Every once in a while, the market wakes up before most of us do and decides to throw a party—or a panic attack. Today, December 5, 2025, was definitely one of those mornings.
I was barely through my first coffee when the alerts started blowing up my phone. Rubrik jumping nearly 20%? Ulta raising guidance again? And wait—did someone just say a major streaming company is buying Warner Bros. Discovery? Yeah, the premarket session was wild, and honestly, these moves tell us a lot about where investor sentiment is heading into the final stretch of the year.
Let me walk you through the stocks that actually mattered this morning—the ones that made traders spill their coffee and probably caused more than a few portfolio managers to rethink their Friday plans.
The Morning’s Biggest Fireworks
Rubrik: The Cloud Security Darling Everyone Suddenly Loves
If you blinked, you missed it. Shares of Rubrik, the cloud data management and cybersecurity player, rocketed almost 19% before the opening bell. And no, this wasn’t some random pump—it was a classic earnings beat that reminded everyone why this name has been one of the hottest IPO stories of the past year.
The numbers were genuinely impressive. The company posted adjusted earnings of 10 cents per share when the Street was braced for a 17-cent loss. Revenue? A cool $350 million against expectations of $320 million. That’s the kind of beat that makes analysts scramble to upgrade and institutional investors hit the buy button without thinking twice.
I’ve been watching Rubrik since its debut, and what strikes me is how quickly it’s turning the narrative from “another cybersecurity name” to “actually mission-critical infrastructure.” In a world where ransomware attacks make daily headlines, companies that can protect and recover data fast aren’t just nice-to-haves anymore—they’re survival tools.
When your core product basically prints money during a cyberattack wave, the market tends to reward you generously.
Ulta Beauty: Yes, Beauty Is Still Booming
Speaking of pleasant surprises, Ulta Beauty shares climbed a very respectable 6% after the retailer did something I genuinely didn’t expect this late in the year: it raised full-year guidance. Again.
We’re talking net sales now expected around $12.3 billion—well above the previous high end of $12.1 billion—and EPS guidance jumping to $25.20–$25.50 from a prior range that topped out at $24.30. Even more telling? Same-store sales plus online growth is now seen at 4.4%–4.7%, nearly double the earlier forecast.
Look, I’ll be honest—I thought the beauty boom was cooling off. Turns out I was wrong. Consumers are still splurging on skincare, makeup, and fragrance gifts as we head into the holidays, and Ulta remains the undisputed queen of that category. When was the last time you walked past an Ulta and it wasn’t packed?
- Higher full-year sales outlook
- Significantly better EPS guidance
- Comps acceleration heading into the crucial holiday quarter
- Continued share gains against department stores and pure-play e-commerce competitors
If you’ve been waiting for a dip to add exposure to consumer discretionary, this move might actually be your reminder that sometimes the best names don’t give you many dips.
The Streaming Bombshell Nobody Saw Coming
Okay, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. One major streaming platform announced it’s acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery at $27.75 per share. The market reaction? Immediate selling pressure—Netflix shares down almost 3%, Warner Bros. Discovery off about 1%.
Why the sell-off on what should be blockbuster news? Simple: uncertainty. This is a massive deal that will face intense regulatory scrutiny, and investors hate waiting around for government approval when there are a hundred other things they could be buying right now.
That said, longer term? This could completely reshape the streaming wars. Combining libraries, sports rights, and advertising technology might finally create the scale needed to turn streaming profitable at a giant level. But for today, the market chose fear over greed.
SoFi: When Growth Meets Dilution Reality
Not every story had a happy ending this morning. SoFi Technologies dropped 7% after announcing a $1.5 billion common stock offering. Classic case of a fast-growing fintech needing capital to keep the rocket ship flying—but investors hating the immediate dilution.
Here’s the thing: SoFi isn’t raising this money because it’s desperate. Membership is exploding, loan originations are strong, and the company keeps taking share from traditional banks. But growth at this speed is expensive, and management clearly wants a war chest.
In my experience, these kinds of secondary offerings often mark excellent long-term entry points. The stock gets punished short term, sentiment turns sour, and then six to twelve months later everyone wonders why they didn’t buy the dip. We’ve seen this movie before.
Quick Hits: Other Names Worth Watching
Before we wrap up, a lightning round of other notable premarket movers:
- Cooper Companies – Up over 13% on strong earnings and raised long-term cash flow targets exceeding $2.2 billion.
- Victoria’s Secret – Popped more than 11% after a narrower-than-feared loss and 9% sales growth. Holiday lingerie demand appears very real.
- DocuSign – Down 5% despite beating estimates and raising guidance. Sometimes “good but not good enough” is all it takes for profit-taking.
- SentinelOne – Fell about 9% after guiding Q4 revenue slightly below consensus, even though the full-year outlook matched expectations.
The common thread? Markets are in that late-stage mood where every guidance word gets dissected like it’s the Zapruder film. Beat and raise dramatically? You’re rewarded. Beat but guide conservatively? See you in the penalty box.
So where does this leave us heading into the weekend? My takeaway is pretty straightforward: quality still matters. Companies delivering real growth, real profitability, or real strategic positioning are getting paid. Everything else? Not so much.
Rubrik and Ulta reminded everyone this morning that when you execute in growing categories—cybersecurity and premium beauty—investors will follow. SoFi’s drop feels like classic growing pains rather than a fundamental problem. And the streaming deal? That’s going to be the story we’re all talking about for months.
As always, the market doesn’t wait for anyone to finish their coffee. But mornings like this? These are the ones that make watching markets so addictive.
