What Happened?
A number of stocks jumped in the afternoon session after Iran announced the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, easing international tensions and providing a much-needed boost to corporate IT spending outlooks.
Many IT service providers rely on long-term contracts that are sensitive to the global macroeconomic climate. With the threat of a prolonged Middle East conflict receding, enterprise clients are more likely to commit to multi-year digital transformation projects and cloud migration initiatives.
The sector also benefits from improved labor mobility and reduced operational costs as global travel becomes less risky for specialized consultants. As inflation expectations moderate alongside oil prices, IT firms can more accurately forecast their wage and overhead expenses. This clarity is driving investor interest back into the sector as a reliable play on global productivity growth.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.
Among others, the following stocks were impacted:
- Industrial & Environmental Services company Driven Brands (NASDAQ: DRVN) jumped 3.9%. Is now the time to buy Driven Brands? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- IT Distribution & Solutions company ePlus (NASDAQ: PLUS) jumped 3.9%. Is now the time to buy ePlus? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
Zooming In On Driven Brands (DRVN)
Driven Brands’s shares are somewhat volatile and have had 11 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 18 days ago when the stock dropped 2.5% on the news that geopolitical tensions in the Middle East intensified, pushing major indices into correction territory.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq both fell more than 10% from their recent highs, a drop known as a "correction." This downturn was fueled by the conflict with Iran, which roiled markets and dampened investor sentiment. The primary concern was the surge in oil prices, a direct consequence of the geopolitical instability.
Higher energy costs stoked inflation fears, leading investors to anticipate a "higher-for-longer" interest rate environment. This broad market decline reflected a classic "risk-off" sentiment, where investors move away from equities toward safer assets amid global uncertainty.
Driven Brands is down 8.7% since the beginning of the year, and at $13.24 per share, it is trading 31.1% below its 52-week high of $19.21 from September 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Driven Brands’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at only $510.37.
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