Shopify Opens Stores to Meta's Muse as Amazon Blocks AI Shopping Agent

Rosenblatt analyst John McPeake says Palantir Technologies could be positioned for a much larger opportunity inside the Federal Aviation Administration as the agency begins putting artificial intelligence into live air-traffic operations. The latest catalyst is the FAA's rollout of its AI-powered Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes and Trajectories system, or SMART, at the three major airports serving Washington, D.C., the first live U.S. operation of the technology, designed to identify congestion and other airspace problems before they develop. McPeake argues investors should not view the broader modernization effort as a winner-take-all contest between Palantir and Aviation Systems International: ASI won the flight-operations portion of the program through an $875 million, 12-year contract, while Palantir is positioned around safety, analytics and data integration, potentially expanding a government relationship that began with an $18 million contract in 2021. The FAA's fiscal 2027 performance plan specifically identifies Palantir's Foundry as a platform for integrating safety data and applying AI and machine learning to aviation risks, and McPeake sees the possibility of substantially higher FAA spending in 2027, particularly around the ASKME program. The opportunity arrives as Palantir's government revenue grew 79% year over year in the second quarter of 2026, while commercial revenue rose 110%, including 149% growth in U.S. commercial sales; McPeake reiterated a Buy rating and $225 price target, implying about 19% upside, against an average analyst target of $201.74 implying roughly 5% upside.

President Trump and Xi Jinping met at the White House, where Treasury Secretary Besent announced the trade truce between the two countries would be extended for two months until January 10th. The S&P 500 held modest gains for the week despite poor breadth, with most other major US indices down between 1 to 2%, as Treasury yields surged over 10 basis points across the curve following an S&P Global Flash PMI that came in well ahead of estimates. Meta's new personal AI agent platform Muse sent the stock up over 10% and sparked a fresh AI disruption trade, pressuring wealth management, traditional brokerage businesses, payments processors, and online travel companies. Oil prices swung sharply all week, with Ice Brent breaking below $100 early on before climbing about $10 from the week's lows, and Bloomberg reported that Oracle sent a force majeure notice to the developer of its Project Jupiter data center in New Mexico, though an Oracle spokesperson said the project remains on track. Looking ahead, next week brings PCE inflation data, earnings from Nike, Jabil and Micron, and OpenAI's Dev Day on Tuesday.