Stocks End Mixed as April Inflation Hits Highest Level Since May 2023

The stock market ended mixed on Tuesday, with S&P 500 and NASDAQ retreating from record highs. Stronger-than-expected U.S. inflation data raised concerns that the Federal Reserve could keep interest rates elevated for longer.

April’s Consumer Price Index rose 3.8%, marking the largest increase since May 2023, as the tensions in the Middle East continued to drive up global fuel and energy prices.

Overall, S&P 500 fell 0.2% to 7,401, while NASDAQ declined 0.7% to 26,088.

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Here is the one-year chart of Factset Research (FDS) as of May 4, 2026, when the stock was at $224.

Factset Research has fallen from $291 to $224 since our last report as competition from AI has clearly dried up the company’s moat.

Last quarter, Factset Research reported just 4% profit growth on 7% revenue growth, the 6th consecutive quarter of <10% profit growth (a figure this company used to deliver year-after-year).

Investors are worried that cheaper and faster AI tools, like Anthropic’s Calude, can do similar financial analysis work. Just this week, Anthropic launched 10 new AI agents for finance, including a pitchbook builder, which is what a lot of entry level analysts work on.

Factset Research is known to be expensive, often costing $15,000+ per year, compared to Claude Pro’s $20 a month cost (maybe the finance stuff costs more, idk).

Even though the company’s management said it is investing in AI and seeing solid demand, it is obviously not helping profits. The only bright spot in last quarter’s earnings was Annual Subscription Value (ASV) growth went from 4.5% a year ago to 6.7% last quarter.

FDS is part of the Conservative Stock Portfolio. This used to be a fabulous buy-and-hold stock, but profits need to accelerate for it to remain in the portfolio.

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