equity investment would be led by global institutional investors, proceeds of which will be used to support revenue expansion and investment in technologies to advance communications and data processing networks, including extending flight-proven satellite platforms into those growth markets. The transaction is expected to close on Friday, February 27.
Additionally, Intuitive Machines Inc. (NASDAQ:LUNR) intends to invest in expanding its Near Space Network Services (NSNS) and establish a solar system internet independent of Earth.
“Through investments in the Lanteris platforms, specifically the 1300 series, the Company believes it can grow market share in Geostationary Orbit, expand capability around the Moon, extend capability to Mars, and support emerging high-power on-orbit data processing and edge computing,” it said.
“The company believes this investment will enhance its ability to win and execute higher margin, recurring revenue programs such as Golden Dome initiatives, Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System, the Mars Telecommunications Orbiter, as well as the evolving space-based orbital data center market,” it noted.
2. ImmunityBio Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX)
ImmunityBio finished the session down sharply on Wednesday, as investors resorted to profit-taking after touching a new record high during the day.
At intra-day trading, ImmunityBio Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX) soared to its highest price of $12.43 before giving up all gains to finish the day down by 17.40 percent at $9.54 apiece.
The profit-taking followed the company’s strong financial and operating highlights last year, with total revenues expanding by 671 percent to $113 million from only $14.7 million in 2024.
Total revenues were supported by a 700 percent jump in net product revenues, thanks to a 750 percent sales volume expansion from its bladder cancer treatment, Anktiva.
However, ImmunityBio Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX) remained at a net loss attributable to shareholders of $351.4 million, albeit narrower by 15 percent than the $413.56 million in 2024.
In the fourth quarter alone, revenues increased by 407 percent to $38.28 million from $7.5 million year-on-year, while attributable net loss increased by 4.6 percent to $61.9 million from $59.16 million year-on-year.
Optimism was further bolstered by a series of regulatory approvals earlier, paving the way for ImmunityBio Inc.’s (NASDAQ:IBRX) sales expansion of Anktiva in 33 international markets, including the United Kingdom, European Union members, and Saudi Arabia.
Three other clinical trials are planned over the next three years to test Anktiva’s efficacy in other therapeutic areas, including its use alongside standard-of-care treatments, CAR-NK / M-ceNK, and in treating lymphopenia.
1. Driven Brands Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:DRVN)
Driven Brands extended its losing streak to a third consecutive day on Wednesday, slashing 30.16 percent to close at $11.60 apiece, as investors turned cautious after it called off the release of its earnings performance for last year and reinstated other financial statements.
The company was supposed to hold an earnings call before market open on the same day. However, it called off the meeting after announcing in a separate filing that it saw material errors in its financial statements for fiscal years 2023 and 2024, as well as quarterly and year-to-date periods ending September 2025, June 2025, and March 2025.
Driven Brands Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:DRVN) said that certain errors were identified relating to the completeness and accuracy of recording leases; unreconciled differences for cash accounts; as well as supply and other expense classifications; among others.
For full-year 2025, Driven Brands Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:DRVN) is targeting revenues between $2.10 billion and $2.12 billion, or an implied decline of 7.8 percent to 8.7 percent year-on-year.
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