Sergio Ermotti, CEO of UBS, speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 20th, 2026.
Oscar Molina | CNBC
UBS fourth-quarter profit rose 56% year on year to $1.2 billion, beating expectations. The Swiss bank on Wednesday also announced plans for a $3 billion share buyback in 2026 — but said it aims to exceed that target.
Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk, however, disappointed investors when it said Tuesday it expects sales and profit growth dropping this year. Following the surprise release — Novo was scheduled to announce results on Wednesday — Novo’s American depository shares fell more than 14%.
“In 2026, Novo Nordisk will face pricing headwinds in an increasingly competitive market,” said CEO Mike Doustdar.
However, he expects to see tailwinds long term. Novo recently launched Wegovy in pill form, and a higher dose of its original injection form was approved by U.K. regulators. Doustdar added that the company is always looking at potential M&A opportunities.
Major U.S. indexes had a bad day as well. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 lost 0.84% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.34% lower — despite rising as much as 0.5% earlier in the session to touch a new record.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slumped 1.43%, weighed by software stocks, such as ServiceNow and Salesforce, with both tumbling nearly 7% — investors appear to be factoring in that artificial intelligence could diminish the value of those companies. Asian software firms likewise fell on Wednesday, with Japanese names leading losses in the region.
Asset firms with significant private credit market holdings, such as Blue Owl, Ares Management and KKR, also sank on Tuesday stateside. The software industry makes up around 20% of private loans from direct lenders, according to iCapital, an alternative investment company.
There was at least one positive development overnight. U.S. President Donald Trump signed into law a bill to fund the federal government, which had been on a brief shutdown since Saturday morning.
— CNBC’s Hugh Leask and Elsa Ohlen contributed to this report.
What you need to know today
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang denies rumors about a rift with OpenAI, telling CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Tuesday that there’s “no drama involved.” Over the past weekend, The Wall Street Journal reported that Nvidia’s $100 billion deal to invest in OpenAI was “on ice.”
The xAI and SpaceX merger is the biggest of all time, with the deal valuing the combined company at $1.25 trillion. That’s just 26% below Tesla’s current market capitalization, which means Elon Musk now derives more of his net worth from SpaceX than from Tesla.
Stephen Miran resigns from his White House post as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, CNBC confirmed. He had been on leave from this post since September 2025 — when he became a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.
U.S. software and asset management stocks slump, driving major indexes lower on Tuesday. Asia-Pacific markets bucked the trend and mostly rose Wednesday even as software stocks in the region also declined. Spot gold prices continued climbing and broke the $5,000 level.
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