⚡ MARKET RECAP → The S&P 500 (VOO) closed lower Wednesday as excitement over the strong jobs report faded.

📊 JOBS BEAT WITH ASTERISK → January’s report shows 130,000 jobs, lower unemployment, and decent wage growth — but also reveals 2025 was a stealth weak year for hiring, with gains concentrated in health care and construction and layoffs still elevated; good enough to delay Fed cuts, not good enough to declare “all clear” on the labor market.

🚕 RISHER DEFENDS LYFT → Lyft (LYFT) just delivered its most profitable quarter ever but also a surprise 2025 operating loss and softer-than-hoped guidance, knocking the stock double digits; David Risher is telling CNBC this is a weather-and-promotions blip in an otherwise healthy demand story, but investors are recalibrating how much “comeback premium” the stock deserves.

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For the week beginning February 9, 2026

📈 Headline numbers look great again. The January jobs report showed U.S. employers adding about 130,000 jobs, more than double consensus, with unemployment ticking down to 4.3% and wage growth running around 0.4% month over month. Markets read it as proof the labor market isn’t rolling over just yet.

⚖️ But the revisions are ugly. Benchmark revisions slashed 2025 job growth from roughly 584,000 to just 181,000, making last year the weakest for hiring since the pandemic despite solid GDP. Most of January’s gains came from health care, social assistance and construction, while sectors like finance and the federal government are still quietly bleeding jobs and layoffs remain historically high.

🏦 Fed takeaway: no rush to cut. A stronger-than-expected print, plus firm wages, gives the Federal Reserve cover to keep rates on hold rather than racing into cuts markets had hoped for. For investors, that means “soft-ish landing” odds just ticked up — but so did the risk that higher-for-longer policy bumps into a labor market that was weaker all through 2025 than anyone thought.

🚕 Lyft’s comeback story just hit a pothole. Lyft (LYFT) posted its most profitable fourth quarter ever, with $1.59 billion in revenue and $154 million in adjusted core earnings, plus $1.1 billion in free cash flow for 2025. But a surprise $188 million full-year operating loss, soft rider metrics, and Q1 profit guidance below expectations sent the stock down roughly 15%–16%.

🎙️ David Risher is selling “one bad quarter, strong demand.” On CNBC, the CEO argued that consumer demand is solid and blamed Winter Storm Fern and a “season of heightened competitive promotions” for the miss. He pointed to Europe expansion, premium ride options, and partnerships — including DoorDash (DASH) and airlines — with about a quarter of rides now coming from partners, plus a new $1 billion buyback as proof Lyft isn’t on the ropes.

🧮 For investors, the math is still harsh. Lyft is more U.S.-concentrated and less diversified than Uber (UBER), so a weather hit, promo war, or AV disruption lands harder. Management is pitching 2026 as a big year for robotaxis and new services, but for now the market is focused on a guidance reset, a surprise loss, and whether the buyback and AV story can offset a wobblier core business.

Elon Musk’s xAI loses co-founder Tony Wu in latest senior departure (CNBC)

Paramount sweetens WBD bid, but stops short of raising its per-share value (CNBC)

U.S. urges ships to stay ‘as far as possible’ from Iran’s waters in Strait of Hormuz after boarding attempts (CNBC)

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