Last week, concerns about AI disruption spread to new areas of the stock market. Now, regarding the mindset of investors as they enter into trading during the holiday-shortened week, how long will this market behavior such as early selling and late selling continue? Let’s take a closer look at three big things happening this week: 1. Palo Alto Networks’ earnings report on Tuesday night marks a pivotal moment. This provides CEO Nikesh Arora with an opportunity to counter concerns that artificial intelligence will steal market share from cybersecurity providers. It’s the same concern that’s driving up the stock prices of other software vendors that sell things like design and accounting software. We have argued that reliable cybersecurity will only become more valuable to enterprises in an AI-filled world, where task complexity poses less risk of displacement than other parts of enterprise software. But that didn’t stop the market from punishing the likes of Palo Alto Networks and fellow club namesake CrowdStrike for this 2026 sell-off, even though they held up relatively better than their software ETF peers known as IGV and showed signs of buoyancy toward the end of the week. Will Alola be able to completely kill that story and bring the conversation back to basics? That seems unlikely. But this is an opportunity for a well-regarded cyber CEO to provide food for thought for investors looking to distinguish software winners from losers in the AI era. Clearly, we expect Palo Alto to provide better-than-expected quarterly results and guidance, particularly on key metrics such as annual recurring revenue (ARR) and remaining performance obligations (RPO). Updates on the now-completed CyberArk and Chronosphere acquisitions are also likely to be a hot topic. But strong earnings and a bright short-term outlook may not be enough to turn things around, as investors aren’t focused on the next three months during this difficult time for the software industry. The concerns are more existential, requiring investors to reconsider how much they will pay for earnings going forward, resulting in dramatic multiple compression and stock price declines. Consider the BTIG analyst note that previewed Palo Alto’s quarter on Thursday. They described demand trends as “strong” and said they were confident the company could maintain low-to-mid-teens growth over the next year. They reiterated their Buy rating on the stock. Nevertheless, they lowered their price target by $45 per share to $200, all because they use a lower price-to-earnings ratio. This is a difficult setup. But if we don’t see any cracks in the business, it will strengthen our resolve to weather the storm. According to LSEG, sales were $2.58 billion. LSEG said EPS was 94 cents. Total RPO was $15.776 billion, according to FactSet. Annual recurring revenue (ARR) was $6.128 billion, according to FactSet. 2. When Texas Roadhouse releases its fourth quarter results on Thursday night, our focus will shift from security to steak. The widespread concern here is not about AI but about rising beef prices. Margins are being squeezed because the company hasn’t raised prices in line with beef inflation. For restaurant chains that pride themselves on attracting customers with value-oriented messages, there are risks in raising prices too high. In its initial outlook for 2026, released in November, Texas Roadhouse expected full-year commodity inflation to be 7%. Live cattle futures prices fell back from late October to late November, but have resumed rising. As of Friday, it was within a few percentage points of its all-time high. Although the hurdles are low, we expect Texas Roadhouse to maintain a stable outlook for commodity inflation. Another thing to note is that the company typically shares plans for menu price changes during its fourth quarter conference call, with implementation occurring at the start of the second quarter in April. Last year, the company raised prices by 1.4% in April and 1.7% in October, so the level management has chosen this time around is intriguing. Texas Roadhouse’s ability to drive traffic growth, which drives same-store sales growth, a key metric for valuing restaurants, is attracting investors to the stock. If your traffic is increasing, it suggests that you are gaining market share compared to your competitors. In the third quarter, Texas Roadhouse saw same-store sales increase 6.1% as traffic increased 4.3% and prices rose 1.8%. If Texas Roadhouse can deliver continued traffic growth in the fourth quarter, it will be a huge boost for bulls. I feel comfortable owning the stock here, considering I’ve pared down my position twice this year in the $180 range. But unless there are clear signs that beef inflation has peaked, this is not the place to put new money. Here’s what Wall Street is expecting: LSEG says revenue of $1.496 billion. According to LSEG, EPS was $1.51. Same-store sales increased 5.16%, according to FactSet. 3. There are also several economic reports to watch, led by Friday’s Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Index. That is the inflation measure recommended by the Federal Reserve. The PCE is expected to announce further good news on the inflation front after Friday’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report was lower than expected, giving the central bank additional cover for rate cuts throughout the year. As of Friday, the market was pricing in the Fed’s first rate cut in 2026 at its June meeting, according to the CME FedWatch tool. This is also the first meeting on the calendar after Chairman Jerome Powell’s term expires in May. As Home Depot shareholders, we would like to see interest rates lowered and hopefully provide some stimulus to the still stagnant housing market. Among other notable economic reports this week were January housing starts and new home sales released Friday morning by the Census Bureau on Tuesday morning. The National Association of Realtors’ pending January home sales figures are scheduled to be released on Thursday. Finally, on Friday, the first figures for fourth-quarter U.S. gross domestic product will be released. The Atlanta Fed’s real-time tracker estimates GDP growth for the final three months of 2025 at 3.7%. One week away, Monday, February 16th, all major U.S. stock and bond markets, including the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, will be closed for President’s Day. Tuesday, February 17th Empire State Manufacturing Survey at 8:30 a.m. ET, NAHB Housing Market Index at 10 a.m. ET Before the bell: Energy Transfer LP (ET), Medtronic (MDT), SunCoke Energy (SXC), Leidos Holdings (LDOS), Vulcan Materials Company (VMC), Crystal Biotech (KRYS), Ceragon Networks (CRNT), Fluor Corporation (FLR), Allegion (ALLE), Builders FirstSource (BLDR), CNH Global (CNH) After the bell: Palo Alto Networks (PANW), Hecla Mining Company (HL), Cadence Design Systems (CDNS), Devon Energy (DVN), EQT Corporation (EQT), SSR Mining (SSRM), Toll Brothers (TOL), FirstEnergy (FE), Halozyme Therapeutics (HALO), Huntsman (HUN), Kenvue (KVUE), MKS Instruments (MKSI), Nano Nuclear Energy (NNE), Axcelis Technologies (ACLS), Celanese (CE) Wednesday, February 18 Census Bureau housing start at 8:30 a.m. ET Fed’s industrial production and capacity utilization report at 9:15 a.m. ET Fed January meeting minutes at 2:00 p.m. ET Bell: Analog Devices (ADI), SolarEdge Technologies (SEDG), Garmin (GRMN), Moody’s (MCO), Constellium (CSTM), Liberty Global (LBTYA), Propetro Holdings (PUMP), Bausch & Lomb (BLCO), Charles River Laboratories (CRL), Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) After the Bell: Kinross Gold (KGC), Coeur d’Alene Mines (CDE), Pan American Silver (PAAS), Carvana (CVNA), Figma (FIG), Royal Gold (RGLD), DoorDash (DASH), Equinox Gold (EQX), Remitly Global (RELY), eBay (EBAY), Occidental Petroleum (OXY), B2Gold (BTG), Cheesecake Factory (CAKE), Blue Owl Capital Corporation (OBDC), Oceaneering International (OII), Bausch Health (BHC), Nutrien (NTR), Molson Coors Beverage Company (TAP) Thursday, February 19th New unemployment claims at 8:30 a.m. ET Philadelphia Fed Index at 8:30 a.m. ET National Association of Realtors January Pending Home Sales Pending Time at 10 a.m. ET Before the Bell: Walmart (WMT), First Majestic Silver (AG), Quanta Services (PWR), Lemonade (LMND), Deere & Company (DE), Klarna (KLAR), Visteon (VC), Wayfair (W), NICE (NICE), Alight (ALIT), Southern Company (SO) After the Bell: Texas Roadhouse (TXRH), Open Door Technologies (OPEN), Newmont Mining (NEM), Transocean (RIG), Live Nation Entertainment (LYV), Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM), Akamai Technologies (AKAM), AXT (AXTI), Centerra Gold (CGAU), Copart (CPRT), Eldorado Gold (EGO), Metallus (MTUS), Ardelyx (ARDX), Barings BDC (BBDC), Chemours (CC) February 20 Sunday Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Index, 8:30 a.m. ET Q4 GDP Report (Preliminary) 8:30 a.m. ET Census Bureau New Home Sales 10:00 a.m. ET Before the Bell: AngloGold Ashanti (Australia) (See here for a complete list of Jim Cramer Charitable Trust stocks.) 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